“Grandma Toots” was a classic 1950s American housewife, in every sense of the word. So, when a vegetarian guest was coming over for dinner, she asked if they’d “prefer chicken or fish.” Like most home cooks at the time, she truly could not imagine a meal that didn't revolve around meat.

Grandma Toots wasn’t my grandma…I listened to a TED Radio Hour podcast last week where a food systems researcher named Sarah Lake introduced us to the icon, but I do feel like the assumption that a comprehensive meal needs meat afflicts most of us.

It's not like we sat down one day and decided meat should be the star of every single dinner, but decades of government subsidies, industry marketing campaigns, and a food system designed to make animal protein the cheapest, most convenient option shaped what ended up on our plates. "Pork, the other white meat." "Beef, it's what's for dinner." These were the slogans we grew up on.

This week, to honor the last day of Earth Month, we’re diving into why the single most impactful thing you can do from your kitchen is swap a few meat-heavy dinners for plant-based ones and how to make them ones that your family actually wants to eat. (Bonus points because all of these swaps also save you major cash in the long run!)

Try stacking filters in the Search bar to narrow down the suggestions to exactly what you’re looking for so you’re not plagued by the dreaded decision fatigue. I put in “Vegetarian,” “Vegan,” "Kid-Friendly," and "Easy." The number of options will surprise you!

A pound of dried beans or a block of tofu costs between $1 and $2, but a pound of ground beef costs between $3 and $6.

A can of chickpeas is 89 cents, but a pound of chicken thighs runs about $3 to $5.

…shall I go on?

According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, people following a plant-based diet cut their grocery costs by about 19% compared to a standard American diet. That translates to more than $650 saved per year. If you're a family of four and you swap out three meat dinners a week for plant-based ones, you're looking at roughly $40-60 per week in savings.

That's $2,000-3,000 a year?!

That's summer camp. That's a family vacation. That's 200 jars of Rao's (I'm bringing back this unit of measurement because it sparked joy and I refuse to let it go 🤪).

The best part is that on top of all the savings, you’re also not cutting any corners when it comes to nutrition. A cup of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein and 16 grams of fiber. A cup of black beans has 15 grams of protein. Pair either one with rice and you've got a complete protein for less than a dollar.

Recipe here!

Recipe here!

Recipe here!

Recipe here!

Recipe here!

The food system is responsible for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock alone accounts for roughly 14.5% of that. Research found that swapping one beef meal per week for a plant-based one can shrink your diet-related carbon footprint by nearly 10%.

Another study published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that plant-based diets showed reductions of more than 50% in key environmental impact indicators compared to standard omnivorous diets, including a 33% drop in agricultural land use.

This doesn’t mean "never eat meat again," (I am a self proclaimed carnivore, a lot of the time) but those few swaps a week add up to something meaningful when millions of families do it.

Every plant-based swap follows the same structure you already know from our sheet pan and casserole formulas:

[PLANT PROTEIN] + [STARCH] + [VEGETABLE] + [SAUCE] + [SOMETHING CRUNCHY OR CHEESY ON TOP] = Dinner