The Meatless Monday concept literally brings so many benefits to the table. Don’t confine it to one day a week. Embrace it as a lifestyle and reap the rewards! 

That doesn’t mean you have to become a militant vegan, never eating meat or dairy products again. Instead, develop a habit of choosing to eat more vegetables and less meat.

People who enjoy a plant-based diet have a lower risk of obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease according to Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet and dietician. If eating a diet centered on vegetables actually improves your health, it follows that you would also have lower health care costs.

But that is not the only way that embracing a veggie-centered diet can save you money! According to meatlessmonday.com, the US Department of Labor states that meals made from chicken breast or ground beef are 2.5 times more expensive than meals made with a similar amount of beans! 

While eating less meat and more vegetables has a positive impact on your life, it goes beyond that to have a positive impact on the world we live in as well. 

One of the biggest producers of green house gas emissions in the world is the production of meat – from the raising of livestock to meat processing factories. Shifting your diet away from meat has more impact on green house gas emissions than driving a fuel-efficient car! 

Diets focusing on plants also produce less waste, saving valuable space in land-fills.

Knowing that you are making healthier choices in your diet impacts your attitude, giving you a positive outlook and reducing stress.

How can you implement a veggie-centered lifestyle? 

Mark Bittman has proposed Vegan Before 6. Basically you stick to a vegan diet until 6:00 pm. Then, you eat whatever you want to for the rest of the evening.

Michael Pollan suggests eating a vegetable-rich diet and focusing on smaller portions of whole foods.

No matter how you do it, embracing a lifestyle of eating more vegetables and less meat is one of the best things you can do right now to improve your health, save money, and make a positive impact on the environment.