The food that we eat and how it is produced is one of the areas that we can all tackle when it comes to climate change.
Over a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the global food chain but small changes to our diets could not only improve our environmental footprint but could also have a positive impact on our health.
What Planet Are You On?'s diet expert Dr. Marco Springmann, a Senior Researcher in Environmental Sustainability and Public Health, shares a seven-day, planetary-health meal plan that he and Dr Pamela Mason, a Registered Public Health Nutritionist, developed.
DAY 1
Breakfast
Porridge with toasted seeds/nuts & frozen berries
Ingredients
- 150g rolled oats
- 500ml soya or other plant-based milk alternative (additional 500ml to serve - optional)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 250g (6 handfuls) of frozen berries
- 75g (3 handfuls) chopped nuts or seeds
- 4 tsp honey (optional)
How to prepare
- Place oats and milk of choice in a pan on moderate heat.
- Bring to a steady simmer for 5 to 6 minutes depending on the consistency you'd like.
- Stir though the maple syrup.
- Pour into four bowls.
- Add a handful of berries and a handful of chopped seeds/nuts to each serving
- Serve porridge with 125ml milk alternative each & 1 teaspoon of honey each (optional)
Lunch
Minestrone soup with wholegrain bread
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 400g minestrone soup vegetable mix
- 1x 150g dried lentils
- 1 litre of water
- Salt/pepper
- Vegetable stock cube
- 4 wholemeal rolls
How to prepare
- Heat the olive oil in a heavy based saucepan,
- Add the chopped onion, and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add mixed vegetables and lentils, 1 litre of water, vegetable stock cube and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with wholemeal crusty roll
Dinner
Bean, Peanut and Butternut Squash Curry with Rice
Ingredients: curry
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 inch piece of ginger – peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli (deseeded and chopped fine)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (or to taste)
- 400ml low fat coconut milk alternative
- 600g butternut squash chopped
- 400g tin red kidney beans/chickpeas
- 1 large mango cut into chunks (or ready cut) – 200g
- 75g (3 handfuls) peanuts
- 270g basmati rice
How to prepare
- Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, ginger, chopped chilli and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the kidney beans or chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the curry powder, coconut milk alternative and the butternut squash and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the mango, peanuts and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- While the curry is cooking prepare the rice as instructed on the pack.
DAY 2
Breakfast
Muesli (makes 300g) plus fresh fruit
Use half the muesli today and half on Day 6 breakfast
Ingredients
- 150g rolled oats
- 25g sunflower seeds
- 25g pumpkin seeds
- 50g of flaked almonds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 50g of finely chopped dried apricots
- 4 apples
- 375ml soya milk alternative (to have with muesli)
How to make
- Mix the above ingredients together. (Portion size 50g each)
- Enjoy with 1 apple (150g) for each family member (can be chopped or grated) and 125ml of soya milk alternative
Lunch
Spicy chickpea pitta sandwich
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 large garlic clove finely sliced
1 teaspoon paprika
4 carrots peeled and thinly sliced
400g can of chickpeas (Retain the liquid from the chickpeas for later in the week)
Juice of half a lemon
4 wholemeal pitta breads or flat breads (warmed are nicer)
4 tablespoons of soya yogurt alternative
Salt and pepper
How to make
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
- Add the cumin and heat for a few seconds.
- Add the carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes stirring often until starting to brown.
- Add the garlic, paprika and chickpeas and a squeeze of lemon juice.
- Taste and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
- Spoon some of the chickpea mixture into the pocket of a pitta (or into the middle of a flatbread) and top with a spoonful of yogurt.
- Fold the flatbreads if using.
- Serve straightaway.
Dinner
Tomato and lentil pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- 1 red pepper finely chopped
- 2 x 400g tins of crushed tomatoes
- 200g red lentils
- 1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs
- 250g dried wholemeal pasta
- 50g of sesame seeds
- 60g grated vegan cheese alternative (could be cheddar or mozzarella style), but the pasta dish can be eaten without the cheese alternative!
How to prepare
- Heat the oil in a large pan.
- Add the onion and garlic and fry until golden brown.
- Add in the chopped red pepper, tomatoes, lentils and dried herbs.
- Stir and cover the pan then allow to boil for 10 minutes.
- Then turn down the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes checking often that the sauce does not stick.
- Ten minutes before the end of cooking the sauce, boil a large pan of water with a pinch of salt. Then add the pasta, cook for 10 minutes or so, and then drain.
- Divide the pasta between the three plates and pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the grated vegan cheese alternative (if liked)
DAY 3
Breakfast
Wholemeal toast with banana and cashew nuts
Ingredients
- 4 large slices of wholemeal bread
- 4 bananas (fairly ripe) = 300g
- 100g cashew nuts
How to prepare
- Toast the bread
- Put the cashew nuts in a plastic bag and crush a little with a rolling pin
- Mash the bananas and mix with the roughly chopped cashew nuts, reserving a few nuts to sprinkle on the top
- Divide the banana mix and spread it over the toast, and sprinkle the remaining nuts on the top
Lunch
Turkish roast vegetables with butter beans
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion
- 5 peppers (assorted colours)
- 400g tomatoes
- 20 sprigs of thyme (or dried thyme)
- 6 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 x 400g tins butter beans
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 400g fresh green beans
- 120g of grated vegan cheese alternative (optional)
- Salt and pepper
How to prepare
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan /Gas 6.
- Transfer the onion, peppers and tomatoes to a roasting tin with the whole thyme sprigs and trickle over the olive oil. Roast the vegetables for 1 hour.
- Add the butter beans and ground allspice to the roasting tray and mix well, making sure that any dry parts are well coated in olive oil. Bake for a further 30 minutes.
- Cook frozen green beans according to instructions on the bag.
- Fold the green beans into the roasted vegetables.
- Sprinkle with vegan alternative cheese (if wanted)
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Dinner
Vegetable skewers
Ingredients
- 20 cherry tomatoes
- 1 courgette thickly sliced
- 1 red onion peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 red pepper and 1 green pepper cut into small chunks
- 1 tablespoon clear honey, 1 teaspoon grainy mustard, 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 pitta breads (6x 60g)
- Crunchy green salad
How to make
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Blend the honey, mustard and oil with seasoning.
- To assemble, thread veg onto skewers and brush with the honey glaze. Cook for 25-30 mins in the oven or on the barbecue, brushing with any remaining glaze before serving.
- Serve with pitta bread & crunchy green salad
Note: If using wooden skewers soak for 10 mins before so use to avoid burning.
DAY 4
Breakfast
Breakfast cereal with fruit and seeds
Ingredients
- Weetabix (2 biscuits each person)
- Soya or other plant-based milk alternative (125ml per person)
- 4 bananas (1 each)
- 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds each (10gx4)
Lunch
Baked potato with chilli beans
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized baking potatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli seeds and all, chopped
- 1 can (400g) crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans (2x400g) cooked red kidney beans, drained (equivalent to 250g dried beans)
- 60g grated vegan cheese alternative
- Salt to taste
How to prepare
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- Wash and dry the potatoes.
- Put potatoes in the oven for 45 minutes
- Heat olive oil in large saucepan.
- Dice onion and garlic; put in pan and fry for a couple of minutes then add the chilli.
- Add the kidney beans, stir and cook for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and cook on a medium heat until well heated through and the flavours have mixed - about 20 minutes.
- Add water if it gets a bit dry.
- Pour sauce over baked potatoes
- Sprinkle with vegan cheese alternative
Dinner
Kale and quinoa patties
Ingredients
- 140g quinoa
- 500ml hot vegetable stock (made with stockpot or stock cube)
- 100g kale, stalks removed roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 75g wholemeal breadcrumbs
- 100ml of chickpea liquid (kept from earlier in the week)
- 6 cherry tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- Slices of halloumi cheese
How to make
- Put the quinoa in a saucepan and pour over the hot stock.
- Simmer for 18-20 mins over a gentle heat until the grains have fluffed up and the liquid has disappeared.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the kale and simmer for 6-8 mins until cooked through. Drain and squeeze out any water
- Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 mins until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Tip the cooked quinoa into a bowl and add the kale, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, chickpea liquid and chopped tomatoes. Season well and mix to combine
- Form into patties
- Grill halloumi cheese and put one slice on top of each pattie
- Could serve these with baked or oven roasted sweet red potatoes; these potatoes can be baked or cut into wedges and roasted (with oil) in the same way as ordinary potatoes
- Serve with green salad
DAY 5
Breakfast
Bircher muesli
1. 150g of whole rolled oats
2. 200ml of soya or plant-based milk alternative
3. 200ml soya yogurt alternative
Combine all ingredients in a bowl then cover and chill overnight.
Top with
4 grated apples (one each) and 36g/4 tablespoons chopped dried apricots (for the four of you) and 50g of sesame seeds (between the four of you)
Lunch
Black bean burrito
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, very finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 can (400g) black beans, rinsed and drained (equivalent to 125g dried beans)
- 3 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed (60g x 3)
- 1 x 200g tin of sweetcorn, rinsed and drained (160g drained weight)
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1 cup crispy salad
- Optional toppings: yogurt, chopped tomato
How to make
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry onion and green pepper until soft
- Add black beans and sweetcorn and cook for 3-5 mins.
- Spoon on to each of the three tortillas, add shredded lettuce and tomato
- Serve with optional toppings
Dinner
Cauliflower and chickpea bake
Ingredients
- 1 medium/large cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of plain flour or cornflour
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 350ml soya or other plant-based milk alternative
- 75g grated vegan cheddar cheese alternative
- 100g spinach
- 1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (equivalent to 125g dried weight) Retain chickpea liquid for use later in the week
- 100g cashew nuts
- 100g brown breadcrumbs
How to make
- Preheat oven to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5
- Cook cauliflower in pan of boiling water for 5 minutes then drain and set aside
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan and add the flour or cornflour, beating to make a paste
- Stir in half the garlic and the mustard and cook for 1 minute
- Add the soya milk alternative a little at a time, whisking until the sauce thickens
- Stir in the grated cheese alternative and spinach and season,
- Add the cauliflower, chickpeas and cashew nuts and stir until well coated
- Pour into an oven proof dish
- Fry the breadcrumbs in the rest of the oil and garlic until crisp then scatter over the dish
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top
DAY 6
Breakfast
- Muesli (use the half leftover from Day 2 breakfast)
- Enjoy with 1 apple (150g) for each family member (can be chopped or grated) and 125ml of soya milk alternative for each person
Lunch
Roast spring vegetable pizza
Ingredients (pizza base)
- 1 pack of ready rolled pizza base, 200g OR if you'd like to make your own:
- 200g plain flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon easy blend yeast
- 150ml warm (not hot) water
- Olive oil (for brushing)
How to prepare
- Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7/fan oven 200C.
- Tip the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl and mix well.
- Add the warm water and mix to a soft dough.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface for 2-3 minutes, let rise for 5 min and then roll out to a 30cm/12in round.
- Brush a large baking sheet with a thin slick of oil and then add the pizza base.
- Cover with a clean tea towel
For the topping
- 2 red peppers, cut into rings
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons tomato passata
- 2 cherry tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons green peas (frozen)
- 125g vegan mozzarella cheese alternative
- 25g sesame seeds
How to prepare
- Spread the pizza base with the passata.
- Scatter over the leek and red pepper.
- Thinly slice the mozzarella alternative and arrange over the vegetables.
- Scatter over the whole cherry tomatoes and peas
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the crust is crisp and lightly browned. To serve, cut into four wedges.
Dinner
Nut Roast with potato wedges and cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 200g chopped mixed nuts
- 2 tablespoons ground almonds
- 100g wholemeal breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium cauliflower
How to prepare
- Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4
- Fry the onion in the oil until soft
- Combine the onion, nuts, breadcrumbs and sage together before turning into an oiled ovenproof dish and baking for 30 minutes until golden brown
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into thick wedges the each half into three wedges
- Brush with olive oil
- Season with salt and pepper
- Place in the oven with the nut roast for 20-30 minutes
- Divide the cauliflower into florets and put in a pan of boiling water for the last 10 minutes of the cooking time for the nut roast
DAY 7
Breakfast
French toast with berries
Ingredients
- 75g of liquid left from chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons honey
- 8 slices of crusty bread
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 400g mixed frozen berries (thawed overnight in the fridge)
How to make
- Mix the chickpea liquid with the vanilla extract and honey in a bowl.
- Brush each side of the 8 slices of bread with the mixture.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan. Cook the 6 slices of bread (on one side) until crisp and golden brown (about 3 minutes)
- Add the other tablespoon of oil and fry the 8 slices of bread on the other side until brown and crisp (about 3 minutes)
- Transfer the French bread to 4 plates and top with the berries.
- Serve with extra honey (1tsp each) if you like
Lunch
Creamy mushroom pasta
Ingredients
- 500g pasta of your choice
- 50g cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 small onion or 4 spring onions finely chopped
- 800g of fresh mushrooms chopped
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 750ml of soya or other plant based milk alternative (almond is good in this recipe)
- 100g fresh parsley chopped
- 400g of frozen peas, thawed
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare
- Cook the pasta according to directions
- While pasta is cooking cook the mushroom sauce
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, mushrooms and ½ tsp salt and cook stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and tender, about 10-15 mins, turning down to medium low after 5 mins.
- Sprinkle flour over the mushrooms and stir to coat, allowing to cook for 30 sec-1 min. Bring heat back up to medium-high.
- Add 200ml almond (or soya) milk alternative alternative, stirring constantly and it let simmer for 1 min. Make sure to break up any clumps.
- When completely smooth and thickened slightly, add remaining almond (or soya) milk alternative alternative and pepper to taste, return to a simmer, stirring constantly.
- Cook until the sauce thickens slightly again, about 3 mins.
- Remove saucepan from heat. Add peas, and salt & pepper to taste and cook for 1 additional minute or until peas are heated through.
- Add the pasta to the mushroom sauce and toss to coat.
- Serve garnished with extra parsley and serve immediately
Dinner
Homemade burger with coleslaw (or could buy vegan burgers ready-made)
Ingredients: burger
- 1 small red onion
- 1 400g can of red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- Wholemeal breadcrumbs from 1 slice of bread
- 25g mixed nuts
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder
- 50ml chickpea liquid
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- 4 wholemeal rolls
How to prepare
- Chop onion in food processor
- Add kidney beans, breadcrumbs, chill powder, chickpea liquid and tomato puree and mix again
- Shape into 4 burgers and grill under a hot grill for 5-7 minutes a side
- Top burgers with sliced tomato, red onion and crispy salad from bag
Ingredients: Coleslaw
- 300g shredded white cabbage
- 75g shredded carrots
- 150g Greek soya yogurt alternative
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper
How to prepare
- Mix yogurt, cider vinegar, olive oil, mustard and salt and
- Pour dressing over the cabbage/carrot mix
- Stir until well mixed
- Serve with burgers
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