By Orshi,
Have you made a commitment to eat healthier this year? My guess is that you are among most families who try to take steps toward putting nutritious and great tasting dishes on the table daily. I grew up in a culture where eating meat IS what you do and I have not met a single 
vegetarian until I entered high school. Our mother went through many health kicks (funny, now that I think about it) and one of them was cutting some meat out of our diet. I am proud to say that she was quite successful with it and up to this day, she still prepares certain foods with soy and vegetable based products. That small little step she took still has lasing affects on my life. If it were up to me, we would eat meat only a few times a week and I do not think my children would mind it … except for the little carnivore I have for a youngest son.
Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs and Veggie dogs are just the thing to start you off on that small commitment that may change your family’s healthy eating habits on the long term, not to mention that it is truly a small step toward the health of our planet as well. MorningStar has just joined the Meatless Monday Campaign to give families a great start to every week by offering amazing meatless choices. Meatless Monday is a movement embraced by hundreds of thousands of people, seeking to change their health by going meatless just one day a week. Small commitment, don’t you think?
I have received samples from both the Veggie Dogs and the Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs for this review. My older son loves MorningStar Corndogs and he was super excited to get into the Veggie Dog box. To his great enjoyment, it was just as what he expected. My children usually just dunk their dog in mustard and ketchup and simply skip the bun so these ‘naked’ dogs were a nice snack one afternoon. They cooked up in a matter of minutes. If you are used to regular hotdogs, you might find them a bit firmer but just as defined in taste as the meaty competitors. With 50 calories, 7g of protein, only 0.5g of fat, and flavor not compromised, they just cannot pick a fight with real hotdogs when it comes to health.
As for the MealStarters Veggie Meatballs … well, they turned into this:
I tossed those little babies into a cast iron skillet with some olive oil and browned them to perfection. They were crispy and delicious on the outside and tender on the inside. In a whole wheat pita with tasty cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, feta cheese and some home made tzadziki they made quite the ‘hmm’s’ and ‘yumms’ around the dinner table. Each serving (5 meatballs – and that’s a lot of meatballs) has only 130 calories, 15g of protein and 0.5g of fat (dare I compare that to Leading Frozen Fully Cooked Meatballs with 28g of fat?).
Meatless Monday’s are a great way to kick start healthy eating habits. “Most diets don’t last long-term because they’re not realistic”, argued by Kathy Kaehler, celebrity fitness trainer. Kathy offers simple steps to make small changes that will be lasting:
- Sunday SetUp: Create a list of what to buy. Include grain, lean protein, fresh fruits and veggies (preferably seasonal to a given area).
- Share the Health: Include family, friends, children in your commitment as supporters.
- Make the Unfamiliar, Familiar: Start incorporating familiar meatless products into your routine (for example make Veggie Meatballs with spaghetti).
- The rest of the week counts too: Try to exercise 3 times a week.
Join the movement and go Meatless on Mondays with MorningStar products! You can learn more about the Meatless Monday campaign from www.MeatlessMonday.com .
Both MorningStar Farms Veggie dogs and Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs are available at retail stores nationwide for $4.49 a carton.They are products from the Kellog Company and you can purchase them, along with all MorningStar products online as well at www.morningstarfarms.com .
About Orshi:
Orshi is a teacher at UCIC where she works daily with children. She shows a great love for children as she has three of her own. She also loves Facebook, gardening and baking. She was born and grew up in Hungary and now lives across the street.
. Café Escapes also come in Mocha, dark hot chocolate and milk hot chocolate. I’m usually quite the chocolate fan but mocha or coffee flavored chocolate has never really worked for me. 
