NEWSBYDAVID ORR

Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Here's another classic that works just as well as a Thanksgiving main dish as traditional, meat-based entrees. It's hearty, flavorful, and doesn't have any unfamiliar ingredients. Lentil Shepherd's Pie is a great dish to make for vegetarians at your table (or for everyone if you go meatless this Thanksgiving). This Shepherd's Pie is so tasty that no one will feel like they're missing out.

Although this dish is a bit time consuming to make, it's mostly unattended. One way you could cut down on the time, though, is to make it in stages. Make extra lentils a day or two before, and save them for use in the pie. Or make mashed potatoes the day before and keep them in the refrigerator. Any way you do it, this dish can be partially or completely assembled the day before, and then just popped in the oven right before you eat.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie tastes fantastic served with mushroom gravy and fresh cranberry sauce. Tell us how you prepared the pie in the comments section below.

Update 12/21/10: It took more than a year-and-a-half of pushing, but on December 21, 2010, Congress finally passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). The move came after more than 1,800 Change.org members signed our petition asking Congress to pass the food safety reform bill. You can read more about this victory here.

The drama surrounding food safety legislation is like a bad movie that just won't end. Just as it seems to be coming to a close, boom! The evil villain appears out of nowhere and all hope is lost again — until it's not. It looks like there will be one more last chance for S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, to pass the Senate next week when officials convene for the post-election lame duck session.

Before breaking for the election recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion for cloture to end debate and move the bill to a vote. It had previously been placed on hold by Sen. Tom Coburn and now requires a 60-vote majority to move forward. That shouldn't be much of a problem, however, as Sen. Tom Harkin, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee seems to feel he has at least 90 yes votes for the bill. That is shocking in its own right. Could food safety be the Kumbaya issue that brings Democrats and Republicans together in one glimmering moment of effective governance? Maybe Senators will be able to pat themselves on the backs and throw some beers back at the Capitol Grille, but the chances of this legislation actually getting to the President's desk and becoming law are slim.

<Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

OK, so Thanksgiving isn't on a Monday, but how about going meatless this year? That's probably a hard sell for most turkey lovers, but I'm sure vegetarians at your table would at least appreciate a new, meatless dish. At my family's Thanksgiving, we usually have a few turkey eaters, but it's never viewed as the main dish — it's really just another side that joins all the others on the plate. And what a delicious harmony of flavors that plate is!

But if you are looking for something that could serve as more of a hearty main dish, this recipe for Wild Rice, Cranberry, and Pear Stuffing in Roasted Acorn Squash is a great option. It's pretty easy to make, can be done ahead of time, and tastes great. It doesn't need to just be a holiday dish, either.

For some interesting variations, try using the recipe for Autumn Explosion Bake from a few weeks ago as the stuffing. Or instead of using an acorn squash, use a pumpkin. Just cut off the top, and proceed as you would with the acorn squash (this makes a great visual main dish on the table).

Update 11/11/10: After more than 300 Change.org members petitioned the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, lawmakers voted in favor of the Healthy Meals Incentive ordinance. Beginning Dec. 1, 2011, restaurants in San Francisco can only offer toys with kids' meals that meet certain nutritional requirements. Read the full story here.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a fast-food toy "ban" yesterday and came one step closer to enacting the legislation. The Healthy Meals Incentive passed on an 8-3 vote, the minimum needed to override an expected veto from Mayor Gavin Newsom. A final vote should happen next week, and if passed again, the legislation would go into effect in December 2011.

The move came after Corporate Accountability International, bloggers, San Francisco community organizers, and Change.org members pressured SF's Board of Supervisors to support the Healthy Meals Incentive. More than 250 people signed Corporate Accountability International's petition so far, and the organization continues to work hard to ensure that the measure gets the necessary eight votes again during the final vote.

While the measure will undoubtedly encourage healthier eating, it's quite controversial. Some folks feel the proposed law is nothing more than nanny-statists trying to take the "Happy" out of Happy Meals (would that then make it an actual meal?).

<Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I recently bought a bushel of potatoes from my local farmers' market, and I've been trying to find new ways to use them. For a long time, I only thought of hash as a breakfast side dish or a meat-filled entree (i.e. corned beef), but with a few extra ingredients, it becomes a filling, cheap, and easy meat-free dinner.

The great thing about this dish is that it's flexible. Try using another kind of potato, or ditch potatoes altogether and use winter squash. Switch up the beans, spices, or vegetables, and you could have a completely different meal.

I've found this works best with a cast-iron skillet, but if you don't have one, any large skillet will do (you might just need a little extra oil to prevent sticking). I've written the recipe for canned beans, but if you have dried beans (remember how to cook them?), feel free to substitute. This is also a little spicy, so if you're not that into heat, you might want to tone it down a bit. Serve this dish with a simple green salad for a hearty but healthy meal.

Is tricking kids the best way to get them to eat healthy at school? Some places around the country seem to think so. NPR recently aired a story about the Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and their efforts to bring more nutritious foods into the cafeteria.

Penny McConnell, the district's food director, is relying on one strategy of sneaking vegetables into familiar cafeteria food. Marketed under the name "Hidden Healthies," the food conceals pureed vegetables and other nutrients in an effort to get kids to eat produce without them knowing it. She recently conducted a taste test with a group of elementary school students in which she served the kids nachos and asked them to rate the samples. The participants seemed excited just to be asked their opinion, but what they didn't know was that the cheese dip was camouflaging butternut squash, sweet potato, and white beans.

Christian Leavitt, a sixth-grader at the school seemed to catch on to the ploy."They probably have it hidden because some kids don't like broccoli or other things," Leavitt said. "So, it's a good idea to hide them — kind of."

Yeah, kind of. Sure it's great to get kids to eat more vegetables, but by sneaking them into other foods, we aren't teaching healthy eating habits — we're just reinforcing the perception that vegetables are gross. David Just, co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition, made the point on NPR that “taste is a suggestion more than anything else. If you think something is going to taste really good — if you’ve been told by others that it tastes good — you build that into your head when you eat it.”

<Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

OK, this "bake" is really a casserole, but I have bad associations with that word (think tuna noodle and anything involving Campbell's Soup as a main ingredient). Autumn Explosion Bake is an apt name, though, as most of the flavors I associate with fall burst out of this dish into a wonderful medley that's easy enough to prepare for a weeknight dinner, but impressive enough for the Thanksgiving table.

Another great thing about this dish is that it's flexible. Don't have any millet? Try quinoa instead for a different flavor and texture. And you don't need to use pumpkin, either — any winter squash will do. Even a sweet potato would work in a pinch. If you can find fresh cranberries, though, it does add a lot to the dish.

The foundation for this recipe came from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I've added to it and tweaked it a bit, but I would be remiss if I were not to credit him with the creation of this dish. His book (and everything else he does) is great, and I highly recommend it. If you're looking for more ways to eat less meat, getting a good vegetarian cookbook like Bittman's is your best start.

Update 11/11/10: After more than 300 Change.org members petitioned the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, lawmakers voted in favor of the Healthy Meals Incentive ordinance. Beginning Dec. 1, 2011, restaurants in San Francisco can only offer toys with kids' meals that meet certain nutritional requirements. Read the full story here.

San Francisco is aiming to become the largest city in the country to restrict the use of toys in promoting fast food to children — but not for at least another two weeks.

The city's board of supervisors voted on Tuesday to postpone the vote until November 2, Election Day. Supervisor Eric Mar, the controversial bill's main sponsor, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "We have built a strong coalition of supporters and strong majority support on the board. We are committed to delivering on the ordinance's vital health protections and continue to work with colleagues in firming up a strong implementation plan that responds to concerns raised by the restaurant industry." So why the delay?

Well, it's probably just a political calculation. Outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom has promised a veto, and only 7 of the 8 required votes to overturn a veto are secured. Putting off the vote until after Election Day could make it a little easier to vote in favor of this bill. It could also be a sort of gift to Mayor Newsom, who is currently running for Lt. Governor of the state and has been labeled by his opponent as "chief of the food police." Politics will be politics, but the important point is that this legislation has a real chance of being passed.

<Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

This soup is a lighter take on the classic potato and leek soup made with heavy cream, but that certainly doesn't mean it's not filling. With a thick slab of crusty bread, this is a great, easy dinner for those cool, autumn nights. Feel free to substitute other cooking greens for the kale in this recipe, such as swiss chard. There are also many different types of kale, so experiment to find which you like best. My favorite is the lacinato kale, also known as dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale.

Kale is one of those few crops that actually thrives as the weather cools. In fact, kale is probably at its best after the first frost. In many areas of the country, the first frost has already happened or is on its way. For the other parts of the country, well, you might not have the best local kale, but you've got every other kind of green growing (lucky you!). Kale is also a nutritional power vegetable. It's an anti-inflammatory and quite high in vitamin C, vitamin K, and calcium, among other things.

As you have probably read about here, there is an uproar over a newly developed, genetically engineered (GE) salmon — mockingly referred to as "Frankenfish" — that has been deemed safe for human consumption and is nearing approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There are some serious concerns with the AquAdvantage salmon that have been raised by advocates over recent weeks that are worthy of consideration.

A number of U.S. Senators and a growing number of democrats in Congress have also come out against FDA approval of this fish. It appears the cards are stacked against it. But what I find unfortunate about this whole debate is that it obscures what I believe to be a much more serious concern.

Salmon farming is one of the single most environmentally destructive methods of food production. Unlike land-based feedlots, which are nominally "responsible" for properly disposing of waste, excrement, and dead animals, salmon farms send everything directly into the ocean.