Newport Beach, CA (March 14, 2023) –Side Delights® delivers the delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meat alternatives shoppers seek. Meatless Mondays are making a return 20 years after the international movement was founded in 2003 to encourage people to increase the number of plant-based meals for their health and that of the planet.

Replacing meat-based meals with fruit and vegetables is a heart-healthy and nourishing diet choice and can help reduce carbon footprint.  Studies from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future indicate that adopting a more plant-based diet can decrease agricultural land use by 80% and agricultural water use by 50%.  The emissions saved by eliminating meat just once a week for a year is equivalent to driving nearly 350 miles in a car1.

Retailers’ sales of refrigerated meat alternatives are declining, with shoppers substituting real plant-based options2.  Vegetarian experts recommend that starchy foods such as potatoes make up a third of a healthy, balanced diet.3 A good source of energy, nutrients, and protein, potatoes are filling, satisfying, nutritious, and gluten-free.

“Moving into spring, shoppers are looking for healthy, hearty meatless meal options that support sustainability,” noted Kathleen Triou, president and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network.  “Potatoes are the perfect foundation for a vegetarian meal as the center of the plate or the key ingredient when deciding what to cook for a healthy start to the week.”

Side Delights® offers easy to prepare recipes for Meatless Mondays or any day of the week, including the Southwest Potato Bowl by Vegetarian Mamma, or the Bubble & Squeak with Garlicky Mushrooms and Fried Egg and Deep Dish Potato Torta with Peppers and Olives, two hearty options for brunch or dinner.

For more information on Side Delights® potato products, including Potato Kits, Convenience Potatoes, Petite Potatoes, Fresh-Cut Potatoes, and Organic Potatoes, visit SideDelights.com.  For information on the farmers that grow & ship Side Delights, visit Fresh Solutions Network.com, and  GrownWhereItMatters.com.

* Sources:

  1. How you can work on adapting Meatless Mondays in January into a lifestyle change all year long | Chattanooga Times Free Press
  2. Vegan Meat Sales Fall With High Prices, ‘Wokeness’ Turning Off Shoppers – Bloomberg
  3. The vegetarian diet – NHS (www.nhs.uk)