Earth Day is coming up this Thursday, April 22, and it is a good time to reflect on the diversity of the many cultures and habitats of our home planet.

What we eat has a huge impact on our environment. The good news is people have become more versatile with their cooking by incorporating what used to be called ethnic dishes into our weekly menus.

These were once novelties, now they’re mainstays. We’ve embraced Italian, Mexican, Thai and Indian foods, in part, because of the restaurants and fast food outlets. We accept these foods as part of our daily diet.

This is a good thing, since all of these cuisines are easily adapted to vegetarian cooking.

Americans are enamored of meat and we eat way too much of it for our own good. Vegetarian meals can help you with your health goals—whether that is to cut down on fat, lower your cholesterol, or even reduce your calorie intake. It can help with your grocery bill, since many vegetarian meals will cost much less than meat-based meals.

But, there is an even bigger reason to eat less meat and get more of your protein from vegetables.

Surely, you’ve heard of old growth rain forests being clear cut to graze cattle for the meat market. This is like punching holes in the earth’s lungs.

According to National Geographic, “The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people.”

It is easy to feel helpless to solve our planet’s most serious problems, but changing the way we eat, if only slightly, is something we all can do. Simply, consume less meat, especially beef because that is the most expensive protein to produce in terms of natural resources. Here are some suggestions on how to convert meat dishes, painlessly, and without objection, to a vegetarian format.

Spaghetti and Meat(less) Sauce

You can make it look the same, by keeping the tomato sauce chunky. Add eggplant instead of meat to the sauce. Peel the eggplant, remove the seedy portion from the inside, and cut into one-inch cubes. Saute the eggplant in garlic and oil, before adding to your sauce.

Lasagna

Instead of meat, layer your noodles with chopped spinach (frozen, drained, but not cooked first) and grated carrots or sweet potatoes and fresh sliced mushrooms. I’ve even used broccoli chopped fine as one layer. A few sliced black olives are good too. And of course cheese.

Fajitas

Normally, the soft tortilla shell would be filled with meat, peppers and onions, either grilled or sauteed. Eliminate the meat and substitute sliceed mushrooms or zucchini. Add some grilled tomatoes as well. The rest of the toppings stay the same: cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa.

Tacos

Kids love these, don’t they? Eliminate the meat by substituting a bean mixture. Refried beans work well and those you can find in any grocery store. But what I like even better is a cooked mixture of pinto beans, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Saute the onions and peppers and fresh chopped tomatoes in a little oil with some garlic. Add the cooked pinto beans. You can buy them canned, fully cooked or cook them yourself.

Fried Rice

Who doesn’t have leftover rice occasionally? To make a vegetarian main course using this, saute as many different kinds of vegetables as you have laying around. Then add the cooked rice, a beaten egg, and a dash of soy sauce. I also season with a little marjoram and ginger. Vegetables should be chopped small and uniformly. Good choices include: onions, pepper, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash or patty pan, mushrooms, pea pods, green beans, and bean sprouts. You can also use peas (frozen, not canned), water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots. The egg is simple to add. Once the vegetables have cooked and softened, push them to the sides of your pan, creating a well in the center. Add a dribbling of oil, pour in the beaten egg and stir around until cooked. Mix into the rest of the pot.

Stir Frys

Well, I almost got through this whole tirade without mentioning tofu, a high-protein plant-based food. Most non-vegetarians don’t like it. They don’t like the sound of it, they don’t like the looks of it, they don’t like the idea of it. How can you expect that to replace meat? Well, I guess you can’t. But the thing is, I’ve found that most people that don’t like tofu have never tried it! Look for the firm block of tofu to use in your stir fry. Cut it into even, bite-size chunks and add it to your wok or fry pan with a good variety of vegetables. Make a simple sauce of soy sauce and water. Thicken it with cornstarch.

Vegetable Curry

If there’s one dish you learn to make this year, let it be a curry. Recipes for curry can be intimidating because there are a lot of ingredients, however, I have simplified that by exchanging many of the spices for garam masala, which is an Indian spice mix. If you like spicy hot food add the cayenne and curry powder.

Serves 4

• 2 lbs. potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. garam masala
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder, optional
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced or 1/4 tsp dried
• 1 can (14-17 oz.) diced tomato
• 1 can (15-19 oz.) chickpeas, drained 1-1/2 cups frozen peas
• 1 can (14-16 oz.) coconut milk

Cook potatoes in a large pot of salted water until fork tender. Drain and set them aside. Using the same pot, heat the oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until onion is tender and starts to turn translucent.

Add remaining ingredients and combine. Bring to a simmer, then add the cooked potatoes.

Reduce heat to low and cook everything together for 3-5 minutes before serving over cooked rice.