Melissa d'Arabian makes a lot of budget-conscious families happy with her Food Network show Ten Dollar Dinners. She's saving a lot of animals, too, by showcasing tasty meatless creations that would make even the most hardened carnivore's mouth water. And d'Arabian is quick to point out that almost all her recipes can easily be made vegetarian or vegan. We sat down with the bubbly chef to talk about season five of Ten Dollar Dinners and this weekend's DVR-worthy dish, Footloose and Fancy-Free Falafel.

 
Was the Footloose and Fancy-Free Falafel one of your creations?
Absolutely. Everything on Ten Dollar Dinners is something I have made in my home. Ten Dollar Dinners is about getting on TV recipes that come from my real life experiences as a career woman with no kids, a stay-at-home mom, and a working mom. My food reflects those life experiences.
 

 
What kind of response have you gotten from the shows with meatless meals?
The premiere episode this season was meatless, and people loved it. Interestingly, I have not had one comment from people saying, "You know, you didn't have any meat." I think in that episode, I even talk about how a lot of people are doing Meatless Mondays.

What is your favorite vegetarian dish?
It's the raw lasagna at Pure Food and Wine. It's a raw vegan place in New York, and they have this lasagna that is unbelievable.

What made you want to do recipes that don't include meat?
When I won Food Network star, I got this big package in the mail introducing PETA. In the package was this really nice letter saying, "Would you consider looking at some of these recipe books and seeing if you find any inspiration?" And I actually went through the books and cooked my family vegan food for 30 days. They didn't notice as much as I thought they would. And I love vegetarian food. It's also because I'm a human being living in America and there's a trend toward even non-vegetarian families serving occasional meatless meals. So if, for example, this falafel is what I'm serving my family, that's what's going to show up on the show.

*****

You can catch Ten Dollar Dinners on Food Network Sundays at 9 a.m. ET and 8 a.m. C.T. "Like" Melissa's page on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

Animal-friendly is the new black, as evidenced by all the good news in our latest edition of Internet Soup. Enjoy!

• The Wall Street Journal reports that PETA's Fashion Week parties are changing the fashion world from the inside out.
• Going vegan is the latest glamourous trend.
• Betty Crocker is no match for Vegenaise and Ener-G Egg Replacer.
• Animal abusers have 500 new reasons to steer clear of Holland.
• A dog's life is one we would all like to live at this French hotel.
• Sticky Fingers vegan cupcakes crumble the competition on Cupcake Wars. 
• Sodexo's executive chef explains why the company's Meatless Mondays offerings are outselling their fatty competition.
• A riveting animated video describes the dire plight of endangered bluefin tuna. This is not your kiddies' typical Saturday morning cartoon.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Major food service company Sodexo is joining the growing Meatless Monday campaign. The company plans to start delivering plant-based entrées to the 900 hospitals that it serves. And soon after that, it will begin offering meatless options at 2,000 corporations, 175 government offices, 650 college campuses, 500 school districts, and 150 private schools. If all of Sodexo's 10 million customers participate in Meatless Mondays, 520 million fewer meat-based meals will be eaten every year!

They're looking forward to Meatless Mondays at their school. mc quinn/cc by 2.0

"This fits in so well with our Better Tomorrow Plan, which is all about promoting health and wellness, protecting and restoring the environment, and supporting local community development," says Nitu Gupta, vice president of brand management for Sodexo health care. "Meatless Monday is a simple thing we can all do …. Little changes in our behavior can have a profound effect."

Considering that runoff from factory farms pollutes our waterways more than all other industries combined, that half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise farmed animals, and that 16 pounds of grain are used to produce 1 pound of meat, the environmental impact of Sodexo's decision is profound indeed.

Thanks, Sodexo, for celebrating Earth Day every week!

Written by Michelle Sherrow

We already know what your number one New Year's Resolution is—going vegan, right? It turns out that some celebrity chefs are also resolving to be kinder to animals—and their arteries—in 2011. In the current issue of O magazine, four gourmet gurus made the following veg-olutions: 

• Mario Batali, who previously announced that all his restaurants would be participating in Sir Paul McCartney's Meatless Mondays program, is continuing the trend by resolving to "master more vegetarian dishes" like spicy chickpea bruschetta. 
• Ellie Krieger, cookbook author and host of Food Network show Healthy Appetite, vows to "make sure to include a fruit or vegetable at every meal and snack."
• Alton Brown, Iron Chef commentator and host of Good Eats on the Food Network, wants to try to avoid supporting egg factory farms. "I don't want to have to worry about the chicken's welfare or what's in the egg," he says, probably referring to this summer's massive salmonella outbreak. 
• New York Times columnist Martha Rose Shulman wants to incorporate more quinoa (a high-protein grain that contains all eight essential amino acids) into her cooking and cites her quinoa salad with tofu, snap peas, and ginger vinaigrette as a tasty example.

Written by Alisa Mullins

nataliemaynor/CC by 2.0

Normally, I think that predictions for the coming year are a little silly, but Epicurious.com's list of the top 10 food trends for 2011 has changed my mind. For starters, the list includes tiki bar cocktails—as the proud new owner of a midcentury retro ranch house, I'll drink to that—and macaroons (vegan ones are best, of course). But by far the most exciting trend is "Meatless Mondays & Tofu Thursdays." Epicurious explains, "We're forecasting that eating meat-free will be on the calendar more than once a week."

Now it's your turn: What do you think will be the top vegan-friendly food trend of the new year?

Written by Paula Moore

Not long ago, we told you that celebrity chef Mario Batali was introducing special "Meatless Mondays" options at all of his 14 restaurants. Well, thanks to Freep.com, we get to meat meet up with Mario for a progress report: He says that he feels better as his diet becomes increasingly veggie-heavy. And he predicts that environmental concerns will prompt others to embrace a vegetarian diet. Oh—and he reveals that his own vegetarian cookbook is in the works.

Could Batali be channeling vegan chef Tal Ronnen? I'd love to think so, but one thing's for certain: Both Chef Mario and Chef Tal are inspiring countless flesh-loving foodies to think outside the T-bone.

Written by Karin Bennett

Foodies everywhere are buzzing about Mario Batali's declaration that he is a "big believer in the Meatless Monday movement" and his announcement that all 14 of his restaurants will offer at least two vegetarian options each and every Monday.

Batali believes that "most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet" and supports efforts to "focus on a more plant-based diet." And get this: He's also created a logo to further promote the flesh-free options at some of his restaurants. Woo-hoo!

Batali's eateries are known for cooking up just about every bit of animal one can name, including bone marrow and cockscombs (yes, cockscombs), so it's no wonder Batali's announcement is a hot topic for offal eaters and vegans.

We can't wait for the day when chefs like Batali embrace "Turkeyless Tuesdays," "Wings-Free Wednesdays," etc., or declare "Meat Mondays" as the only day they serve the stuff, but in the meantime, Batali's support for Meatless Mondays will do wonders to spotlight humane cuisine's plethora of pluses for animals, human health, and the environment.

Written by Karin Bennett

As you may know, we have a little obesity epidemic here in the U.S. There's been some debate over how to handle the problem—parents are getting arrested, schools are issuing fat report cards, billboards are being erected, and even Spider-Man is getting involved.

Now, the Baltimore City Public School System has taken a page from Sir Paul McCartney's playbook in its efforts to fight childhood obesity: "Meatless Mondays." Instead of serving greasy, fat-laden hamburgers and "chicken fingers," school cafeterias in Baltimore will be dishing up fresh, organically grown fruits and veggies and eliminating meat completely every Monday.

blog.peacefulplaygrounds / CC

For its dedication to providing healthy meals for students, PETA is awarding the school system our Proggy Award. Congratulations, Baltimore public schools!

Meatless Mondays not only provide healthier meals for students but also help protect the environment and save animals' lives. PETA's humane-education division, TeachKind, will be working to implement this program in schools across the country—but remember, you don't have to be in school to incorporate Meatless Mondays into your own life.

Written by Liz Graffeo