This tortellini, pesto & broccoli recipe can be found here

Omitting meat from your diet one day a week could help improve your overall health, save money and help the environment. As a result, the ‘Meat-Free Mondays’ campaign has sparked international interest, with it arriving in the UAE in 2015. BBC Good Food Middle East looks at some reasons why you should consider getting involved…

Improves your overall health

According to research, a diet high in vegetables, fruit and whole grains have been shown to help protect against certain cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. Conversely, it can also be beneficial to cut back on some types of meat: the World Health Organisation (WHO) last year categorised processed meats as carcinogenic.

Helps save money

Removing meat from your diet one day a week can help save money on the monthly food shop. Replacing an expensive high-end meat with tofu and other vegetarian alternatives once a week could help save around AED 500 per food shop for the average family.

Environmentally friendly

The water needed to farm animals is much greater than the amount needed to farm vegetables and grains. According to the World Meat Free Day organisation, if one person omits meat from their diet for a single day they save the equivalent water usage of nine people and the carbon energy equivalent of boiling a kettle 388 times.