With the approaching holidays and colder weather, we tend to find ourselves stuffing face and packing on the extra pounds. This year, why get fat when you can get healthy. Avoid a heart attack, bad cholesterol and fill up at the same time? Here are some meatless, but not vegan, recipes that will do more than load your belly. And hit the gym already - you’re starting to look like that cow you just ate.

Sides:

Yellow Beans

Boiled yellow beans drizzled with lemon butter sauce (butter, lemon juice and ground black pepper)

Entrees:

Eggplant Parmesan

Thick cuts of eggplant drizzled with marinara sauce, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and topped with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, spiced with oregano and thyme

Black Beans on Rice

Boiled black beans spiced with ginger, thyme, all spice and orange served over brown rice with mango salsa and sour cream

Vietnamese Yellow Curry

Yellow Finn potatoes, carrots, peppers, celery root, turnips and snap peas floating in coconut milk, lime leaves, curry, ginger and cilantro

Grilled Portobello on Focaccia

Grilled portobello mushroom tops with roasted peppers, arugula and asiago cheeses on grilled focaccia bread

Sour Cream Rice

Oven Baked brown rice, sour cream and green chiles, topped with melted Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses

For a meal meant to feed 4 or more people, try:

Mexican Stew

Butternut squash, bell peppers and yellow squash simmered with tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon and chiles; topped with grated cheese and served with cornbread

Hopi Vegetable Stew

Yellow squash, green peppers, red peppers and zucchini with shitake mushrooms, carrots, grilled corn kernels, turnips, jeweled yams and red onions, simmered with garlic, black pepper, dried sage and thyme in corn stock or vegetable stock