Eat MORE Veggies and LESS Meat – A Flexitarian Approach to Eating

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Eat more veggies and less meat

I try to avoid labeling myself as following a certain diet as I’m not a vegetarian, vegan or really anything else for that matter but I do keep the amount of animal products (meat in particular) that I consume to a minimum – so I guess these days you could call me a flexitarian. What is a “flexitarian” you might ask? There is no real definition of a flexitarian, but in general it describes a person who eats a mostly vegetarian diet with occasional or minimal meat consumption (what equals occasional or minimal is left to the individual to decide, so again, it’s a loose term). While many vegetarians and vegans might be critical of anyone calling themselves a flexitarian, there are unarguable benefits to at least reducing the amount of meat and other animal products in your diet even if you don’t cut them out all together (which many might feel too drastic of an approach). And most of us probably recognize that the portions of meat we are served in restaurants, and therefore have gotten used to, are much larger than we really need. Making small changes for the better is more favorable than doing nothing at all, right? A few of the benefits of cutting back on meat in particular include: lower grocery bills, health benefits (i.e., more energy, potential weight loss, longer life, etc.), environmental benefits, branching out in menu repertoire, etc.

If you are one who is used to having meat as the central focus of each meal, it might be hard to think of a meatless meal as filling enough, a complete meal, or a “real” meal. Thinking outside the box and expanding your recipe repertoire will help with this. And as opposed to thinking of it as eliminating something from your diet, think of it in a more positive sense – adding more of something that is better for you (in this case good for you veggies, beans, legumes, and other healthy non-meat protein sources). If you or your family is not game for a drastic change, maybe try adding one or two meatless meals per week to ease everyone into the new plan then see what happens and go from there. Or, just start out by first gradually reducing and then eventually eliminating meat from a few a meals. You will likely be surprised how quickly you get used to eating less meat and how many great ways there are to prepare a meal without meat being the focus. Keep in mind – there is no health benefit to simply replacing meat with highly processed fake meat like veggie hot dogs, burgers, lunch “meat”, etc. Try to stick to real foods that are closest to their natural state as possible.

If you are interested in trying to cut back on meat, here are a few tips and recipes to get you started:

  • Go meatless at least one day per week.
  • Think of meat as a side dish instead of the main entree.
  • Replace some of the meat in a recipe with chopped mushrooms. Mushrooms impart unami flavor similar to that of meat.
  • Use beans or lentils in place of some or all of the meat in a recipe.
  • Try fish. Just try to find sustainable choices that are caught from / raised in a good environment.
  • Substitute chopped or shredded veggies for some of the meat in dishes using ground meat (like meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, burgers, etc.).
  • Try tofu or tempeh if you are open to using soy products.
  • Substitute higher protein grains (like barley, bulgar, farro, and quinoa) for some of the meat in dishes.
  • Make soup. Use a small amount of meat and then beans, veggies, and grains to round it out.
  • Have fun and experiment with new recipes! You are certain to find some you like!

(Note: Most of the recipes below are vegetarian or vegan but would also taste great with small amounts of meat added – especially for those who are hesitant to go meatless at first.)

Check out lots more great recipes on my Pinterest page.

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