Looking to be kinder to your body, your wallet and the planet by embracing a plant-based diet, but not ready to give up the occasional hamburger or Sunday roast? Flexitarianism could be your answer.
Flexitarianism – that is, flexible vegetarianism – is growing in popularity. So what’s the skinny?
What’s a Flexitarian anyway?
A flexitarian diet is primarily plant-based but comes with a bit of room for meat and animal products on occasion. This makes it more flexible (see what they did there?) that your classic vegetarian or vegan diets.
The benefits of a flexitarian diet
- Flexitarianism’s simple, straightforward, relatively rule-free approach makes this diet pretty sustainable compared to other diets
- More plant-based diets tend to be easier on your wallet than meat-heavy ones
- Reducing your meat consumption is better for the planet too. You’ll also be decreasing greenhouse emissions as well as land and water use
- You can take an ‘eat less, eat better’ approach, spending a little extra on the meat you do eat to ensure the animal in question was as ethically raised, caught and killed as possible
- By basing your meals on fruit and veg and indulging in other stuff only occasionally, there’s a good chance you’ll shift a few kilos if you need to
- Plant-based diets that cut out a big chunk of the processed crap, sugar and fat have been linked to a range of health benefits. These types of diets might reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers
Ultimately, we like this diet as it embraces a lot of our core principles for healthy eating. Anything that bases meals around plants, avoids ultra-processed crap, and doesn’t’ beat anyone up for enjoying the stuff they like within moderation, sounds pretty good to us!