Could you be a ‘Flexitarian’?

Meat-eating vegetarians change our society

Recently, I’ve discovered that I’m a flexitarian- and I’ve got lots of company.  The American Dialect Society voted Flexitarian one of 2003’s most useful words and defined it as “a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat”.  A Flexitarian is someone who primarily eats a vegetarian diet and prefers to eat vegetarian foods, but occasionally eats meat for social, nutritional or pragmatic purposes. An example of a Flexitarian is a woman who cooks vegetarian meals at home but chooses to eat meat when she eats out or at a friends house.  Could this woman actually be you?!

 

Lately, vegetarian foods have exploded and conventional food markets have catered to the veggie-burger-eating, soymilk-drinking consumers. Heck, you can even order soy-milk at Starbucks!  However, it’s clear that the rapid growth isn’t due to the escalation of 100% committed vegetarians who make up about 3% of the US population or the 5.7 million people who refuse to eat meat, poultry or seafood entirely. Who could be making such a huge impact on our society and food industry?  According to the co-director of the Baltimore-based Vegetarian Resource Group, Charles Stahler, gives all the credit to flexitarians.

 

 

“This is why Burger King has a veggie burger. It’s not because of us (vegetarians),” he said. “The true vegetarians wouldn’t rush to Burger King anyway. It’s because of those people in the middle. They are the driving audience.”

 

 

Although there’s no way to get an exact flexitarian estimation, Stahler suggests that roughly 30 percent to 40 percent of us occasionally choose vegetarian meals.

 

There’s Room for Flexibility in Disease Prevention

Could it be, that we have a better understanding of the relationship between diet and disease prevention and that’s why more of us are surrendering to flexitarianism?  Whether you make the strict commitment to going entirely meatless or decide to incorporate more vegetarian-base dishes to your menu, any nutritionist will tell you that cutting back your dependence on meat will have a tremendously positive impact on your health. People who eat a plant based diet rich in whole grains, beans, nuts, vegetables and fruits are the leanest people on the planet!  And we must be clear.  When we refer to a plant-based diet, we’re not talking French fries and white bread.  Nonetheless, according to research, the people who eat the most animal-based protein are the fattest – go figure. 

 

The reason for this is pretty straightforward.  Vegetarian or plant-based foods are high in fiber and relatively low in fat.  This is the perfect combination to fill you up and leaving you satisfied, without packing in the calories and pounds.  Meanwhile, animal-foods are low in fiber, take up little room in your stomach and are calorie dense. This, of course, makes it much easier to over-eat.

 

If you want to jump on our flexitarian bandwagon, you’ll probably find yourself feeling better, more satisfied, while including some lean animal protein in your diet. Flexitarian eating is far easier to keep up with than a strictly vegetarian menu. 

 

 

Wok-Fried Tempeh & Vegetables

Tempeh is made from fermented soybeans and has a nutty flavor and a firm meaty texture. Here it's combined with red pepper and snow peas to make a simple and satisfying flexitarian-friendly stir-fry.

1 cup long-grain or brown rice

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon tamarind puree

2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

7 oz (210g) tempeh—cut into small cubes

1 red pepper —julienned

16 snow peas —ends trimmed

2 cloves garlic—finely chopped

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 scallion —thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 tablespoons roughly torn cilantro leaves

COOK the rice. WHILE the rice is cooking, mix together the soy sauce, water and tamarind puree in a small bowl. HEAT the oil in a wok over high heat, add the tempeh, red pepper and snow peas and stir-fry for 5 minutes. ADD the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. ADD the sauce mix, scallion and cilantro and stir-fry for 30 seconds. SERVE with rice.