I've Tried a Flexitarian Diet, and This is What I Think

First of all, I’ve been introduced to flexitarian diet from my friend who is passionate about food, especially vegan meals. Whenever we meet, she always mentions about her vegan/flexitarian diet and shows me photos of her food which looks appetizing. Probably you are thinking, what is flexitarian diet? For those of you who don’t know what flexitarian means, it is a mash up words flexible and vegetarian. Think of it as a casual vegetarian but flexible.

And yes, eventually she convinced me to try out to be a flexitarian. I have tried to be a flexitarian for a period of time. And I could say that it was quite an experience for someone who is new to it. So, I chose two days to have meals without meat (vegan) and the rest as per usual, flexible. Being vegan is not easy for someone who eats meat on a daily basis. Like myself, and where I come from people can’t even spend a day without meat which makes them complain at the end of the day. Born and raised in Mongolia (Ulan-Bator), we always have meat on our dining table. In addition, due to harsh and cold weather (up to -40 degree celsius), meat consumption is important to stay strong and active for Mongolians.

Personally, I really enjoyed making my vegan meals with variety of products. There are tons of vegan recipes on internet which you can find, and it was endless. So, I have searched the recipes I would really enjoy, and the meals turned out perfect and delicious in every way.

Oatmeal

- Half a cup of old-fashioned rolled oats

- 1 ½ cup soy milk or oat milk

- Half a teaspoon cinnamon

- Fresh blueberries

- Almond slices (optional)

1. In a small pot, pour soy milk and rolled oats. Bring it to simmer for 10-13 minutes, while stirring in between with a wooden spoon.

2. Pour it into a bowl and garnish with fresh blueberries, cinnamon and almond slices. 

There are couple of things I realized while experiencing flexitarian diet. The very obvious thing you get to notice is that you don’t feel stuffed on every meal. As well as I felt like I was giving a break for my gut health, actually for my entire body. You know what they say, “Healthy body leads to a healthy mind”. Flexitarian is not a diet at all, but rather a conscious effort to reduce your intake of animal products, to achieve a healthier body and planet. If you have a new year resolution to start a diet for 2021, flexitarian is your go to. Instead of going on a diet which you can never accomplish, you can be flexible on your meals.

As you may already know, if you eat a balanced healthy food on a regular basis, you tend to look and feel your best. In addition, it reduces health risk like heart disease, low blood pressure etc…

Quick Healthy Toasts

- 2 slices of rye bread

- 1 avocado

- Cherry tomatoes

- 5-8 cloves of garlic

- Almond butter

- Salt and pepper

- Red pepper flakes (optional)

- Almond slices (optional)

For the avocado toasts:

1. Cut the avocado into slices.

2. Spread the almond butter on a toast and put the avocado on it.

3. Sprinkle salt, pepper, almond slices and chili flakes.

For the tomato and garlic toast:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare your baking tray with a parchment paper on it. 

2. Place the cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. 

3. Garlic cloves are should be soft to spread on a toast, and then carefully transfer cherry tomatoes. 

4. Sprinkle salt, pepper and chili flakes.

I am a meat-loving enthusiast, so if you are like me, what can we do? The flexitarian diet can be a great alternative to start with. Above recipes are for reference only, you can do your own meals and research, and adjust what suits on your daily diet and lifestyle. Consistency is the key to this, and for the long run, you may achieve more than you think that can help to our planet. 

Enjoy!