Here are a few tips to introduce you to the wonderful world of flexitarians:
1. Swap Half the Meat for Beans.
Decrease the meat in your meals by half and swap in plant proteins such as black beans, pinto beans, white beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans and lentils. One ounce of meat is roughly equivalent to 1/4 cup of beans.
2. Add in Foods that are Filling.
One of the reasons that people tend to miss meat protein so much is that meat makes them feel full and satisfied. To get that feeling with less meat, add filling foods such as whole grain breads and bananas.
3. Explore Vegetarian Foods in Restaurants.
Chances are if it's on the menu, it's a proven winner. So restaurants are a good place to discover great vegetarian foods that you can create at home.
4. Find One New Meat Free Dish You Like Every Week.
If you can just discover one thing that you like every week, in a couple of months you'll have a stockpile of meat-free dishes that you look forward to eating.
5. Make a Commitment to one Meat-Free Day a Week.
Wait at least a month to do this. Rushing into meatless meals is a primary reason that flexitarian diets fail. You are probably already having a meat-free breakfast, the next step is a meat-free lunch, and the big step is a meat-free dinner.
6. Think of Meat as a Condiment.
On a flexitarian diet, meat doesn't disappear, but it doesn't occupy a significant amount of space on your plate anymore. Your stomach will tell you the minimum amount of meat you need. If you feel bloated and slightly nauseous after a meal, add in more meat next time.
7. You Don't Have to Eat Nuts and Berries.
Eating less meat doesn't mean that you need to take a basket into the woods for ingredients. It's not necessary to go organic, eliminate sweets, or forego a glass of wine with dinner. The flexitarian diet is about eating less meat. Period.
8. Don't Be Discouraged.
If you've been eating meat your entire life and your ultimate goal is to eliminate it, you may not be able to. Some people are just wired to be meat eaters. The goal is just to cut back consistently.
9. Buy a Flexitarian Cookbook
The new classic is Dawn Jackson Blatner's book, The Flexitarian Diet. It's available at Amazon for about $12. Most libraries also have books on the subject. While you can download recipes online, there's nothing like drooling over full color pages in a book. Also, you can bring the book with you to the grocery store.
10. Keep Trying
If you need to take a break and go back to your carnivorous ways for a while, it's not a big deal. Later on you might regroup and try again, or you may not. Even if you give up, the fact that you tried will make you more mindful of your meat choices for the rest of your life-and this is a good thing.
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