Reducing the amount of animal protein you eat is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. But if you grew up in a meat-and-potatoes household, a vegan – or even vegetarian – diet might seem a bit out of reach.
The good news? You can significantly reduce your individual carbon footprint without cutting out animal products completely!
To celebrate Earth Month, Registered Dietitian Ann Kent joins us from Peas and Hoppiness to share a few easy meal planning tips to create a Flexitarian meal plan for your family!
A flexitarian meal plan is a plant-forward alternative to a strict vegan or vegetarian diet.
It’s also called a “semi-vegetarian” meal plan because it includes some animal proteins like meat and dairy, but in much smaller amounts than the typical Western diet.
Learn more about the Flexitarian diet and find some simple tips to get started.
#1 Flexitarian Meal Planning Tip: Use your Schedule to Make your Meal Plan
If meal plans haven’t worked in the past, I want you to know: it’s not you. It’s the PLAN.
The truth is, only YOU can make your family’s meal plan.
Why? Because it must work with your schedule, your taste preference, and your cooking ability. And only YOU know those things well enough to create a plan that will work.
Learn our easy 3-step process that has helped hundreds of busy families find their rhythm of meal planning. It makes life SO much easier!
Grab the meal planning template, your calendar, and a cup of coffee – and let’s talk about what to put on your flexitarian meal plan.
Start your Flexitarian Meal Plan with Meatless Mondays
The best way to start following a flexitarian meal plan is to pick just ONE day or one meal to eat plant-based foods.
Once you’ve written out your schedule on your meal planning template and have planned which days you want to cook, decide which of those days you want to make a vegetarian or vegan meal.
The biggest mistake to avoid is to completely change how you’re eating now.
Stick with your usual meals most of the time and start adding in plant-based meals and snacks one at a time.
Think of it this way: if you try just ONE new vegetarian meal each week, a year from now you’ll have 50 new plant-based meals that you know how to cook! Little changes go a long way.
Which Vegetarian Recipes are Best for Beginners?
As you start to add in new meals you haven’t made before, it can feel overwhelming to know where to begin.
To choose the best vegetarian recipes for beginners, make sure to pick well-written recipes and ones that sound good to you!
Choose Well-Written Vegetarian Recipes
As a dietitian, I’ve worked with dozens of clients who *think* they’re not a good cook. But as a meal planning professional who writes and tests recipes for a living, I can tell you this isn’t true…
If a meal doesn’t turn out well, it’s not you – it’s the recipe!
That’s why you MUST choose a recipe from a source you trust when you’re learning a new way to cook.
Sure, Google and Pinterest will give you lots of ideas – but just because it’s on the internet, it doesn’t mean it’s a good recipe.
A good recipe is:
Easy to understand, even if you’re not a professional chef
Clearly written with description of how the recipe should look at each step
Has ingredients you can find in any grocery store
Pick a recipe from a source you trust so your recipe (and evening) will go smoothly.
Choose Vegetarian Recipes that Sound Good to You!
Just because all your vegan friends are telling you to eat tempeh doesn’t mean you have to start there (although if want to, this Vegan Yakisoba Noodle Recipe is delicious!).
There are plenty of plant-based recipes to choose from, so start with flavors you love!
Shifting toward a plant-forward lifestyle is great for so many reasons – the environment, your health, and even your pocketbook! But when you’re busy it can be hard to get started.
Premium subscribers to our meal planning app get a new menu every week which is planned seasonally and provides you a nutritionally balanced flexitarian eating plan.
You even get options for vegetarian or vegan meals, so you can shift towards a plant-based diet as quickly or as slowly as you like.
Customize your menu each week by deleting recipes you don’t need, substituting recipes from our database of 800+ options, and adjust servings to feed more or fewer people. Your changes automatically update a grocery list for you to save you tons of time and money at the store!
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The most important thing to remember when transitioning to a flexitarian eating pattern is to do what you can – not to worry about being perfect. If we all make a few small changes, it makes a big difference!
Having a well-stocked pantry and a comprehensive flexitarian pantry guide that supports your dietary goals is essential to having a balanced flexitarian lifestyle.
In this Flexitarian Pantry Guide, we’ll explore the essential ingredients that every flexitarian kitchen should have, ensuring you’re ready to create nutritious and satisfying dishes whenever hunger strikes.
Whole Grains
Whole grains like quinoa, rice, and farro provide essential carbohydrates and fiber for energy and satiety.
I also enjoy grains fortified with protein, high-protein rice, protein pancake mixes, and high-protein cereals.
(I am not affiliated with any of these brands, I just love them!)
Legumes
Dried legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, and black beans are versatile sources of plant-based protein, perfect for hearty soups, stews, and curries. I also love and keep canned beans and lentils on hand for convenient protein boosts in salads, tacos, and wraps.
Some legumes I like to have on hand include:
Chickpeas
Black Beans
Pinto Beans
Cannellini beans
Butter Beans (also known as Lima Beans)
Mung beans
Red Lentils
Brown Lentils
Nuts and Seeds
Almonds, walnuts, and cashews add crunch and healthy fats to meals, while also offering a dose of protein. Seeds like chia, flax, and pumpkin seeds are nutritional powerhouses, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and minerals. And don’t forget about nut and seed butter!
Some of my favorite Nuts and Seeds include:
Peanuts (technically a legume)
Almonds
Cashews
Walnuts
Pecans
Hazelnuts
Pine nuts
Hemp Hearts
Chia Seeds
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
Flax Seeds
Plant-Based Proteins
Stock up on plant-based proteins for versatile meat substitutes that can be used in stir-fries, sandwiches, and more.
My new favorite way to prepare tofu is to freeze it and then thaw it out in the fridge. Once thawed the liquid squeezes out very quickly with some towels and just pressing it between your hands! Then just toss it in some marinade and throw it in the air fryer. The texture changes and the tofu sucks up all the flavor from the marinade.
Some of my favorite plant-based proteins include:
Baked Tofu
Firm or Extra Firm Tofu
Silken Tofu
Tempeh
Tempeh “bacon”
Tofurkey
Canned, Frozen, and Dried Produce
If loading your fridge with a colorful array of fresh fruits and vegetables, seems like a lot at the moment, try frozen or canned. Keep your freezer stocked with frozen fruits and veggies for quick and easy meal prep without sacrificing nutrition.
Canned
Corn
Peas
Green Beans
Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Butternut Squash
Tomatoes
Frozen
Broccoli (the best in soups!)
Mixed Vegetable Medleys
Riced Cauliflower
Spinach
Kale
Peas and Corn (listing these again because I ALWAYS have these in my freezer)
Dried
Mushrooms
Spicy Peppers
Herbs and Spices
Try cooking with a diverse selection of herbs and spices, including basil, oregano, cilantro, cumin, curry powders, paprika, and turmeric. Experimenting with different spice blends adds depth and complexity to your flexitarian meals.
Right now, in my spice drawer I have:
Freshly ground cumin
Turmeric
Chili powder
Ginger Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika (many types)
Italian seasoning
Basil
Chives
Dill
Oregano
Celery Seed
(I actually have a lot more than this but you get the idea!)
Citrus
Having citrus on hand can add lots of flavor to dishes. Don’t want to hold onto fresh ingredients, try the refrigerated bottles of lemon or lime juice. It’s not quite as tasty as fresh but is still an excellent addition to soups, salad dressings, grain bowls, and proteins.
Some Citrus I like to have in my citrus bowl include:
Lemon
Lime
Oranges
Healthy Oils and Vinegars
Choose heart-healthy oils for cooking meals, making dressings, and mixing marinades. Don’t forget to stock up on your favorite vinegar to add acidity and brightness to your dishes.
Oils:
Avocado Oil
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Vinegars:
Balsamic Vinegar
Champagne Vinegar
White Vinegar (the best for making pickles!)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Whole Food Sweeteners
Keep dried fruits like on hand to add sweetness and texture to baked goods and desserts. Moreover, bananas make for excellent sweet ingredients for smoothies, desserts, and “nice” creams.
My faves:
Dates
Cranberries
Golden Raisins
Pineapple (the best for a post workout snack)
Mango
Apples
Watermelon (my favorite summer camping snack!)
Specialty Ingredients
Explore the world of specialty ingredients to add depth and umami to your dishes. Furthermore, experiment with other ingredients to infuse your meals with international flavors.
Some of my faves:
Hot sauce (I have at least 5)
Nutritional yeast (amazing on popcorn)
Tahini (great for sauces like my Spicy Tahini Noodles recipe)
Miso paste
Soy sauce
Curry paste
Coconut milk
Fish Sauce (not plant based but flexitarian approved)
Oyster Sauce (not plant based but flexitarian approved)
Sauerkraut
Kimchi (I make mine from scratch!)
In Conclusion
By stocking your flexitarian pantry with these essential ingredients, you’ll be well-equipped to create a diverse range of delicious and nutritious meals that celebrate the abundance of plant-based foods while allowing for occasional indulgences in animal products.
Did I forget anything? Add your favorite flexitarian pantry staple in the comments!
Like This Article?! Check Out These Other Flexitarian Articles
Are you looking for easy and healthy recipes that are loaded with veggies? Here is my collection of veggie packed recipes that are flexitarian, tasty, and healthy. These dishes include appetizers, sides, salads, soups, and entrees!
As a flexitarian, following a plant-centered diet is a lifestyle that allows for flexibility in occasional meat consumption. These dishes are full of fiber and protein, essential components of a balanced diet. Consuming adequate amounts of both fiber and protein can support digestive health, promote muscle growth and repair, and contribute to satiety.
13 Veggie Packed Flexitarian Recipes
Below are 13 recipes that will boost your vegetable intake and enhance your diet with nutrients!
01/13 Cowboy Caviar
Cowboy caviar can be eaten as an appetizer served with tortilla chips, as a side dish, or as a main meal. When eating this as my main, I’ll top it with some grilled chicken or air fryer tofu for an extra protein boost.
One of my favorite weekend meals is Avocado Toast! The avocado has healthy fats which can help lower cholesterol levels. Plus, ½ an avocado has a whopping 5 grams of fiber! Paired with a couple of eggs and some whole-grain bread you have a filling and nutritious breakfast, brunch, or really any meal!
One of my favorite ways to enjoy some butternut squash is in a risotto or pasta dish. The butternut squash is subtly sweet, nutty, and creamy. This dish is wonderful when the weather starts to turn colder and the farmer’s markets are full of butternut squash!
Quinoa is a super grain containing all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete protein. Quinoa Salads and grain bowls are a valuable addition to a balanced diet.
I like Air Fryer Frozen Brussel Sprouts as an appetizer or side dish. I especially love this dish around the Holiday Season. It frees up oven space but using the air fryer and it is ready in under 30 minutes!
I like to use cauliflower rice in my bean-filled vegetable chilis. Every time I bring this dish to a potluck it is mistaken for a meat-based chili! The cauliflower mimics the texture of the ground beef.
You can use whatever ancient grains you like in this dish. From quinoa to amaranth to farro pick your grain and enjoy. I like to make a batch of ancient grains as a meal prep then I can enjoy grain bowls for lunch all week long.
Another popular recipe on The Addy Bean is my Arugula Salad with Cottage Cheese. This salad has fresh arugula, juicy tomatoes, and creamy cottage cheese. This salad is best eaten during tomato season when the farmers market is spilling out with fresh garden tomatoes!
This Butter Bean Curry uses two types of legumes. First, you cook the lentils in the crushed tomatoes and veggie broth. Then you mix in big creamy butter beans during the last steps of cooking. Top this with fresh lime, creamy coconut milk or yogurt, and fresh herbs for a warm and cozy curry dish.
The No-Stress Way to Eat More Plants (Without Giving Up Meat)
The Flexitarian Diet is gaining momentum among individuals seeking a less rigid approach to vegan and vegetarianism. The Flexitarian Diet also referred to as a semi-vegetarian diet, emphasizes the consumption of minimally processed plant-based foods. It is gaining recognition for its potential to enhance human health, lessen environmental impact, and result in cost savings.
In the U.S. News Best Diets 2024 rankings, the Flexitarian diet secured the top spot in the Best Plant-Based Diets category(1). As expected, it also claimed the second position in the Easiest Diets to Follow category(1). Suggesting the Flexitarian lifestyle is less rigid (or more flexible) and helps people sustain it.
This is probably due to the absence of strict rules or eliminations in the Flexitarian diet, allowing considerable flexibility for adjustments in line with an individual’s lifestyle objectives.
Individualizing Your Flexitarian Diet
Research indicates that beyond achieving targeted weight loss, incorporating more plant-based foods and reducing meat or animal product consumption can enhance overall health outcomes (2-3). This includes reducing the risk of conditions like type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (2-3). Moreover, Flexitarian diets reduce meat consumption, and this lifestyle is considered planet and budget-friendly.
If you decide to move toward a Flexitarian lifestyle, consider reflecting on your current diet and ask yourself why you are interested in this lifestyle shift. From semi-vegan to semi-vegetarian to semi-pescatarian, the Flexitarian lifestyle empowers individuals to customize their approach according to their specific goals.
The Flexitarian Guidelines
The Flexitarian Guidelines are simple and as follows:
Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
Incorporate lots of non-meat proteins such as:
Semi-vegan: beans, peas, nuts, and seeds
Semi-vegetarian: the above plant-based proteins but also include eggs and dairy.
Semi-pescatarian: similar to a semi-vegetarian, but it also includes seafood.
Reduce meat portions and frequency of foods such as chicken, pork, and beef.
Limit consumption of added sugars and highly processed foods.
Examples of Mindful Meat Consumption
Mindful meat consumption can mean different things to different people.
Person A might aim to consume 6-8 meatless meals per week, while another avoids purchasing meat at home or out at restaurants, but will dive right into their grandmother’s classic Roast Turkey at Thanksgiving.
Whatever the flexitarian lifestyle looks like, the outcome is the same. Direct your diet to obtain more protein from non-meat sources.
Setting Yourself Up For Success
A poorly planned Vegan, Vegetarian, or Flexitarian diet may be low in nutrients such as protein, iron, vitamin D, and calcium. However, the position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics reports a well-designed lifestyle can avoid those deficiencies (4).
Especially, because unlike strict Vegans and Vegetarians, Flexitarians can meet their needs for protein with occasional animal-based protein sources such as meat and milk.
Here are a few tips for success in a balanced Flexitarian diet:
Incorporate protein powders and other nutritional supplements, such as Vitamin D, as needed.
There are seemingly infinite books and resources on the internet geared toward plant-based eating! Just check out Google, Pinterest, and even social media channels like TikTok and Instagram.
I have included a list of some of my favorite resources below.
Clem, J., & Barthel, B. (2021). A Look at Plant-Based Diets. Missouri Medicine, 118(3), 233–238.
Ferguson, J. J., Oldmeadow, C., Mishra, G. D., & Garg, M. L. (2022). Plant-based dietary patterns are associated with lower body weight, BMI, and waist circumference in older Australian women. Public Health Nutrition, 25(1), 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021003852
Melina, V., Craig, W., & Levin, S. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970–1980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.09.025
I am a registered dietitian training for the Willamette Valley Marathon, and I drink a protein smoothie almost daily.
Smoothies are a convenient and versatile way to supplement the diet when nutrient needs are increased. Nutrient needs increase in many situations such as when training for a marathon or other endurance sports, healing from surgery, suffering from an illness that has resulted in weight loss, loss of muscle mass, or malnutrition.
There are so many ways in which a smoothie can help individuals with their nutrition and wellness goals. But, I find many people do not know how to consistently make nutritious AND delicious smoothies.
Learning About How to Make A Smoothie
Fruit Smoothies and other nutritional supplements can be a vital tool in helping individuals reach their wellness fitness, and HEALING goals. Healthy living is so much more than what you see in the mirror or on the scale. So, no matter the reason for your smoothie making, there is no need to make something that you can barely choke down!
That is why I decided to write this article on how to make a smoothie. Below, I will guide you on the ins and outs of how to make a fantastic smoothie. I’ll review my blueprint for amazing smoothies, how to make amazing smoothies, smoothie-making tips, and a little more about why supplementing the diet with a smoothie can help endurance athletes meet their nutrition and race day goals.
The Ingredients: Smoothies
My Basic Smoothie Blueprint has four categories, Liquid, Fruits/Veggies, Flavor, and Other. You can find many ingredient examples in the infographic below. However, let me explain why these are my four blueprint categories.
Liquid – The liquid serves as the foundation of the smoothie. It enables the ingredients to blend into a smooth beverage. Liquids can include juices like apples, pineapple, and orange juice or milk like oat milk, soy milk, or cow’s milk.
Fruits/Veggies – Incorporating fruits and vegetables into your smoothie adds nutrition while also adding bulk and flavor to the blended beverage.
Flavor – To further enhance the flavor, I’ll add various combinations of ingredients to my smoothies.
Examples:
Green Juice Smoothie: I add ginger and lemon juice to create fresh flavors with a bit of zing and zest. These two ingredients complement the green goodness of the smoothie.
Almond Joy Smoothie: For a delightful smoothie reminiscent of the classic Almond Joy, I add dates, coconut, and cocoa powder. This combination brings together sweet, coconutty, and chocolate flavors.
Other – To enhance the nutritional profile of my smoothies, I often supplement them with a little something extra. Sometimes I add fiber, sometimes I add protein, and sometimes I add a bit of both!
The Steps to Making a Fantastic Smoothie
Making a fantastic smoothie does not need to be complicated. Below are my steps in creating my smoothie creations.
First, choose and gather the ingredients.
Second, add the ingredients to a blender, starting with liquids. Blend until smooth.
Check consistency. If the smoothie is too thick, add more liquid.
If it’s too thin, add more frozen fruit or ice cubes.
Third, taste and adjust your smoothie creation. To this, taste a small amount of the smoothie and adjust flavors as needed, i.e. add vanilla extract for a touch more flavor.
Smoothie Making Tips
Below are several tips I find helpful when creating fantastic smoothies.
Use ripe flavorful fruits: If it doesn’t taste good outside of the smoothie it won’t taste as good inside the smoothie either.
Add texture and protein: To make the smoothie more interesting and satisfying.
Use a powerful blender: A powerful blender helps ensure lump-free smoothies.
Easy cleanup: Rinse the blender immediately after blending for easy cleanup
Troubleshooting: Forgoing foamy smoothies with bananas, healthy fats, and frozen fruit.
Bananas help reduce foam in smoothies.
Incorporating healthy fats like nut butter or full-fat yogurt can help prevent foam.
Using frozen fruit instead of ice creates a creamier texture.
Like This Article? Check Out These Smoothie Recipes!
Below are a few other educational articles and smoothie recipes
