From Meat Consumer to Flexitarian - How it Happened

First of all, what the heck is a flexitarian??

Before posting this blog post I was looking to see if there was a "term" already created for people who aren't totally big meat consumers anymore, but aren't full-on vegetarian or vegan either.

A flexitarian is someone who is aware of the environmental, ethical and ecological impacts that mass meat production has on the planet and public health.

A flexitarian is simply someone who reduces their meat intake for these reasons, not necessarily removing this food group altogether from their diets.

🙋‍♀️ that's me! I'm a new flexitarian, and I'll tell ya how it happened.

Moving to the country has given us the opportunity to live life a little slower and enjoy the little things. The little things being nature, and in nature there are millions of living beings - like animals. Some are wild and some are farmed.

One day as I was grocery shopping, like usual, picking the meats for the week, and all of a sudden ALL I could picture was a sea of innocent animals who had no choice but to be bread and butchered for MY pleasure 🥺. The minute I started to picture that, the harder it became to buy and eat meat. I was 28 when this realization came to light.

I grew up on meat. Really good meat actually. My dad knew someone who worked on an organic farm, and he'd help him out every now and again and he'd get paid in meats. A few years later though, my mom told me just how expensive it was, even when worked for trade. One year she mentioned to me they almost bought an organic Thanksgiving turkey from him, only to be met with the price tag of 150$.

Daaaaaaamn.

Why do we pay so much to do such harm 🧐? I think it's just embedded in our brains that a proper meal includes meat - which is totally false. Especially now food alternatives have come such a long way, there's a lot of room to play and experiment with, and that's exactly what I've been doing.

When did I know choosing less meat was right for me?

Well as some of you might know, we're trying to make our place more self-sufficient and so raising chickens crossed our minds. Then thought about how to butcher them to eat them... It really makes you think twice about what you're eating and how it's done. Since then, I try to make an effort to buy less meat.

Here are more reasons why eating more vegetarian-like foods are becoming my personal preference:

Saving animals from mass production.
Contributing more toward an eco-friendly planet.
Buying less so those who need it have more access to it.
Eating foods that match my slow metabolism.
My personal desire to bring down the grocery bill. Buying meat alternatives like beans and tofu are significantly cheaper than meat.

Mixed greens from the garden

I still enjoy eating meat from time to time, like chicken, seafood and pork. I would also never NOT eat a meal that was prepared for me, like during the holidays or a family get together. But incorporating vegan meals into my lunches and a few meals during the week, I feel significantly better about the food that I'm eating, where it comes from and how it's made. There's something psychological about it, hands down.

How can I get started?

A lot of folks will tell anyone who's converting to try something simple that's an easy replacement. I think it comes down to your meal prep style, personally. For example, I'm beginning to learn very quickly that anything vegan or vegetarian is taking more prep time than it did with meat or however it was made traditionally. If you're just entering into flexitarianism and don't like spending time in the kitchen, then I would suggest to look at your regular meals and see if anything can be easily converted into something plant-based. Pizza or lasagna might be a fun place to start 😋. Pizza and lasagna are regular weekly meal for us and since I already really enjoy preparing our meals and don't mind spending a few hours in the kitchen, I felt confident in making something fun, that was different, still easy to make and full of flavor. I decided to make my own falafels!

This was such an amazing decision, because it's now part of my regular food roster. They are made from chickpeas and can be prepared in batches, frozen and popped in the toaster oven when you're ready to eat them.

To make them even better, recipes using falafels are absolutely versatile! They've been traditionally used in salads, but they have equally been amazing in wraps and as sandwich smashes.

After getting an initial self-confidence boost from the falafel success, the second recipe conversion I decided to make was my famous hamburgers using black and red beans.

Perfectly deep fried falafels

These can also be prepared in batches, frozen and can be thrown in the oven or even on the BBQ! Yuuusssssss!

Other ways I've been incorporating more plant-based foods in my diet includes more humus and rice to my lunch meals to keep me full until dinner. I've also bought some firm tofu to experiment with and try some protein alternatives. Tofu was also incredibly cheap - not even 3 bucks. Not gonna lie though I'm totally nervous trying it. 😕

How do I incorporate flexitarianism into my diet?

Honestly, that's all the conversion I've done. Most of my lunches are salads, sandwiches or wraps. Sometimes leftovers. I should probably try another switch, like a chicken wing alternative using cauliflower. Perhaps with a really incredibly good seasoning, it'll be enough to fool my brain. To add a layer of complexity (though I'm sure many will resonate) my husband is not on board with flexitarianism. So I try pretty hard in making similar/easy conversions, to avoid making 2 entirely different plates per meal 😅. Who's with me on this one?