[From Homepage] More or less meatless: Or, how I became a flexitarian

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By Erin Fagan (efa23)

[caption id="attachment_923" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Grilled eggplant and sautéed kale with Lebanese garlic sauce
garnished with stuffed pattypan squash[/caption]

Aside from my ardent declarations of love for bacon, I usually keep my eating habits private. I don't run around telling people what I will and won't eat as a matter of courtesy. If you invite me to dinner, I'll eat just about anything you put in front of me. So when I finally do get to choose what I would like to eat and ask for a vegetarian meal, some of my associates are often puzzled. "When did you become a vegetarian?" is a common question I hear. I usually have to correct people. "I'm not a vegetarian; I'm a flexitarian." Inevitably, this revelation is met by a puzzled expression. So I explain.

I also consider myself a flexitarian for health reasons. I try to only eat meat and dairy once a day, and when I do it is often not the central ingredient, rather used to add flavor. For example, I'd make a cassoulet with beans and a green vegetable like spinach or kale, and use a small amount of pork to flavor the whole dish. These are the kinds of foods which you can eat as much as you want, feel fully satiated, and not worry in the least that you will gain fat. It helps that I love the flavor of vegetables, and don't really see it as "giving anything up". In fact, it makes it even better when I do go out for ribs...

Another wrinkle is that I'm a weight lifter. People think you need meat, and excess protein to build muscle. The truth is that it's not necessary, especially for someone who is just doing it solely to stay in shape.

I think this topic is in the wrong forum. That being said I've added the amount of (pastured) meat I eat, and reducing grains and legumes for health reasons. The idea that going meatless is good for health is based on a few flawed studies, but I guess believing that will help keep meat prices down. YMMV.

In college, I was a weekday vegetarian, mainly because the meat was so awful in the cafeteria, especially when you arrive at the end of the meal time. I could probably give up steaks and roasts, but would have a hard time giving up the least healthy meats: bacon, sausage, burgers.

But the term flexitarian reminds me of Jane from BBC's Coupling:

Jane: Could you remind lovely Susan that Jill and I are vegetarian?
Steve: You're what?
Jill: You're not a vegetarian!
Jane: I'm a bi-vegetarian!
Jill: What? That doesn't exist! It's not possible!
Jane: I'm an emotional vegetarian, Jill. I know a lot of vegetarians and we tend to like the same films.

This is a great article and generally mirrors my approach to eating meat and veggies. BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE, THAT EGGPLANT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FRIED. Does anyone know how to cook eggplant?

Toum looked good, though.

I did a beautiful baked eggplant the other day, and I love grilled eggplant. It doesn't have to be fried to be quite wonderful.

Hi- She is not advocating that everybody give up meat, only that they consume it less often. This is my philosophy, and I try to consume red meat only occasionally, because I have a really high incidence of colon cancer in my family, but for people that do not have such a family history, I could understand why you have no qualms about eating red meat. Nutrition Action just had an article last month about why people should eat less meat. I do eat red meat occasionally, but only in small amounts.

One thing I have noticed is that no matter what your view is, you can find somebody to back you up. The Cattleman's Association can come up with studies that back the premise that red meat is good for you, and PETA can also come up with studies that back up the premise that meat is bad for you.

I feel better when I don't eat a lot of meat, and when I do have poultry, I tend to add a small amount to a soup or stir fry, instead of sitting down to a meal of fried chicken,