Everything you ever wanted to know about the flexitarian diet

The Flexitarian Diet, founded by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, is exactly what it sounds like: flexible and mostly vegetarian. Rather than avoiding complete food groups altogether, Blatner recommends eating more meals filled with whole grains, legumes, fruits, veggies, and nuts. The term “flexitarian” has been around since the 1990s and was named The Most Useful Word of 2003 by the American Dialect Society.

Blatner describes the Flexitarian Diet as the “mostly vegetarian way to lose weight, be healthier, prevent disease and add years to your life”—and there’s evidence to support that claim. People who eat a largely vegetarian diet tend to have a lower risk of many chronic conditions, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Whether you’re already flexing, interested in cutting back your animal protein consumption, or you want to know more about the concept, we’ve got you covered. Read on to learn about the pros and cons of this diet, discover recipe ideas, and more.

The Flexitarian Diet routinely ranks atop several categories in U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Diets rankings. Why? It’s easy to follow compared to other diets and is considered nutritionally safe, meaning it has many potential health benefits and few risks. Going Flexitarian can also help with weight loss and maintenance, and studies suggest it can help to reduce inflammation, as well as the risk for diabetes and heart disease.

While many experts recommend this semi-vegetarian plan, there are a couple of the issues you might notice if you adopt the diet.

You may not get enough of certain nutrients. When a person cuts back on meat and starts eating a largely vegetarian diet, it’s common to miss out on zinc, iron, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin B12. To avoid this pitfall, focus on foods that are rich in these nutrients. Beans and broccoli are good sources of iron, for example, while walnuts are excellent for omega-3 fatty acids.

You can overdo carbs. If you’re used to eating meat regularly, you may get hungrier when you start eating less. To feel fuller, aim to get a good amount protein in each meal. Protein needs differ for everyone, but 10 to 35 percent of your calories should be from protein.

You’ll need to ramp up your meal prepping routine. Meal prepping can help you get enough of the nutrients you need. Since fish, tofu, and beans are going to be your protein mainstays, you’ll want to be more strategic about your Sunday meal prep. These weekly meal prep strategies can help:

• Breakfast: Make a big batch of chia pudding (3 cups almond milk, 1/2 cup of chia seeds, and cinnamon to taste) at the beginning of the week, so all you have to do come 7 a.m. is scoop and enjoy.
• Lunch: Try quinoa bowls with tofu, broccoli, cabbage, and sesame seeds.
• Dinner: Make a big pot of soup using veggie broth, cubed sweet potatoes, kale, ginger, onion, garlic, and the juice from one lime.   
• Snacks: Prep individual-size snacks. Consider satisfying options like hummus with veggies and dried mango or whole-wheat crackers with almond butter.

Though you can have alcohol on the Flexitarian Diet, it’s important to remember that moderation is key. Experts recommend no more than one drink each day for women, and a limit of two drinks for men. One drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.

What will you eat on the Flexitarian Diet? Flexing is all about incorporating these food groups into your meal regimen:

• Plant-based proteins such as tofu, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and eggs
• Fruits and veggies
• Whole grains
• Dairy and dairy alternatives

Poultry, fish, red meat, sweets, and processed foods should be limited.

When following the Flexitarian Diet, you have the ability to choose how vegetarian you really want to be.

“The most important part of flexitarianism is not how many meatless days you have, but how many more vegetarian meals you prepare,” says Blatner. So, depending on the amount of meat you want to eat, you have a few options: 

• Beginner: 2 meatless days a week (which translates to roughly 26 ounces of meat or poultry per week)
• Advanced: 3 to 4 meatless days a week (about 18 ounces of meat or poultry per week)
• Expert: 5 meatless days a week (about 9 ounces of meat or poultry per week)

This is just a place to start. You can start as a beginner eating a few meatless meals and then work your way up to expert once you’re ready. 

Once you’ve decided how many vegetarian meals you’re going to eat over the course of a week, you can start planning out your meals. It’s recommended that you have three meals and two snacks a day. You should also follow the 3-4-5 calorie system: 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch, 500 calories for dinner and 150 calories for each snack. The 1,500-calorie diet is just a suggestion. Calorie needs depend on factors such as how active you are, your height, sex, and weight. Blatner says if needed, you can adjust the calorie count based on those factors to something between 1,200 and 1,800.

The Flexitarian Diet book provides more than 100 recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Here’s one of our favorite recipe lineups:  

• Breakfast: Muesli with apples, almonds, coconut milk, and honey 
• Lunch: Whole-grain wrap with black beans, avocado, salsa, and lime juice   
• Dinner: Stir-fry with brown rice, edamame, ginger, sesame oil, and bell peppers  
• Snack #1: Plain Greek yogurt with 100 percent maple syrup
• Snack #2: Low-cal popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast 

When you start flexing, in addition to well-known plant-based proteins like tofu and tempeh, you might want to embrace meat substitutes such as those made with soy and wheat proteins. These options are technically processed, so it’s better to get a majority of your protein from whole sources like beans. But in a pinch and in moderation, these options can help vary your diet. 

Consider adding soy meatballs to your regular pasta sauce, buffalo “chick’n” tenders on top of a salad toppers, or grilling up a plant-based burger.

Just be selective—some of these pre-packaged options are high in sodium even though you can’t taste it. Always read food labels and pick foods with a low percent daily value (DV) of sodium.

You might know that legumes like chickpeas and black beans are staples of any plant-based diet. Beans are high in protein, minerals, and fiber, and low in saturated fats, which is found in many animal-based products. Studies suggest that making beans a regular part of your diet is linked to a lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. Aim for 3 cups of legumes each week to reap the benefits.  

The Flexitarian Diet considers beans part of the “new meat” food group and encourages you to creatively incorporate kidney beans, peas, lentils, and navy beans into your meals. And you don’t have to eat them plain—black bean and lentil burger patties count, too.

Bean burritos are delicious and easy. Try putting together a whole-grain tortilla with 3/4 cup low-fat or vegetarian refried beans, 3 tablespoons of chopped red pepper, 1 1/2 cups baby spinach, and 1 ounce of cheddar cheese.

Fruits and vegetables are the foundations of any healthy diet. In fact, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal. Fresh produce is a flex-friendly food because the benefits of eating them are endless: Fruits and veggies are low in calories and cholesterol, but full of vitamins A and C, potassium, fiber, and folate. These nutrients help reduce the risk of diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, and certain cancers, and help keep your eyes, skin, and gut healthy, too.

Blatner especially loves leafy greens like spinach, kale, Swiss chard, and romaine. And since you’re going to up your fruit and veggie intake at every meal, try produce you don’t normally buy, like apricots, butternut squash, guava, and turnips.

Another food group that’s on the list: whole grains like barley, corn, oats, quinoa, wheat, brown rice, and whole-grain pasta. Whole grains are touted for reducing the risk of certain types of cancer and helping to regulate your digestive system. Eating them regularly can also help to significantly lower your risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Experts recommend that women eat 5 to 6 ounces of grain foods per day and that men eat 6 to 8. Half of those foods should be 100 percent whole grains, rather than refined grains, which have been processed and lack important nutrients. Refined grains are found in foods like white bread, white rice, and crackers. 

Watch out for products that say “enriched” on the package. It means that the grains have been processed and that some of the beneficial vitamins and minerals, like fiber and iron, were added back in after processing. You want to look for products that say “whole” rather than “enriched.” Whole grains should make up about 25 percent of each of your meals. 

Expert tip: Make a big batch of brown rice, quinoa, or bulgur then freeze it so you have it on hand when you need an easy side dish. 

Animal-based dairy products like milk and cheese are okay on the Flexitarian Diet. But you’re encouraged to try plant-based milks like those made from soy, rice, almond, oats, and coconut. Plant-based milks tend to be free of cholesterol and have little saturated fat, and some (like soy milk) may help to slightly reduce your levels of LDL (aka “bad” cholesterol).  

Look for fortified versions with calcium and vitamin D, since vegetarian eating can often lead to lower levels of these nutrients that help defend against osteoporosis. And be careful about added sugar, too—options labeled “unsweetened” are best. Be sure that your plant-based milk picks meet the following criteria:

• 70 to 80 calories per cup
• 6 to 7 grams of protein per cup
• 30 percent calcium, plus 25 percent vitamin D per cup

Nuts and seeds are also part of the Flexitarian Diet plan. Certain fats in nuts, like polyunsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids, are linked to a lower risk of heart disease. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says some evidence suggests that eating just 1.5 ounces of most nuts per day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.

If you’re planning to snack on them, buy unsalted nuts, or one bag of salted and one bag of unsalted and mix them together. Try almonds, hazelnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin, sesame seeds, and walnuts. If you’re not sure about other ways to use seeds and nuts:

• Sprinkle chia seeds or flaxseeds over your morning oatmeal or smoothie
• Spread nut butters like sunflower and almond on bananas or whole-wheat crackers.

When you become a Flexitarian, all-natural spices and fats are encouraged. Flavor your foods with chili powder, cinnamon, crushed red chili flakes, cumin, Italian seasoning, pumpkin spice, chives, cilantro, ginger, or mint.

When it comes to oils for cooking, try sesame, peanut, olive, flaxseed, sunflower, almond, and walnut—they’re low in saturated and trans fats compared to solid fats, like butter. Real maple syrup is a natural sweetener and can be used on things like pancakes and waffles.  

Make sure your fridge and cabinets are stocked with versatile condiment options, like vinegars, salsas, and low-fat sour cream.

The diet doesn’t specify how many calories you should consume from spices and condiments, but remember that sugar and sodium counts can add up. Be aware of how much of a sauce you’re using and look for options that are lower in sodium and sugar. 

If you want to follow the Flexitarian Diet, you can customize the plan and adjust if you’re not feeling satisfied. Talk to your healthcare provider or nutritionist before trying any new diet to determine whether it’s okay to try.