what is flexitarian food

The flexitarian diet is a flexible eating style that emphasizes the addition of plant-based foods and beverages while allowing room for meat from time to time. It is a combination of the words "flexible" and "vegetarian" and is a cross between full vegan and vegetarian with the ability to enjoy animal products every so often. The flexitarian diet is a semi-vegetarian, plant-forward diet that incorporates dairy and eggs and allows room for meat from time to time. The emphasis on plant foods is thought to contribute to the health benefits associated with a vegetarian diet without requiring compliance to the dietary rules of 100%-vegetarian or vegan diets. The flexitarian diet encourages limiting ones intake of saturated fat, added sugars, and sodium. The diet is listed on U.S. News Best Diet Rankings as the #2 Best Diet Overall, falling just behind the Mediterranean diet. Some benefits of the flexitarian diet include decreased risk of heart disease, weight loss, decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes or management of pre-diabetes, and it may help prevent cancer. The flexitarian diet allows for flexibility, which may be appealing to some who are looking for a path to improved health that has fewer rigid rules. Foods to eat regularly include plant proteins such as soybeans, tofu, tempeh, legumes, and lentils, non-starchy vegetables such as greens, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, green beans, and carrots, starchy vegetables such as winter squash, peas, corn, and sweet potato, fruits such as apples, oranges, berries, grapes, and cherries, and whole grains such as quinoa, teff, buckwheat, and farro.