Leanne Ward, Dietitian and Nutritionist
Follow me on Instagram: @the_fitness_dietitian
Listen to my free podcasts:
- Nutrition Couch Podcast
- The Leanne Ward Nutrition Podcast
There has been a lot of research that looks at the best diets in the world and when it comes to health and longevity long term. The Mediterranean diet consistently comes out on top as it prioritises fruits and vegetables, fish, poultry, dairy, whole grains, legumes, and healthy fats like salmon, avocado, nuts, and olive oil. It has little red meat or sugar and is focused mostly on whole foods.
While wonderful for our health, many people find it hard to stick to a diet as such or eating principles that are far removed from what they currently do. If you enjoy eating meat regularly, it will be difficult to stick to a Mediterranean diet consistently but all is not lost. The flexitarian diet is a style of eating that helps people gain the benefits of more plant-forward eating while still enjoying animal products in moderation. It is easy to blend the principles of a Mediterranean diet, a vegetarian diet, and some meat-based meals as well as using the flexitarian diet approach. Soul Origin is the perfect meal alternative if you don’t feel like cooking but you want to stick to a more flexitarian eating style. When it comes to flexitarian diets, there are no rules. However, a few plant-based meals alongside some vegetarian ones are recommended. Wholefoods are also recommended over ultra-processed foods as is limiting alcohol and added sugars.
You can find several tasty and nutritious options at Soul Origin that make flexible eating a breeze. Soul Origin’s Falafel Salad range, including the new variant green pea, is the perfect meal, and what’s more, you can add more diversity to your meal by pairing it with Soul Origin’s beetroot salad too.
Below are my 5 top tips for adopting a flexitarian style of eating that will benefit your health and your digestion too.
The majority of Australians don’t achieve the recommended fruit or vegetable intake each day. If you want to focus on good health, start here. Rather than thinking we need to remove things from our diet for good health, we want to focus on what we can actually add in. A serve of fruit is roughly 150g or 1 medium piece of fruit or 2 small pieces. Healthy adults want to aim for 2 serves of fruit a day. A serve of vegetables is roughly 75g or ½ cup of cooked vegetables or 1 cup of salads. Healthy adults want to aim for 5 serves a day. This can be difficult to achieve just at dinner so you want to spread recommended amount this through your lunches and potentially even breakfast too if it allows.
If you head into your local Soul Origin, you might want to sample the traditional falafel wrap and add a side salad to it which will increase your vegetable intake and also add bulk to your meal to keep you fuller for longer.
If the family isn’t on board with a full vegetarian diet, a great way to gradually adopt more plant-based meals is to try something like Meatless Mondays. Choose a dish you would normally make and then try to make it vegetarian. Your favourite Pad Thai can easily get a makeover using marinated tofu instead of chicken. Any curry can be bulked out with chickpeas or kidney beans instead of meat or chicken.
Soul Origin has a wide range of meatless options for you to choose from. If you’re busy and looking for a grab-and-go option from the shops, why not try the Buffalo Falafel slaw from Soul Origin with an extra serve of veggies from the bocconcini salad.
When it comes to health and gut health, one of the single best things we can do is increase the diversity in our diet. To do this, not only do we need to eat more plants, we need to eat different varieties of them too. Not only are plants packed full of fibre, but they also contain other essential nutrients and help to fill us up as well.
A plant is considered one of the following in its wholefood form; fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains such as rolled oats or brown rice, nuts, and seeds. Points are given for each different variety or type of plant so if you eat a red capsicum and a green capsicum, you get 2 plant points. If you eat almonds and cashews, you get 2 plant points rather than just 1 if you only ate almonds. Your goal is to get 30+ plant points a week. Refined versions of plants don’t count so ditch the juice and corn chips and stick to the wholefood form like fresh fruit or a cob of corn the majority of the time.
The best options from Soul Origin if you're looking for plant-based diversity are: Buffalo Falafel slaw, the Chicken Avocado Salad, the Greek Salad, and the Chicken Schnitzel Salad.
Reducing meat portions in your meals and adding beans and legumes instead saves a lot of money in the weekly grocery shop. This doesn’t mean we have to give up mince in our favourite spaghetti bolognese, simply just reduce the portion. If you usually use 500g of mince to cook spaghetti bolognese for the family, use only 250g instead and throw in 2 tins of beans as well to bulk it out. Not only is this better for the budget, but it’s also better for your health long term and adds extra fibre to the meal which helps digestion and the feeling of fullness. The family is more likely to “accept” this meal as it’s only a slight variation to their favourite meal (half mince, half beans) instead of changing it completely (no mince at all).
The options with added legumes available from Soul Origin are: the traditional falafel wrap and Salad, the Green Pea Falafel Salad/Wrap, the Buffalo Falafel slaw, and the Falafel Salad.
Try to recreate the family’s favourite takeaway options so you’re saving money and improving your health. Takeaway is often quite expensive and often lacks quality, nutritious ingredients. Instead of fish and chips, make your own grilled fish, cook up chips in the air fryer, and load up on some colourful veggies. Instead of a burger and fries, make your own lean beef burger with some added lentils for fibre and a mix of sweet potato, white potato, and zucchini chips baked in the oven. Pizza is a great option to make yourself and there is a growing range of high-protein pizza bases in the supermarket meaning you can load up on the veggies and cheese whilst still achieving a high protein intake and following the principles of a Flexitarian Diet. If you’re time-poor, pick up some chicken strips from the supermarket and oven-bake them, and add to them, A big side salad from Soul Origin such as the Bocconcini Salad, the Falafel Salad, or the Greek Salad. This is an easy 10-minute lunch or dinner that the whole family will love.
