Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

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What is Flexitarianism?

What is flexitarianism?  Flexitarianism is a diet which is mostly vegetarian, but doesn’t cut out meat completely, sometimes also known as semi-vegetarian or meat-eating vegetarian.

If this way of eating sounds awfully familiar, you may already be a flexitarian! Many people, perhaps yourself included, already practice a low-meat way of eating without knowing that a term exists for it.  Sometimes it’s really awesome to find out that there’s a term for something you’re already involved in.

Here’s the thing about labels: not everyone with a particular label does things the same way.  Your version of flexitarianism will probably look a lot different than mine and that’s awesome.  My particular breed of flexitarian eating encompasses a lot of things including a love of cooking, an interest in local food and a desire to avoid processed foods as much as possible.  But you can be a flexitarian and not care about any of those things.  Changing your diet can be as easy or as hard as you make it.  Here are 4 tips to help you make the switch:

1.  Make simple substitutions: When I changed to flexitarianism, I started by making just my lunches meat-free.  My dinners (primarily cooked by my mother) stayed the same as they’d been for 23 years.  If you don’t want to be that extreme, try going meatless one day a week a la Meatless Mondays or try some of Dawn Jackson Blatner’s suggested swaps.

flexitarian infographic

2.  Find good produce: It’s a lot easier to eat more vegetables when the vegetables are appealing.  We get most of our produce from our CSA, but you don’t have to.  Check out the different produce departments at local supermarkets, farm markets and health food stores.  Wherever it looks the best, buy it there.  Fresh food that looks delicious is going to be much simpler to integrate into your diet.

fresh produce can make flexitarianism easier

3.  Keep trying: Experiment with different kinds of beans, grains, and vegetables: eating healthier food and trying new things can be difficult.  There’s a lot of choices out there; if you don’t like quinoa, try couscous.  If you don’t like broccoli, try peppers.  There are plenty of healthy vegetarian options that don’t include tofu or tempeh, so keep looking.

vegetarian cookbooks

4.  Get more information: There is no shortage of books, website and blogs on the topic of flexitarianism.  I highly recommend The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner and pretty much anything by Mark Bittman or Michael Pollan for expanding your eating horizons, but any vegetarian cookbook can help you get started with cooking meatless meals.  If you’re more interested in online sources, there are a multitude of vegetarian and semi-vegetarian blogs other there, especially for recipes.  Try Minimalist Baker, Cheap Healthy Good, Herbivoracious, Meatless Monday or Post Punk Kitchen.  I also have a list of my favorite cookbooks.

In the past few years, my eating has alternated between vegetarian and vegan and serious carnivore depending on the season, occasion and my mood, but that’s the beauty of being a flexitarian.  I don’t think full-time vegetarianism is in my future, but that doesn’t mean I can’t eat that way the majority of the time.

Dawn Jackson Blatner infographic used with permission.


Interesting related articles:

The Flexitarian Diet – US News and World Report Best Diets, ranked #3 overall. Lots of information! (2018)

What Does it Mean to Be Flexitarian? 10 Reasons to Try the Diet (PopSugar, 11/2/16) – I was interviewed for this piece!

Meats: A Health Hierarchy (The Atlantic, 7/3/14) – compares the environmental impact of various foods

Going Vegetarian Can Cut Your Diet’s Carbon Footprint in Half (Grist, 6/27/14)

Eat Plants and Prosper: For Longevity, Go Easy on the Meat, Study Says (NPR, 3/5/14)

Plant-based diets: The rise and rise of flexitarian eating (Food Navigator USA, 1/22/14)

Resolve to Lose Weight and Cut Carbon Emissions: Eat Less Beef (Live Science, 1/21/14)

Expert Explains How Flexible Vegetarian Diets Boost Weight Loss by 15 Percent (Examiner, 1/10/14)

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Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

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Just so you know…

I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

Relishments is affiliated with various sponsors. Some product links on this site are affiliates; I may get portion of the sale. All opinions on this site are honest, regardless of revenue opportunities. Find out more about my policies here

relishments

Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
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