FLEXITARIAN DIET

Listening

B2-C1

Watch the video. Are the following statements, True or False?

1. Phoebe started to find out about this type of diet after she was diagnosed with a disease.

2. More people are opting for plant-based diets to prevent diseases.

3. In a flexitarian diet meat is prohibited.

4. Phoebe argues that veganism can become as an unsustainable a diet as any other kinds of diets.

5. Becoming a flexitarian is environmentally friendly and is compatible to being a part-time vegetarian.

6. There is some product placement in the video. Phoebe says she is associated with the brand mentioned.

Transcript

Many health-conscious millennials are turning to a flexitarian diet what is that? you ask well it's a plant-based diet that includes protein but leans away from beef while not eliminating it altogether. Curious? Well, Phoebe Lupine is the author of ‘In the Small Kitchen’ and she joins us now to discuss flexitarian meals.

 Welcome Phoebe, great to have you here. Tell us a little bit about your background how did you discover the flexitarian diet?

 I…so I kind of fell into the food space mainly focusing on a blog that promoted cooking in small spaces with limited resources, be it time, space, money, or scale but I was actually diagnosed with an autoimmune disease a few years ago and that really changed my perspective towards health.

Right

and you know one thing that's becoming increasingly more familiar to people is that plant-based diets are the way to go in terms of long-term health and disease prevention.

Well I think for you know, so many of us have friends who are vegetarians but this is an interesting sort of twist on it and that meat is not prohibited it's just in smaller doses is that right?

Exactly, I mean I think people who choose to go vegan for moral reasons you know, are propelled by something more than just health concerns and if you do it just for health concerns there is no reason why a vegan diet couldn’t become just as unsustainable as any other fad diet, so it's nice to not go all or nothing.

Right, now, just to be clear neither of us are doctors so we can't really talk on the exact health benefits of a flexitarian diet and of course anyone looking to change their diet should discuss it with their physician first, but what are some of the benefits that you've seen of the flexitarian diet?

Um…well there's been a recent study on blue zone populations which are the longest living populations in the world and they’ve found that one commonality is plant-based diets with just a little bit of animal protein thrown into the mix. So, I think that's a huge indicator for a lot of people and I think also there's an environmental aspect, especially for Millennials. I mean we want the environment and the planet to be a beautiful place for our kids to grow up in one day and livestock production is one of the worst things you can do for the environment.

Yeah so, all good factors to consider. And now let's talk about how it tastes and it's great you brought these beautiful 3 dishes with you, how… tell us about these 3 dishes how hard they were to prepare and is this something that you know is reasonable for the hard- working person to come home and make.

Yeah, I think being a part-time vegetarian is totally attainable there's the meatless Monday campaign which has really shown people that you know, small really easy changes can have a huge impact. Also Mark Bittman’s ‘Vegan before 6’ I think it's a great programme and so I've actually bought 3 packable lunches for you today because I think lunchtime is really you know, a meal that you have full control of there aren't a lot of people around the table, you can really brown bag whatever you choose So, tell us about the one closest to you first.

Yes so, they're actually a lot of amazing supermarket meal alternative products now, I brought with me a great brand Gardein that really has the taste and texture of pork beef, chicken, whatever you fancy and so these are B. B. Q. pulled pork packets and if you don't cook you can just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven and enjoy with some greens and then this is a Moroccan red lentil soup. Lentils are great plant-based protein and then we have some red quinoa salad with roasted vegetables.

 I'm just gonna have to taste yeah so god I just need a bite it is lunch time this is lunch break, what is the cream in there?

That’s a tahini sauce and then on the side are the Gardein 7 grain chicken tenders which have fooled my boyfriend on more than one occasion who’s not as enthusiastic a flexitarian as I am. 

Slightly less of a flexitarian, that's the beauty of the flexitarian, right? a lot of flex in there. So are you associated with the Gardein brand or  you were? 

No I'm just enthusiastic I mean back in the day used to just be able to get you know, veggie hot dog or veggie burger and I think it's great for people who aren't straight up vegan and so you know want to enjoy things like chicken fingers and crab cakes…

You know, I’ve realized  I think I am just a flexitarian in general because I do like meat but a little bit of meat and not a lot, I love veggies so I think it's a it's a great diet to adopt, perfect thank you so much.

Great! thank you!

Answers: 1T, 2T, 3F, 4T, 5T, 6F