The Most Sustainable Diet? What You Need To Know

Introduction

Is there a ‘Most Sustainable Diet’? Let’s find out.

Eating sustainably is a simple term that comes with a lot of associations and caveats. However, there is a huge difference between eating environmentally sustainably and eating sustainably.

Vegan diets have been glamorised for their environmental and ethical focus, as they should be. However, these diets aren’t necessarily sustainable for all.

This can be for a variety of reasons such as:

• Access
• Affordability
• Medical Conditions
• People’s lack of willingness to give up meat
• Cultural significance of meats
• Traditions

A List Of Traditional Diets:

• Carnivore – Only Meat
• Omnivore – Meat, fish, dairy and vegetables
• Pescatarian – Vegetarian diet + fish
• Lacto Vegetarian – Only consumes dairy and plants
• Ovo Vegetarian – Only consumes eggs and plants
• Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian – No Meat, consumes eggs, dairy and plants
• Vegan – Strictly only plants

Tips To Sustainably Reduce Your Meat Intake

Over the past 6 years, I have experienced every single one of the traditional diets, bouncing from omnivore, and pescetarian, to vegetarian and vegan. I feel like I have a lot of value to bring to this topic, as I have experienced all the thrills and downfalls of this journey.

I am extremely thankful I underwent this journey. Iy helped me process and evaluate my relationship with food. It also helped me go out of my comfort zone and experience food I would never have tried before. In particular, the plant proteins that I mention later on in the post.

My love for the environment and the world around us started from my evaluation of my diet. Since then it has spiked my curiosity and has changed how I see things.

Most Important Tip: There Is No Such Thing As ‘The Most Sustainable Diet”

Sustainability is a very individualistic term. What is sustainable for one person isn’t sustainable for another.

Try your best to not get sucked into a diet because it is the ‘most sustainable’. Do not forget you are human. Food is more than a source of fuel.

Indulgence in food is a nutritional, social, cultural and spiritual experience. Embrace it.

There are some diets that are objectively more environmentally sustainable. However, you should follow a diet you can keep and maintain for the long term.

Make sure you take this time to experiment with everything. It will truly open your mind and your taste buds to the amazing variety we have on our beautiful planet.

Meat Alternatives

Cutting out meat is something everyone who has gone through the same journey usually struggles with this.

What is often difficult about this transition is the pursuit of finding foods with a similar texture as meat and the pursuit to find foods that match the taste to it.

Not to forget social and cultural pressures can also make this transition more difficult.

Meat alternatives are available in all major supermarkets, in the frozen and refrigerated sections. This is your time to experiment with what you like. The majority of them have a similar taste/texture to meat and can help you with your transition.

Small Steps – Go Plant based 3 Times A Week

An easier way to ease into reducing your meat intake is to allocate yourself x many days on which you only eat plant-based foods. This gives you the flexibility to choose what days are more ideal than others, or if you are going out to a restaurant with friends that could be one of your meat-eating days! As the rest of the week you spend eating and experimenting with plant-based foods.

Go Pescetarian!

Ready to eliminate meat, but not fish?

Going pescetarian has a range of health benefits, it is also more environmentally sustainable than a traditional omnivore diet. This is because you are removing a section of your diet that has huge contributions to global warming and climate change.

Remember the key to eating sustainably is long-term compatibility!

Research Restaurants/Places To Eat Before You Visit A New Area

I’ll never forget, during my first week of going plant-based it was one of my friend’s birthdays and they had this steakhouse booked for months before that. We sat down in the restaurant and the only non-meat option on the menu was 3 bean chill and watermelon (Strange combination I know). Whilst I was sitting there, my friends were all indulging in ribs and steak. This was one of many social hurdles I had to face.

What I would like to stress is that there are very few restaurants that do not offer plant-based alternatives these days, so I wouldn’t worry too much about options, but definitely do some research before you book a restaurant!

Try Vegan Cheese

There are a lot of brands that offer plant-based cheeses, such as Philadelphia, Violife, Sheese, Cathedral City, Applewood, and Green Vie.

Vegan Cheeses are similar to meat alternatives, you just have to try out a variety of brands to find out what you like and dislike. Some brands you will like others, you won’t.

Swap Out Milk For Plant-based Milk

Through your journey of eating more sustainably, this switch will probably be your easiest decision yet!

Plant based-milk can be made at home or bought in-store. This type of milk can be made from a variety of different legumes or nuts, all have different tastes and flavours.

Legume-based Plant Milk:

• Soy
• Coconut
• Pea

Grain-based Plant Milk:

• Hemp
• Rice
• Quinoa

Nut-based Plant Milk:

• Almond
• Hazelnut
• Cashew
• Pecan
• Walnut
• Macadamia
• Pistachio

Eat Plant Protein Sources With Every Meal

I haven’t added this section because protein is difficult to get on a plant-based diet, because it’s not.

However, when you are removing or reducing a food category, such as meat, that is very nutritionally dense it is important you are also replacing it with other sources of nutrients.

Protein is vital for a lot of functions in your body, to name a few:

• Lowers Blood Pressure
• Maintenance and Increase In Muscle Size And Strength
• Boosts Metabolism And Aids In Fat-Burning Processes
• Reduce Appetite and Hunger
• Reduces Cravings

List Of Some Plant Protein Sources:

• Hemp seeds: 100g of hemp seeds contain up to 25g of protein.
• Pistachios: 100g of raw pistachios contain 20g of protein.
• Tempeh: 100g of tempeh contains 19g of protein.
• Chickpeas: 100g of chickpeas contain up to 19g of protein
• Chia seeds: 100g containing about 18g of protein.
• Tofu: 100g of extra firm tofu contains 13g of protein
• Buckwheat:100g of dry buckwheat contains 13g of protein.
• Green and Red Lentils: 100g of lentils contain up to 9g of protein.
• Edamame: 100 grams of edamame contain around 11g of protein.
• Black Beans: 100g of black beans contain up to 9g of protein
• Quinoa: 100g of cooked quinoa provides: 4g of protein

If there are any plant-based gym goers reading this. You do not want to miss my other blog post on complete plant-based proteins. Click here.

If anyone is curious about how much protein they should actually be consuming. Use the table below as guidance. Different countries may have different recommendations.

In the UK, adults are advised to eat 0.75g of protein for each kilogram they weigh, based on the Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI).

Conclusion

If you are going to get anything out of this blog post. There is no such thing as ‘The Most Sustainable Diet’. We are all different, with varying tastes in food, tolerance, taste buds, financial positions, cultures, religions and living situations.

Nevertheless, if you are seriously thinking of eating eco-consciously then that is great to hear and I hope you find this post a helpful stepping stone for you on your journey.

Don’t forget to enjoy the journey, there may be times that you slip up and you feel guilty for it. Move on and move forward you are only human and treat yourself that way.

The most sustainable diet is the one you are comfortable maintaining and one you can stick to in the long term!

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