Graimes - The part-time vegetarian : flexible recipes to go (nearly) meat-free

Its time to make a confession: writing this book is a bit of a coming out for me. Having been vegetarian for nearly thirty years, Ive started including a small amount of meat and fish in my diet. This change of heart and eating habits has come about due to various reasons and really wasnt taken lightly. Yet Ive discovered that Im not alone as the number of what I suppose could be called part-time vegetarians is growing exponentially on a yearly basis. A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that nearly two out of three vegetarians occasionally like to eat meat, chicken or fish.

There is also a significant rise in the number of non-vegetarians who eat meat-free meals on a regular basis. Until relatively recently, many non-vegetarians would have scoffed at the idea of deliberately choosing to eat vegetable-based meals several times a week, but there has been an impressive positive shift in many of our eating habits and part of this is cutting down on the amount of meat we eat.

Its fantastic that many of us are becoming more conscious of what we eat and where our food comes from. Its all a bit clichd, but vegetarian food has come a long way since the lentil days not that there is anything wrong with lentils! But while in the past it may have sometimes been seen as a little too worthy, vegetarian cooking is now exciting, inventive and inspirational. There has been an explosion of different ingredients available from all corners of the globe, while many restaurants not just vegetarian ones and numerous cookery writers and food bloggers have fuelled the growing interest in what they are calling flexitarianism or flexible eating.

So what is a flexitarian diet and why should we be interested?

Just like vegetarians, part-time vegetarians or flexitarians prefer to base meals on vegetables. Whether this is for health, economic or moral reasons (or more likely a combination of all three), the fact is that the flexitarian diet one that is largely vegetarian, but occasionally includes poultry, meat and seafood is growing in popularity and is a long-term trend thats gaining momentum.

Since we have all become more thrifty and price-conscious when food shopping, and vegetables on the whole are a lot cheaper than meat and fish, the part-time vegetarian diet seems to be the logical way to go for non-vegetarians. Good-quality meat and fish have become prohibitively expensive, so it makes sense to eat them less often so you can still choose the best quality and ethically sourced.

In the eyes of food scientists, our current consumption of meat and fish cannot be sustained in the long-term. It is far more ecologically sound to eat more vegetables, which are much less intrusive on the earths resources than meat products.

Whats more, the numerous health benefits of a vegetarian diet are well documented and have become more poignant due to various health scares that have blighted some areas of food production in recent years. All these factors mark a shift towards a vegetable-based diet or a meat-light one.

As the name suggests, the beauty of this diet is its flexibility. Unlike most diets its not prescriptive there are no hard-and-fast rules so it can easily be adapted to suit your lifestyle and whats happening on a weekly basis. Whether you opt to go meat-free just one day a week, eat meat on rare occasions or prefer to choose meat- and fish-light meals, The Part-time Vegetarian allows you that flexibility. The book is also perfect for those who are fully fledged vegetarians, or who have a non-meat eater in the family or coming for dinner, and are looking for new ideas and adaptable recipes that dont rely on meat substitutes.

In other words, The Part-time Vegetarian cookbook is for those looking for simple, nourishing, cost-effective meals and an environmentally intelligent way to eat. Flexitarians are taking a positive step forward when it comes to their health, the environment and animals.