COVER STORY: Veggies garnished with meat

2009/09/15

SANTHA OORJITHAM

Flexitarians are not a new religious sect, SANTHA OORJITHAM finds out.
They are people who want a healthier diet but who also want to eat meat sometimes — and their ranks are steadily growing.

FOR 10 years, the Gill family has been flexitarian — a happy compromise between their wide range of dietary requirements.

Oldest son Sanjeev is completely vegetarian, although he does take dairy products. Anil is a vegetarian who occasionally eats seafood. Dr S.S. Gill and his wife Mohana no longer take red meat, although their son Rakesh does.

So Mohana serves fish once or twice a week and chicken about once a week. She rounds this out with whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds and seven to nine portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

That, in essence, is flexitarianism — an “inclusive” semi-vegetarian diet that introduces more vegetarian meals but doesn’t take away meat or poultry completely. “A lot of Malaysians are already flexitarian but don’t know it,” noted Mohana, author of the Fruitastic! and Vegemania! cookbooks.

“It’s a very good diet for most people who want to change but do not want to become complete vegetarians. They can consciously add more fruit and vegetables but still eat what they enjoy.” The term “flexitarianism” has been in use in America for at least five years but the concept really took off there at the end of last year with the publication of The Flexitarian Diet — The Mostly Vegetarian Way To Lose Weight, Lower Blood Pressure, Be Healthier And Add Years To Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian and spokesperson of the American Dietetic Association.

About two out of every three vegetarians don’t or can’t “do it full-time,” Blatner said. But part-time vegetarians still get the benefits of lower blood pressure (thanks to potassium found in fruits and vegetables), glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels. The high-fibre content in the flexitarian diet absorbs more cholesterol and transports it out of the body. According to Blatner, people on a plant-based diet weigh 15 per cent less than meat-eaters.

And the American Institute for Cancer Research says that those on a plant-based diet who exercise regularly reduce their risk of cancer by 30 to 40 per cent.

The flexitarian diet may come naturally to many Asian cooks. “Many people are embracing this concept in Southeast Asia because it’s traditional to eat less meat and enjoy a more plant-based diet,” wrote Blatner, in response to e-mailed queries from Life&Times.

“This flexible and balanced plan resonates especially with those who have a long culinary history of using meat as more of a condiment rather than the main attraction.” Tan Yoke Hwa, president of the Malaysian Dietitians’ Association, estimates that although only a minority of the patients she sees are vegetarians (vegans as well as those who include eggs and dairy products), about one-third of her patients are flexitarians.

The flexitarian diet is what she recommends for the general public: “It would help prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer — the main causes of death in Malaysia.” Obesity is one of the risk factors for these, she explained, “and with a semi-vegetarian diet you would have less saturated fat and cholesterol — depending on whether the protein comes from animal or fish sources.” Of course, that would also depend on whether you steam, grill, bake or microwave food rather than deep-frying and adding coconut milk.

Mohana often grills vegetables as part of her family’s flexitarian diet.

Blatner encourages people to increase the number of vegetarian meals. She divides flexitarians into “beginners” who aim for two meatless days per week, the “advanced” who have three or four meatless days and the “experts” who have five meatless days.

Tan recommends the “advanced” diet: “That’s moderate and I think people can comply with it. For example, if you are buying mixed rice, take more vegetable dishes with it although the vegetable dishes can have some ikan bilis and fish cake in them.” She introduces patients to vegetarian foods such as tofu, tempeh and fuchok (beancurd skin) which she said are “more natural than the fake ‘meats’ which are soya-based but may be mixed with preservatives, flavouring and colouring.” Tan says there is no need for a full-time vegetarian diet unless a person’s religion requires it: “My concern is anaemia, for example, due to lack of iron.” The iron found in egg yolks, meat and internal organs such as liver is more easily absorbed, she pointed out. But the iron found in beans, lentils, peas, dark green leafy vegetables, potatoes with skin and iron-enriched cereals can be better absorbed by pairing them with vitamin C-rich foods such as tomatoes, guavas and papayas.Those who don’t take any dairy products can get calcium from enriched tofu, soya milk, broccoli, bok choy and kailan (Chinese kale). And those who are not getting zinc from meat and poultry can get it from eggs, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, nuts and beans.

But those who don’t take any animal products may lack vitamin B12. If they don’t get it from B12-enriched cereals or soya milk, they may need to take a supplement.

In addition to the health benefits of flexitarianism, Mohana noted, “This kind of diet is kinder to the environment as meat takes 11 per cent more energy to produce than grains, and raising livestock uses 26 times more water than growing vegetable proteins.” And it is cheaper if you use fruits and vegetables that are locally grown, “in which case it will also be more eco-friendly since you are saving fuel that would have been used for transport.” Mohana, who has been educating Malaysians to eat more fruit and vegetables through her Fruitastic Express shop, encourages the use of local ingredients, especially those from your own garden.

For a garden-fresh salad, she tossed grated fresh ginger and turmeric (kunyit), chickpeas (soaked overnight and steamed), sliced Japanese or regular cucumber, steamed sweet potato, red and yellow cherry tomatoes and pegaga (Centella asiatica) with salt, pepper and lemon or lime juice.

For another simple dish, she grilled sweet peas, water chestnuts, eggplant, red and green peppers and cauliflower after drizzling them with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning them with sea salt and crushed pepper.

To satisfy the craving for umami, the meaty flavour which is one of the five basic tastes, she suggests jackfruit which has a meaty texture and can be used in a briyani, for example, as well as tofu, yam and sweet potato. (Blatner suggests mushrooms, cooked tomatoes, aged Parmesan cheese and soya sauce.) For Mohana, the rationale for flexitarianism is simple: “Take care of your body and it will take care of you.”

Tan estimates that 30 to 40 per cent of her patients are flexitarians.