How to eat a flexitarian 'planetary health diet'

A “planetary health diet” is a healthy flexitarian way of eating—that is, mostly plant-based with a little wiggle room for animal foods. How much room? For a typical adult, the diet has one serving of animal protein plus one serving of dairy a day. (You can swap them for other foods—see No. 5.)

6 steps to a planetary health diet

1. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are your base. Fill up your plate with plants at every meal. Whenever you can, go with whole grains instead of refined grains or white potatoes.

2. Focus on plant protein. Aim for roughly 2 oz. of nuts or seeds plus two 1/2-cup servings of legumes (beans, peas, lentils) a day. “Beans” includes relatively unprocessed soy foods like tofu or tempeh.

3. Have one daily serving of dairy. That means a cup of milk or yogurt, 1-1/2 oz. of cheese, or a typical serving of another dairy product.

4. Have one daily serving of animal protein. The servings of poultry, meat, and seafood are small (about 3 oz. cooked), and red meat is limited. Here’s what a week’s worth might look like: 

• One serving of red meat (beef, pork, or lamb)
• Two servings of chicken or other poultry
• Two servings of seafood (fish or shellfish)
• Two eggs

5. Don’t want beef, dairy, or chicken? Swap it. If you’re vegetarian, pescatarian, dairy-free, or avoiding red meat, you’ve got options: 

• Swap a serving of red meat or chicken for several eggs or a serving of seafood, dairy, or plant protein.
• Swap all your dairy for an extra two servings a week of poultry, seafood, or pork.
• Swap all your dairy for plant-based alternatives.

A note about plant-based alternatives: Many soy milks and pea protein milks can match dairy milk’s protein and calcium. With plant-based yogurt or cheese, it’s not as easy to match dairy’s nutrients, but some brands are healthier than others. 

6. Keep it healthy. Because a flexitarian planetary health diet is also healthy for you, it limits the usual suspects—added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. To keep a lid on sat fat, use mostly unsaturated plant oils like olive, soy, canola, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils (not coconut oil, palm oil, butter, tallow, and lard).  

Healthy recipes for a planetary health diet

Looking for some inspiration to eat like a flexitarian? Start with our tips for plant proteins like tofu, tempeh, and yuba or beans, peas, and lentils. Or try one of our easy, healthy vegetarian recipes: 

Tofu, tempeh, and yuba recipes 

• Crunchy Tofu Salad
• Fried Black Rice & Yuba
• Ginger Sesame Tofu & Snow Peas
• Kale & Tempeh Salad
• Peanut Tofu Stir Fry
• Sweet & Sour Tempeh Wraps
• Yuba Pad Thai
• Yuba Snow Pea Stir Fry

Bean, pea, and lentil recipes 

• Bits & Bobs Chickpea Bowl
• Black Bean Soup
• Crunchy Lentil Salad
• French Lentil Stew
• Garlicky Beans
• Paprika Chickpeas
• Smoky Bean & Butternut Stew
• Tomato Lentil Soup
• Two Bean Chili
• Vegetarian Chickpea Tagine