New food trends pop up all the time.

Granted, some of them aren’t really trends. They just get branded with a name, so they become a trend like ‘pickling and fermenting’ (people around the world have been preserving and fermenting food in jars for literally centuries) and ‘breakfast’ (now because we’re spending more time at home since Covid19, focus on ‘breakfast’ has become a ‘thing’?! Amazing!).

One trend that still doesn’t sit comfortably with us though is the ‘plant-based meat’ or ‘fake meat’ trend because of the energy-intensive production methods and artificial ingredients used, to produce products that can easily be found in nature (specifically beef, pork, chicken and seafood).

However, a new food trend we’re really in favour of is ‘Flexitarianism’. The name conjures up images of people eating vegetables while touching their toes but Flexitarianism is simply a casual approach to the vegetarian diet that allows people to still eat a bit of meat and dairy. It sounds easy to follow, has great health benefits and is good for the environment.

Let’s face it, who truly wants to be vegetarian when a juicy Maleny Black Angus Beef steak, flavoursome roast, or some creamy cheese or plain, refreshing milk bring such joy? Not to mention the health benefits they provide by including them in your diet? Not us.

Flexitarianism is for people who want to eat a more plant-based diet (think fruit, salad, vegetables, pulses and nuts) but don’t have the desire to be truly vegetarian by cutting out meat and dairy altogether.

It’s about reducing your meat and dairy consumption (not cutting it out altogether) while increasing your intake of wholesome ‘greens’ to counter-balance it.

We think it’s a clever approach because meat and dairy products provide more easily absorbed iron and calcium than plants. Plus there is a raft of other health benefits associated with upping your ‘green’ consumption while continuing to eat a bit of meat and dairy, such as; reduced risk of obesity, heart disease and some cancers and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. These are all attributed to an increase in vitamins, minerals and fibre through eating more salads, vegetables and fruit.

You’re probably wondering why a beef producer like us would support a ‘reduction’ in meat consumption in favour of the Flexitarian way of life? The answer is because we’re all about quality.

We support the notion that people are better off eating less, but higher-quality (specifically grass-fed) meat than no meat at all.

After all, grass-fed, grass-finished beef such as ours provides a raft of benefits to your bone, heart and metabolic health. The same goes for dairy. Nutritionists and experts believe that if we eat smaller amounts but more wholesome meat and dairy products, we’ll reap the flavour and health benefits without feeling deprived.

Another aspect we like about Flexitarianism is their recommendation to add foods to your diet rather than take them away. It’s about adding things such as new fruits, pulses and vegetables which gives people a sense of abundance instead of deprivation. It sounds like common sense to us and would surely have positive psychological benefits.

The other great thing about this new food trend called ‘Flexitarianism’ is that it’s so simple. All people need to do to get started is aim for 1-2 meat and dairy-free days/week and increase the amount of salad, veggies, fruit, nuts and legumes they eat. That doesn’t sound too radical to us.

Of course, our hope is that the meat everyone in our little part of the world eats is our 100% grass-fed Maleny Black Angus Beef whether they’re following the Flexitarian, Carnivore, Paleo, Ketogenic approach or no approach at all… Just eating for the love of it or eating to live… It’s your life to enjoy and we hope you’re enjoying it.