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Home » Diet » Is Going Plant-Based an All-or-Nothing Proposition When It Comes to Quitting Meat? An RD Weighs In – Well+Good

Its no secret that eating more veggies is key to a healthy diet. But exactlyhowdedicated to the green stuff do you need to be?

With the growing popularity of eating styles that eschew meat in favor of plants (vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, oh my), you might be wondering if a more is more mentality is the right way to go when it comes to boosting your vegetable intake for the sake of your health.

Thats why we teamed up with Lightlife to get the scoop on all your most pressing plant-based questions (including whether you can eat meat on a plant-based diet), and registered dietitian Vanessa Rissetto, MS, RD, CDN had the answers.

According to Rissetto, eating more plants is, in fact, a ticket to an overall health boost (namely because more plants mean more fiber, more satiety, and more gut support, to name a few benefits), but that doesnt mean you need to ditch animal products entirely.

People think plant based means you cant eat meat, chicken, or fish, Rissetto says. Plant based means eating mostly plants and beans as your source of protein, but high biological value protein (coming from animals) is also allowed.

Okay so some animal products in moderation are still cool (that sound you hear is meat lovers taking a collective sigh of relief), but exactly how much?

A good rule of thumb to follow is to aim for two meatless meals per day.

By Rissettos standards, you can eat meat on a plant-based diet as long as youre making an effort to reduce your intake and opting for plants as your primary fuel source when possible. (Of course, if you want to take your plant-based diet a step further and go vegetarian or vegan, that means youd forgo meat altogether and only allow dairy products if youre vegetarian.)

What that reduction looks like will vary from person to person (and how much meat you eat is ultimately up to youit is your diet after all), but a good rule of thumb is to aim for two meatless meals per day.

For example, if youre eating animal protein at every mealeggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, steak for dinnerswitch to oats for breakfast and chickpeas and greens for lunch, but keep the meat for dinner, Rissetto says. However, instead of eight ounces [of steak], decrease to three ounces, plus additional greens. To me, then that is considered to be plant-based.

If youre looking to switch up your sources of protein, plant-based proteins can come in clutchespecially if youre hesitant about ditching the ground beef on your taco salad or a juicy burger off the grill. Subbing Lightlife Plant-Based Ground or Burgers gets you 20 grams of protein from real, recognizable ingredients like peas and beets, with all the savory deliciousness your tastebuds crave. So youcanhave your burger and eat it too on a plant-based dietjust as long as its usually a plant-based one.

Top photo: Stocksy/Tatjana Zlatkovic

Sponsored by Lightlife

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Is Going Plant-Based an All-or-Nothing Proposition When It Comes to Quitting Meat? An RD Weighs In - Well+Good

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Home » Diet » Is Going Plant-Based an All-or-Nothing Proposition When It Comes to Quitting Meat? An RD Weighs In – Well+Good