This new diet could help save the planet and your health. Here’s how it works

Want to eat healthier and reduce your carbon footprint? The Planetary Health Diet can help you do both without giving up your favourite foods. Photo / 123rf

You can eat healthier and shrink your carbon footprint with these recipes and dietary guidelines, which don’t require you to ditch meat or sacrifice flavour.

I’m not a perfect role model for a healthy or sustainable diet.

I know I should eat more fruits and veggies and less red meat. Once, a climate team colleague reporting on the massive greenhouse emissions that come from beef emphatically told me: “Cows are the coal of food.”

But it’s been hard to put that knowledge into practice. My brain and stomach are wired to expect meat and a side in every meal. I still make my grandmother’s picadillo recipe and my mum’s meatballs. And I have to confess: while thinking about all those beef emissions while reporting this column, I caved in to an irresistible craving for a hamburger.

So I was reassured to learn from a team of respected scientists that you don’t have to quit meat cold turkey to help the planet and improve your own health. You don’t even have to swear off burgers.

The biggest change most people would have to make is eating some more legumes, nuts and whole grains.

That’s according to a team of medical researchers, environmental scientists and policy experts who crafted a loose set of food guidelines they call the Planetary Health Diet. If everyone ate this way, scientists say it would shave about 5% off global greenhouse emissions and prevent more than seven million premature deaths per year from illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.

“If consumers were to adjust their diet … that would have huge implications on carbon emissions and climate change,” said Klaus Hubacek, a Dutch environmental scientist who was not involved in designing the Planetary Health Diet, but published a paper estimating food-related emissions would fall by a sixth if people followed it.

Here’s how you can work these guidelines into your weekly meal plan - and a round-up of recipes that can help you get started.

Following the Planetary Health Diet could reduce global food-related emissions by up to 5%. Photo / 123rf

What is the Planetary Health Diet?

First off, this isn’t a fad diet designed to help you lose weight or gain a six-pack. A team of scientists assembled by the Lancet, one of the world’s top medical research journals, and a Norwegian food science nonprofit called EAT, came up with these guidelines after reviewing reams of medical and environmental research.

They had three goals: They wanted to find a way to feed the billions of people on Earth, while minimising environmental damage and limiting deaths from diabetes, heart disease and other diet-related illnesses.

They found that people - especially in North America - eat an unhealthy amount of red meat and don’t get enough protein from nuts and legumes such as lentils, beans and peas. They also found that people eat too many starchy vegetables like potatoes and not enough whole grains.

The scientists came up with guidelines on how many calories should come from each food group in a day. But they stress that these ranges are flexible and that people can work within them to eat food that makes sense for their culture and circumstances.

“This is a flexitarian diet,” said Fabrice DeClerck, EAT’s chief science officer. “It’s going to vary if you’re a marathoner versus a pregnant woman versus a 5-year-old child.”

The researchers aren’t trying to stop anyone from eating a hamburger. But DeClerck said it would be healthier for you, and better for the planet if you limit your red meat consumption to about a burger a week. (Americans, on average, consume more than a pound of beef a week, according to USDA data - which is enough for about three burgers.)

Throughout the rest of the week, he said, you might have poultry two or three times and fish two or three times. That’s about half your lunches and dinners. For the other half, he said, you should try to get your protein from legumes and nuts.

You can get a sense of what this looks like from a week’s worth of recipes that EAT published on its website.

But to give you some more inspiration, we asked The Washington Post’s food team to dig up their favourite recipes that highlight legumes, nuts and whole grains, the food groups people tend not to eat enough.

Legumes

Legumes, including beans, lentils, peas and soy, are a good source of protein, according to the researchers. Eating legumes is correlated with lower cholesterol, blood pressure and risk of coronary heart disease compared to red meat.

Aside from these health benefits, legumes are also delicious in chilli, pasta, casseroles and soups.

Eating legumes instead of red meat can lower cholesterol and reduce heart disease risk. Photo / 123rf

Nuts

Nuts - including peanuts and tree nuts such as walnuts, almonds and cashews - are chock-full of protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eating mixed nuts can lower cholesterol and bring down your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Although nuts have lots of fat, the scientists wrote, they also make you feel full, so they’re not associated with weight gain and they tend to lower the risk for obesity.

They’re also a tasty addition to curries, tacos and stir-fries, and make a great garnish for fish.

Nuts are packed with protein and nutrients, making them a great alternative to meat. Photo / 123rf

Whole grains

Grains are already the biggest food source for most people in the form of bread, rice, pasta, tortillas and so on. But refining grains - which removes husks and hulls to create white bread and white rice - also removes a lot of their nutrients and fibre. So the scientists recommend eating whole grains, including brown rice, corn and wholegrain bread and pasta.

You can easily swap in brown rice or whole grain pasta into recipes you already make - or add in to salads, stews and bowls.

Whole grains like brown rice and oats provide more nutrients and fibre than their refined counterparts. Photo / 123rf

A taste test

On a Thursday night, scrambling to pull together a quick dinner, I put one of The Washington Post’s legume recipes to the test.

I made Crispy Chickpeas with Fried Shallots and Coriander-Mint Chutney because, although my grandmother taught me to turn ground beef and pork into a perfect picadillo, she also spends many of our phone calls extolling the virtues of chickpeas. “You should be eating more garbanzos,” she often tells me.

So I went to the grocery store and rounded up my ingredients. You can’t find a much cheaper meal. I spent $3 on canned chickpeas and shallots and then really blew out the budget on a $5 bunch of coriander and mint.

The whole thing came together fast. I fried the chickpeas and shallots. I threw the herbs in the blender with oil, yoghurt and a few other ingredients. I put some rice in the rice cooker. When everything was ready, I put it all on a plate - and, because I’ve been watching the chef TV show The Bear, I threw in some gratuitous sauce dollops on the side. It was delicious and surprisingly filling.

Okay, fine, so I should have used brown rice instead of white rice. Don’t tell DeClerck. We’re taking baby steps toward a better diet here.

But I found that swapping out meat for a legume was a lot easier - and tastier - than I expected. I’m adding this garbanzo recipe to my regular rotation and looking forward to trying more - because you don’t need to completely revamp your diet to eat a little better.

Crispy Chickpeas With Fried Shallots and Coriander-Mint Chutney

Active time: 20 minutes. Total time: 40 minutes

Serves 2-3

A creamy, nearly neon sauce takes these simple crisped chickpeas and shallots to the next level. The sauce, or chutney, gets its vibrant green colour and bright flavour from fresh mint and coriander.

Storage: Refrigerate leftover chickpeas and sauce separately for up to three days.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 teaspoons fine salt, plus more as needed

1/2 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed until the water runs clear

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Two cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry

2/3 cup packed fresh coriander leaves and tender stems, plus more optional for serving

1/3 cup packed fresh mint leaves, plus more optional for serving

2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 tablespoon plain full-fat Greek yogurt

Juice of 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 shallots (4 ounces total), thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender and the water is absorbed, about 12 minutes. Drain the rice and return it to the pot; cover to keep warm.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1/2 cup of the oil until shimmering. Add the chickpeas and season them lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they turn light golden brown, about 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the coriander, mint, the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, yoghurt, raisins, lime juice, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and process into a smooth paste.
4. Add the shallots and crushed red pepper flakes to the chickpeas and cook, stirring often, until the chickpeas are crisp and the shallots are lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
5. To serve, divide the rice among the plates and top with the chickpeas and shallots. Garnish with coriander and/or mint leaves, if using, and spoon the chutney on top or serve it on the side.

Crispy Chickpeas With Fried Shallots and Cilantro-Mint Chutney. Photo / Laura Chase de Formigny, The Washington Post

Nutritional Facts per serving (1 1/4 cup chickpeas, 1/2 cup rice and 2 tablespoons chutney, based on 3) | Calories: 921; Fat: 61g; Saturated Fat: 9g; Carbohydrates: 76g; Sodium: 181mg; Cholesterol: 1mg; Protein: 16g; Fibre: 13g; Sugar: 14g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.

Recipe adapted from Tanya Sichynsky’s Meal Plan of Action newsletter.