New Year’s Resolution #2: Shift towards a plant-based diet with Oak
By Irina Roman Enescu
Our second New Year’s resolution looks at moving towards a more plant-based diet in response to the massive climate impact of animal agriculture as well as in response to the suffering caused by factory farming. We visited Oak, a local plant-based bistro, to learn more about what this entails:
Oak, the quaint organic bistro off Avenue de la Liberté, first opened its doors in 2017. Run by Fabrizio Annicchiarico and his team, Oak offers different fresh, vegan and gluten-free dishes each day as a way of helping customers taste new flavours. Fabrizio aims to help encourage people try homemade, wholefood recipes much like he prepares at Oak. A key aspect of the menu, Fabrizio tells me, is that the food they serve is seasonal. “Respect the season”, is his motto.
WHAT IS A PLANT-BASED DIET?
A delicious seasonal dish from Oak
Photograph by Oak
Plant-based diets consist largely or solely of vegetables, fruit, legumes and grains. Under the larger umbrella of plant-based eating, you can find an array of plant-focused diets such as vegan (which excludes all animal-derived products), vegetarian (which excludes meat or fish but does include eggs and milk), pescatarian (which excludes meat but includes fish, eggs and milk) and finally, flexitarian, (reducing consumption of animal-derived products). The latter can be an accessible option for many; while its focus remains on plants, those who consider themselves flexitarians still occasionally enjoy meat. With such a wide range of diet options, plant-based eating can be tailored to suit your lifestyle and preferences. According to the WHO, more and more people are adopting plant-based diets in Europe for health, environmental and animal welfare reasons.
BENEFITS OF GOING PLANT-BASED
When he first transitioned to a plant-focused diet over 10 years ago, Fabrizio was questioned by peers for his seemingly extreme lifestyle choice. A decade later, he advocates for plant-based eating by offering a fusion of traditional hearty meals and novel, intricate flavours at his bistro. He believes there are three key benefits to a plant-based diet:
1. Improving your health
The health benefits of reducing your meat intake have been talked about for years. Eating more plants leads to eating less fat and overall lowering your risk of heart disease and strokes. Plant-based diets have been linked to reducing blood pressure, preventing type 2 diabetes, and lowering LDL, or ‘bad’, cholesterol. That’s not to say, however, that simply eating vegan correlates to eating healthy. It is possible to still damage your health whilst eating plant-focused meals. Avoid processed fake meat and cheese alternatives and opt instead for homemade, whole-food recipes to reap the benefits of this lifestyle.
“Food is medicine”
2. Helping the planet
The 8,500 meals served by Oak each year represents a savings of 7.7 square km of forest and 25 tons of CO2 every year. “People tend to think that one meal won’t make a difference but it does; it all adds up,” explains Fabrizio. Eating a vegan diet for a day indirectly saves over 2,500 litres of water a day. But you don’t have to jump straight into the deep end. Swapping half a kilo of chicken with a plant-based alternative in your dinner already saves close to 2,000 litres. Eat one less beef burger and swap it with a falafel version to save the CO2 equivalent to driving a car for over 10,000 km. These small steps can make a large difference.
Photograph by Markus Spiske -Pexels
3. Reduce animal cruelty
By eating more plant-based, you naturally help animals. The problem with factory farming is the damage it inflicts on the environment and animals themselves. From body mutilations to never being allowed to roam free, animals are routinely treated inhumanely in factory farming. A vegan calculator estimates that you save 30 animals a month by switching to plant-based meals. By reducing the amount of meat you buy from factory-farms, you send the message that you won’t stand for animal cruelty.
TIPS ON GOING PLANT-BASED
1.Start with one meatless day a week
The Meatless Mondays movement was started nearly 20 years ago in an attempt to help people reduce their meat intake for the benefit of their own health and that of the planet. The initiative has been adopted across the globe by individuals, schools, chefs and workplaces. Start by making Monday your meatless day every week as a step towards becoming more plant-based!
The Oak Chef preparing their daily menu - Photograph by Oak
2. Cook more
Cooking more, says Fabrizio, helps you become more conscious of what you consume. Putting in the effort not only means that you won’t be adding preservatives or other artificial ingredients to your meals, you’ll also be more likely to enjoy the meal more as you can tailor it to your own preferences. Fabrizio suggests watching cooking tutorials on YouTube beforehand to get some inspiration for plant-based meals. He’s even filmed a few videos himself which can be found online.
3. Change the way you plate your food
The classic way of plating a dish usually goes something like: meat on one side and a mix of carbohydrates and vegetables on the other. Breaking out of this mindset when cooking plant-based can help you enjoy new variations and flavours. Think about using a mixture of carbs, protein and vegetables in a bowl; centre your dish around vegetables; blend your food; mix different textures and colours – the possibilities are endless.
An array of colours and textures in one of Oak’s dishes, photography by Oak Bistro
4. Choose one ingredient and build a dish around it
Pick your favourite vegetable, fruit or legume and research plant-based dishes you can create with it. That way you’ll still have the comfort of a familiar taste when experimenting with new recipes.
ABOUT OAK
Oak was created with sustainability in mind. “It’s in our DNA - from the packaging to the local organic seasonal ingredients, the anti waste policy, recycling procedures and so on.” From their seasonal and local food to their recyclable take-away packaging, Oak attempts to make a difference one meal at a time. Alongside their menu, Oak creates sustainable gift options and hosts work by local artists on their walls. During our visit, a mental health exhibition was running with art hung up on the walls.
A corner of the mental health exhibition at Oak