How to eat 30 plants a week

Eating a variety of foods, in particular plant foods, is essential for gut health. This is because plants contain prebiotic fibre, polyphenols and other components that can improve the health of our gut via their effects on our gut microbes.

Why 30 plants a week?

This is the number that has been assigned as a ballpark target by gut health experts to ensure enough variety. Much as 8 glasses of water per day or 10K steps per day, there is nothing magical about the number 30, other than bringing you close to the optimal consumption of beneficial plant components.

The concept of eating 30 plant a week is not only to ensure we eat a plant-based (but not necessarily a plant-only) diet but also that we do not eat the same couple of vegetables day in and day out.

When you think about plants, you probably think mainly about vegetables but there are many more plant foods out there!

Plant foods include:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Herbs
• Nuts and seeds
• Legumes
• Grains

How to eat 30 plants a week

• If you love meat and 3 veg, make sure you choose different coloured vegetables (e.g. carrots + green beans + cauliflower, pumpkin + broccoli + potatoes) on different days of the week
• Add pickled (e.g. gherkins, pickled jalapeños, olives) or fermented (e.g. sauerkraut, kimchi) vegetables to your meals
• Add fruit to your salads
• Add sprouts to your salads
• Add edible flowers to your avocado toast
• Add a variety of nuts and/or seeds to your breakfast. These work great with porridge, yoghurt, protein bowls, cereal and smoothies
• Change the starchy component of your main meals (e.g. rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, quinoa)
• Add legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas) to your salads, soups, curries or stews
• Use avocado instead of butter on your toast or sandwiches
• Add a variety of fresh herbs to your meals (e.g. parsley + oregano, coriander + mint, parsley + mint, dill + chives). Fresh herbs work great in salads, egg-based dishes (e.g. omelettes, scrambled eggs), soups, stews, curries, etc.
• Add herbs to your roasted vegetables, chips and wedges (e.g. rosemary, thyme)
• Vary your fruit intake, there are many options other than bananas and apples!
• Add citrus (e.g. lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit) to your salad dressings and/or water
• Drink a variety of teas, herbal teas and yes, coffee
• Add more components to your smoothies, try combining different vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and even herbs
• Use and eat edible garnishes in your cocktails or mocktails (e.g. olive, cucumber slice, citrus slice, berries)
• Add a variety of vegetables to your soups or stews, especially those you do not particularly like. Chances are you will not be able to tell they are there when they blend up with the rest of ingredients.
• Add seaweed to your meals (e.g. nori)
• Add veggies, fruits and nuts to your cheese boards
• Choose vegetable-based dips (e.g. guacamole, hummus, baba ganoush) instead of cheesy or creamy ones

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