8 tips to eat 30 plant foods a week

It’s recommended that for the health of our gut flora we should aim to eat 30 different types of plant food a week.

Thirty may sound like a lot, and to some it is, but its something we should really all be aiming for.

It’s also worth noting that this 30 covers not just fruit and veg but nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, grains, pulses etc. as well.

When busy, we often gravitate towards what’s easy , and that often means we get into a routine of eating the same foods throughout the week, over and over.

I’m all for making life easier where you can, and if you have meals you make regularly that mean you make healthier choices when you’re busy, I encourage you keep that up.

But how can we ensure we’re hitting that big 30 if we’re also looking to keep healthy cooking simple?

Speaking from trial and error, here are my top tips to help get that all important variety in your diet.

1. Buy mixed
   Nuts, seeds, frozen berries, the list goes on. Essentially wherever there’s an option to get a ‘mixed’ pack of a certain type of food, go for it.
   So if you typically buy almonds or sunflower seeds to sprinkle over yoghurt, bet mixed nuts and seeds instead. Or if you love a blueberry smoothie, opt for mixed berries every now and again.
   
2. Try one new fruit or veg a week
   Fussy eaters cover your eyes! But in all seriousness, this is such a good way to add some variety to your weekly meals and helps to expand your palette.
   It doesn’t always need to be a brand new food each week but perhaps it could be something you’ve not had for a while.
   
3. Check out the reduced aisles
   Fresh is often best but if you’re wanting to get more fruit and veg in on a budget, the reduced aisle can be a great way to snap up some healthy bargains and maybe pick up a plant food product you weren’t considering buying.
   
4. Cycle your carbs
   The term carb cycling is often associated with either weight loss chatter or gym performance focused eating, where you cycle when you eat carbs, but I like to use it in another sense.
   Let’s face it, most of us LOVE carbs (and rightly so) but if you find yourself reaching for the same pasta most nights, think about cycling three or four carb sources throughout your week.
   This could look like oats at breakfast one morning, different types of potatoes spread across your lunches, and incorporating rice and grain based dishes in the evenings.
   
5. It’s soup season
   If you are a bit of a fussy eater, soups, or any meal that means blending up ingredients is a fab way of sneaking more in. Think back to your mum pureeing carrots into your childhood meals!
   
6. Seeded breads
   I love bread and always advocate for proper bakers bread that’s made without preservatives like the loaves you’ll find in plastic packaging. And while I love a classic sourdough, choosing a seeded option is another great way of getting a variety of gut loving seeds in.
   
7. Buy frozen
   So we want to make sure we have enough plant based foods in the kitchen to actually allow us to get enough variety each week but we don’t want food waste!
   Frozen options are great for foods you know you won’t finish that week but means you can always have plenty of options on hand. They can also often be cheaper – bonus!
   Think frozen berries, peas, green beans etc.
   
8. Have fun with food
   Sometimes it feels like there are so many rules around food and ensuring variety shouldn’t be another one.
   If anything, this is one of the amazing pieces of food advice that doesn’t revolve around restriction and instead focuses on what we can add and how we can experiment with our daily diets so don’t overthink it and remember that mealtimes can be such a joy.