Dr Tim Spectre - aim to eat 30 plants a week

[Footgoose]

Other than maybe the obvious , please share with me your list of what plants you would include in your weekly diet . Maybe even a suggestion of how you would prep them .

anyone who has followed him for a long time , what would you / he not include .

This week I've had

mixed seeds including linseed (5)
Brazil nuts
Hazelnuts
Walnuts
Onion
Leek
Garlic
Carrots
Potatoes
Sugar snap peas
Broccoli
Red cabbage
Tomatoes
Parsley
Mushrooms
Broad beans
Pear
Apple -2 types of eating apple
Cooking apple
Lemon
Blueberries
Banana
Apricot
Date (dried, leftover from Xmas)
Raspberries
Porridge oats
Barley
Rye
Lettuce (mixed leaves)
Spinach
Beetroot
Sweetcorn
Coriander
Cumin
Paprika
Chilli
Garlic
Watercress
Fine green beans
Ginger-fresh root
Turmeric-fresh root.

Uses-
Herbs and spices in recipes
Garlic and onion in lots of stuff
Lots of soups and salads
Fruit for snacks
Salad or soup lunches often
Including fruit mainly in breakfast
At least 2 veg and usually more with dinner as well as any used in recipes.

Assuming a reasonable budget and being able to cook from scratch and having no issues with food, it is fairly easy to eat 30 different varieties in a week. What I have found is that most can be eaten in a couple of days a week and then only one or two different things maximum a day are added as the week progresses.

The 30 a week is a starting point, the next step is to then have a reasonable quantity of each, especially the herbs and spices which tend to be eaten in quite small quantities most of the time.

I find that a mixed veg soup and curries are some of the easiest ways to get a good variety of veg, beans and lentils along with some herbs and spices.

I’m doing this at the moment and feel great on it!

Here’s my list for this week so far:

Blueberries
Raspberries
Cucumber
Red Pepper
Avocado
Courgette
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Brazil nuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Oats
Pineapple
Cashews
Hazelnuts
Banana
Green pepper
Aubergine
Red onion
Tomato
Satsuma
Pear
Grapes
Olives
Butter beans
Cannellini beans
Chickpeas
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Ginger

If anyone listens to podcasts, he’s on Stories of our Times, talking to David Aaronavitch. It’s interesting and short.

This week I've eaten:
oats
brown rice
carrot
celery
cucumber
apple
banana
hummus & falafel (chick peas)
chia seeds
sultanas if dried fruit counts?
broccoli
green beans
red pepper
edamame beans
butternut squash
tomatoes
spinach
some mixed frozen fruit with pineapple, mango & strawberries
peaches (tinned)
sunflower seeds
so that's 20 and I had the same thing for lunch and dinner on Mon / Tuesday and i haven't included the spices in my dinner or odd little bits of seeds etc that might be in my granola.

I heard him with Dr Rangan Chaterjee on the latter's Feel Better, Live More podcast and I also read The Diet Myth. It's not as hard as it sounds but it can require some thought with regards to food choices. I can't recall if it's included in the 30 things, but eating something 'live' is also encouraged (eg yoghurt, kefir etc).

Why does he recommend this? Is it a short term thing or is he suggesting it’s this the whole time?

@Sparklingbrook it's a bit of a fad but it ties into the microbiome thing that one needs a lot of variety in a diet, more plants and fibre really. And that feeds your gut flora who like a bit of variety.

Thanks. Does sound a bit if a fad. I wondered if 5 a day was no longer enough or something.

@Sparklingbrook I think you will find that 5 a day came about as it was thought that it was a level that could be achieved by most people rather than 5 being a desired amount.

Not a clue, I’ve never really looked into it , being happy with my fruit and veg intake generally.

!0 a day - of actual veg not just a sprinkle of herbs - is what is recommended in a lot of countries.

I might struggle due to eating the same 20-odd dinners on rotation and I'm not sure if some of these count but:
Breakfast - does multi-grain bread count? Peanut butter, often a piece of fruit; or porridge with raisins. So that's maybe 4 or 5 through the week.
Lunch - at least once a week I'll have a bean/grain stew because the DCs won't eat this type of thing, and then other days a salad, but at this time of year that means cucumber, lettuce and tomato. So with another couple of types of fruit that's maybe 12 additional plants.
Snacks - at least 4 extra types of nuts and maybe 1 or 2 more dried fruits.
Dinner (I'm not counting herbs and spices, that's just daft): this week we are having burgers with a grated carrot salad (1); sausages, mash and peas (2), tacos (does corn count? I already counted tomatoes but plus avocado that's 2); bolognese (onions, garlic so 2 more), a takeaway (I'll either have Chinese so plus water chestnut, bamboo shoots, beansprouts and tofu, or Thai which will be similar, so 5 more) and DH and I are going out but I can't think we'd add more than maybe 1 more veg to that.
So the total for the week (with fussy DCs, but my own choices help): 30-32.
I'm relatively pleased with that - and I'm not counting fruit juice, and we only have bananas, apples and kiwis in at the moment, though I do have some frozen berries I can add to things.

You can’t count onion or tomato more than once so it’s more like 16/17.

How do you know if your gut microbiome is good or bad and how do you know when it’s changed from bad to good or vice versa? I very much doubt I get anywhere above about 15 different plants a week as I like to eat the same things, but I feel brilliant. Always energetic, no bloating, gas, or discomfort, nothing at all to complain about health or wellbeing wise. I thought the medical vies was that our gut bacteria and what’s healthy and beneficial for us as individuals adapts according to our diet rather than needing our diet to adapt to it?

There's quite a nice (free) app called 'Eat the Rainbow' where you can track your plant intake.

The thing with 5 a day is it is meant to be 80g of a single food to count, 30g if dried fruit.

I find it easier to aim for min 400g overall of fruit and veg, getting more variety in the process.

I think you can have it tested, but I'm inclined to think if you're feeling really well, why change? I definitely feel better when I eat a wider range of non-processed foods (and exercise regularly), but that's just personal. I believe you're absolutely right that the gut biome adapts, and there's still lots of work to be done to understand more, but I think if you've been under the weather, or taken antibiotics, it would be helpful to try to rebuild the gut microbiome with a range of plant-based and fermented foods.

The think I’ve found since doing this, along with taking a mood probiotic, is that it’s really helping to keep my mood level. My anxiety is so much better.

I heard him on Dr Rangan's podcast as well. Since then, I've been adding all sorts to my yogurt and salads and making sure I go for variety over amount of veg in my evening meal and I feel much, much better.

Gut health impacts on me massively.

@sparklingbrook @BarrelOfOtters It is absolutely not a fad. Nor is it anything to do with 5 a day (which isn't enough btw)
It's all about the good bacteria in your intestines and how thay impacts on your overall health.

It's variety that matters not quantity. Picked and fermented foods are great for gut health too

People also need to understand that gut health is not just about how your tummy feels. The diversity and health of your gut microbiome is key to hormonal health, mental health, your immune system, etc.

Someone up thread asked about points and where that came from. It’s probably from Dr Megan Rossi - she uses “plant points” in her books.

Thanks . Seems so much easier than 5 a day which I feel I constantly miss . This feels so much more achievable .

In order to get variety at a sensible cost, I start with the Aldi super 6 (other super markets have similar deals). This week apples (eat for breakfast with peanut butter, cook with spices and add to porridge), celery (not keen on it raw so it gets finely sliced and fried up with onions), mangetout, pink grapefruit, red peppers and spring onions. Grill the grapefruit with cinnamon sugar, the rest is salad stuff.

Then add a few root vegetables, carrots and potatoes plus a selection from celeriac (grate into coconut based curries, it melts down in 40 mins and thickens the sauce plus adds a umami taste), swede (mash with tatties), parsnips (roasted or into soup), sweet potatoes (roasted, cooked in chilli sauce, soups or grated in chilli). If I lived alone I would probably buy a stew pack sometimes.

Some carrots get grated, seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice and a dash of olive oil (this week had shredded red pepper in it) - this goes in a box in the fridge and is added to wraps, burgers, sandwiches or just a spoon or two on the side of a meal.

Onions, brown ones are cheapest but we buy red ones occasionally as they have slightly different nutrients. Often have an onion salad in the fridge. This week's is a large mild onion, finely diced with some spring onion and grated radish, dressed with roasted garlic mayo and vinegar. Other times we have a variation on a slaw.

Plus random selection of other veg, usually mushrooms, some sort of salad leaf, green leafy veg.

Then you add in peas, beans and lentils. Mushy peas are fab.
Nuts and seeds, peanut butter without too many additives works fine.
Kimchi, sauerkraut, gherkins
Loads of herbs and spices as food should taste nice.
Wine and coffee count (in moderation)

Yesterday's fish finger sandwich had a dollop of carrot salad, fish fingers, onion salad, lettuce and gherkin (7 veg varieties) The portions were not massive but repeat all week in the same vein and it adds up.