30 Different Fruits and Vegetables

[AhBiscuits]

I was reading yesterday about how you should have 30 different fruits and vegetables each week for gut health. I don't get anywhere close to that, I eat a lot of the same things. Like for I'll have an apple and a satsuma with my lunch every day, I'll have broccoli a couple of times a week, my side salads are usually the same few things. I need to try and branch out.

For inspiration, what fruit and vegetables do you eat in a normal week?

I reckon I usually have

Grapes
Raspberries
Strawberries
Banana
Apple
Orange
Onion
Tomato
Lettuce
Cucumber
Pepper
Carrots
Brocolli
Peas
Sweetcorn
Lentils
Kidney beans

There's other things from time to time but these are probably the things I always have.

I think that traditionally people got variety from making things like weed pie in the spring. A robust pastry (hot water or potato) with lots of nettle tops, wild garlic, jack-in-the-hedge, good king henry and herbs with just enough egg and or cheese to bind.
https://breadcakesandale.com/2022/04/19/foraged-herb-quiche-aka-weed-pie/

This week I've had:

Bagged salad (italian mix)
Caesar salad
Fresh Tomatoes
Cucumber
Beetroot
Scallions
Red onions
Avocado
Coriander
Sesame seeds
Butternut squash
Shallots
Chickpeas
Mixed beans
Black beans
Lemon
Lime
Satsumas
Raspberries
Strawberries
Pear
Melon
Pineapple
Blueberries
Strawberries
Tinned tomatoes
Aubergine
Garlic
Sesame seeds
Celery
Carrots
Baby spinach
Many herbs / spices
Bag Asian stir-fry mix
Red pepper
Mushrooms
Frozen petit pois

I make a lot of homemade soups. This week we've had chilli with guacamole & black beans; chicken stir-fry, aubergine parmigiana; spiced Moroccan chickpea soup, spiced Butternut squash soup, chicken caesar salad, and I made a big serving dish of fruit salad which lasts us several days.

@Skethylita - just read back and see you’ve made the same point as me!

Ummmmm

Cauli
Broccoli
Carrot
Green beans
Onion
Sweet potato
Potato
Celery
Tomato
Haricot beans
Apple
Blueberry
Pear
Grape
Satsuma
Coffee
Green tea
Peppermint tea
Redbush tea
Oats
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Allspice
Rosemary
Oregano
Parsley
Thyme
Ginger
Rice
Cashew
Walnut
Almond
Hazelnut
Radish
Little gem lettuce
Watercress
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Beetroot
Sauerkraut
Garlic
Mushroom
Dark chocolate (90%)
Extra virgin olive oil

Since Monday

As someone with gut issues, I think about this a lot and periodically check my intake. Personally, I don't find it hard to achieve 30 plants a week. You realise it includes cereals, grains, seeds and nuts, don't you?

A typical breakfast for me is orange juice, mixed berries (blackberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries) with granola (oats) and at least chia seeds. That is 7 plants in one meal.

For lunch I usually have salad, so say lettuce, cucumber, avocado and tomato as a bare minimum (4) and a different fruit, say kiwi or banana. So 5 in that meal, 12 so far that day.

Assume 2 veg with the evening meal = 14 in one day alone.

Of course, a lot of those plants would be the same the next day. The trick is to substitute an easy ingredient, eg linseeds instead of chia seeds, or a handful of mixed nuts instead of a piece of fruit with lunch.

The other things I do is buy packets of dried fruit, eat stir fries, and, because I make my own bread, put different combinations of seeds/added ingredients into the bread dough.

30 different in a week?
Can I include the 10 who work in the office?

Cucumber
Tomatoes
Carrot
Banana
Avocado
Grapes
Strawberries
Apples
Broccoli
Green beans
Cauliflower
Peas
Potatoes
Onion (often pickled)
Beetroot
Red pepper
Sweetcorn
Kidney beans
Haricot beans

This week I've had:

Blueberries
Raspberries
Apple
Banana
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Linseeds
Coconut
Lemon
Chickpeas
Radishes
Sweetcorn
Spring onion
Ginger
Sesame seeds
Various dried spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon)
Peanuts
Coriander
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Avocado
Rice
Green beans
Olives
Romaine lettuce
New potatoes
Spinach
Watercress
Rocket
Courgette
Mint
Carrot
Cabbage
Lime
Wheat
Rye
Kale
Broccoli
Tea.
I can't remember what I ate in Thursday, so there might be more, but I was mostly doubling up by the end of the week.

I've just eaten dinner which was pastrami with a salad of: Cos lettuce, avocado, sorrel, hawthorn tips, dark kale flowers, wild garlic flowers and leaves, nasturtium leaves, bistort leaves, jack-by-the-hedge flowers and leaves, dandelion flowers, and a dressing with cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, wholegrain mustard and sugar. Potato salad with chives, parsley, lemon thyme, oregano, lovage, fennel seeds, onion, black pepper, mayonnaise.

24 things

Earlier in the day I had a tomato and some apple with breakfast, cucumber and sweetcorn with my tuna salad at lunch followed by a satsuma, some pecan nuts and a couple of dates. I drank tea and cocoa.

9 more things.

That seems to be 33 things without much effort

And different colours, with dark kale and black pepper, pink bistort flowers, yellow dandelions, red tomato, orange citrus, and many shades of green.

Tiny quantities of any one thing, but lots of variety, and a lot of it picked from the garden.

There really is no need to eat such a huge variety but there's no harm in it it's just not necessary

I've always tried to eat some really varied locally grown plant-based food at this time of year, coming out of the long dark winter. Often a green soup with lots of different new greens - nettles, chickweed, dandelion, alexanders, herbs etc etc. I think getting lots of micronutrients, things that are cooked within minutes of picking, is good. My grandmother was always insistent that one should eat nettles three times in the Spring to 'clean the blood'.

Also delicious of course.

Thinking about today I had blueberries, walnuts and a carrot and orange smoothie at breakfast, then salad of watercress, rocket, tomatoes, basil, cucumber, fried garlic, oven chips with skins on (if they count) and some strawberries. Definitely not a full 80g 5-a-day of each but that's at least 10 things without much effort.

I watched that Netflix thing yesterday about gut health (despite being cross they got a couple of bits wrong, eg that babies get their first bacteria from the vaginal passage and the anus of their mum) it also said 30 a week.
I was counting and this week I had:

Satsumas
Apples
Avocados
Courgettes
Aubergines
Tomatoes
Carrots
Cabbage
Onions
Olives (?)

So a possible 10! It's pretty shocking really - thought I had been quite good!

No tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, pepper, bread, rice, potatoes? No herbs or garlic or oils? No spices?

edited to remove an extra coffee

@MsMuffinWalloper where do they get their bacteria from then, I thought it was the birth canal?

@BarrelOfOtters The sterile womb paradigm was a bit last century.
The 21st C recognises that the womb actually has a very active microbiome. It influences women throughout their life and can even show your disposition to cancer. If you're interested Womb by Leah Hazard is really interesting.

Herbs and spices count 1/4 towards the 30 I think!

Tinned is OK, as is frozen and pickled (pickled is great).

Great that you have a household of 4 - that will make it loads easier to have a variety with minimal waste.

I also had kidney beans and forgot I added sweet potato to a sausage stew, so a solid 11 at least!
Oh yes, about 3 cups of tea a day, with 2 sugars, I had olive bread and lots of garlic and spices - it just feels as though there might not be enough with the smaller amounts in herbs to count. I was always told it had to be the size of the palm of your hand to reach parts of the gut?

When they started talking about the 30 different things it was just about variety. That was the scientific bit. Then marketers decided to monetise it and ordained bigger portions so they could sell things.

Eat what you like. Try to have variety, try to have plants in different colours.

This is spooky, Just started a challenge with DH today to record how many plants we eat in a week and see if it comes near the magic 30!
And then I saw this thread... now to RTFT...thanks for starting 😀

In a typical week I will always have

Apples
Bananas
Limes
Peppers
Aubergines

Courgettes
Onions
Carrots
Peas
Broccoli

Spinach
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Chickpeas
Black beans

Kidney beans
Potatoes
Rice
Buckwheat
Sweetcorn

Tomatoes
Pistachios
Cashews
Apricots
Lentils

so that's 25 on the list for every week. Then there's the things I won't eat every week but will have a few of from time to time - I am sure I will eat at least 5 from this list of 25 every week so will reach my 30.
Mango
Pineapple
Strawberries
raspberries
Beetroot

Celery
Beansprouts
Bamboo shoots
Cabbage
Cauliflower

green beens
Kale
Satsumas
Pears
Avocado

Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Sweet potatoes
Leeks

Asparagus
Artichokes
Butternut squash
Parsnip
Grapes (either fresh or dried)

Mushrooms are not plants.

So if I make a curry with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika and chili it's one third of the weekly 'requirement' in one meal?

Bollocks!

More than a third if you eat it with rice. Add in some chutney, a little chopped mint and a poppadom and you're heading for half. A cup of tea afterwards and something sweet and sugary and you're there.

otoh, you could probably subsist on boiled eggs and water for a few weeks without actually dying.