How many plants in your main meal today?

[DragonsAndDaffs]

I've been trying to reduce UPF and increase the amount of plants we eat. We try to eat the rainbow and hit 30 different plants a week.

Dinner tonight was a prawn and edamame stir fry containing 8 plants.

Anyone else trying to eat 30?

Indeed, but I'd include onion under either system. Obviously depends what I'm cooking but I commonly use about half an onion per portion, which easily meets the 80g-portion requirements of the 5-a-day rules.

but lettuce is a soporific so it is great for helping you sleep at night.
That is quite a claim. How much lettuce would you need to eat to get a good night's sleep?
It's probably mildly soporific unless you eat a truckload or are Peter Rabbit.

Oat milk - especially organic ones - can be ok - the ones with lots of additives ( the creamy coffee ones for example) less good

some coconut yogurt may be UPF but without nasties

it’s quite a messy picture with UPF

When did people start calling salad and vegetables plants? It makes me think they’re chowing down on potted palms and an assortment of cacti🤣 Sorry for the irrelevant post.

Because we’re not just counting vegetables. It’s veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds etc. They are all plants, I don’t know how else you’d refer to the group.

Oh I might give this a go!
my nephew did it a couple of years ago and was surprised at the variety that he ate without making an effort although he’s veggie and quite health conscious.

Today I had a chicken salad with:
kale
cavalo nero
tomatoes
spring onions
green beans (leftover from last night along with the chicken!)
olives
cucumber
4 different types of seeds
dressing of olive oil and lemon juice

I tend to eat like this most lunchtimes - a combination of leftover veg from the night before and then whatever salad is in the fridge.
Dinners though, I mean I guess we eat a lot more food with spices and herbs but generally just one or two sides of veg.

What would you class them as? They are literally plants.

Well, what else would a bean be? It's not an animal and its not dairy.

It's not about portions of veg or quanity. It's about eating a wide range of plant based foods every week. Totally different than the 5 a day.

30 DIFFERENT plants? No. We generally eat carrots, beans, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, sweet corn, onion and salad as our veg and fruit not many but avocado, tomatoes maybe the odd banana. We eat the rainbow rather than so many different kinds.

What a strange post. They have always been referred to as plants.

Onion
garlic
carrot
red pepper
green pepper
courgette
various spices
tinned tomatoes
salad leaves
cucumber
tomato
red onion
rice (never sure if this counts, it’s basmati not brown!)

Yes I’m strange. Very strange.

Ooh my kind of thread!

Dinner tonight nor a good example as I'm on the move and having a ready meal curry and rice, but last night's was sweet and sour chicken:

Carrots
Peas
Sweetcorn
Bell pepper
Onion
Celery
Green beans
Butter beans
Red cabbage
Garlic
Probably some things like paprika in the sauce but negligible
Brown rice

So far today: (trying not to duplicate if I also had it in last night's meal):

Smoothie:
Cherries
Flaxseed
Banana
Chia seeds

Homemade veg soup
Mushrooms
Swede
Butternut squash
Mixed dried herbs (I think the quantity roughly counts as one)
Brussel sprouts

Sushi
Seaweed
Ginger
Soya in the tofu
Possibly some others as it was a box of vegetarian sushi
Sushi rice

• Some kind of dried mixed veg/herbs blend seasoning on some pickled eggs(!)
• Tea

I'm pleased with that in 24 hours. I do tend to manage 30 most weeks.

I have a friend who puts 30 plants in a smoothie and drinks them all in one go, which I'm not sure is what the creators had in mind!

Yes, 30 different plants. It's a different "thing" to 5 a day or eating the rainbow, and primarily to do with gut health. The 30 plants can include herbs, spices, potatoes/rice/nuts/grains and tea and coffee too.

Three. Tomato (sauce), mushrooms and green pepper. All pizza toppings.

The pepper helps your body to absorb the turmeric by slowing down it's transit in your gut.

It's a good idea to have a little oil with the turmeric if you can, as the good stuff in turmeric is fat soluable. A few years ago "golden paste" was all the rage for the reason (Turmeric + pepper + coconut oil, gently cooked).

Lasagne so :
onions celery carrots mushrooms garlic tomatoes and red lentils.
the rest was beef, pasta, cheese and wine I suppose.

I'm pretty sure you have to count herbs and spices as a quarter or a half of a portion..... I would say putting paprika, cumin, coriander and garlic powder in my dinner is 1.....not 4 as many people seem to be counting. Perhaps if you have them multiple times a week it adds up.

I actually find it difficult, and I'm one of the crazy people buying the Zoe Daily 30 mix so I do get my 30 a week because I sprinkle that on everything. But if you eat a lot of the same meals on repeat as I do then it's difficult. I had a really healthy lunch of kefir, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, pecans and chia seeds today.....but I can't count the berries or nuts again this week.

I don't worry about it too much in terms of counting. Buying mostly frozen vegetables has helped because I can add lots of different veg without worrying about what needs using up from the fridge. I've also found it helpful to think if I'm adding herbs and spices to just add a few more each time for variety, or buy a different type of nuts or seeds in the weekly shop so we're mixing it up.

10 items in my meal this evening. Thai Green Curry:

Brown rice
garlic
ginger
tamarind paste
spring onion
red pepper
sugarsnap peas
baby sweetcorn
cashews
coriander

(I’m aware that several of these probably don’t belong in a traditional Thai Green Curry, but it was delicious so who cares?!)

Edited to add: maybe 11 if coconut milk counts

Tonight just broccoli, unless you count wheat in the pasta.

However my frequent veg soups often contain at least 10 - onion, carrot, celery, swede, turnip, celeriac, red lentils, pearl barley, potatoes, parsley, any or all of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts - all added just for the last few minutes.

Zoe count herbs and spices as a whole. Because it’s not about eating a certain amount of the item like the governments five a day is, it’s about giving as much variety to your gut biota as possible even in small amounts. They do suggest having the same herb or spice again later in the week though.

Ive recently got really into frozen fruit and veg too. My freezer’s full of all different kinds and whatever I’m making I’ll just reach in and grab a few small handfuls of different things to throw in. It was weird at first but now I don’t even notice all the random extras in my meal!

I easily get over fifteen a day and over thirty a week now - not even including the spices!

Less today (as I've had chilli/garlic/spring onions/coffee/tea already), but that's the point of a weekly recommendation;

Breakfast

Spinach
Olives
Lemon
Olive oil
(Tuna Nicoise salad)

Snack

Brazil nuts
Dates
Flaxseed
(with yoghurt)

Dinner

Sweet potato
Chives
(with ricotta, tomatoes, cucumber, chilli, pickled chilli garlic, spring onions and two hotdog sausages)

Will have a banana later, so nine today.

Carrots, swede, celery, peas, corn, broccoli.
Oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary

What about purple? And your only red is tomatoes, no peppers or pomegranate?