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30 plant-based foods a week, so hard

230 replies

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 11:21

I'm really struggling with getting 30 plant based foods a week as per Tim Spector's advice on gut health.

I've counted last week and I can only get to 17! It's hard as I tend to batch cook for both ease and budget.

How can I get more in? I already include lentils, wholegrain rice, quinoa etc. Any tips welcome! Anyone else trying it?

OP posts:
itwasntaparty · 31/01/2022 11:24

What's he based the 30 on?

Taoneusa · 31/01/2022 11:36

30 a week is about 4 a day. Switch to plant butter and plant milk.

Toast with butter and a topping like avocado or hummus or jam plus a cup of tea is three a day.

Potatoes or rice or pasta each day adds another one.

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 11:52

But they only count once a week. So 30 different plants.

Don't use milk or butter as I don't like it.
I've counted up last week and it's actually more than 17 but herbs only count as one quarter

Peanut butter
Brazil nuts
Dried apricots
Blueberries
Kimchi
Mushrooms
Carrots
Lentils
Asparagus
Spring onion
Onions
Tomatoes
Spinach
Swiss chard
Garlic
Chilli
Quinoa
Sweetcorn
Wholegrain rice
Oregano
Wholemeal pasta
Sourdough rye bread
Seasame seeds

OP posts:
CloseYourEyesAndSee · 31/01/2022 11:53

God why would you make your life so complicated??

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 11:54

Forgot gherkins 😁

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StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 31/01/2022 11:54

I think grain and legumes count too, so porridge oats, baked beans, chickpeas etc.

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 11:54

I want to be healthy.

I'm TTC and my dad had bowel cancer so I'm trying to be super healthy.

OP posts:
MaybeHeIsMyCat · 31/01/2022 11:55

Bananas
Raspberries
Dates
Dried fruit
Orange or apple juice
Pears

Taoneusa · 31/01/2022 11:55

Have you thought about writing down your normal weekly menu and then counting how many you are short , in an average week?

That might be easier. You must have been eating plant based foods every day, anyhow.

Runningafteradhdbrain · 31/01/2022 11:59

The 30 numbers is quite arbitrary tbh.

You don't seem to be having much fruit? I try to have a small bowl of fruit salad every day to up my variety.

What do your daily meals look like currently?

Squishmael · 31/01/2022 12:14

Start off with a different fruit to have each day (7 per week)

blueberries
apple
orange
dates
banana
strawberry
kiwi

Have some seeds and nuts every day (7 per week)

Then have a side salad each day with at least 2 of these (14 per week)

lettuce
cucumber
gherkins
carrots
sweetcorn
sugar snap peas
onion
olives
beetroot
cabbage
rocket
watercress
peppers
celery

have soup a couple of times a week (4 per week)

cauliflower and broccoli

butternut squash and leek

curry/chilli/bolognese/pasta sauce (8 per week)

chick peas
lentils
kidney beans
edamame beans
mushrooms
celeriac
asparagus
kale/spinach

That's off the top of my head and more than 30

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 12:17

You're right @Runningafteradhdbrain.

I don't have a sweet tooth so I'm not that keen on fruit.

My breakfast is peanut butter on rye sourdough bread.

For a snack I have dried apricots, blueberries, Brazil nutes and 2 squares of 85% cocoa dark chocolate.

For lunch today I've got teriyaki salmon with spring onions, lentil daal and asparagus. On Wed and Thurs it'll be the salmon but with quinoa and wild rice. Then a side salad with mixed leaves, tomatoes and Kimchi.

Dinner today will be mushroom and prawn stir fry, as I don't have much time.

Tomorrow and wed I'll have spicy lentil pasta, with onions, garlic and some spinach and sweetcorn chucked in.

Those are my mid week meals. For a treat at the weekend I might have some white pasta and a jar sauce! I do treat myself at the weekends and we do have a takeaway as I do all cooking and never get a break otherwise.

OP posts:
ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 12:18

@Squishmael

Start off with a different fruit to have each day (7 per week)

blueberries
apple
orange
dates
banana
strawberry
kiwi

Have some seeds and nuts every day (7 per week)

Then have a side salad each day with at least 2 of these (14 per week)

lettuce
cucumber
gherkins
carrots
sweetcorn
sugar snap peas
onion
olives
beetroot
cabbage
rocket
watercress
peppers
celery

have soup a couple of times a week (4 per week)

cauliflower and broccoli

butternut squash and leek

curry/chilli/bolognese/pasta sauce (8 per week)

chick peas
lentils
kidney beans
edamame beans
mushrooms
celeriac
asparagus
kale/spinach

That's off the top of my head and more than 30

Thank you! Great ideas here.
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ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 12:22

Thursday night dinner not so good, tuna and anchovy spicey pasta so no additional plants.

Friday a curry with wholegrain rice, unfortunately with a jar sauce, I just don't have the time.

Also, bear in mind I also have a fussy DH and two fussy children who all eat different meals so I regularly make 3 or 4 different meals each day.

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MaizeAmaze · 31/01/2022 12:34

Brocolli, peas, potato, cucumber, lettuce, pepper feature quite heavily in our diet, and I cant see them on your list.
So, if you did a roast dinner one night, with potatoes and brocolli, and had a salad one lunch time, maybe with beetroot or avocado, youd be getting close to your 30.

Courgette and aubergine for a summer ratatouille.

ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 12:42

Ratatouille would be a great idea. Thank you.

Not keen on potatoes, unfortunately. More of a rice, pasta and noodles kind of girl!

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ImaCeri · 31/01/2022 12:44

There was a thread somewhere started by @breathmiller I believe that was around eating 10/day, which may be worth looking out for inspiration.

IDidntKnowItWasAParty · 31/01/2022 13:31

I'm thinking back to what I've eaten over the past few days/week. I'm vegan so it's easier for me to rack up plant-based foods, but here are what I can remember.
For lunch I like to eat 'bowls' (aka Buddha bowl, goddess bowl etc) and soups/stews, so those are packed with lots of different items.
For dinners I like stews (eg chili, ratatouille, peanut stew, stroganoff etc) with rice, or say a veggie burger with oven chips and a veg.
I try to have at least 1-2 fruit portions per day (1 in the morning, 1 after lunch).
Here's what I can remember:

artichoke hearts (from a jar)
asparagus
avocado (in Buddha bowl; mashed on toast; in sandwiches/burgers)
beetroot (cooked & vacuum-packed)
broccoli (in soup)
carrots (in soup)
celery (in soup)
courgette
mushrooms (in stroganoff)
olives
onion
potatoes (roasted; chips; mash)
spinach
sweetcorn (in peanut soup)
tomatoes (roasted in the oven; sauce in pasta; tinned in chili, soups)

apple
banana (smoothie)
blueberries
orange juice
prunes
strawberrries (smoothie)
satsuma

brown rice (with tofu; in soup etc)
barley (in lentil soup - nice but takes ages to cook)
wholewheat bread, wraps, pita, rolls
wholewheat giant couscous

baked beans (on toast)
chickpeas (sprinkled with tamari, garlic and sprayed with Frylight and roasted, in Buddha bowls)
lentils (in soup/stew)
soymilk
soy Greek yogurt
nuts (almonds, cashews & walnuts to snack on, pb on toast, pb powder in peanut soup)
plant-based: hotdog (in roll); chicken/turkey (part of roast dinner); bacon (in sandwich); burger (in roll); mince (in stroganoff)
sunflower & pumpkin seeds (sprinkled over Buddha bowls)
tofu (firm tofu, cubed, tossed with garlic paste, tamari and a little sesame oil and baked, served with brown rice and a green veg)

FlamingRoses · 31/01/2022 13:43

Ooo this sounds so interesting!

So for me, breakfast is usually eggs, potatoes and tomatoes, mushrooms and courgette, sometimes spinach (4)

Lunch something like tuna pasta with pepper, onion, cucumber, peas and sweet corn (5)

Dinner, butternut squash massaman with sugar snap peas (2)

Snack things like apple with cheese or edamame (1)

So that’s 12, I think that’s good. Add in the other dinners with different veg like sausage, mash, broccoli and carrots, vegetable fajitas, cauliflower and chickpea curry, I’d say I’m on my way.

1940s · 31/01/2022 13:51

@FlamingRoses

Ooo this sounds so interesting!

So for me, breakfast is usually eggs, potatoes and tomatoes, mushrooms and courgette, sometimes spinach (4)

Lunch something like tuna pasta with pepper, onion, cucumber, peas and sweet corn (5)

Dinner, butternut squash massaman with sugar snap peas (2)

Snack things like apple with cheese or edamame (1)

So that’s 12, I think that’s good. Add in the other dinners with different veg like sausage, mash, broccoli and carrots, vegetable fajitas, cauliflower and chickpea curry, I’d say I’m on my way.

You probably have more of the curry has onion, herbs spices etc
ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 14:03

Goes off to Google Buddha bowls....

I've never had tofu. I'll look into that too. The tamari sounds interesting.

It's a great list @IDidntKnowItWasAParty thank you, although ultra processed meat subs don't count I don't think.

OP posts:
ILookAtTheFloor · 31/01/2022 14:06

I'm definitely not a fan of snacking, hence why I find it hard to eat lots of fruit. Also, not keen on sweet things. Also, bit worried about waste as I would only need 1 piece of 7 different fruit items for the week?

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RedToothBrush · 31/01/2022 14:10

I saw something like this a while back. I dunno whether its the same idea. That said in terms of gut health and plant based products, herbs, spices and grains counted too (either fresh or dried). It might not be for this particular plan, but that was my understanding. It didn't have a minimum quantity, just that you needed to consume it. When I included them in what we already ate regularly it was quite surprising.

If you do bread, you can include multigrains or seeds in your list too - so poppy seeds, sesame seeds etc. I've just looked at a bog standard loaf of multigrain you can buy for 85p - its got Sunflower Seeds, Golden Linseed, Millet, Pumpkin Seeds, Poppy Seed in it. Thats in addition to Wheat, Soya and Barley being on the ingredients list. So there's 8 in just one item. Just 22 to go.

Add in herbs and it makes it MUCH easier to achieve than you think. That gives you thyme, basil, rosemary, cumin, parsley, sage, mustard seeds, coriander, chives, dill, paprika, chillis, fennel, pepper, oregano etc etc.

Herbs have a reputation for being expense. They aren't if you either buy in bulk, at a speciality worldfoods stores or you grow your own. Lidl do cheap seeds in Feb/Mar and the last few years you could pick up herb seeds from 20p a pop. Wilkos are also really good too. You can grow on your windowsill or very easily in pots outside - no need for a big garden. And then you can dry and store for the winter.

Even a bog standard mixed herbs from the supermarket will typically contain Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Basil. Thats 6. You've already got the ones in your bread. That takes you down to only needing 16 more plant based foods. Even if you don't count them as a full plant based food it still helps crank up the numbers, especially if you eat several times a week.

So season, spice and herb your food, switch your bread and you are a massive way through your quota for the week.

Postdatedpandemic · 31/01/2022 14:16

Relax a bit and remember Tim Spector's advice
The good news is that increasing the variety and amount of plants in your diet doesn’t have to be difficult, especially once you expand your idea of what counts as a plant-based food to include spices, herbs, nuts, and seeds.

Your rye counts and so do the spices that went with the tuna and anchovy.

Long term thread for eating a variety of fruits and veg [[https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4438337-Eating-our-10-a-day-thread-2]]

For instant variety, especially if you live alone try veg like these www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/cooks-ingredients-asian-mixed-vegetables/565323-673419-673420
Or a handful of mixed frozen fruit mixed into overnight oats/muesli

NDVR · 31/01/2022 14:17

Root vegetable crumble
Roast Mediterranean veg with brown rice
Shakshuka
Stuffed peppers
Cauliflower and broccoli cheese

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