30 plant-based foods a week, so hard

[ILookAtTheFloor]

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?

@ILookAtTheFloor

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?

Try buying in some tinned and frozen fruit. Frozen berries are great. Just put a few in a bowl in the morning and they'll be defrosted by teatime. The raspberries and forest fruits are lovely, and not too sweet.

It's not that hard or that expensive. You just need to buy in quantities that provide enough for one meal and then different stuff next day

eg
berries or banana or chopped apple on muesli in the morning
a soup made with leeks, lentils, carrots and sweet potatoes for lunch
a dinner of pasta with tomato, peppers, onions, courgettes and aubergines with a side salad of cucumber and lettuce
Snack of apple, pear or satsuma

That's 14 in one day. Average food on an average day. Nothing fancy or expensive.

@ILookAtTheFloor follow Dr Alan Desmond on Instagram. I think he's doing a live conversation with Tim Spector this evening. He's a gastroenterologist and he has a book with loads of great plant based recipes. The Plant Based Diet Revolution.

@UnaOfStormhold your breakfast is almost 100% sugar or refined carbs, with the exception of (processed) peanut butter.

Sugar in whole fruit is not a problem
Because the fibre makes the body process it differently. I know some people view all fruit as sugar but it's just not true.

@HandOfBananas

Sugar in whole fruit is not a problem Because the fibre makes the body process it differently. I know some people view all fruit as sugar but it's just not true.

Completely agree with this. I've heard dates referred to as "natures candy". I've also heard that we have "sweet teeth" as we are supposed to be eating a variety of fruit.

Also don't agree with posters saying this way of eating is expensive. I spend a lot less now due to eating very little meat/highly processed foods/takeaways and freezing portions of batch cooked plant based meals.

@HandOfBananas

Sugar in whole fruit is not a problem Because the fibre makes the body process it differently. I know some people view all fruit as sugar but it's just not true.

I think people do need to be aware of high GI fruits. Also, modern fruit varieties are many times more sweet and sugary than even 30 years ago. E.g. www.newsweek.com/zoo-weans-animals-fruit-because-its-increased-sugar-makes-them-fat-and-rots-1145259?amp=1

That is interesting but it also says that the problem for the animals is that they will only eat the fruit and ignore the other non sweet foods given. And it says that the way the human body processes whole fruit makes it impossible for a human to consume too much fructose from whole fruit. So it doesn't support the point

Here's another link then, I do try to avoid the DM www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3178901/Fruit-veg-getting-SWEETER-nutritious-fewer-health-benefits-scientists-claim.html

That is interesting and worrying. I still don't see that it means eating less fruit is better though. I mean - sure, if we were exclusively eating fruit all day long and nothing else like the monkeys in Melbourne it would be a big problem, but most sane humans would not do that. Arguing that fruit for breakfast is unhealthy is not a winner imo.

'Less healthy than before' does not equal 'unhealthy' and these bitter compounds that are being removed are not the only thing that makes fruit healthy. Fibre plays a huge part in the benefits of fruit consumption.

I'm not saying fruit for breakfast is unhealthy, but people can underestimate the amount of sugar in breakfasts marketed as healthy - orange juice, muesli with added sugar and dried fruit - and the affect on blood sugars. My obese, pre-diabetic SIL thinks fruit is 99% water and she can eat as much as she wants of it. Yes it's better than chocolate cake or coco pops but it's not neutral.

I think we are agreeing mostly

@UnexpectedItemInShaggingArea - are they meant to be unprocessed or not carbs? I hadn't understood that from the OP. Personally I'm not limiting carbs or indeed trying to lose weight, though I try to get plenty of fruit and veg, hence my interest in the thread, and I am cautious about avoiding ultra processed foods.

You're also not getting a complete picture of what I eat because I'm only mentioning things with plants in, e.g. on the day I had a banana milkshake I had an omelette as well, but I didn't mention that because no plants in it.

As for the rest, grape nuts are wholegrain, processed but unsweetened. Jam is homemade low sugar freezer jam so mostly fruit, bread is granary or wholemeal (also homemade), and the peanut butter is 100% peanuts which I think makes it minimally processed. The milkshake is just banana (agree it's a high sugar fruit but no other sweetening) with milk. So I don't think it's that bad!

I'm also not trying to lose weight, I'm trying to maximise my fertility through healthy eating.

I am trying to cut out ultra processed foods like jars of pasta sauce and meat substitutes like quorn. Also processed meat like salami - all of the above I love but I know aren't a healthy choice-although as I said above I do eat treats at the weekend when I let myself be more relaxed around what I eat.

My worst addiction is Diet Coke. I try and not drink it until Friday and only have a can at the weekend. I don't drink alcohol and I've cut coffee too, but I don't miss those things.

Oh orange juice - for sure. Not healthy at all, a marketing triumph that people think it is.

Ok, whole fruits are not at all the same as processed fruit products. Agreed

One can a day during the weekend, so I have cut down massively.

I think you're doing really well OP, and cutting down to just 2 cans a week of fizzy pop is an awesome achievement!

I like to add capers to things that I would otherwise put cheese on, like pasta or soup. It gives the salty highly flavourful hit while upping variety of plants. Double win!

The best thing is to ignore the literal advice of someone recommending 30 different type of veg / fruit etc a week

And just simply aim to add more variety to your diet

You'll outweigh any benefits by getting so stressed out over it

So to add to the 19 yesterday (not couning cous cous or coffee)today:
Avocado
Little gem salad
Ottelenghi ragu ( lentils, mushrooms 2 kinds, pearl barley, garlic, carrot, onion)
So another 9 today not counting spices. Even though all my fruit is repeats.
Tommorow I am planning either a aubergine and sweet potato curry with chick peas (not counting onion or tinned tomato*s as repeats) or a ratatioulle so that will be another 3 or 4. Lunch tommorow is leftover spinach lasagne so minimum another 5.

Without counting herbs, spices, coffee or processed wheat, I hit 30 in 3 days. I think not doing that in a week is a bit odd.

Not counted yet but bound to eat this week because they are in the fridge;
Corriander
Celery
A red pepper
Some ginger
A courgette
A Lime
I don't think this week is particularly healthy or unusual. Also about to eat the last chocolate brownie which has walnuts in it.

That said a veggie stir fry is something I often make to add veggies to my diet I'll add a bit of all the following

Broccoli
Onion
Pak choi
Chinese cabbage
Fresh Ginger - can use ground
Fresh Garlic - can use granules or frozen
Soy sauce
Chilli - or flakes or sirachia
Black Pepper
Tsp sugar
Half tsp vinegar
Tomato purée - occasionally
Bean sprouts
Mange tout
Mushrooms
Red pepper
Spring onion
Very thinly sliced carrots
Leeks
Courgettes

Any vegetables you like - these are all in my fridge usually

I cook it in sunflower oil and a bit of sesame oil at the end for flavour

I see that rice counts so all that stir fry can go on rice too

@UnaOfStormhold none of it is bad-bad (although there's evidence that drinking fruit is worse than eating it). I'm just trying to point out that you could have a shit diet and get your 30 a week in. It's a peculiar lens through which to organise a diet.

Again my obese, pre diabetic SIL thinks she's eating healthily because she has lots of homegrown fruits in her diet, but she ignores the fact that she eats them with "just a little bit of" ice cream, in crumbles, cakes and jams etc. You could eat a bar of Cadbury's fruit and nut and count 3 plant based foods in it...

So here's my week so far...

Peanut butter
Sourdough rye bread
Blueberries
Dried apricots
Brazil nuts
Lentils
Asparagus
Spices (can't remember which)
Spring onion
Swiss chard
Tomatoes
Kimchi - just cabbage according to the tin
Beansprouts
Red onion
Mushrooms
Seasame seeds
Breakfast, lunch and snack was the same was yesterday,
Tonight I'll have
Brown onion
Garlic
Spices
Green lentils
Chickpeas
Sweetcorn

22 so far. Not much different in the fridge though. So it will be a concerted effort to get all 30 in.

Oh I will have wholemeal pasta too.