Thirty plants a week - avoiding food waste for small appetites

[soupyspoon]

I like to think I get a really good variety of plant fodder in each week as I cook with a wide range of spices and herbs and veg etc

I think on another thread some months ago I calculated a meal I had cooked which had around 40 'points' just in that one meal

However I think what happens on average is that the same thing is eaten for many days on end until its used up (as I will not throw food away!) and then on to the next thing. The freezer is completely full of various batch cooking and then bags of frozen veg so theres no room really for more, its one in, one out at the moment

Ive had WLS which means I eat very small portions, for example Im going to roast up a cauliflower today and that will last me over a week in the fridge, added to other things even if I eat some every day.

So today Ive downloaded a plant counting app and Ive totted up 9.5 entries

But I suspect that tomorrow may well be the same 9.5 entries and so on and so on

I dont want to create a load of food waste, what do other people do when cooking small amounts?

Is anyone else doing this?

You mentioned the bulk buying in Aldi, I think carry that on but one week a month go to a local green grocer and buy one of things that you don’t get in Aldi.

as your partner isn’t eating this you are only buying off 1 person so could buy 7 different fruits and tiny amounts of different veg to build variety. With buying such small amounts this will be no more expensive than Aldi.

keep in your freezer the meals but also bags of peas sweetcorn etc so you can have a pinch of each regularly.

if you have eaten all you want and have spare, rather than getting fed up of it put it on a food sharing website like olio.

I have a ‘nut and seeds box’. Its and old chocolate box that over time each time I buy a new nut, seed or dried fruit from Aldi I keep the packet of them in the box. Each week I browse through and try to have something from different bags to increase variety as I don’t eat the same ones each week

doing these things will ensure you don’t eat the same 30 each week and so each month you will have more than 30 in total as variety is what you are aiming for here

Also OP I wanted to say well done you on your cooking. You seem to already be eating a lot of veg and your meals you describe sound delicious and all cooked from scratch which feels somewhat of a lost art these days! Your husband is missing out!

This isnt a thread about that but when you have surgery you have a whole team around you and guidance and advice. Im very precise about what macros I have, calorie intake, supplementation, its all measured out.

I do think that you need to change your shopping habits. Even if you dont want to swap to a greengrocer, buying a small punnet of cauliflower florets would leave a lot less waste.

I love the 30 a week thing but I also think if you aren't quite making it, its ok.

What about smoothies? Bag of mixed berries, add chia seeds and or flaxseed, banana and oat. You can do in small amounts.

I always buy mixed salad leaves, not individual lettuces.

Tea and coffee count. Try different herbal teas?

He is so missing out, really doesnt appreciate good food quality

Yes I have quite a lot of mixed nuts and seeds, I eat them a lot. Im finding it a bit odd that individual different nuts count as a point each separately. I dont know if that is a bit disingenuous. But never mind I will log them as I find them

I didnt know about olio I will look into that

And as you and others have said, this might now be the time to start shopping differently, its not really doing much practical help to just get stuff in Aldi and Lidl for this purpose, although god knows the grocer is really really expensive.

So all in all, unless I have a snack of olives tonight as sometimes I do, I end the week on 17.25 points and thats after 3 days

I didnt get time to do my cauliflower and red cabbage in the end so will do that tomorrow for the coming week(s)

Just in case anyone is interested in this plant points app, Im finding it quite good. I didnt realise that you can set it to either do a calendar week from Monday to Sunday or just 7 days at a time

So Im still on the 7 day week that I started on Friday and so far up to 25 points, but that does include a lot of seasonings where really you only have a pinch so not sure really the significance of that, you get 1/4 point for each of those

Im not likely to exceed 25 I think by Friday but its a good start

So in case anyone is also doing this, I have finished the week today and just had my dinner and Ive finished on 31.5 'plants'

This includes lots of herbs and spices but you get a quarter of a point for those

I did take peoples advice and actually went to Asda this week and managed to find small pots of beetroot and bags of sliced mushrooms and bags of cauliflower and broccoli florets which are smaller than Aldi/Lidl and Ive been having a lot of inventive soups, tonight for example, brussel sprout, brocolli, cauliflower cheese. Delicious

Im not sure how it justifies having differences in tomatoes, different colours and also coffee and tea do seem a stretch to me. Also different colour carrots, so I got two points this week for a purple carrot and an orange carrot. Not sure if that is technically correct in terms of what is trying to be achieved.

I'm really interested in your experience @soupyspoon. I've been trying to do this too. I have downloaded both the Thirty Plants and Plant Points apps. I prefer the latter as it counts the herbs and spices correctly.

I'm in a similar position in that neither of the other occupants of my family are very plant focussed.

I'm actually really grateful that I had frozen lots of homemade soup over the last few months. I need to go and get some more dried fruit to add to porridge - I used the last of my dried apricots this week.

I've got a vegetarian burrito tonight which has 7.5 plant points - so I think I need to factor in at least one vegetarian meal a week.

Brilliant. I remembered also today that it also counts mushrooms as all different, so chestnut, button, portabello etc

As with the carrot example, Im not sure this is a different 'plant' in terms of variety is it? It feels a bit of a reach

Im also not sure if Im doing the settings right as today I thought it would start a new whole week at zero but instead it still says 7 days and says 27.5. So it must now be counting from last Saturday. I thought it was doing Friday to Thursday as one week

Avocado will be a new one tonight.

Have you got the Olio App OP? I’m just thinking that if you have for instance the huge bunch of Chard you could give some away without throwing any away.

Do you have any herbs growing? The ones you buy from the supermarket will usually grow nicely on a windowsill if you pot them on and can be added to lots of things.

I aim for the 30 different plants but I really don't think it matters if you don't achieve it. It's an arbitrary number, just like 10,000 steps or 5-a-day. The main thing is that it makes you focus on fruits and vegetables and encourages variety.

I forgot that I need to sign up to that

No Im a plant killer

I have frozen fresh herbs

Yes I did wonder if it was an arbitrary number like the steps thing

I like to experiment so I'll see how I go over the month

I’d like to do this too, what is the app you are using please OP?

Its called plant points. Im using the free version

Its nice and straight forward and as someone else said, it gives quarter of a point to seasonings which is correct apparently

So right now in the fridge I have half a bag of the sliced mushrooms, a bag of the cauliflower and broccoli florets, brussel sprouts, peppers, onions, cooked roasted curried cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumber and avocado which is now opened. I think I can use most those up over the next week without too much bother and things like sprouts and peppers will last until the following week I think. I have pots of my bulgar wheat as well.
I still need to cook up that red cabbage though but I can freeze that once cooked.

Just coming back to update, my day today once finished will result in my 7 day amount being 40 plants. That of course includes a very high amount of seasonings and herbs.

The free version doesnt allow you to make changes to other days, so I missed about 5 yesterday because I thought I would put them in later and forgot and so added them to today. Yesterdays 7 day total was 34 and would have therefore been 39, meaning today's would technically be 35.

But its not the overall accuracy thats interesting, its seeing it all tot up and being a bit more mindful.

It seems to run a rolling 7 days

I've been thinking of this thread since you posted last month OP. Every time I try new veg I think of you! 😊

DH and I both WFH and aren't eating tiny meals, so clearly get through alot more food than yourself. I did a count at the time and even without including herbs/spices, we were over 30 a week, but its not a weekly count I do. I have been mindful to include more rainbow and variety though and a few things I've learnt/tried.

-Brazil nuts are a great source of selenium. Apparently only 1 nut provides your daily amount!
-You said you mainly buy from aldi or lidl. If you are near a major city, many fruit/veg shops have more variety than the supermarkets and you can pick up just 1-2 items. Often uncommon things to try.
-Sainsburys price match to aldi on many items. I often get a delivery because they offer so many different fruit/veg. Mixed packs of mushrooms, red chicory, various asian veg etc
-If you have space, try growing some veg yourself. You can get radishes in a multitude of colours and they are quick growing, pea shoots add a nice flavour to salads, cress is easy, along with other mixed salad leaves where you cut and let it continue to grow.

-I got some dried seaweed from lidl last year and now got around to use it. I added it to miso soup with some additional veg and chicken. Yum.
-Dried mushrooms are another idea, because they keep in the cupboard for ages and you can add as many as you want to a dish.

@soupyspoon , M&S do a dupe for Zoe’s daily thirty at a fraction of the price which could help.

I live alone. As the “30 plants” includes seeds and grains, herbs and eg garlic,and chilli, teas etc, it’s not really hard to reach it, or pretty close.

I never bother with buying whole squash, frozen chunks of butternut squash and sweet potato are so much easier and there’s no waste.

Thats brilliant

Yes Ive needed to change where I get stuff from, although the grocer is really expensive to be honest. Im not inputting it anymore because I was reaching high numbers consistently so it was ok but I stil like to focus on a variety, Im tracking it by AI now so it tells me what Ive done and what to tweak.

Very interested in this, never heard of it. I might get some

Just coming back to this to say that my AI told me not to bother with the M+S 30 foods thing because Im doing the same with my actual food and it would be a waste of money!!!

I have wondered the same, and until recently was cooking for one, so it can become wasteful and overwhelming quite quickly!
I also think we ought to use it as a rough guide, which was developed to help people move from a very overly processed diet onto a more sustainable, fresh way of eating.

If we already eat a good amount of plants and healthy foods, it is easy to overthink it, which I am guilty of on occasion. I love the whole topic though so do enjoy musing about it!

I manage it with a good selection of herbs and spices, only some are fresh. I also built a good collection of nuts and seeds, but it was quite pricey to begin, because I prefer organic. Once many of the supplies ire in your kitchen, it is much easier to move forward with it.

Don't get bogged down by the obsessives online, honestly, food topics are rife with unpleasantness and fictitious one-upmanship. It's ok to by pre cut and bagged, frozen and tinned, it's often even healthier (frozen berries, tinned toms).
Most of us can't afford to restock (not to mention source) and use up a rainbow of 10 different veg every day, so keep in mind your tea, coffee and even seeded crackers count.
A selection of frozen, dried, fermented, jarred and fresh are just great.

Many stores offer authentic ferments (yeo vallet kefir, RAW sauerkraut, etc) so we don't have to make it all ourselves.

I def think the ZOE way is somewhat unnecessary, and remember, it is designed to enlarge corporate profit above all else, so do bear that in mind. I think there is a massive push to create constant 'content' for the videos and interviews, which can feel overwhelming and somewhat dizzying.
This doesn't mirror real, lived life, for our budget or our guts.
We do not need to pay extortionate subscriptions to eat well.

Remember, for millions of years our gut biomes were just fine eating a fairly local diet, and along with activity, was enough to keep a good balance. I doubt it anticipated a 20th century explosion of globalised foods coming together under vast supermarket roofs

Try to keep it realistic, and make sure to enjoy it.

roofs/rooves, oh my.