30 plants a week

[PrawnDumplings]

Improving my microbiome and therefore my health and energy is my current aim.

Good gut bacteria helps absorption of nutrients from your food, which supposedly means you have less cravings.

I'm going to list my 30 plants here if anyone wants to join me.

Fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, spices all count 🍆🍑🍌🍊🍎🍓🍍🍒🥑🥒🌱🥔🍋🍉🌽🥙🥦

https://zoe.com/learn/30-plants-per-week?utmsource=googleepmax&utmmedium=&utmmcampaign=20382344316&utmadgroup=&utmmterm=&utmcontent=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6cqk0ujUgwMVnplQBh11wA5tEAAYASAAEgJQ11D_BwE

Montezuma does one with orange oil and cocoa nibs which is delicious, I bought a bar for DH for Xmas

I've lost track of my count ... I was over 30, added butternut squash, some more bean types (whatever in a 5 bean mix I'd not already had - red kidney, canellini and pinto probably), kiwi and strawberries.

Oh dear, I just checked out the Zoe poo test and read this:

We ask because ZOE is not currently able to support people who are pregnant.

"People who are pregnant"? Women, you mean 😒

I won't be sending money to a company that wants to erase the word "woman".

"propagating kefir - do you do that cold or in a yogurt maker?"

I use the instant pot. Mix 2 tablespoons of fresh yogurt with 1L long life milk, press the Yogurt button and 8 hours later it pings. Couldn't be easier.

Thanks for the tip about M&S 100% chocolate, I'll have to ask a neighbour to pick some up for me next time she is there.

I'm absolutely certain that the disclaimer about who is not allowed to do the Zoe project was written by American lawyers. It doesn't seem to bear any relation to what you do on the project. It also excludes people with diabetes and those with coeliacs disease. (As if people who are already suffering from inflammatory illnesses aren't those most likely to benefit from eating to lower their inflammation levels.)

Excluding pregnant women is along the same arse covering lines. There's nothing in what you are asked to do that is the least bit challenging for anyone with a health condition, the opposite in fact, it's a way of eating that everyone would benefit from. Well, apart from that one day when they suggest you to should eat nothing but plain white bread or rice for breakfast, that was cruel and unusual.

A couple of YEARS ! I was wondering if I had the consistency to do it for a couple of weeks and decided something is better than nothing so I shall try today. Yes if I put every single herb and spice that would be about 10 per meal and often different ones. Maybe just add if it's a really significant amount like a curry with loads of turmeric as opposed to a tiny bit of cumin, coriander, cinnamon etc

@MerryMarigold it is a lifestyle thingy. The aim is to eat a wide variety of plants for the rest of your life.

I've been doing it for years, I only bother to do the counting thing a couple of times a year now. I think the idea is that, it is so much less work than calorie counting or than a full truthful food diary. If you eat lots of plants, there is less room for crap. If you pay some attention to what goes in your mouth, you might make better decisions. It is unlikely to do you harm, unlike some fad diets. Working on including foods as opposed to excluding foods is much better for our psyche.

Very interesting thread, I've just counted up how many I've had over the last few days. Amazed to see it's 25! I am trying to eat healthily so that has obviously helped.
Am trying to lose a few pounds too, only got 4 or 5 to go.
Thanks for the inspiration

@MerryMarigold I just thought simplifying it down to two entries was a good idea.
I did end up tracking fenugreek leave as a separate entry as you use it like spinach, in those sorts of volumes to make curry!

It helps that I actually enjoy the tracking of them, makes me try and beat my previous weeks, or note that we need to eat mixed berries on Sunday with breakfast to up the numbers etc.

Frozen fruit mixes are great for boosting plant numbers without risking fruit going mouldy before you eat it. Sainsbury's do a Four Berry Medley 1kg bag of blackberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries for £3.90. The strawberries tend to be enormous and might be a bit flabby defrosted whole, but they are excellent when blended in smoothies.

A couple of scoops of pea & hemp protein powder, a splash of kefir, a couple of handfuls of frozen fruit, and either a banana or half an avocado and you've got a lovely smoothie. The ones made with avocado are halfway between a smoothie and a mousse, very luxurious. Just by rotating the frozen fruit bags it's easy to notch up 10 different fruits in a week, before you even start to look in the fruit bowl.

On one Zoe podcast they said they could tell which participants in the project used Tabasco sauce, from the results of their poo tests, and adding a pinch of mixed herbs and spices to meals encouraged a more diverse microflora. So I'm going to keep counting the nutmeg I grated over my warm milk as "a plant", and the cardamom in my coffee.

I agree that the game of trying to eat MORE plants is much more fun than the usual dieting schtick of concentrating on all the things you aren't supposed to eat.

On one Zoe podcast they said they could tell which participants in the project used Tabasco sauce, from the results of their poo tests

Good, bad or just hot?

@stealthsquirrelnutkin ooo I like the idea if cardamom coffee!

I'm definitely eating less crap.

34 pistachios
35 cauliflower
36 broccoli
37 peas

48 Celery
49 Celeriac
50 Chillies

The repeats are now excessive

Week 1 done and 45 different ones eaten (if we include dark chocolate, coffee and peanut butter!).

Aim for Week 2 is to beat this number. I'm really enjoying finding healthier things to eat and feel so much more full. Don't think I'll be losing much weight on all these nuts though 😅

Here to add my last seven days:

1. dark chocolate
2. tomatoes
3. red onion
4. avocado
5. coriander
6. satsuma
7. pear
8. rocket
9. white onion
10. cabbage
11. aubergine
12. peanut butter
13. oats
14. coffee
15. red lentils
16. mushrooms
17. apple
18. banana
19. broccoli
20. red kidney beans
21. raspberries
22. olives black
23. capers
24. chickpeas
25. cumin
26. turmeric
27. dried prunes
28. lemon juice
29. parsley
30. mint
31. pomegranate seeds
32. carrots

I’m really enjoying this challenge. Thanks very much for the thread - lots of inspiration.

This is very useful, appreciate your insight.

Brilliant! I think it's better to focus on being healthy personally 💚

Good. It's really surprising how just a tiny bit of something different can spark the proliferation of a beneficial organism that has been present in very tiny numbers.
I have never really enjoyed hot spices, but have gradually trained myself to appreciate a bit of hot sauce, kimchi with turmeric and black pepper that also contains varying (Russian roulette style) quantities of chilli paste, and have learnt to appreciate the milder Aleppo pepper flakes and use them in lots of dishes.

Good, I've just had a bowl of Heinz five beanz with smoked paprika and chipotle Tabasco in it.

I've caught DH's cold and am craving carbs, plus trying to tidy the fridge.
Almost trifle for breakfast, hazelnut cake, medlar, kefir, yoghurt and hazelnuts
51 Medlar
52 Hazelnuts

Lunch: banana fritters with sweet and sour tahini and sriracha sauce plus pickled white beetroot. I have weird cravings
53 Banana

Oooh where do you get medlars from?

Brilliant and inspiring thread. I have written a list of everything that counts that I like and stuck it to the fridge. I will highlight everyone I have over the next week... my online shop is prepped and I'm quite excited

🙌

34 pistachios
35 cauliflower
36 broccoli
37 peas
38 Walnuts
39 rocket
(Day 5)