How to Eat 30 Plants a Week (and why you should)

Move over ‘5-a-day’, the latest nutrition wave is all about variety and lots of it.

Research led in the UK by Prof. Tim Spector shows that people who eat 30 or more different plant foods each week have more diverse gut microbiomes, which is good for your digestion, immunity and long-term health.

In this blog post I’ll share:

• Why 30 plants a week is more than a fad and why it’s so good for you

• What counts as a plant (good news: nuts, seeds, herbs and spices are plants too)

• Easy ways to boost your plant variety and hit the target without overthinking

Why aim for 30 different plants per week?

The number 30 might sound made up but it’s backed by data. In the American Gut Project / British Gut Project those who ate 30 or more different plants per week were more likely to have ‘good’ gut bugs than those who ate just 10.

Here's what the reseach showed:

1. Happy guts love variety

Different plant foods provide different types of fibre, different polyphenols (which have antioxidant and ant-inflammatory properties) and prebiotics which feed your ‘good’ gut bugs.

In plain English: your gut likes variety. If you eat the same 5 plants every day, you’re only feeding the same bugs. Give them a buffet every week and they’ll thrive.

2. You’ll live longer and healthier

We've always known eating fruit and veg is a good thing. But we now know eating a wide variety may even help you live a longer and healthier life. Diets rich in a variety of plants (like Mediterranean-style diets) links to lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

What counts as a plant?

It's simple really... If it’s a plant, it counts. From the obvious carrots, tomatoes and apples to the ones you might not always think of. The good news is you can stock your pantry with many of them so they’re always within reach.

FRESH OR FROZEN	STOCK YOUR PANTRY
Vegetables like carrots, beetroot, butternut squash, cauliflower, kale, spinach, mushrooms, sweetcorn, onion and garlic	Whole grains like brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, couscous, bulgar wheat or barley
Fruits like apples, pears, bananas, berries, avocados and watermelon	Beans, legumes and pulses like chickpeas, lentils, edamame, and butter beans
Herbs like coriander, basil, mint and parsley, and fresh spices like ginger or turmeric root	Nuts and seeds like pumpkin, sunflower and chai seeds, cashew, walnut and pistachio nuts
	Herbs and spices from dried thyme, rosemary and oregano to turmeric, cumin and cinnamon

Top tips

• Anything but beige. When your plate has a rainbow of plants, you’re on the right track. Only got three colours on there. Add another to your love-my-gut buffet.

• Same plant, different colour counts. When you add red and green bell peppers to your stir fry you’ve eaten two plants, each with it's own nutritional goodness.

• Go big on beans. They are packed with gut-loving fibre. I add them to almost everything: pasta, tray bakes, curries, soups, and even good ol’ beans on toast.

• Up the flavour. Dried or fresh, herbs and spices take every meal from ‘meh’ to ‘more please!’

• Make snacks count. Crunchy peanut butter with sliced apple for dipping, a handful of nuts or fresh fruit help nudge you towards your target.

Meal ideas: Easily boost your plant variety

Here’s how to boost your meals and easily smash that 30 plants a week target.

Breakfast: Overnight oats (whole grain) with chia seeds and cinnamon (spice) → 3 plants. Boost it with grated apple and crushed walnuts → now 5 plants

Lunch: Leafy salad with carrot, cucumber and tomato → 4 plants. Boost with cooked quinoa (whole grain), chickpeas (legume), chopped parsley and sprinkle of sunflower seeds → now 8 plants

Snack: A sliced pear → 1 plant. Boost with a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter for dipping and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds → now 3 plants.

Dinner: Vegetable curry with carrot, cauliflower, onion, chopped tomato, turmeric and cumin → 6 plants (yes, the spices count too). Boost it with frozen peas, a handful of baby spinach and a tin of cannellini beans → now 9 plants

From thinking '5 a day', you’re now easily getting 14 plants per day by adding more variety. And you can boost those meals to 25 plants per day with pretty much what’s already in your fridge or pantry.

Do that each day and you’ll hit the weekly target of 30 different plants without even thinking about it. Boom! (dramatically air drops mic)

Quick checklist for this week

✅ Add one new plant variety to each meal this week. It could simply be a new herb, adding a tin of beans, or trying a different grain.

✅ Every day think back to what you ate the day before. Your goal is 30 different plants per week, not 30 portions of the same 5 plants. Added cannellini beans to your soup yesterday? Today add edamame beans to your salad.

✅ Celebrate your progress! Even hitting 20 different plants a week is a win and moves you in the right direction.

You've got this!

Eating 30 different plants a week isn’t about being perfect or turning your diet upside down. It’s about adding variety with different grains, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices alongside the fruits and veg you’re already familiar with.

When you make the mindset shift from '5 a day' to '30 plants a week', you’ll be nourishing your gut, keeping your energy up and giving your body the plant-rich fuel it needs. And the best part? It’s so doable with just a few easy additions to what you already eat. It's pantry-filler budget-friendly too.

If you don’t fancy doing it all yourself, my Bowls of Goodness are already packed with 10+ plants in every serving. Add a breakfast pot and bliss balls and you’re suddenly hitting 20 plants a day! All completely faff-free and packed with flavour. Your gut (and your busy to-do list) will thank you.