Over the last several years, my diet has been changing and evolving. After doing some research about plant based diets, it seems like the migration to consuming more plants and less meat and animal products is more common than I thought. And while I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian, I can now happily slap a label across my chest: flexitarian. After all, we are told being flexible is a good thing, right? Lisa the Flexitarian. Has a nice ring to it.
Harvard Health Publications breaks the different plant diets down like this:
Vegetarian diet variety
- Vegetarian diets come in lots of shapes and sizes, and you should choose the version that works best for you.
- Semi-vegetarian or flexitarian includes eggs, dairy foods, and occasionally meat, poultry, fish, and seafood.
- Pescatarian includes eggs, dairy foods, fish, and seafood, but no meat or poultry.
- Vegetarian (sometimes referred to as lacto-ovo vegetarian) includes eggs and dairy foods, but no meat, poultry, fish, or seafood.
- Vegan includes no animal foods.
To be more specific, this is the Flexitarian Diet:
- Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
- Focus on protein from plants instead of animals.
- Be flexible and incorporate meat and animal products from time to time.
- Eat the least processed, most natural forms of foods.
- Limit added sugar and sweets.
In my opinion, this sounds a lot like “everything in moderation.”
The American Gut Project is conducting the world’s largest gut health study and has some fascinating insights that can help all of us improve our health. The study is a massive citizen science project that gathered microbiome samples from more than 10,000 people and showed that people who eat around 30 different plants every week have much greater microbial diversity than those who eat just 10.
After analyzing the stool samples of more than 10,000 people from around the world, they discovered that the number one factor for a healthy gut was the number of different plants eaten in a week.
The magic number? 30.
The research showed that people who ate more than 30 different plants per week had a more diverse mix of gut bacteria than those who ate less than 10. Our gut is like a tropical rainforest with loads of species living and working in harmony. We WANT a diverse amount of bacteria because those microbes are exceptionally good at optimizing our gut.
More plants = more good bacteria in our gut
More good bacteria = stronger immune system response
Stronger immune system response = healthier & more vibrant life
So, in an effort to help you migrate to a lighter way of eating, here are some great ideas about how you can easily add more plants to your weekly food intake:
An Apple a Day
After my morning walk with my dogs (see article here), we all share an apple. I cut and eat. They do tricks and eat. An Apple a Day. Everyone’s happy.
Fruit Smoothies
After the apple and fun dog tricks, it’s Smoothie Time! My smoothie’s pack a punch – Mike’s are almond milk based and usually banana and a variety of berries. Mine are coconut water based and more citrusy: pineapple, cuties, lemons, limes (waaaay better with limes!) and sometimes strawberry or raspberries. Then comes beets, chia, flax, sesame, turmeric, ginger, moringa, spirolina, MCT and a green powder that blends lots of fruits, veggies and grasses. We both start our mornings with 10-15 plants (not counting the green blend), all mixed together and all super good. It is quite common that my smoothie is by far the yummiest thing I eat each day. The NutraBullet does a good job and gets a workout every day.
Super Salads
Salads are another easy way to incorporate more plants – this time vegetables. Skip the iceberg and go for darker, leafy varieties. I usually pile on carrots, celery, onions (red or white), sweet peppers and broccoli. Sprinkle on some pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or other nuts for extra crunch AND extra plant foods for your diet.
Chinese Veggie Buffet
If you really want to hit the food variety home run, visit your local Chinese buffet. Skip the fried stuff and try the stir fry veggies instead. Along the buffet, scoop out some extra broccoli to go with that seasoned chicken (or skip the chicken and just take the broccoli). Sautéed cabbage with carrots is very good and the crisp stir fry green beans are one of my favorites. You could easily add another 10-15 different veggies in just one lunch! This is also an opportunity to try a new vegetable. Ever eat bok choy? Why not?
Wholesome Granola
For over a year, I have been making granola. I found a recipe, have tweaked it, and I now make it just about every two weeks. Each handful contains organic rolled oats, walnuts, pecans, pepitos, sesame seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, coconut oil and honey. Throw in some dried fruit and that’s 10 additional plants to add to your diet. Mike adds it to his yogurt in the morning and I toss in some dark chocolate chips for a perfect after dinner treat.
Whole Fruits
Seasonal fruit is always a crowd (and tummy) pleaser. Watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and cuties combine for a beautiful addition to any plate. Eat (not drink) the Rainbow. The more colors, the better and whole fruit provides the much needed fiber and natural sugars that helps you feel full and satisfied. Extra bonuses? Whole fruit will quench your thirst as well as help you avoid the added sugar or worse, high fructose anything, found in most fruit juices.
Hydration Helpers
Summer in Northwest Florida (where I live) means hot and steamy. In addition to a tall glass of lemon water after doing some yard work, enjoy some chilled watermelon or a crunchy dill pickle. Olives your thing? Mine too. Several spoonfuls straight out of the jar will check that box for much needed sodium to replace what was lost through sweat.
Fermented probiotics
Another great option to add variety is fermented foods like pickles, kimchi or sauerkraut. These special foods will also provide some helpful probiotics to aide in digestion.
Essential Oils
While reading the foreword to a book on essential oils, the author mentioned that in addition to foods, EOs can also be included in your weekly intake – especially if they are topically applied. I use rollers all the time and after reading this, I had a “why didn’t I think of this before?” kind of moment. Check out the point system by the Gut Health Doctor Team in the Resource/Reference links at the bottom of the page. They don’t mention essential oils, but if they did, they would probably be a similar point value as spices. So every time you roll on that calming blend to sooth your nerves, you are adding several different plants onto your list.
I hope these ideas have inspired you to think about how you can change up/enhance your diet. In fact, I would like to challenge you to keep a list of all the plants you consume for ONE week. Any plant is fair game: vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, grains, spices and even essential oils. Variety is the key. After 7 days, go through each day’s list and see if you can reach the goal of 30 DIFFERENT plants. While doing research for this article, I was a little shocked by the fact that the average American diet only consists of about 10. And, I don’t think I have to give you three guesses as to which vegetable is consumed the most.
Here is my list where I recorded and then compiled all the different plants that I consumed in 7 days. After doing this for a few weeks, I noticed that I will need to explore different options as I seem to buy the same and eat the same each week. So this was a super interesting experiment for me and I challenge you to give it a try.
30+ Plants a Week Challenge – Lisa’s 7-day compiled list
Apple
Cantaloupe
Pineapple
Lemon
Lime
Clementine
Blackberry
Raspberry
Blueberry
Kiwi
Beet
Ginger
Turmeric
Parsley
Coconut water
Powdered green mix: Wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa grass, spinach, spirulina, broccoli, chlorella, rose hips, pineapple, carrot, cherry, green tea leaf, açaí berry, beet root, maca root, raspberry, flax seed
Garlic
Mixed greens/ salad (misc leafy greens)
Cranberry
Walnut
Pecan
Pepitos
Avocado
Rice
Black beans
Celery
Onion
Sweet peppers
Wheat
Tomatoes
Corn
Snap peas
Radish
Kale
Cabbage
Green beans
Zucchini
Hot peppers
Oats
Cinnamon
Pickle
Black olive
Green olive
Edamame
Broccoli
Red onion
Carrots
Baby peas
Resources/References
If you are looking to take a deep dive, Forks over Knives is an amazing website that offers everything plant based – recipes, cooking classes, meal plans and great information for beginners. Lots of hand-holding if you need it:
https://www.forksoverknives.com
Information about the different plant based diet options:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-a-plant-based-diet-and-why-should-you-try-it-2018092614760
Here is a great overview as well as benefits of a plant based diet:
https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/a31077033/what-is-plant-based-diet/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=mgu_ga_pre_md_dsa_prog_mix_us_19931675023&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4f6zBhBVEiwATEHFVnEIu8GqUd5sYqgBbxe3NPfBft9qS6u8pT6zSajm6X9m-6QtdhEm8RoCp5QQAvD_BwE
A more detailed list of plant based diet benefits:
https://www.wellandgood.com/benefits-plant-based-diet/
Athletes: do you believe animal proteins are the best? Think again. Great article FOR athletes about the protein advantages of a plant based diet:
https://gamechangersmovie.com/benefits/maximizing-performance/the-plant-based-advantage/
Do you need a list and some pretty pictures? Here you go:
https://www.gemmasampson.com/blog/30-plants-a-week
Here is the breakdown of the point system that might help:
https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/how-to-get-your-gut-loving-30-plant-points-a-week/
More ideas about how to add variety:
https://joinzoe.com/post/eat-more-plants
Here is the reference to the gut study as well as more ideas for adding variety
https://www.deliciouslysimple.net/wellness-blog-1/2021/4/4/eat-the-rainbow-30-plants-a-week-for-a-healthy-gut
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