When scrolling through socials, we all need to be careful about taking nutritional advice too seriously. While there are some certified dieticians and nutritionists posting on Instagram and TikTok, all too often people who are far from experts are happy to dole out advice relating to what and how we eat. That being said, one nutrition trend that has taken off online is totally backed up by science. It’s also reassuringly simple and easy to do—it’s called “30 plants a week”, and the clue is absolutely in the title. It’s all about aiming for 30 different plant sources across the course of a week—it may sound like a lot but it’s totally doable, and incredibly delicious! Check out these tips on how to make this nutrition trend work for you.
Porridge Toppings
Depending on the type of plant, some portion sizes are quite small. For example, most dried fruits only require you to eat 30 grams to meet your nutritional needs. This means that topping your porridge (or cereal, toast, or yogurt) with a handful of fresh berries, a handful of nuts, some seeds, and some dried fruit will count as four towards your goal of 30!
Soups and Stews
A homemade soup that contains onion, potato, leek, and garlic will count as four towards your total, whilst a bean and vegetable stew is likely to offer even more. Remember, you’re looking to eat thirty different portions across the week, so it may be worth making a batch of soup or stew and then freezing the leftovers, so that you’re eating a variety across the week rather than the same meal on repeat.
Herbal Teas
High-quality herbal teas will count towards your goal. This means that if you have peppermint, lemon, ginger, and black tea on one day, you’re getting three plant portions just from your tea breaks! As ever, the focus is on variety, so if you’re stuck in a tea rut check out some different flavor combinations to introduce a greater range of plant portions to your diet.
