I try to eat 30 different types of plant foods a week for a healthy gut microbiome.
It might sound like a lot, but I manage it as a recovering picky eater who doesn’t meal prep (I’d rather spend my precious Sunday afternoons lying down).
As a child (read: young adult), I recoiled at the sight of greenery on my plate. I looked at a raspberry and saw only unappealing little hairs. Even a slice of buttered whole wheat toast had me running for the door because it tasted too healthy.
Around five years ago, I realized that I needed to expand my culinary horizons, if not for the enjoyment then for my health. Fruits, vegetables, as well as wholegrains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, not only contain micronutrients and vitamins crucial for bodily processes and general health, they’re also high in gut-friendly fiber.
A 2018 study called The American Gut Project found that people who ate 30 plant foods a week had more “good” bacteria and less “bad” bacteria in their guts than those who ate 10. It gave me an easy framework to follow for eating healthily.
Gut health has strong links to overall health. As well as digestion, the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the colon lining, is thought to influence our mood, skin, hormones, immune system, weight, and possibly even cancer risk.
Research suggests that a diverse gut microbiome is a healthy one, and that eating a wide range of fiber-rich foods, i.e., plants, boosts diversity.
Here are the four time-saving habits I’ve built in the past five years that help me eat 30 plant foods a week.
Keeping leafy greens in the freezer
I always keep a bag of spinach and a bag of kale in my freezer and add them to any meal lacking veggies.
Dark leafy greens not only contain fiber, but are high in chlorophyll, the molecule that gives them their rich color. Chlorophyll is densely packed with essential nutrients, including iron, magnesium, and nitrogen.
It takes seconds to reach for a handful of frozen leaves, and I can add them to almost anything I’m cooking, from pasta sauce or curry, to scrambled eggs. It involves no preparation or additional steps, and instantly makes any meal more nutritious.
Always have pre-cooked grains to hand
While I can quickly whip up vegetables and protein, I often find it’s the carb element of my meals that takes the most time to prepare.
When I cook whole grains like brown rice or quinoa, I make extra to put in a sandwich bag and freeze. I also buy bags of pre-cooked grains, which I love to add to salads or eat with fish and veggies.
Keeping my kitchen stocked with pre-cooked whole grains, dry whole wheat pasta, and frozen whole wheat sourdough speeds up cooking and are great sources of fiber.
Fibermaxxing at breakfast
I’ve previously written about the high-fiber breakfast I eat every day, which consists of Greek Yogurt, berries, peanut butter, and a selection of nuts and seeds.
I switch up the ingredients depending on what I have in the cupboard, but typically it provides me with around seven different plant foods and around 7 grams of fiber.
It’s so quick to put together and helps me start my day with a big hit of fiber.
Gamifying eating vegetables
I set myself a goal of buying at least three types of vegetables a week, and making sure I eat them before they spoil.
If they don’t pair well with my meals, I eat them as a snack. For example, I recently chopped up a whole cabbage, cooked it down on the stovetop with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, and warmed up little portions throughout the week whenever I felt like it. It took about 15 minutes.
I find this helpful little challenge gets me in the habit of adding more plants to my diet because I get dopamine from “winning” the game.
Now that I’ve developed these habits, I don’t worry too much about hitting my plant count because I know I’m consistently eating fiber-filled, nutritious foods.
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