30 Easy Ways To Eat Better

First there was five a day, then 10,000 steps – now allow us to hit you with you eat 30 different types of plants a week. A tough ask? We picked the

To keep score, give one point to each type of fruit, veg, whole grain, bean, pulse, nut and seed you eat during the week and a ¼ point for each herb and spice.

01

Eat the seasons

Seasonal eating: not just for Creme Eggs.

Vegetables at their seasonal best have a greater nutritional value. Plus, they represent an opportunity for diversity. ‘Be adventurous by choosing seasonal fruit and veg you haven’t tried before, ’ says registered dietitian Tai Ibitoye. On the seasonal eater’s menu this month are wild nettles and watercress. Visit eattheseasons.co.uk to get inspired.

02

Score marginal grains

You may not automatically count

it, but brown rice contributes to your 30-a-week goal, as do buckwheat, millet and sorghum. Swap steamed white rice for brown alongside your veggie curry or turn buckwheat into a healthy risotto.

03

Make thyme

If you can keep them alive for long enough,

adding fresh herbs to meals is one of the easiest ways to elevate your plant-based intake. Side note: if you can’t, give them a haircut and pop them in the freezer for another day. Portions tend to be small, so each type of herb only counts as a ¼ point each – but as they can be added to almost any dish, the points add up quickly. Green herbs (think: parsley, basil, oregano, thyme and coriander) are all particularly nutrient-dense, packed with vitamins C and K. Sprinkle generously on curries, chillies, salads and soups.

04

Give chickpeas a chance

There’s much more to chickpeas than hummus.

Turn a humble tin into a moreish snack by roasting them in the oven for 20 minutes with a sprinkling of salt and paprika or a squeeze of lemon.

05

Be a smoothie operator

While consuming nothing else for days on end is

to be avoided at all costs, smoothies and juices are an efficient way of ingesting multiple types of fruit and veg in one sitting. To protect your teeth from the sugar that’s released from fruit and veg when blended, Ibitoye recommends limiting your intake to one 150ml glass per day. Blitz a carrot with just a little mango and orange, or a big handful of spinach leaves with an apple for tartness.

06

Tap in to olives

Emphatically not just for nibbles.

‘Olives aren’t an obvious thought when it comes to fruit and veg, but can easily be included in your diet, ’ says nutritionist Jenny Tschiesche, who recommends making a tapenade to dip into all week. Just combine pitted olives in a food processor with garlic, a dash of olive oil and some lemon juice. Alternatively, simply add chopped olives to your pasta sauce.

Slurp it up

07

Make it a mixed bag

Variety: the spice of life and the stuff of diversity dreams.

From those packs of peppers that contain red, yellow and green to tins of mixed beans, when it comes to optimising your plant intake, different is better. As a general rule, whenever you’re shopping for packaged food, choose the option with the most variety.

08

Avo go

There’s a reason it took off as a toast topper.

‘Some people refer to avocado as “nature’s butter” as it’s so diverse, ’ says Tschiesche, who points out that it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. She suggests combining the fruit with frozen banana and frozen berries in a blender and blitzing until smooth to create avo ice cream. Or try avocado mayo: blend it with milk, olive oil and lemon before seasoning.

09

Make lemon your main squeeze

Speaking of lemons,

adding a slice to hot water to flush out toxins is to be avoided for the sake of your teeth – plus, that’s what your liver is for. But lemon can still aid your diversity goal. Dietitian Jasmine Carbon suggests incorporating dashes of lemon juice to your meals throughout the day. Squeeze half a lemon on to a salad or into a smoothie for a citrus kick without the damage to your enamel.

10

Try dry

Around 30g of dried

fruit, such as raisins or sultanas, is equivalent to 80g of the fresh kind, meaning you need less to nudge you closer to your nutritional target. While mindless snacking is a recipe for sugar overload, adding a few to porridge or a tagine will do nicely.

11

Fall for fermentation

Fermented foods are a tonic for your digestion-aiding healthy gut bacteria.

While some at-home techniques are more process-heavy than others (we’re looking at you, kombucha), cabbage is an excellent entry point and requires little more than salt and other cupboard staples.

12

Go full beans

An oft-ignored but no less valid

contributor to your five a day is Heinz’ finest. ‘Choose varieties low on sugar and salt to make it healthier, ’ says Carbon. Got a bit more time on your hands? Make your own using a tin of cannellini beans or similar.

13

Box clever

Think of veg boxes

as 2022’s answer to a parent telling you to eat your greens. The offering from Odd Box (£15.99 for a large box; oddbox. co.uk) will vary from week to week, depending on which fruit and vegetables they’ve saved from waste that week. Others, like Natoora, focus on bringing you the seasons (£35 for a peak season box; home-delivery. uk.natoora.com).

14

Go ginger nuts

A typical thumb-

sized portion of ginger represents a quarter of a point towards your score, but it also soothes nausea and makes your digestion more efficient. As well as adding it to recipes, crush it up and brew it in tea.

15

Side with onion

Spare a thought for the overlooked onion that’s the base to many a soup and stew. In addition to being affordable, they’re packed with antioxidants, which can help prevent the cellular damage connected to some types of cancer, diabetes and heart disease, says Carbon. Steam or lightly fry an onion in olive oil to make a simple side dish. E

Give us a ring

16

Opt for oats

Porridge: not just

for winter. This plant powerhouse of a breakfast is the dietitian’s go-to with good reason. Not only do the oats themselves count towards your 30-a-week target, they’re also a blank canvas for pretty much any nutrient-dense topping you can think of. Start with an in-season fruit (as per the previous page), then top with seeds.

17

Dress for the occasion

Put down the supermarket

dressing and pick up a fork. ‘Whisking up a dressing using the oil and vinegar in your cupboards is so easy and they make a great base for herbs, too, ’ says registered nutritional therapist Belinda Blake. The rule of thumb is three parts oil to one part vinegar – be that a white wine vinegar or lemon juice. Try adding herbs to butter, too.

18

Double dip

Turn your favourite veg into dips to pair with sliced raw veggies, such as cucumber, carrot and celery, and watch your plant points stack up. ‘Butter beans make a deliciously silky hummus and the usual tahini can be swapped for other nut or seed butters, such as walnut, almond or pumpkin seeds, which makes a glorious greencoloured dip, ’ suggests Blake, who’s a big fan of ‘rainbow hummus’ . ‘Adding some cooked beetroot, sweet potato or butternut squash to your own or a shop-bought hummus can also add extra variety, colour, flavour and nutrients. ’

Lucky dip

19

Spread better

Plant-based butter: not just for vegans.

Look for one that contains a plant-based oil, such as olive or avocado – or you could even try making your own. For example, use blended avocado as a spread in wraps and sandwiches, says nutrition coach Sharan Verma. Or mash up a banana and pop it on your toast.

20

Empower your flour

Try baking with

banana flour, suggests nutritionist Emma Scott. Popular in Africa and available in UK health food stores, it’s made from green, unripe bananas that are collected, peeled, cooked and ground into a fine powder. It’s mildly sweet in flavour but can be used as an alternative to wheat flour in almost all recipes, and has the added bonus of being gluten-free, too.

21

Sweeten the deal

Thanks to high levels

of starch, white potatoes don’t count towards your diversity score – but sweet potatoes do. Plus, they have the kind of versatility your classic King Edward could only dream of, with pureed sweet potato another great addition to sweet recipes. Add pureed sweet potato into your raw chocolate chip cookie dough next time you bake, suggests Verma.

22

Make hot mock-olate

Try this recipe for a plant-fuelled hot chocolate.

•Heat250mlof almondoroatmilk andstirinthree heapedteaspoons ofcocoa powder, two teaspoonsofsmooth almondbutterand apinchofturmeric andcinnamon.

•Frothwithastick blenderandsweeten withadrizzleofmaple syrup,ifrequired.

•‘Alternatively,make thisintoamochaby addingateaspoon ofdandelioncoffee, whichaddsitsown sweetnessandabit moreplantvariety, ’ saysBlake.

23

Buyfrui a t bowl

Brains, while complex, are easily manipulated.

Put your fruit where you can see it and you’re much more likely to choose a rainbowcoloured snack than the sugarladen kind. Apples, bananas, peaches and plums can all be left outside the fridge for days.

24

Butter up

If you find your butternut squash

repertoire begins and ends with stew, we have important news. Cooked correctly, it works just as well in sweet dishes as it does in savoury. All you have to do is steam and then puree it before adding it to pancake or waffle batter.

25

Take the freezy option

While there’s a myth that frozen fruit and veg contain less nutrients,

research suggests the opposite is true* . Freezing pauses oxidisation – the process that turns fruit brown – and locks in more vitamins and minerals. Pre-chop veg and freeze it in sandwich bags until you need it.

Toppings galore

26

Break an egg

For a satiating, nutritionally loaded

breakfast, swap a cheese omelette for one loaded with all the veggies you can find in your fridge, recommends Verma. Leafy greens, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes – whatever you can find, chuck it in for a hearty start to the day with minimal washing up. Hot tip: finish it off under the grill for a fluffed-up finish.

27

Care about colour

The more hues you choose to colour

your plate, the better the meal’s nutritional hit. Different colours signal different plant properties. Blue and purple foods such as blueberries are rich in anthocyanin, which has been linked with a lower risk of heart disease, while the flavones that give foods a yellow colour have been shown to help boost heart health. You’ve heard it before but we’ll say it again: eat the rainbow.

28

Plant seeds

Nuts and seeds count towards your diversity score,

making them an easy way to boost your performance during those weeks when 30 feels like a lofty target. Top up your salads, porridge or yoghurt with both, suggests Scott. If you’re not, ahem, nuts about them, she suggests buying the ground versions of varieties such as almonds and flaxseed; they’re easier to disguise in meals.

29

Don’t ready rule out meals

The ready-meal aisle has come a long way

since the chicken dippers of your childhood. The sector has had a health-over, with plant-packed fare representing an affordable way to fill your freezer for when you don’t have the time to cook for yourself. Field Doctor meals have their very own diversity score so you can see how you’re doing. Order their diversity bundle for six meals containing 39 different plant types. See fielddoctor.co.uk.

30

Drink the rainbow

Still struggling

to get there? You can’t go wrong with a classic. Slice a cucumber, or segment a lime or grapefruit and add to your Friday night tipple.