You can reach 30 different plants in a week with ordinary meals. Start with a varied breakfast, build lunches around beans or grains, and add a new vegetable, nut or seed wherever it fits. The example week below gets to 30 by Saturday, with Sunday free.
Thirty different plants in seven days sounds like a lot until you see it written down. Each plant only has to appear once, so a few mixed dishes do most of the work. Here’s one ordinary week that gets there, with the running count after each day.
The example week
| Day | Meals | New plants | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Porridge with banana and walnuts. Lentil soup with carrot, onion and celery. | Oats, banana, walnuts, lentils, carrot, onion, celery | 7 |
| Tuesday | Rye toast with avocado. Chickpea and spinach curry with tomatoes and brown rice. | Rye, avocado, chickpeas, spinach, tomato, brown rice | 13 |
| Wednesday | Yoghurt with blueberries and pumpkin seeds. Leftover curry. | Blueberries, pumpkin seeds | 15 |
| Thursday | An apple. Quinoa salad with cucumber, red pepper and black beans. | Apple, quinoa, cucumber, red pepper, black beans | 20 |
| Friday | Chia pudding with raspberries. Buckwheat noodle stir-fry with broccoli, mushrooms and cashews. | Chia, raspberries, buckwheat, broccoli, mushrooms, cashews | 26 |
| Saturday | A pear and a handful of almonds. Whole-wheat pasta with peas. | Pear, almonds, whole-wheat pasta, peas | 30 |
| Sunday | Whatever you like. | Anything new is a bonus | 30+ |
Herbs and spices aren’t included in the count above. If you add garlic, ginger, cumin or fresh herbs along the way, each one is a bonus on top. Some people count them as a quarter each; in Veggie, every plant counts as one.
What makes it work
- Mixed dishes do the heavy lifting. Monday’s soup and Friday’s stir-fry add four plants each.
- Breakfast is an easy win. Swapping the fruit, nut or seed on your porridge or yoghurt adds one or two new plants every morning.
- Leftovers are fine. Wednesday adds only two new plants, and the week still gets to 30.
- Nothing here is exotic. Every ingredient is available in an ordinary supermarket, and many come frozen, tinned or dried.
Easy swaps
If something in the plan isn’t for you, swap it for another plant from the same group:
- Whole grains: barley, bulgur, spelt or wild rice instead of quinoa or brown rice
- Legumes: kidney beans, butter beans, split peas or edamame instead of chickpeas or lentils
- Vegetables: courgette, cauliflower, kale, leek or beetroot instead of broccoli or celery
- Fruit: kiwi, orange, mango, plums or grapes instead of pear or apple
- Nuts and seeds: hazelnuts, pecans, sesame or sunflower seeds instead of cashews or almonds (skip nuts entirely if you’re allergic)
Keeping track
The hardest part isn’t eating 30 plants, it’s remembering which ones you’ve already had by Thursday. A simple tracker helps: Veggie keeps a running count of your different plants for the week, so you can see at a glance what’s left to try.
This guide is for general information only and isn’t medical or nutritional advice. If you have a health condition, food allergies or specific dietary needs, speak to a qualified professional before changing your diet.
Frequently asked questions
Is 30 plants a week realistic?
For most people, yes. It sounds like a lot, but because each plant only needs to appear once, a few mixed dishes such as soups, salads and stir-fries do most of the work.
Do I need to buy lots of special ingredients?
No. Frozen vegetables, tinned beans, dried lentils, oats and a jar of mixed seeds are some of the cheapest ways to add variety, and they keep well.
What if I miss 30 one week?
That's fine. The number is a helpful target, not a test. Any week with more variety than the last is a good week.