Supermarket Shortcuts for Reaching 40 Plants a Week
Eat 40+ plants a week with these supermarket hacks…
If you've been following the buzz around gut health, you've likely heard of the "40 plant foods a week" goal. This challenge encourages diversity in your diet, feeding your gut microbes a rich array of fibre and nutrients to support optimal health. But let's face it, counting 40 different plant foods can sound overwhelming, especially with a busy schedule.
The good news is, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen or visit specialty stores to achieve this. With a few smart supermarket shortcuts, you can easily incorporate a rainbow of plants into your meals and snacks. In this blog, we’ll show you how to stock your cart with affordable, versatile options and use them creatively to meet your plant-based diversity goals, all while keeping things simple, delicious, and time-efficient.
1. Kaleslaw (or similar salad pre-mix)
With up to 14 different plants in one hit, these salad kits are super simple and quick to throw together a balanced meal.
Using your hack:
Team the salad with your favourite protein – grilled salmon, chicken or steak, or some baked tofu, or stir through some canned tuna or a drained can of beans.
Add salad and protein and a slurp of sauce to rice paper rolls for lunch in a flash.
Top baked potatoes or sweet potatoes with salad, beans or quinoa and some salsa or yoghurt.
2. 4 Bean Mix
One can, 4 different beans, choose this combination for a good source of both fibre and plant-based protein.
Using your hack:
Add a few simple salad ingredients like tomato and cucumber to 4 bean mix, plus a can of tuna, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar for a 2 minute salad, perfect for work lunches.
Add to curries and dahls, soups and stews.
Make your own baked beans by pairing 4 bean mix and passata in a saucepan and cook through. You can add some soft cooked onions, herbs and spices to taste and for extra plant nutrition.
Make a basic burrito bowl with 4 bean mix, some salad ingredients, grilled corn, quinoa or brown rice, and your favourite dressing (Green goddess, tahini dressing, salsa work well).
3. Frozen Mixed Berries
Why choose one berry, when you can have 3, 4, or 5 (depending on the brand)? You can grab a premixed bag of frozen berries or choose a few bags of your favourite and dump them in a container for your freezer.
Using your hack:
Breakfast on the go: a jar of Greek yoghurt, topped with frozen berries and some nuts or seeds or your favourite granola.
Add frozen berries to muffin mixes (make your own, or a packet mix)
Blend into smoothies.
Cool down your piping hot porridge by stirring through some frozen berries.
4. LSA (linseed, sunflower and almond meal)
Great for adding an extra fibre pop to your meals.
Using your hack:
Stir through yoghurt, smoothies or porridge.
Add into baked goods such as muffins, pancakes, slices and crumbles.
Add into bliss balls or use as a coating to prevent them sticking together.
5. Granola or Muesli
You can buy your favourite or is you’re feeling adventurous, make your own.
Using your hack:
Use to sprinkle over yoghurt, fruit salad or porridge.
Stir through a smoothie to give some crunch and remind you to chew for better digestion.
Sprinkle over soups and salads (savoury granola is a vibe!).
Mix into bliss balls.
Snack on straight out of the box.
Make your own Cheat’s Crumble.
6. Frozen Veggie Mixes
Great for adding into meals at the last minute
Using your hack:
Add frozen peas, corn and carrots to pie mixes and fried rice dishes.
Stir frozen ‘riced’ cauliflower and broccoli into Bolognese sauce, green smoothies, fried rice or salads.
Use frozen stir-fry mixes with your protein source as they are or use to bulk out what you are already using for even more plants.
Add frozen spinach to baked goods such as pancakes, scrolls, breads and muffins.
Adding these six items to your trolley can add over 30 plants to your weekly rotation. Increasing your plant intake doesn’t need to be difficult, time consuming, hard-to-find, or expensive. For more information on how and why you should increase your plant intake, you can read more on this blog, or check out our Diverse 40 Ebook.