6 Ways I Eat More Plants

Hi I’m Sammy,

Your Good Farm in-house nutritionist. Here to bring you essential information on nutrition, diet and permaculture gardening - in a bite size, easy to understand, science-backed way.

Here’s some health advice that doesn’t involve excluding foods or counting calories, but actually eating more. Eat more plants. Don’t change anything else over the next month. Just do this. Eat. More. Plants.

I have previously written in The Nutrition Edit and The Good Guide about the diversity and quantity of plant foods eaten by traditional hunter-gatherer communities compared with the modern diet. Some traditional communities are thought to have eaten as many as 100 different plant species across the seasons. These were not limited to sweet fruits and a handful of familiar vegetables, but included wild leaves, roots, tubers, berries, nuts, seeds, herbs and other locally available plants.

Here in Australia, 94 per cent of adults do not meet the recommended vegetable intake, while 96 per cent fall short of the recommendations for both fruit and vegetables. Read that again. If we are eating so few fruits and vegetables, what is filling the space? For many of us, it is processed, nutrient-poor foods.

And it is not only about quantity. Different plants provide different fibres, phytonutrients and other compounds that feed and support different microbes within the gut. Research involving the Hadza of Tanzania has found that their gut microbiome is more diverse than that typically seen in industrialised populations, with its composition shifting across the seasons as their food changes.

The diversity of compounds found in plants can influence how we feel in the short term while supporting our health and longevity over time.

A small 2017 randomised controlled trial from the University of Otago followed 171 young adults aged 18 to 25 who typically ate fewer than three serves of fruit and vegetables a day. One group continued eating as usual, another received text reminders and vouchers, and a third was given two additional daily serves of fresh produce, including carrots, apples, kiwifruit and oranges.

After just two weeks, the group given the fresh produce reported greater vitality, motivation and flourishing. The reminder-and-voucher group did not experience the same improvements. There was no measurable change in depression, anxiety or general mood, so the findings should not be overstated. It was a small, short-term study, but it showed that a simple addition to the diet may influence how we feel surprisingly quickly.

No restrictive diet. They just ate more plants.

So, here are a few ways to do just that.

1. Veggie prep

My vegetable intake at the moment would drop drastically if it wasn’t for veggie prep, and I’m not talking about preparing full meals. Just individual vegetables.

I mix up what I prepare each week, but it might be pickled or fermented beetroot in a jar, pre-sautéed silverbeet or a big batch of leeks. I’ll happily fry up five leeks at once and keep them in a glass container in the fridge to easily add to eggs, leftovers or whatever else I’m eating.

Fermented cabbage is another regular, either store-bought or homemade. Even simple salads like finely diced cabbage and carrot are quick to prepare and keep really well in the fridge.

I also roast huge trays of vegetables, and not just the standard potato and orange sweet potato. Think Purple Congo or other purple-fleshed potatoes, white and purple sweet potatoes, purple carrots, parsnips, golden or striped beetroot, red onions and whatever else is in season, ready to rock and roll for any meal. Farmers’ markets generally offer a wider variety than supermarkets, so explore further afield.

Having a few vegetables already cooked, chopped, roasted, pickled or fermented means I can quickly make a salad, throw something onto a plate or beef up eggs on toast in the morning, usually with only one hand free and a baby in the other.

When there is a window, I prep vegetables for when chaos hits and the alternative is eating a wedge of parmesan or going without.

I recently tried naturopath Helen Padarin’s vinegar beetroot, which was so simple and ready almost instantly. Boil the beetroot whole, with the skin on, in filtered water until cooked through. Drain, slip off the skin and slice into thin, burger-style pickles. Add them to a clean jar, cover with apple cider vinegar and keep in the fridge. Add to everything. Nom nom nom.

2. Be liberal with herbs and spices

Don’t treat herbs as a garnish.

A few pots in the garden supply a surprising amount of what we use. Chives, parsley and perennial basil are some of my favourites. I use them generously, both fresh and cooked through meals such as eggs on toast, salads, stir-fries and pasta.

Include more dried herbs and spices too. I love turmeric and smoked paprika. Turmeric goes into rice cooked with broth, while roast vegetables and meats get generously seasoned with whatever herbs and spices work. Smoked paprika is a favourite and adds wonderful colour and flavour.

For crisp roast vegetables, dry them well, give them enough oil and space on the tray and roast them at a decent heat.

Include spices in salad dressings too. Turmeric, cumin, coriander, sumac, smoked paprika, chilli and freshly cracked black pepper all work well mixed with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar and mustard.

3. Make a green dressing

A good green dressing is one of the easiest ways to use a lot of herbs at once, particularly when they’re growing faster than you can eat them.

I throw whatever I have into a blender. Parsley, basil, coriander or chives can become the base, then I add extra virgin olive oil, lemon, garlic and a little salt. You could also add a date or a little honey for sweetness. Blend, taste, add, blend. The Good Farm Shop also does a fabulous salsa verde

Keep a jar in the fridge and spoon it over eggs, meat, roast vegetables, salads or leftovers. You can also stir it through pasta for a quick green pasta with a fried egg or some jarred mackerel on top.

Having it on hand gives almost anything an easy, supercharged hit of plants and flavour.

4. Load vegetables into meals you already make

Many of us, I’m sure, load up our kids’ bolognese with vegetables, but just in case you don’t, it’s such an easy way to get more into a meal. Onion, garlic, carrot, celery, mushrooms, zucchini, finely sliced broccoli stalks and leaves, and herbs can all disappear into the sauce. I also add broth, liver and anchovies to mine.

Other meals can be beefed up too. Pumpkin, zucchini or spinach can be blended into a plain pasta sauce, while curries, soups, stews, frittatas and mince dishes can all carry extra vegetables.

Use the whole vegetable where you can. Broccoli stalks can be grated or finely sliced, cauliflower leaves can be roasted and herb stems can go into sauces, stocks and dressings.

5. Double the onion. Triple the garlic.

If a recipe says one onion, I’ll usually use two.

If it says one clove of garlic, there is a good chance I’m using three or five.

Onion and garlic aren’t just there for flavour or simply basic ingredients. They nutrient-dense and contain beneficial plant compounds and prebiotic fibres. Don’t hold back.

And while we’re on the topic of garlic, in case you missed it, chop or crush it and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cooking. This gives the enzyme alliinase time to help form allicin before heat begins to deactivate it.

6. Treat breakfast like lunch

Get out of the headspace that breakfast has to mean cereal, toast or just eggs on toast.

Breakfast can be one of the most savoury and vegetable-loaded meals of the day, particularly if you’ve done some veggie prep. My daughter, Oli, isn’t really a “breakfast” person, but she is a leftover-dinner-for-breakfast person. She will happily eat bolognese on toast or even a bowl of ramen rather than a standard breakfast.

Think eggs with sautéed silverbeet and leeks, leftover roast vegetables with herbs, fermented cabbage on the side, avocado, greens, mushrooms, a wedge of feta, grated beetroot or whatever is sitting in the fridge.

So, over the next month, focus on one thing: eat more plants. I hope it puts a little extra swing in your step.

Report back or share your best-loved veggie prep ideas.

I also feel some T-shirts coming soon: EAT. MORE. PLANTS.

Some of my veggie faves on the shop are: Eggplant parma, Til's Veggie Curry and the Potato and Eggplant Curry

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Diet. Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics dietary behaviour data, 2022.

Conner TS, Brookie KL, Carr AC, Mainvil LA and Vissers MCM. “Let them eat fruit! The effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on psychological well-being in young adults: A randomized controlled trial.” PLOS ONE, 2017.

Schnorr SL et al. “Gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers.” Nature Communications, 2014.

Smits SA et al. “Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania.” Science, 2017.

Kresser C. “Why You Need to Eat More Vegetables, and How to Do It, with Dr Tom Cowan.” Revolution Health Radio, 2016.

Song K and Milner JA. “The influence of heating on the anticancer properties of garlic.” The Journal of Nutrition, 2001.

National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines. Commonwealth of Australia, 2013.