Forget five a day... you need to eat 30 plants a week! Here HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL shows how to...

. . . . . . . . .Eating 30 different plants a week to improve your gut health might sound like an ambitious aim. Especially if you've got yourself stuck in a rut of eating the same fruit and veg on rotation.

This presents endless opportunities — whether we're meat-eating, vegetarian or vegan — to fill our plates with all kinds of deliciousness, either as the main event, an exciting side dish, or to be used as tasty ingredients mixed with other scrumptious things. Advertisement This way of eating is simple to follow and will bring us great pleasure, as well as good health, day after day.

There is a huge and growing consensus that including loads of plants in our diets is the very best way to boost our gut health and keep us well. It also reduces our risk of certain cancers, strengthens our immune system and is great for brain health. 'However you choose to keep the score, if you get past 20 different plants in a week you'll immediately have 30 in your sights.'

They are also helpful when we are looking to reduce the amount of meat we eat . And they are great for filling us up. To be properly tender and palatable, dried beans need to be soaked overnight and boiled for an hour and more. I still do that sometimes, but much more often I use beans from tins. The difference between pork and beef is notable, of course, and the difference between lamb and mackerel even more so. But it's nothing compared to the difference between a leek and a walnut, a parsnip and a chilli, or an apple and a coriander seed.

When it comes to eating well, a readiness to do a bit of chopping and slicing, crushing or grating will pay you back a hundredfold. The above are just a few perfect examples of how to maximise flavour and opportunity, and to get the best out of plants. READ MORE: Why you should eat 30 plant-based foods a week to optimise your nutrition Advertisement So please, set to with a pencil and see how much fun counting your plant intake can be, revisiting My Big Plant List regularly to remind yourself what you've been missing out on.

I am sure you're already thinking about recipes you love to cook, so what extra plant ingredients could you add to these?If you like spices, what useful ones are missing from your spice rack? When did you last cook parsnips or cauliflower, which actually you love!

Health Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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