Have you spotted the buzz around ‘plant points’ or ‘plant varieties’ in the media (or even on your supermarket trips)? This simple concept brings powerful health benefits… so let’s unpack the power of plants!
Research* shows that enjoying 30 different varieties of plants each week is an effective way to boost your wellbeing – bringing brilliant benefits to both gut and heart health. For some people, 30 might sound like a lot – however, following our healthy eating plan means you’re naturally stacking up those plant points, while enjoying delicious meals and achieving your weight loss goals. In fact, our free 7-day menu includes a whopping 48 plant varieties, and that’s before you add snacks!
How to eat 30 plants a week
The aim is to enjoy 30 different plants a week from six everyday food categories. Each new plant you eat counts as one variety, and you don’t need to eat a specific amount. You can’t include the same plant twice, but different colours and types do count separately (eg red, yellow and green peppers). Herbs and spices count as a quarter of a variety each, as we use them in smaller amounts.
At Slimming World, we put healthy, everyday foods at the heart of our Food Optimising plan. Many plant varieties are on our Free Food list – foods that are low in calories for their weight, which you can enjoy freely with no weighing, measuring or counting.
Our members have access to hundreds of recipes that are packed with plant power – with plenty of convenient choices in our frozen food range meals and in our Slimming World Kitchen recipe boxes, too.
More for members: Smart, simple swaps to give your meals even more plant power
30 plants a week checklist
Choose your plant varieties from the following six food groups:
🍓Fruit
🥕 Vegetables
🌾 Wholegrains
🫘 Beans and pulses
🥜 Nuts and seeds
🌿 Herbs and spices
Of course, you’ll still include other types of foods in your meals, and you don’t have to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. This isn’t about cutting out food groups – simply enjoying the extra benefits of including a wide variety of plants.
Did you know? Slimming World members already go above the recommended five-a-day, enjoying an average of eight portions of fruit and veg daily.
What are the benefits of eating 30 different plants a week?
Variety is key, as every plant brings its own unique set of nutrients that feed the good bacteria in your gut. The more diverse your plant intake, the more diverse your gut microbiome.
A thriving gut microbiome supports digestion, nutrient absorption and even your immune system. But the benefits don’t stop there – a plant-diverse diet is also linked to:
- lower risk of heart disease
- reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
- better blood pressure and cholesterol levels
- increased fibre intake
- improved overall health and vitality
More on the blog: Which foods help to improve gut health?
Plant-packed recipe ideas
Black-eyed bean vegetarian chilli
Free
vegan
dairy-free
gluten-free
Chicken and chickpea traybake
Free
gluten-free
Shakshuka
Free
vegetarian
gluten-free
dairy-free
Cinnamon French toast
Vegetarian
More on the blog:
Protein and weight loss
Join Slimming World today
As a Slimming World member, you’ll be supported to make healthy changes that fit into your lifestyle. Whatever’s on your regular menu, we can make it slimming-friendly – so you can get the weight loss you want, while enjoying the foods you love!
*Research by the American Gut Project discovered participants who ate 30 or more different types of plants per week had more diverse gut microbiomes. This number seemed to be the tipping point that made the most marked difference to participants’ health.