Why diversity Is food really that important?
“It’s hard to know exactly, University of California researcher Daniel MacDonald, PhD, told me recently. One possibility is that microbes love plant fiber, so the more variety, the healthier it is for them. Or it could be that certain microbes live primarily on certain types of plant fiber, so limiting the types of plants they eat could hinder some aspects of their microbiome, ultimately throwing the whole thing into disarray.”
The second reason a diverse diet is good for your health is because of phytochemicals, the unique nutrients found in plants. Every plant has its own unique nutrients, and as far as we know, there are at least 25,000 different plant-derived nutrients (that’s far more than you’ll find in even the most comprehensive multivitamin).
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These thousands of nutrients each play a unique role in maintaining overall health: some may help slow cognitive decline, others may regulate immune system function, and still others may reduce blood pressure and arterial plaque.
But these diverse nutrients don’t work in isolation: like an orchestra, they all work as part of a system to produce a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. So if your diet is limited to potatoes, apples, and broccoli, you’re not giving your body and your microbiome all the nutrients it needs.
But there are endless ideas for maximizing your plant-based intake that don’t involve heating up a frying pan or choosing a menu.
Here are 50 of our favorites.
1. Power up your bread: Try a super rich multigrain bread like Dave’s Killer Bread, packed with 21 whole grains and seeds, including whole wheat, flax, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats and barley.
2. Try sneakily mixing ground flaxseed into your pancake or waffle batter – no one will know!
3. Or you can steam or puree cauliflower and sneak it into pancakes, muffins, or even mac and cheese – again, no one will know!
Four. Take your pancakes to the next level with buckwheat flour, a high-fiber, high-protein, gluten-free alternative.
Five. Every smoothie should have at least six different plants.
6. If you’re a cereal lover, make it a game to top your cereal with a different fruit, nut or seed each morning of the week: strawberries, almonds and pumpkin seeds today, raspberries, walnuts and sunflower seeds tomorrow.
7. Speaking of nuts, the next time you host a cocktail party, instead of plain old peanuts, bring a nut mix with a variety of nuts.
8. Wait… did someone say cocktails? Make something sinful soulful: Mix mint into your mojito, add ginger to your rum, float some juniper berries in your gin. (Make sure to eat the herbs, and don’t drink a second glass until the botanicals are gone.)
9. If your Bloody Mary comes with celery, be sure to eat it too.
Ten. Instead of disappointing flour tortillas, wrap your sandwich in a cauliflower wrap.
11. Speaking of which, when you’re at a Mexican restaurant, be sure to ask for corn tortillas made from whole grains, not flour tortillas, which are made just with white flour and lard.
12. Don’t just eat the ice cream plain: make sure to top it with nuts and berries (most frozen yogurt places have plenty of options).
13. When ordering pizza, be sure to include at least one veggie topping. Try something new: artichokes, fresh garlic, spinach, or broccoli.
14. Check out our new “Rice” options, including broccoli, cauliflower, and palm hearts.
15. Or, instead of regular white or brown rice, try cooking a wild rice blend that contains four or five different plants.
16. Try new pasta options, such as dried pasta made from lentils, chickpeas, or brown rice.
17. Or, forget about dried pasta altogether and try alternatives like spaghetti squash or zucchini spirals.
18. Speaking of pasta, there are also frozen ravioli stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, eggplant and pumpkin, so you don’t have to limit yourself to just one meal.
19. Check out the frozen food section for unusual smoothie ingredients like jackfruit, acai, coconut, aloe vera, and dragon fruit.
20. Instead of milk chocolate, use a dark chocolate bar with at least 72 percent cocoa content.
twenty oneSpeaking of chocolate, cacao nibs are crushed cacao beans that make a fun addition to your morning cereal or as a dessert topping along with berries and nuts.
twenty two. Discover new flours for baking, including almond, cassava, coconut, chickpea, oat, teff, sorghum, millet, hazelnut, and cauliflower.
twenty three. Enjoy the dip with sweet potato chips, plantain chips, or taro chips.
twenty four. To dip your chips, make a salsa fresca with chopped tomatoes, parsley, onion, seeded jalapeño, and lime juice, or use guacamole or hummus instead of boring onion dip.
twenty five. Eat dried seaweed as a snack (yes, kids love it too).
26. Look for alternative crackers like Mary’s Gone Crackers, made with brown rice, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds and flax seeds.
27. Or, forget about crackers altogether and go for a mushroom crisp or cauliflower crisp.
28. Try Banza Macaroni and Cheese, macaroni and cheese made with chickpeas.
29. Instead of buying the same old black bean soup, look for soup mixes that contain a variety of beans and lentils.
30. Try topping oven-roasted fish or chicken with lots of fresh herbs, and adding just a little olive oil and salt for an explosion of flavor.
31. Add hemp seeds to your smoothies or breakfast cereal for a rich source of protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
32. Eat a piece of fruit with every snack. Craving cheese? Eat it with an apple. Craving chocolate? Cherries or strawberries go well with it.
33. Give Granny a rest. Of course, everyone loves the firm texture and crisp flavor of Granny Smith apples, but there are dozens of varieties you can experiment with, each a plant in its own right. Try Gala, McIntosh, Fuji, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, and every other variety on offer.
34. Same goes for tomatoes: try cherry, beefsteak, and plum.
35. or pears (Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou).
36. Look out for spring greens or mesclun mixes at your supermarket and consider stocking up on unexpected salad vegetables like watercress, sprouts, frisée and chicory.
37. In addition to peanut butter, keep almond butter, sunflower butter, and cashew butter on hand as well.
38. Skip the jelly and buy some high-quality jam from the farmers market. Jam is made with the whole fruit, so you can see the seeds inside. That’s the point.
39. Or, even better, try whole berries with peanut butter and whole wheat bread — raspberries and blackberries are especially delicious.
40. When it comes to berries, choose wild ones: Wild blueberries are a very different plant than the farm-grown ones and can be found in the frozen food section. Or check your local thorn bushes to see if you can find wild raspberries or blackberries in the summer.
41. Try some unusual nuts like macadamia nuts or Brazil nuts.
42. Use dates to sweeten your diet: blend them into smoothies or chop them into brownies or muffins for a whole plant alternative to honey or sugar.
43. Skewers the way you expect them to. Instead of plain steak or chicken, skewers cubed meat with mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, pineapple, and more. (Tip: Soak wooden skewers in water before placing them on the grill to keep them from burning too quickly.)
44. Use the salad bar to your advantage. See how many colors you can pack on one plate. Don’t forget beets, radishes and beans.
45. Try different kinds of citrus fruits. Beyond navel oranges, there’s a whole world of different flavors to choose from: mandarins, blood oranges, kumquats, tangelos, pomelos, and more.
46. Pie before cake. Pumpkin, blueberries, apples, peaches, cherries…anything with whole fruit is a better choice than plain white flour.
47. Keep a stock of chia seed pudding in your fridge. Add chia seeds, non-dairy milk such as oatmeal or soy milk, and a little honey. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes, stir again and refrigerate. Serve with chopped fruit on top. Great for breakfast, snack or dessert.
48. When in doubt, order the chili. Many seemingly non-healthy restaurants, from Waffle House to Wendy’s, offer plant-based chili.
49. Add some flowers to your salads to add color and flavor. Violets and nasturtiums are two edible flowers that seem to grow everywhere. Pick some flowers and leave them on the counter for a few hours to let any bugs that hide inside escape, then add them to your salads or use them as a garnish on your plates. And…
50. Eat the garnishes: A mint sprig with your ice cream, an orange slice with your tequila sunrise, a parsley leaf on your pork chop—most of us ignore these little plant gifts and miss out on giving our gut flora what it craves.
This article is excerpted from Lose Total Body Fat: A 7-Day Science-Backed Plan to Reduce Inflammation, Heal Your Gut, and Build a Healthier, Leaner Body!
