Why being more plant-focused shouldn’t just be for January but for the rest of your life?

Have you been tempted to try out Veganuary this year? Quite often at this stage in Veganuary motivation can waver as you lose enthusiasm and momentum.

So I hope to inject a little motivation and inspiration.

Even if you have not jumped on the Veganuary train but have been inspired to eat more vegetables after the Christmas excesses. Maybe it crossed your mind but you found it difficult to put it into practice. Although it is an awesome way to embrace the new year I want to explain why it shouldn’t just be for January but for life.

So even if you are not going to go vegan, eating a diet that is more plant-focused will have incredible health benefits. There is no doubt that vegetables are good for your health and instead of relegating them as a side dish, make them a more central role to your meals and you will reap the rewards. 

We certainly like to put a label on who we are; vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, keto, paleo, flexitarian etc. To be honest I am not a fan of labelling and believe there is not one diet that is right for all. We are all individual and have our own individual needs, which may even change as we go through different times and experiences in our life.

I like to encourage my clients to connect to what their body needs. For me I struggle eating a solely vegan diet. Whether that is to do with my blood type (O+), my Vata Dosha (Ayurvedic constitution), my metabolic function, or historically I come from a family of farmers. I would say, I mainly eat vegetarian, but can be flexible on days when I feel my body needs it. I never eat red meat and haven’t done for years now. But choose to combine my plants to meet my protein needs or I have small amounts of oily fish, chicken, sheep’s cheese or eggs. I don’t have any food allergies but know I need to avoid gluten, cow’s dairy and sugar. When I cut these out of my diet the inflammation was dramatically reduced, my skin health was so much better and my digestion improved.

Going from a traditional meat-eating family and suddenly switching to a vegan diet can be quite a shock to the body. Your body will be used to getting an easy source of protein from meat and it will have to work a little harder to obtain the amino acids from protein sources in plant-based foods. You may also struggle without having enough butyric acid in your diet. You certainly can achieve a healthy vegan diet but variety is key and supplementation is also essential when eating this way, as you will not be able to get some nutrients from this diet.

But what I am a passionate advocate for is eating more plant-based foods. Whether you make that the sole things you eat or whether you eat that alongside your choice of animal protein. Eating more plants in your diet will absolutely improve your health

Why?

Well scientific studies are really proving that the more variety of vegetables that you eat the more benefits you will get for your health. 5 a day is no longer the recommendation but actually scientific studies have shown that we would benefit more by consuming 30 different plant based foods each week. This has been proven to give us more diverse microbial cells in our gut microbiome (the home for all that beneficial bacteria which play a key role in digestion). 

Why is this important?

Not only having a more diverse microbiome increases our resilience to infection but this diversity plays a key role in many cellular functions. All disease starts in the gut so ensuring we have a happy, healthy gut will help us to remain healthy and happy too. Scientific studies have linked at least 70 different health conditions to an unbalanced microbiome. A healthy microbiome will support good digestion, strong immunity, improve sleep and hormone production.

So what does a healthy microbiome do for us? Have a read of my blog on the importance of a healthy digestive system and how it could be affecting your health.

How can we support a healthy microbiome?

Well these microbes thrive on fibre and antioxidants, which is why plants are so important as they supply all of these in abundance and much more. Increasing fibre from whole-grains can help to reduce the chances of developing several diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and several cancers as well as playing a pivotal role in reducing depression, helping us to be more balanced in our mood in general, more focussed, clearer thinking and quicker decision making as well as supporting the regulation of hormones.

So how to do we ensure we have a healthy microbiome?

It is well known that antibiotics can damage the good bacteria, as well as the bad bacteria and although antibiotics may be essential in a critical condition, it is now advisable to only take antibiotics when really necessary but support a strong immune system as our first line of defence. Recent studies have also concluded that other medications can also impact the growth of our microbes. 

We should be focussed on wellness not illness and doing all we can to prevent disease by having a healthy lifestyle which includes; good nutrition, exercise, hydration, sleep and reducing stress or supporting the impact of stress. 

Obviously our diet plays a key role in affecting the health of our microbiome. So these good microbial cells need to feed and reproduce in order to thrive.  These good bacterial cells feed off  fibre, polyphenols and insulin’s (a type of soluble fibre) and all of these are found in a range of plant-based foods. But diversity is key. Sticking to the same vegetables on a daily basis is not enough, so ensuring a range of colourful vegetables, fruits and a mix of whole-grains is beneficial.

Each day aim for:

• 5 portions of vegetables 

• 3 portions of whole grains

• 2 portions of nuts, seeds or legumes/pulses

• 1-2 pieces of fruit

How to achieve it.

• Ensure that half of your plate is vegetables.

• Snack on raw vegetables, fruits, nuts or seeds.

• Sprinkle seeds over dishes to add texture and flavour and of course those nutrients.

• Make a fresh juice or smoothie and ensure they are more vegetable than fruit.

• Ditch the lunch-time sandwich for a soup or salad.

• Choose meals or days that are solely plant-based.

• Get lots of variety so you don’t get bored.

• Add plenty of herbs and spices to bring flavour.
  
  
  
  

If you aim to do this most days then you will easily be hitting your 30 different varieties. 

This will not only give you an abundance of essential micronutrients, which will support all cellular functions but will also give you an excellent supply of that fibre to keep those good microbes happy.

Which are the best to eat?

Well all plant based foods are great and they all contain different nutrients which can support our bodies in different ways which is why it is so important to have that variety across the week. But there are some which are the super plants which contain things like polyphenols and inulins (a form of dietary fibre) which are better at keeping those good bacteria thriving and multiplying. So ensure some of these are included in your meals and you will really be giving those microbial cells a little treat:

Fruits: 

Apricots, dates, nectarines, pomegranates, prunes, persimmons, watermelon, dried figs, dried mango, black elderberries, blueberries, black currants, plums, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, black grapes and apples.

Vegetables:

Artichokes, asparagus, brussel sprouts, black olives, chicory, fennel bulbs, garlic, leeks, red onion, spinach, okra, beetroot, broccoli, capers.

Nuts & seeds & Legumes:

Black beans, butter beans, chickpeas, white beans. Linseeds, chestnuts, hazel nuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios.

Grains:

Amaranth, barley, freekah, rye, spelt, wheat berries

Herbs & Spices

Celery seeds, cloves, sage, thyme, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, spearmint, star anise, basil, curry powder, ginger cinnamon, caraway and fennel seeds. 

And extra virgin olive oil and organic rapeseed oil. 

Also: green tea, chai tea, chamomile tea, dandelion root, cacao, organic red wine, filtered black coffee, black tea. 

Are you struggling to keep track then why not download my 30 plants a week planner which gives you a weekly planner with boxes you can keep notes in of what you have eaten, then check list them off and tally them up to review whether you are hitting the mark or need to add more variety. Give it a go!

Need some recipe inspiration?

Check out Deliciously Ella’s App, which I love, hundreds of recipes on there and updated regularly with new ones. It also has meditation and yoga to enjoy. But here are some links to some simple plant based recipes to get you inspired:

• The amazing Anna Jones - You will love her book One Pot!! Shares seven great recipes for Veganuary:

  http://annajones.co.uk/recipe/seven-vegan-friendly-suppers-january

• Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Steaks and Zahter

  https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/cauliflower-steaks-with-zahter#

• Deliciously Ella’s Black Bean and Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie:

  https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/sweet-potato-black-bean-shepherds-pie/

• Deliciously Ella’s Aubergine and Spinach Curry

  https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/aubergine-red-pepper-spinach-curry/

• Amelia Freer’s Puy Lentil Winter Stew

  https://ameliafreer.com/portfolio/puy-lentil-stew/

• Ottolenghi’s Puy Lentil and Aubergine with Tomatoes and Yoghurt (I swap for coconut yoghurt)

  https://www.littlegreenshedblog.co.uk/2020/04/recipe-puy-lentils-aubergine-tomato-simple/

• Jamie Oliver’s Veggie Chilli

  https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/veggie-chilli/

• Green Kitchen Stories Roast Pumpkin (I use Butternut Squash) & Hummus Winter Salad

  https://greenkitchenstories.com/roasted-pumpkin-hummus-winter-salad/

• Green Kitchen Stories Soba Salad with Miso and Ginger and Aubergine and Broccoli (I often swap for courgette or red pepper)

  https://greenkitchenstories.com/soba-salad-with-miso-and-ginger-aubergine-broccoli/

• Saliha Ahmed’s Asian Coleslaw

  https://saliha-ahmed.squarespace.com/recipes/2017/7/15/tadka-asian-coleslaw