30 Plants a Week Challenge

 I had read about the recommendation to eat at least 30 plants per week sometime last year, but I had never gotten around to actually enumerating whether I meet this standard. At the time, I was pretty confident that I would exceed the minimum threshold easily, but it's time to put my calculator where my mouth is. While this is not part of a new year's resolution, nor is it part of my low spend year, I think now is a good time to examine my diet because I will start meeting with a dietitian later this month.


Monday

Breakfast was a yogurt parfait with a peanut butter chia protein bar layered with nonfat Greek yogurt and topped with a tablespoon of sugar free raspberry preserves. I also had 2 cups of black coffee.

Raspberry (1) + Peanuts (1) + coffee (1) + chia seeds (0.25) = 2.25 points for breakfast


Lunch was a salad from the salad bar at work. 

Arugula (1) + red and orange cherry peppers (2) + carrot(1) + cucumber (1) + daikon radish (1) + scallion (1) +ginger (0.25) + cilantro (0.25) = 7.5 points for lunch

If I get lunch at work, I always opt for the salad bar.

I had a cup of black tea in the afternoon (1 point)


Dinner was air-fried salmon with peppers and rice.

Red/orange/yellow bell peppers (3) + garlic (0.25) + chili powder (0.25) + paprika (0.25) + sesame seeds (0.25) = 4 points for dinner

Easy weeknight dinner

Monday Total: 14.75 points


Tuesday

I expected my numbers to be lower for Day 2 of this challenge because you are only meant to count unique plants consumed, and I don't just buy one of every item when I go grocery shopping. There will be meal repeating!


Breakfast was a protein bar. 0 new points.


Lunch was a vegetable soup that I made the other night with leftover sweet potato and rotisserie chicken thrown in.

Onion (1) + collard greens (1) + celery (1) + sweet potato (1) + red pepper flakes (0.25) = 4.25 points


I had some homemade pumpkin bread as a snack. 1 point

This is my favorite Weight Watchers pumpkin bread recipe, free of sugar and oil!

Dinner was chicken with flatbread and leftover bell peppers. Thyme seasoning = 0.25 points


I had a cup of lemon ginger tea after dinner, so I will count that as 1 point


Tuesday Total: 6.5 points


Wednesday

Breakfast was baked oatmeal with banana and Greek yogurt.

Banana (1) + rolled oats (1) + cinnamon (0.25) = 2.25 points


Lunch was lentil loaf with farro and leftover bell peppers.

Lentils (1) + farro (1) = 2 points

I prefer to call my lentil loaf "Meatless Loaf" and I will be writing a separate blog post on how to make it! I'll update this post at a later date.

Dinner was more lentil loaf (I batch cooked this week) with the end of the peppers and roasted potatoes. Potatoes = 1 point


For dessert, I made a single-serving pumpkin cake and drank a mug of hibiscus tea.

Hibiscus (1) + nutmeg (0.25) + cardamom (0.25) + cinnamon (0.25) = 1.75 points


Wednesday Total: 7 points


Thursday

Breakfast was a protein bar. 0 new points


Lunch was a grain bowl with farro, brussels sprouts, and chicken breast.

Brussels sprouts (1) = 1 point


Dinner was an all-out feast. I made soba noodles with an improvised dressing (light soy sauce, fresh grated ginger, garlic pepper sauce, and scallions). Then I made a quick soup with carrot, celery, fish cake, and wakame seaweed with some pickled daikon radish on the side for some acid.

Wakame seaweed (1) + buckwheat (1) = 2 points


I had a mug of spearmint tea after dinner for 1 point.


Thursday Total: 4 points


Friday

Breakfast was a protein bar and Greek yogurt. 0 new points


Lunch was chicken breast, sweet potato, and a spinach and cottage cheese bake. Spinach = 1 point

It looks like kind of a sad desk lunch, but it was tasty.

Dinner was leftovers. I had grapes for dessert. Grapes = 1 point


Friday Total: 2 points


Saturday

Breakfast was a protein bar. 0 new points


Lunch was a sandwich from Jersey Mike's Subs. I got a rotisserie chicken sub with vegetable toppings.

Iceberg lettuce (1) + banana peppers (1) + jalapenos (1) + rosemary (0.25) + oregano (0.25) = 3.5 points

Sandwich loaded with vegetables

I went out for dinner with my family tonight. We shared an appetizer of fried calamari with marinara sauce and I ordered beef stroganoff over pappardelle (it was an Italian restaurant with a creative chef).

Tomato (1) + green cherry peppers (1) + basil (0.25) = 2.25 points

Beef stroganoff over pappardelle

Saturday Total: 5.75 points


Sunday

Breakfast was a protein bar. 0 new points


Lunch was a burrito bowl from Chipotle. I ordered brown rice, pinto beans, steak, lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa verde, and corn salsa.

Romaine lettuce (1) + pinto beans (1) + tomatillos (1) + corn (1) + brown rice (1) = 5 points


Dinner was chicken breast, spinach and cottage cheese bake, and a piece of flatbread. 0 new points

Sunday Total: 5 points


Overall Total: 45 points!


To reflect on the challenge overall, I think it did spur me to seek out a greater variety of fruits and vegetables while shopping and when eating a meal out. Since the challenge does not specify a minimum portion size, I think it's possible that someone could rack up 15+ plants in a single salad if they were at a salad bar or if they bought a particularly complicated salad kit. Nevertheless, it would be a good exercise to undertake if you think you may not be eating enough of a variety of produce or grains.

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