How to eat 30 different fruits and vegetables a week?

October 10, 2025 •

4 min read

Research from the American Gut Project found that people who ate 30 or more different plants per week had a significantly more diverse and healthy gut microbiome than those who ate fewer than 10. This article provides practical strategies for exactly how to eat 30 different fruits and vegetables a week, making a varied, nutrient-dense diet an achievable goal for anyone.

Quick Summary

This article outlines simple, actionable strategies to boost plant diversity in your diet, from creative breakfast and snack ideas to optimizing meals. It covers leveraging different plant types, including herbs, spices, and whole grains, to easily reach a weekly goal of 30 distinct plant-based foods for better gut health and nutrition.

Key Points

Variety is Crucial for Gut Health: Eating 30+ different plant foods weekly promotes a more diverse and healthy gut microbiome, which is linked to better overall health.
Expand Your Plant Definition: Beyond just fruits and veggies, count whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices towards your weekly total.
Maximize Every Meal: Incorporate multiple plant types into each meal, such as adding berries, nuts, and seeds to breakfast or extra veggies and herbs to dinner dishes.
Utilize Fresh, Frozen, and Canned Options: Don't rely solely on fresh produce; frozen mixed vegetables, canned beans, and dried fruits are budget-friendly and convenient for adding variety.
Leverage Flavorings and Snacks: Use different herbs and spices generously, and choose varied, plant-based snacks like mixed nuts, veggie sticks with hummus, or different fruits.
Track Your Intake for Success: Keep a simple list to monitor your progress throughout the week, helping you stay motivated and notice where you can add more diversity.
Start Small and Build Up: If 30 seems intimidating, begin with a smaller goal and build from there. Small, sustainable habits are key to long-term success.

Why Variety Matters for Your Health

While the concept of "5 a day" is widely known, a growing body of research highlights that variety is just as important as quantity when it comes to plant intake. The American Gut Project showed a clear link between consuming 30 or more different plant-based foods each week and greater diversity in the gut microbiome. A diverse microbiome is linked to numerous health benefits, including a stronger immune system, better metabolic function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases. Different plants contain unique fibers and polyphenols that feed different beneficial gut bacteria, making variety the key to nourishing this vital internal ecosystem.

Expand Your Definition of 'Plant Food'

Reaching 30 plants a week becomes far less daunting once you understand that this goal extends far beyond just fruits and vegetables. The count includes a wide array of plant-derived foods, many of which you likely already consume regularly. Remember, the key is eating different types throughout the week, not necessarily different items every single day.

What Counts Towards Your 30?

Fruits and Vegetables: Include both fresh and frozen options. Different varieties or colors of the same plant can count as multiple varieties (e.g., red bell pepper and yellow bell pepper).
Legumes: Think beans (black, kidney, pinto), lentils, and chickpeas.
Nuts and Seeds: A handful of mixed nuts or a sprinkle of different seeds adds quick points.
Whole Grains: Quinoa, oats, barley, and brown rice all contribute.
Herbs and Spices: These are easy, flavourful additions that add points with minimal effort.
Other Plant Foods: Consider coffee, tea, and dark chocolate (over 70% cocoa).

Actionable Strategies for Reaching 30 Plants

Boosting your weekly plant intake is achievable with mindful planning and simple adjustments to your meals and snacks. Tracking your progress can help you identify opportunities to add variety throughout the week.

Smart Meal Planning and Shopping

Plan your meals and snacks with variety in mind. Make a running list of the different plant foods you consume each week. When shopping, aim to pick up a few new or different fruits, vegetables, or other plant items, including frozen and canned options like mixed berries, vegetable medleys, beans, or chickpeas.

Optimizing Your Meals

Enhance your existing meals by adding extra plant diversity. For breakfast, add mixed berries, nuts, and seeds to oatmeal or yogurt. Scramble eggs with a variety of vegetables like onions, peppers, and spinach. At lunch, upgrade salads with a base of mixed greens and diverse toppings such as chickpeas, nuts, cucumber, and sun-dried tomatoes. For dinner, incorporate handfuls of frozen mixed peas and corn into casseroles or stir-fries, and add extra vegetables like mushrooms and grated carrots to pasta sauce or chili.

Leveraging Snacks and Flavorings

Choose plant-based snacks over processed options, such as mixed nuts, sliced peppers with hummus, or fruit. Create a trail mix with various dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. Utilize herbs and spices generously in your cooking; adding fresh parsley or basil to salads or using cumin and coriander on roasted vegetables quickly adds plant points.

A Sample Weekly Meal Plan for Variety

This table illustrates how easily a diverse range of plant foods can be included in a typical week. Note that the total plant count can significantly exceed 30 by incorporating legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.


Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks	Plant Count	Notes
Monday	Oatmeal with berries (3 types), almonds, and cinnamon	Salad with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, chickpeas, olive oil dressing, and oregano	Stir-fry with brown rice, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, ginger, and garlic	Apple slices with peanut butter	14	A very strong start with a stir-fry that includes several vegetables and flavorings.
Tuesday	Smoothie with spinach, banana, and chia seeds	Leftover stir-fry	Tacos with black beans, corn, red onion, lettuce, and avocado	Grapes and a handful of walnuts	8	Focus on different plant categories like legumes and whole grains.
Wednesday	Scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, and parsley	Lentil soup with carrots, celery, and onions	Spaghetti with hidden veggie sauce (pureed zucchini and carrots), with basil	Hummus with carrot and celery sticks	10	Soups and sauces are perfect for packing in extra veggies unnoticed.
Thursday	Whole-grain toast with avocado and chili flakes	Sandwich with whole-grain bread, lettuce, cucumber, and sprouts	Roasted chicken with sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and thyme	Orange and mixed seeds	9	Focus on root vegetables and leafy greens.
Friday	Yogurt with granola and mixed dried fruit	Leftover roasted vegetables in a wrap with spinach	Pizza on whole wheat crust topped with tomato sauce, onions, olives, and bell peppers	Handful of pecans and dried apricots	9	Dried fruit, olives, and nuts add easy diversity.
Saturday	Fruit salad with kiwi, pineapple, and mango	Mixed bean salad with red kidney beans, cannellini beans, and chickpeas	Curry with lentils, spinach, and coconut milk, spiced with turmeric and cumin	Dark chocolate (70%+) and herbal tea	11	This day highlights variety from legumes and warming spices.
Sunday	Leftover curry with a side of steamed greens	Leftover mixed bean salad	Spaghetti squash with a tomato sauce and spinach	Homemade popcorn with nutritional yeast	6	Leverage leftovers for ease and finish strong with a squash-based meal.
Weekly Total:					67	The total can easily exceed 30 by thinking beyond just fresh produce.

Conclusion

Achieving the goal of consuming 30 different plants a week significantly benefits gut health and overall well-being. By broadening your definition of plant foods to include legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, and by implementing simple meal planning and preparation strategies, this target is highly achievable. Focus on consistent, small changes to build sustainable habits for a healthier diet.

Optional Link

For more information on the gut microbiome and nutrition research, consider visiting the ZOE website.

Frequently Asked Questions

The concept stems from the American Gut Project, which found a correlation between a diet featuring 30 or more different plant types weekly and a more diverse gut microbiome. Greater microbiome diversity is linked to numerous health benefits, including better digestion and a stronger immune system.

Yes, different colors of the same type of fruit or vegetable can count as separate plant points. For example, a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper contain different beneficial compounds, so they can be counted individually towards your weekly total.

Absolutely. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh and are a convenient, cost-effective way to add variety to your diet. Just choose options without added sugars or excessive sodium.

To add plant diversity to your breakfast, try mixing different berries, nuts (e.g., almonds, pecans), and seeds (e.g., chia, pumpkin) into your oatmeal or yogurt. Savory options include adding sautéed spinach, mushrooms, and onions to scrambled eggs.

Finely grate or puree vegetables like zucchini and carrots and add them to pasta sauces, soups, or chili. You can also mix chopped mushrooms with ground meat to extend a recipe while boosting vegetable content.

Great pantry staples include canned beans and lentils, dried fruit, a variety of nuts and seeds, whole grains like quinoa and oats, and a wide selection of herbs and spices. These long-lasting items make it easy to add variety without constant grocery trips.

It is a realistic goal with planning, but remember the objective is progress, not perfection. Focus on making consistent improvements rather than getting stressed about hitting the exact number every week. Simply increasing your variety will provide significant health benefits.