17 Jan, 2024
Tips for eating more plants with Madeleine Shaw
For us and Madeleine Shaw, our nutritional philosophy means ensuring the majority of your nutrients are made up from plants and celebrating abundance, vibrance, and flavours that natural plant foods can bring. Our philosophy is rooted in science, with modern studies revealing how eating more plants will help reduce inflammation, promote the health of a gut microbiome, reduce oxidative stress, usually has a low GI to stabilise blood sugar levels and support metabolic rate. However, it's also about eating foods that work with your body, which may mean incorporating a little animal protein or dairy. As long as the foods are natural and rich in nutrients, this will nourish and energise your body and mind to support the gut-brain axis. Madeleine Shaw talks us through simple steps to get 30 plant varieties in a week and food staples to make easy 15 minute plant based meals. We have collaborated with Madeleine this month to produce 6 delicious plant-based meals for our NEW Plant Plan, an 8-day nationwide meal plan complete with gifts from brand partners. The meals are also available on our meal plans and Fridge Fills!
I am all about crowding in not cutting out when it comes to nutrition. So when it comes to plant-based eating, it’s all about getting a whole host of nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes to boost the diversity of nutrients into your diet. Not only is plant-based good for your health but it also is good for the planet.
How to get more plants in
- As a nutritionist I’m often asked for tips for to how to get in as many plants as possible into your diet. I like to aim for 30 different types of plants a week. This could be a selection of different types of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes.
- When you do your shopping for the week try and get a variety of different types of vegetables and fruits. Aim for 15 different veg varieties, 2 different herbs and 5 different fruits.
- Eating around the seasons is another great thing to do. As we move from winter into Spring, we can think about the different types of vegetables that are seasonal. These are often the most nutritious and the tastiest too.
- It is also important to make sure you've got a variety of colour on your plate. When you're looking at your meals try and make sure half the plate is filled with a colorful variety of vegetables, as these are filled with phytonutrients.
- If you are looking for some introductory steps to boost your plant power, how about adding in a few different types of nuts and seeds one week? Aim to eat 3 different nuts and 2 different seeds.
- Base two of your meals on chickpeas or a black beans or another bean or legume in your meal plan for the next week. One of my favourites dishes with legumes is my Roasted Cauliflower and Spiced Lentil Warm Salad which is so tasty and packed full of plant protein.
Food staples for 15 minute plant-based meals
Fresh
- I also love to have a variety of different vegetables in the fridge, particularly a mix of light and dark leafy greens and other green veg. Greens are the most nutritionally rich types of vegetables so aim to have at least 2 portions of them a day. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, and courgette are good to have in the fridge as they dont take long to cook up.
Cupboard
- You can put together a delicious plant-based meal of 15 minutes by using pre-cooked legumes. Things like cans of butter beans or cans of black beans are really great to add to a stew or sprinkle on salads. My main cupboard staple is a good can of chickpeas. I am a massive fan of them and I love having them on hand to add to curries and roast in the oven.
- I also have loads of different types of seeds like flax seeds, chia, sunflower and pumpkin. These are so good for sprinkling onto salads, or adding into your morning porridge to fuel your day!
- Another cupboard staple for me are rice noodles and buckwheat noodles. These plant-based noodles again take minutes to cook and you can chop them up with some delicious vegetables and add in a really yummy Asian dressing to finish off. My go to 15 min meal is my raw Pad Thai it's packed full on veggies and fibre.
We are so excited to have partnered with Madeleine Shaw to create 6 new delicious dishes for our Plant Plan, meal plan and Fridge Fill menus. Check out the range here and find out more about The Plant plan here. For more on the story behind the collab, click here.
