How many plants do your kids eat in a week?

[Anonymous]

I read somewhere that you should aim to eat 30 - 40 different plants in a week.

I am trying to figure out if this is a good goal, or silly. The past few weeks I've been trying to focus on variety, and made some changes, but I'm not sure if it makes sense.

Are other people focusing on this?

[Anonymous]

The pansies I planted still seem intact, so I guess none?

[Anonymous]

Please cite. This is insane, from a historically biological perspective. I am not an expert.

[Anonymous]

LOL. I think they mean things like fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, grains etc . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please cite. This is insane, from a historically biological perspective. I am not an expert.

I'm quite open to the idea that it's insane, but I'm not sure I buy the idea that historical diets are definitely the best. Historically life spans were pretty short.

Here is one source, but it's not the thing I read, I didn't save that link:

https://www.eastewart.com/recipes-and-nutrition/eat-more-plants-challenge/

[Anonymous]

My kids eat the same amount as I do. I guess it depends on what you count. As single, whole vegetables, we eat different veggies for dinner every night. Certainly have a salad at least one night with multiple vegetables. Snack veggies for lunches/snacks. And then all the vegetables that go into cooking our homemade dinners. Do we count legumes? Grains? Different varieties of veggies? If so, I think we do this without thinking about it. And most people who eat meals at home in a relatively healthy fashion are probably pretty close to that goal. Using a CSA helped us expand our vegetable palate.

It would be very common for us to all eat the following in a week:
carrots
snap peas
cucumbers
cherry tomatoes
snack bell peppers
broccoli
green beans
peas
cauliflower
corn
kale
spinach
swiss chard
various lettuces
cabbages (various kinds - napa, red, etc.)
olives
various onions
garlic
celery
beans
lentils
scallions
ginger
various potatoes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat the same amount as I do. I guess it depends on what you count. As single, whole vegetables, we eat different veggies for dinner every night. Certainly have a salad at least one night with multiple vegetables. Snack veggies for lunches/snacks. And then all the vegetables that go into cooking our homemade dinners. Do we count legumes? Grains? Different varieties of veggies? If so, I think we do this without thinking about it. And most people who eat meals at home in a relatively healthy fashion are probably pretty close to that goal. Using a CSA helped us expand our vegetable palate.

It would be very common for us to all eat the following in a week:
carrots, turnips, beets, radish, daikon, yam, ube
snap peas,
cucumbers, winter melon, kobucha, bitter melon, wax gourd, zuccini, snake gourd
cherry tomatoes, all kinds of tomatoes
snack bell peppers, sweet peppers, long hot peppers
broccoli bok choy, cabbage
green beans Lots of types of home grown beans - flat, broad, navy, kidney, black eyed, yard long
peas. edamame
cauliflower
corn
kale
spinach
swiss chard
various lettuces
cabbages (various kinds - napa, red, etc.)
olives
various onions
garlic
celery
beans
lentils
scallions
ginger
various potatoes

Many types of mushrooms
Mint, cilantro, curry leaves, basil, holy basil, horapha, parilla, mustard greens, purslane, sage, rosemary,
leeks
plantains,
Bitter melon
Fenugreek leaves
Okra,
Lotus root
Jack fruit
Bamboo shoots
Water chestnuts
Many types of eggplants
Tofu
Cactus
Tomatillo
Mung sprouts, sunflower seed sprouts, soybeans sprouts, radish sprouts, wheat grass, dandilion leaves
coconut

+1
We eat a lot of vegetarian food in addition to what the pp wrote (bolded) We are immigrants and we discovered various cuisines in US and so now we use a lot of those veggies too. We buy from our local Asian, Indian and Latin markets - as well as grow some.

[Anonymous]

I turn them out to graze in the morning while I'm cleaning their rooms, and again in the evening when I'm setting up their dinner. Their pasture is a mix of bluegrass and fescue, plus clover and lots of other random plants.

In between, I offer free-choice apples and bananas, plus the occasional smoothie with a slow-feed straw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please cite. This is insane, from a historically biological perspective. I am not an expert.

I'm quite open to the idea that it's insane, but I'm not sure I buy the idea that historical diets are definitely the best. Historically life spans were pretty short.

Here is one source, but it's not the thing I read, I didn't save that link:

https://www.eastewart.com/recipes-and-nutrition/eat-more-plants-challenge/

Yeah this sounds like BS sorry. 30 *different* plants? I mean. That’s nice I guess.

[Anonymous]

I don't bean count (no pun intended) the number or bites of fruits, veggies, nuts, and grains.

We all poop daily, normal weight, and are otherwise healthy.

I have better things to do than making a tally sheet

[Anonymous]

Maybe a dozen.

[Anonymous]

But how removed from a plant are we talking that still should be included? Garlic? Ginger--what if it's powdered ginger? Herbs and seasonings could easily add 10-20. Chocolate comes from a plant but seems kind of silly to include in a list of things that are healthy to eat.

[Anonymous]

I mean... I think plants includes things like wheat products, right? And what about nuts?

So in a given week, maybe my kid might eat:

-several starchy foods like rice, beans, or bread, which could contain: rice, wheat, flax, sesame, chia
-oatmeal (again, could include oats, chia, flax)
-veg like broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, pepper, carrot
-several fruits like: strawberry, apple, tomato, orange, banana
-misc that I don't plan or think about, but: parsley, garlic, ginger, dried herbs or spices, green onion
-different nut and nut products like pb, cashews, almonds

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat the same amount as I do. I guess it depends on what you count.

Same except for the ones that get smoked

[Anonymous]

None