Including a diverse range of foods in your diet helps your health in many ways. For some of us, getting diversity can feel tricky based on our food preferences. Please know this is normal, and we’ve got many handy ways to ease you in.
What is plant-based diversity?
It’s the aim of having as many different plant types as possible in your diet, and we’re not just talking about fruits and vegetables (sigh of relief, anyone?!). When we think about plant diversity, the aim is for 30′ plant points’ across the week, which comes from the ‘super 6’:
- fruits
- vegetables
- nuts and seeds
- legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils etc.)
- wholegrains
- herbs and spices (which include tea and coffee)
The 30 ‘plant points’ system works by calling 1 plant food “1 plant point”. 1 herb or spice = ¼ plant point.
Here’s an example of how you can get 5.5 plant points from just one simple breakfast:
Food | Plant Points |
2 slices of granary toast | 1 |
2 tablespoons of peanut butter | 1 |
1 sliced banana | 1 |
1 tablespoon of sprinkled milled flaxseed | 1 |
1 teaspoon of sprinkled cinnamon | ¼ |
Served with a latte coffee | ¼ *(1 plant point if made with soy milk) |
Activity suggestion
To help you find your current baseline of plant points….
Write what you ate yesterday and add the points from the various foods and drinks (don’t forget the spices!).
After reflecting on what a typical day is for you, you can get an idea of what a week looks like. And especially key, where you can make some tweaks for added diversity.

Why does plant diversity matter?
Eating a plant-diverse diet promotes the diversity of your gut microbiota (GM) which is the community of bacteria, fungi and yeasts that work synergistically with our body. It creates this diversity because different microbes enjoy (and thrive on) different foods.
Better GM diversity helps improve our immune system and produces molecules that may help balance our blood sugar, blood fats, appetite, possibly reducing the risk of diseases.
Diversity also reduces the risk of nutritional deficiencies; different foods have different nutritional properties. Consuming some nutrients together helps you better absorb them, e.g. having fruits and vegetables that contain vitamin C alongside plant-based sources of iron like lentils.
Eating a more diverse diet has also been linked to food sensitivities, which we see a lot of in our clinic. The more diverse the diet, the more diverse the GM and the enzymes that can break down the fibres and plant chemicals in plant foods. It’s essential to not make yourself unwell by consuming too much food you know you negatively react to. However, nothing is entirely ‘off menu’ unless you have a diagnosed allergy or specific condition like coeliac disease.
Finally, the more diverse our diet, the more pleasure we can get from eating and drinking. Who doesn’t want that?
Tips to make diversity easier with picky eaters
The non-food stuff
Ask yourself the ‘why’ behind not including more foods or drinks. We see many people who have a variety of backstories about their eating habits.
Perhaps there is a particular texture you’re not a fan of, e.g. things that are really soft?
Are there specific tastes you dislike, e.g. bitterness?
Maybe the smell of something, when it’s cooked, is unappealing for some reason?
It can be the sound of someone else eating that puts you off, e.g. with the condition misophonia.
Do you remember if there was a particular moment that set any of this off for you? Some people we see may have a distinctive memory and then haven’t fancied giving a specific food or drink, or things that are similar to them, a go again.
Whether or not you can answer these questions straight away, they’re helpful to mull over so we can find the best strategies to help you move towards the diversity you and your gut deserve.
Let’s experiment with food and drinks.
Play with texture and cooking style
Many people say things like “I don’t like vegetables because they’re soggy” – they don’t have to be!
- You can boil vegetables for a shorter time than you currently do or steam them, so they’re firmer and less wet. Frozen vegetables can often be microwaved or dry-fried instead of boiled.
- You can roast vegetables, e.g. broccoli and cauliflower tossed in some extra virgin olive oil are more exciting and tasty than boiling
- Roasting or boiling before pureeing some swede and carrot, similar to a mashed potatoes type texture, is a delicious addition to meals such as Roast Dinners
- You can add extra virgin olive oil to vegetables such as bell peppers and aubergine and fry it.
- If you find wholegrain rice too tough in texture than white rice, you can boil it for longer so it gets softer. As you have it more often, you will contact used to wholegrain rice and can even grow to prefer it
Flavourings
- Spices and herbs can add a fantastic flavour and that ‘yum’ factor to meals. You can buy herb mixes or individual ingredients (dried, fresh, pastes, frozen, all count). Choose what you love, and then start experimenting.
- Adding your flavours before cooking, e.g. toss some Italian herb mix over vegetables before roasting them, or add a little extra virgin olive oil and the citrusy spice sumac onto vegetables after cooking them
- Make salads interesting by adding pomegranate seeds for sweetness and extra texture, some crumbled feta for creaminess and a slight tang, sundried tomatoes for sweetness and a little sourness
- Some people use bread or other starchy carbohydrates as a plain base and bulker for meals and miss out on the flavour and pleasure they can bring. You can buy or make bread with ingredients like nuts and olives. Cooking couscous can take 5-10 minutes, and adding a spoon of stock powder can kick up the flavour.
‘Sneaking it in’
This is where people mix a new food into a meal they already love in a way they can’t really tell it’s there. It’s often used for children but can be helpful for anyone extra wary of trying new foods.
Here’s some examples of things you could try:
Mashed potatoes and gravy
You can blend some boiled celeriac into mashed potatoes or lightly/dry fried mushrooms into the gravy (this also adds thickness)
- The Creamy Mash and Mushroom Gravy recipe on page 270 of Dr Rossi’s book “Eat more, Live well” has 7.5 plant points per serving.The mash in this recipe has celeriac and cauliflower blended into it along with some parmesan and dijon mustard – you can also use other flavourings
Spaghetti Bolognese
- Bulking out mince dishes with lentils, e.g. replace some of the mince in a Spaghetti Bolognese with red lentils – they’re incredibly soft and mild tasting which blends amazingly with the Bolognese sauce.
- Blending red peppers into the tomato sauce adds extra sweetness and is unnoticeable for many
- You could also try grating carrots, courgettes, and finely sliced mushrooms.
Savvy swaps
Some foods or drinks can be quite easily swapped in dishes for gut-loving others:
- Use wholegrain bread crumbs or blitzed oats to coat chicken or fish
- If making your favourite pasta dish, swap out all or half of your usual pasta for a wholegrain version – the flavourings from the sauce you use are what you likely enjoy most rather than the specific type of pasta
- Try making your hot chocolate using cocoa powder and coconut milk (the non-tinned kind), adding a little sweetness if you’d like to – it tastes extra indulgent with the coconut milk
Other ideas
- Smoothies can be a handy way to add extra diversity, whether they’re drinkable or the ‘bowl’ varieties, e.g. The Snickers Smoothie Bowl on page 293 of Dr Rossi’s “Eat more, Live well”. It has 6.25 plant points per serving!
- If making a different smoothie you love, try including a tablespoon of milled flaxseeds is a subtle way to add more diversity.
- If you love flavoured coffees, add your coffee and a handful of cashews or hazelnuts into a blender and mix until smooth – it makes it extra creamy too!
- Sauces to go with meals – pump up the enjoyment factor!
- e.g. a tahini dip made with dates and soya sauce is a slightly sweet and tangy delicious addition to a meal or snack (page 268 of Dr Rossi’s “Eat more, Live well”)
- A creamy garlic sauce to drizzle: You can use silken tofu blended with a bit of lemon juice, garlic paste, and soy cream.
Summary and Top tips
Getting a greater diversity of plant foods in your diet may be more achievable than you think. While it’s good to aim for at least 30 different foods from the ‘super 6’ across your week, any variety you add is positive.
Top tips
- Take it slow: drastically changing your way of eating can be too much for your tastebuds to handle. Perhaps try 1 new one every other day.
- Mix and match: Try mixing in ¾ of your current food or drink with ¼ of the new one you’d like to try and have more of, e.g. white rice and brown rice or dairy milk and a plant milk
- Use the flavours that you love to your advantage and incorporate them into meals with the new foods, e.g. if you love cheese, you can add a little grated parmesan over a new vegetable you’ve added to that meal
If you’d like tailored support on adding more diversity to your diet to help your health, Dr Rossi’s books are widely available, and our team have spaces in our clinics to guide you.