Will YOU try the 30-vegetable challenge this month? Mum inspires with her healthy diet plan – and shows off her VERY inventive new meals
- An Australian mum’s challenged herself to eat 30 different vegetables per week
- She managed to try 25 vegetables in her first week of the difficult challenge
- She shared her list and some very creative looking dishes, inspiring others
An Australian mum has challenged herself to eat 30 different vegetables each week – and shared cook-book worthy images of some of her very creative meals.
The mum said she wanted to improve her gut health by eating more vegetables and is having a great time with the challenge.
And despite ‘not quite getting there’ she made a huge effort, eating 25 different vegetables in her first week of the self-inspired ‘competition’.
An Australian mum has challenged herself to eat 30 different vegetables each week – and shared cook-book worthy images of some of her very creative meals
And other healthy-eaters were impressed too and commented under the extensive list of vegetables, including broccoli, corn bok choy, corn and eggplant..
‘Great effort, and good idea. When you think about it, the western diet can be super limited. Well in my experience, I find it hard to find enough variety in my diet,’ one woman said.
The original poster said she wants a more sustainable ‘hunter gatherer’ style diet.
Others commented on the incredible colours on her plate and said the idea was ‘amazing’.
Vegetable feature on the bottom of the healthy-eating pyramid which means we should be eating them as the core part of a healthy diet.
Harvard research revealed this year reveals people who eat five servings of fruit and vegetables each day were less likely to die at a young age.
And while no-one discredits the benefits of vegetables or a balanced diet there is confusion over how many servings of vegetables we should aim for each day.
But nutritionist Rebecca Gawthorne, 32, makes it easy, visually, to understand and has previously recommended vegetables make up half of every dinner plate.
An Australian nutritionist has shared a helpful guide to teach people how to portion their meals on a plate (Rebecca Gawthorne pictured)
The rest of the meal should be divided up between carbs and protein, each making up about a quarter of the dinner plate.
‘Do you struggle with portion control? I used to! I would either serve myself too much food and eat until I felt absolutely stuffed; or I wouldn’t serve myself enough food and then go back for seconds, thirds or tenths,’ the Sydney-based practitioner said.
‘I would also eat straight out of the packet or jar, which meant I would mindlessly eat multiple servings, instead of plating up one serving and putting the packet away.’
Rebecca doesn’t define her food habits with a label but does prefer to eat predominantly ‘plant-based’, focusing on organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, with a small amount of animal protein on the side.
Mother Rebecca Gawthorne, 31, uploaded a photo of her delicious salmon with rice and assorted vegetable dinner to social media (pictured)
For those wanting to perfect a balanced plant-based salad Rebecca suggested working in layers to ensure it’s a filling and health-conscious meal.
‘Salads are such a healthy meal option and a great way to boost your plant intake for the day. But often I see people missing the key components of a salad like the slow burning carbs and protein that make them extra filling,’ she said.
She starts with coloured vegetables like spinach, cucumber and pumpkin and pairs them with high fibre carbohydrates like chia seeds, sweet potato and red kidney beans.
This is then mixed in with a plant protein like falafel, tofu and beans, before adding healthy fats like avocado, almonds and pumpkin seeds.