Forget Five A Day..........

The latest research for optimum health and longevity is that we should be eating 30 different vegetables a week, and potatoes don’t count! I’ve been upping my fruit and veg for some time now and am glad to report that it’s easier than I thought………….

Immunologist and author Dr. Jenna Macciochi is the latest in a long line of experts who have convinced me to eat more veg. She specializes in understanding how nutrition & lifestyle interact with the immune system in health & disease. She has a list of Ten Commandments, plus many books, for better health & longevity, which are dead simple to incorporate into our busy lives. You can read more here. But first, why 30 veg a week?

On fruit and veg she says, ‘although 5 a day is recommended in the UK, we should aim for 8-9 a day to decrease immune ageing and the risk of inflammatory disease. Fruit juice and potatoes are not included!’ She recommends 30+ different plants a week focussing on diversity, fibre, and fermented veggies.

I’ve been doing this for a while and can vouch for; having more energy, better sleep, and happy bowels, which means clearer skin, painless joints, and the strength to get over Covid pretty quickly! It’s much easier than you think so, here’s how I do it……..

First, I booked a weekly veg box to be delivered to my home. That way, I’m forced to cook lots and lots of veggies so there’s no waste! And I make all my meals really easy and quick………

What to do with broccoli, kale and leeks…….bake them!

Dr. Jenna Macciochi also explodes the myth many famous Chefs are bandying around about the best oils for cooking. She says that olive oil IS the best oil for cooking - (something I’ve always believed since training as a nutritionist, but it’s great to hear it from a scientist now. Before you all write in, I would also add coconut oil as a good oil for high temperatures as well.

The science behind olive oil according to Dr. Jenna and her Ten Commandments: Use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as your main culinary oil. Some ingredients stand the test of time, and olive oil is definitely one of them. Olive oil is not only a great source of healthy monounsaturated fats but it’s packed with polyphenols such as oleic acid, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and oleocanthal, and – unlike some other vegetable oils – it has been shown to have particular benefits on the immune system. Exclusively using EVOO is linked to lower risk of disease and successful ageing. Olive oil and veggies are the perfect partners to maximise the power of plant nutrients. ​​Using extra virgin olive oil to cook vegetables enhances polyphenol and carotenoid extractability.

So that’s a no-brainer for me. When I have a pile of leeks, white cabbage, and kale in my delivery, I simply chop them all up, pop them into a baking tray, season, cover with olive oil and bake till crispy. Couldn’t be easier and a great way to get veg into kids as they are like crisps!

I love salads and raw veg too………………….

Red onion, carrots and beetroot. Grate them for a healthy salad.

……so an easy way to get another 3 vegs into me is to grate carrots, beetroot, and red onions (packed full of antioxidant quercetin, which white onions are not!) Again, I keep it really quick and easy by using a Kenwood chopper, like this one. It takes seconds and makes healthy eating totally doable.

But it’s not just about the veggies. Here are a couple more of my essentials. if I receive a huge red cabbage in my weekly box, I make something to keep my gut flora, and therefore my immunity, very happy……

My home made red cabbage sauerkraut.

…….sauerkraut! Fermented food that’s packed full of prebiotics and probiotics for a healthier gut. I also buy good kimchi and have a daily glug of kefir, but this recipe, from Dr. Michael Moseley, is just too easy and cheap to make. And delicious! You can find his recipe here..

Not a vegetable but a plant food, pulses are definitely something I am eating more of this year.
Research has shown that eating pulses can lower blood cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, help with weight management, and are an essential fibre for healthy bowels and gut…………..

My favourite pulses are lentils and the red cabbage sauerkraut adds another health boost.

So here is a typical main meal in the Grant household! I have a delicious Biona beetroot burger, baked kale, leeks and broccoli, raw beetroot, carrot, and red onion salad, some red cabbage sauerkraut, and lentils. That’s a complete protein plant-based meal with a total of 7 different vegs! How easy was that?! All I was missing was a green salad or roasted red and yellow peppers for those rainbow colours I’m always banging on about!

And if you’re wondering about fruit, I do love a small banana occasionally but eat lots of berries weekly: raspberries and blueberries being my faves. I try to eat as near locally grown as possible but avocados and bananas are usually the exceptions to the rule! I also eat plenty of nuts and seeds each day including walnuts brazils and almonds, as well as sesame, flaxseed, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds. All packed with all the nutrients our bodies need.

Do let me know if this has helped you at all, I always love to hear from you! Sorry it’s taken me so long to write a blog but that You Tube channel of mine is keeping me very busy! Will try harder. Take care and see you soon,