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Photo:Recipe: Jacob Fox. Design elements: Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Recipe: Jacob Fox. Design elements: Getty Images. EatingWell design.
Two years ago, I started taking a medication that completely transformed my relationship with food—and not in a good way. I’m a food writer, recipe developer and someone who genuinelylovesfood. I used to pride myself on eating a well-balanced, variety-filled and enjoyable diet, with food being a true source of joy. But after I started this medication, my appetite became temperamental, bordering on nonexistent, for large parts of the day. Adding to that, I spent a year on and off antibiotics for a serious health issue I was dealing with (and am now, thankfully, healed from). So it’ll come as no surprise that I’ve been legitimately worried about my overall nutrition and gut health.
Your Gut Health Affects Almost Every System in Your Body—Are You Doing Enough to Care for It?
Dr. B’s approach isn’t the only opinion in town and, before delving in, I wanted to understand more about why variety, in this case, was the spice of life. When it comes to gut health, there are two competing views. One side argues that diet strongly influences gut bacteria, and the other argues that factors outside our diets play important roles. For example, factors like birth method (whether it’s vaginal or via C-section), medications (especially antibiotics), living environment, household, digestion speed, age, weight and overall health can all influence our body’s unique microbiome and overall wellness. And some experts think volume is more important than variety—meaning that if all you can muster is 6 cups of apples a day, it’s better than nothing. Despite my low appetite, I appreciate variety, so this approach (at least for now) seemed like a good place to start.
How I Ate More Plants
Still, reaching 30 different plants each week required a strategy, especially since there were days when my feeble appetite caused me to skip both breakfastandlunch. So I created a spreadsheet. It was as basic as they come, but I could access it on my laptop and phone, so it allowed me to quickly see my plant intake at a glance and determine whether I needed to beef anything up—pun intended. (A list-based tracker would also work just as well.)
I began adding herbs to everything—cilantro in my scrambled eggs, basil in my lunch bowl, parsley garnishing my dinner. I sprinkled seeds on meals like confetti. I snacked on nuts, fruits and veggies and aimed to make multi-veggie dishes, likelentil and root vegetable soup,chickpea and spinach stew, andgreen chicken currywith added herbs, or more robustside saladsto eat with our meals. Having a meal plan and prioritizing cooking at home were already things that I did, which also helped keep me on track.
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Lifelong Takeaways from 2 Weeks of Eating More Plants
The Bottom Line
Looking back on this journey, I’ve realized that part of my problem (with many things in life) is always striving for perfection. When it comes to improving my health, I can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Some days, I still barely manage to eat, let alone track my plant intake. But I’m doingfarbetter than I was when I started this experiment. What began as a strategy to improve my gut health during a challenging time with appetite and medication evolved into something far more valuable: a motivating, sustainable, flexible approach to nourishing myself that acknowledges my aspirations and reality. And that, imperfect as it may be, feels like a win.
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