Variety is the spice of life, especially when it comes to the plants on your plate. Cue our Plant Feast Challenge – one delicious, daily idea designed to increase the variety of fruit, veg, spices and herbs you eat throughout January (FYI we’ve given you New Year’s Day off, in case a fuzzy head keeps you from the kitchen).
Watch how we made our 30-plant lasagne
We’ve squeezed in 30 different plant varieties – including our 10 Tomato & Chargrilled Veg Sauce and Cook's Ingredients Super Plant Seasoning, each contributing 10. And to top it off, we didn’t skimp on the cheese.
2. Make a fruit and veg gift basket
Give your loved ones a helping hand to reach their plant goals with a basket of goodness.
3. Build a plant- (and protein-) conscious breakfast
Why not add different types of beans to your baked beans? Done the right way, even a full English can have plant variety.
4. Make a veggie preserve, like piccalilli
Pickles and chutneys aren’t just a great way to avoid food waste, they add tang, crunch and goodness to dinner, too.
5. Make the 30-plant lasagne
Our 30-plant lasagne is packed with an abundance of plants, as you can see in the video at the top of the page.
6. Play with some plant-based toppers
Even the most basic meals can enjoy a plant-tastic upgrade when topped with seed-and-nut mixes or crispy onions.
7. Try creative flavour pairings
Many plants share flavour compounds that make them unexpectedly compatible – think chilli and mango or banana and jalapeños.
See Chilli & lime prawns with mango chutney vinaigrette recipe
8. Crunch on raw veg
There are benefits to eating plants raw, as sometimes plants lose nutrients when cooked.
10. Add extra plants to your Sunday roast
Cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, apple sauce – set yourself up for plant-goal success before the start of the week.
11. Make plant-rich comfort food
So many classic comfort dishes, from pasta to pies, can be easily tweaked to include a big dose of veg.
12. Snack on pulses
When that snack attack hits, swap crisps for lentil chips or home-roasted chickpeas and beans.
13. Grow your own mushrooms
Buy a mushroom-growing kit and you could be adding homegrown fungi to stir fries in mere weeks.
14. Layer up a fridge cake
Fridge cakes can be stacked with nuts, oats, dried fruit, dark chocolate and dates, aka nature’s caramel.
15. Embrace root-to-leaf eating
Using the whole plant – roots, peel and all – means less waste and could also spark some unexpected recipe ideas.
16. Flip your plate – make veg the star and protein the seasoning
Instead of focusing your meals around meat or fish, use a small amount of protein to ‘season’ veggies.
17. Whip up plant-powered pancakes
Flip a batch of crispy Korean-style veggie pancakes, sweetcorn fritters or banana hotcakes loaded with nutty toppings.
18. Buy wonky veg
Imperfect-looking veg have just as much flavour. Send a snap of your wonky veg meals to waitrose.food@dentsu.com.
19. Treat yourself to a jacket potato
Potatoes count as a plant variety, which is good news, because we’d happily eat them every day in winter.
20. Create your own ‘house seasoning’
Mix your own signature seasoning blend by combining your favourite spices, seeds and nuts.
21. Make something with dark chocolate (it counts!)
Yes, dark chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa solids does up your plant total, because cocoa beans are technically seeds.
23. Batch-cook veggie-packed bases
Have Italian soffritto or the ‘holy trinity’ (onions, bell peppers and celery – the core of Cajun and Creole cooking) ready to go in the freezer.
24. Swap spuds for different root veg
If you’ve been inhaling jackets and need a change, swap potatoes for celeriac, parsnips or sweet potatoes to mix things up.
25. Sprinkle nuts, fruit and seeds over your morning porridge
The folic acid, magnesium or thiamin that nuts, fruit and seeds contain support normal psychological function as part of a balanced diet.
26. Bake a batch of blueberry muffins
The third Monday of January is supposedly the gloomiest day of the year. Brighten it up with some colourful baking.
27. Put a plant in a dessert (that’s not carrot cake)
Gooey beetroot brownies, squidgy courgette muffins – start sneaking extra veg into your sweet treats.
28. Treat yourself to your favourite plant
And then tell us about it! Share yours and how you like to enjoy it via waitrose.food@dentsu.com.
29. Switch up your WFH lunch with plants
Swap the ham sarnie for soups, salads and rice bowls featuring grains, pulses, spices and veggies.
30. Throw a plant party for friends
Gather your nearest and dearest for a plant potluck, washed down with a veggie-packed mocktail for good measure.
More plant-powered inspiration
More plant-powered inspiration
How to eat 30 plants a week
While 5 a day is the magic number of portions, research shows that variety matters too. Here’s how to up your intake.
Fill your trolley with goodness
Look out for our Plant Varieties logo on products, which tell you how many a food contains.
Plant-based meal ideas
Our colourful collection of vegan recipes will get you adding more plant-based meals to your repertoire.