How Many Can You Eat in a Week?

This blog post is inspired by a familiar—and still very relevant—idea: the habits of the world’s healthiest, longest-living people.

Recent articles continue to spotlight the Blue Zones—regions around the globe with unusually high numbers of people living past 100. Researcher and author Dan Buettner has studied these communities for decades, and a few themes show up again and again.

Gardening, walking, and biking are part of their daily life.  They have close relationships with friends and family, have a strong life purpose, handle stress well, and are part of a social or religious group.

They also eat a plant-based diet. As a matter of fact, 98% of their diet is made up of plants.  They eat primarily complex carbs like whole grains and beans, fruits, vegetables, and healthy oils.

It’s a lesson we can learn from them.  Incorporating more plant based whole foods into our diets has many health benefits.

So, this week, here is your challenge:  See how many different plants you can eat. Each plant counts once. If you eat spinach three times, it only counts as one. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s awareness and variety.

Use the attached tracking PDF to jot down every different plant food you eat over the next seven days. Fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, herbs, nuts, and seeds all count.

 P.S. The goal is 30….can you do it?