How to Eat More Plants

May 16, 2022
“Eating more can improve your health,” suggests dietitian Rossi (Love Your Gut) in this simple but effective plan for adding more plants to one’s diet. Her “Diversity Diet” focuses on adding foods rather than cutting them: 30 plant foods or “30 plant points” a week, she advises, will have benefits in the form of increased energy, boosted mood, and a steady weight. To help get more plants on the plate, Rossi includes an easy-to-remember illustration of portion sizes, a chart of nutrients found in plant food groups, and a “gut glossary” graphic that explains how one’s gut microbacteria work. Readers will also find three menu plans—one for “fueling families,” one for “busy people,” and one for “sensitive guts”—plus a “Plant Points Challenge” task card that includes such options as “swap out rice for whole grain” and “add a new canned legume to your dinner.” A brimming recipe section features a breakfast muffin in a mug (which comes in at 4.25 plant points), an 18.5-point granola, and a 10-point smoky beet burger. The book’s design is beautiful, and Rossi does a great job of turning her point system into a fun game. Readers looking to eat healthier without feeling like they’re missing out would do well to pick this up.

June 1, 2022

Many people are trying to eat a more plant-based diet these days. However, it is possible to be vegetarian or vegan and still have a very limited or unhealthy diet. Rossi, a PhD and registered dietitian, focuses on the idea of fiber and a wide variety of foods in diets, with an emphasis on gut microbe health. The first half of the book outlines benefits from eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. She provides weekly menu plans for various lifestyle scenarios and highlights micro and macro-nutrients of specific foods and how they affect various aspects of the body. Rossi also discusses FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols--carbohydrates that the small intestine absorbs poorly) and foods recommended for irritable bowel disease and issues with very restrictive diets. The second half of the book includes 80 recipes ranging from breakfast through dinner. Recipes are straightforward and beautifully illustrated, but some are lengthy due to numerous ingredients, and many require a blender or food processor. VERDICT A tasty primer on increasing the diversity of foods in diets and improving overall gut health. Purchase where there is interest.--Susan Hurst

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