Delicious recipes designed to help you eat to live longer at every single meal

THE RECIPE for the elixir of life is as simple as eating at least 30 different plants each week. But how to do it? At first, 30 a week can sound daunting, but that’s only four or five different plants a day.

The difference between this target and the old-style five-a-day regime is that we are aiming for our five to be a different five every day of the week. And to help you keep up with this goal, use a planner. Each day, record what you eat across the Super Six categories — wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes, and herbs and spices. Each new plant in each category counts for one plant point, apart from herbs and spices, for which you can award yourself a quarter of a point (that includes tea, coffee and olive oil, too). But remember, you only get a point the first time you eat something in a week — so if you eat strawberries every day, that only counts as one point. Think about it that way and it’s easy. If you usually have yoghurt with fruit for breakfast, for example, make sure it’s a different fruit each day rather than, say, raspberries on repeat, and you’ll find you’ve jumped from one to seven points without really changing your routine. Add a sprinkle of different nuts or seeds and you’re suddenly at 14 points.

Varied coloured versions of the same fruit and vegetables (green and red apples or orange, red and yellow peppers, say) count as a new point, too. And be sneaky — use the sort of tricks you might use on a toddler, such as blending extra veg in with a Bolognese sauce or replacing half the meat in a lasagne with lentils.

Think of it as a series of little food hacks and you’ll soon realise it’s easier, simpler and more delicious eating for longevity than you ever dreamed.

There are an estimated 300,000 edible plants yet more than half of our global energy needs are met by just four: rice, potatoes, wheat and maize.

MAny of us are used to thinking this is normal, yet the science, and surging rates of chronic diseases, are telling us a different story.

What we need in order to lengthen our lives is to grow a more diverse range of microbes inside us — a sure sign of optimal gut health which reduces the risk of many diseases that can shorten our lives. And we do that by reaching beyond just those four plants, to the thousands of others on offer.

Over the past two days, I’ve introduced you to a science-backed way of eating that’s good for you, your gut microbes and your longevity.

you can eat to live longer at every meal. Here I’ve cherrypicked some of my favourite recipes to help you pack in more plants across the day.

They range from breakfast pancakes which whizz in multiple plant points by combining banana, oats and four different vegetables to create a gorgeous rainbow effect without food colouring, to a delicious carrot cake that doesn’t leave it at just one vegetable but blends in three types of nuts and half the spice rack, too.

ADAPTED by LIBBY GALVIN from eat More, Live Well by dr Megan Rossi, published by penguin Life at £16.99.© Megan Rossi 2021. to order a copy for £13.59 (offer valid to 26/2/22; UK. p&p free on orders over £20), visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.