A plant point is one different plant food eaten in a week, counted once. This list groups 85+ common plants into the six food groups that count toward 30 plants a week — with both Indian and English names — so you can spot the gaps in your diet and rack up points fast.
Scoring: each plant counts once per week (eating it more often doesn't add points). Whole plants score one point; herbs & spices score a quarter point each because portions are tiny. The weekly target is 30, with a stretch goal of 35.
Different colours count separately — eat the rainbow.
23 vegetables
Polyphenols and colour — aim for several a week.
15 fruits
Short-chain fatty acid fuel — the most common gap.
10 whole grains
Protein plus prebiotic fibre.
11 legumes
Healthy fats and minerals — a spoonful is enough.
10 nuts & seeds
Each scores a quarter point — an easy way to top up.
18 herbs & spices
The target is 30 different plants a week, with a stretch goal of 35. It comes from the 2018 American Gut Project, which found that people eating 30+ plant types per week had a more diverse gut microbiome than those eating 10 or fewer. It's a guideline, not a hard limit — the point is to keep widening the range of plants you eat.
A typical Indian thali makes this easy: dal, rice or roti, a sabzi, salad and a spice tempering can clear 10–15 plant points in one plate. Rotate your dals, millets and vegetables through the week and 30 is well within reach.
30 Plant Tracker is a free, no-ads, local-first web app built around exactly this list. Tick off plants across the six groups, set weekly goals, and watch your diversity score and streaks grow.
New to plant points? Start with the 30 plants a week guide — what counts, the rules, and the science.