The challenge is inspired by one of the largest microbiome studies conducted by the American Gut Project, which shows that eating at least 30 whole, diverse plants per week can have a positive impact on your gut microbiome.

There are 40 trillion microbes residing in our gut, each performing a unique function and each craving different plant nutrition to thrive. Thus, diversifying our plant intake enriches our gut bacteria, and a healthy gut can help everything from blood sugar regulation to digestion, immunity, mood and much more.

Challenge Details:

• Pick a week in January to eat at least 30 different plants.

• Track every different vegetable, fruit, whole grain, legume, nut and seed as 1 point. Herbs and spices count as ¼ point each. 

• Follow along @lifealivecafe for educational resources, daily trivia and most importantly, a healthy gut microbiome! 

To keep score, we've created this helpful tracker to log your weekly plant count.

Tips & Tricks:

• Coffee and tea count as ¼ point.

• Different colors = a different plant. Pass those green, yellow and red bell peppers, please!

• Plants must be in their whole, fibrous form—juice doesn’t count here. Many of the gut-enhancing benefits of plants comes from fiber, which juices don’t have. 

Many of our dishes are loaded with fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices.

Here's some of our favorites:

• Elote Avocado: 17½ pts

• Southwest Sol: 17 pts

• Mediterranean Falafel: 15½ pts

• Chilled Thai Noodles: 15 pts

• Autumn Chopped: 14½ pts

• Greek Tahini: 14½ pts

• Rainbow Nori: 14 pts

• Avocado Greens: 13½ pts

• Autumn Falafel: 12¾ pts

• Buddha Bowl: 12½ pts

• Smoky Three-Bean Chili: 12 pts

• Spicy Peanut Noodles: 11½ pts