World food aisle plant points, a shelf by shelf guide

Most of the world food aisle counts, and it packs a lot of different plants into one stretch of shelving. Red lentils, moong dal, urad dal, toor dal and chana dal are five different plants, so five plant points. Add buckwheat, black eyed beans, tinned jackfruit, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, dates and sesame, and that is twelve.

You will find this aisle in most big UK supermarkets, from Tesco and Sainsbury’s to Asda and Morrisons, often grouped by region. The counting rules are the same ones you use anywhere else: one point per different plant a week, a quarter for herbs and spices, and nothing for refined grains.

Does each kind of dal count as a separate plant point?

Yes, because each one is a different plant. The names on the packets are the clue:

• masoor dal is split red lentil
• moong dal is split mung bean
• urad dal is black gram
• toor dal is pigeon pea
• chana dal is split chickpea

That is five different pulses, so five points in a week. Whole and split versions of the same pulse are still one plant, so a bag of whole mung beans and a bag of moong dal share a single point.

Watch for the one that catches people out. Gram flour, sold as besan, is ground chana dal, which makes it chickpea. Bhajis made with gram flour, a tin of chickpeas and a tub of hummus are all the same chickpea point.

Rajma dal is split kidney bean, which brings us to the beans.

Do black beans and kidney beans count separately?

That depends on how strict you are. Kidney, black turtle, pinto, borlotti and haricot beans are all varieties of one species of bean. Read strictly, they share one point.

The looser version of the convention counts different coloured varieties of a plant as separate points, the same way red and green peppers count as two. Under that reading a tin of black beans and a tin of kidney beans are two points. Pick one rule and stick with it for the week; the aim is more variety, not a perfect score.

Black eyed beans are a different plant altogether, a type of cowpea, so they are a point whichever rule you use. So are butter beans, which belong to a different species from kidney beans.

Is buckwheat the same as wheat?

No. Despite the name, buckwheat is not closely related to wheat and is not a cereal at all. It is related to sorrel and rhubarb. So buckwheat groats are a new point even if you had wholemeal toast that morning.

Bulgur wheat is the opposite case. It is wheat, so it counts, but it shares the point with your bread and pasta. White rice is refined and does not count. Noodles and couscous need the same check as bread: if the pack does not say wholegrain or wholewheat, count them as refined, and if it does, they share a point with whatever grain they are made from.

Which tins and jars count?

Any tin of a plant you have not already had this week. In the world food aisle that often means:

• jackfruit
• water chestnuts
• bamboo shoots
• black eyed beans
• tahini, which is ground sesame

Each is one point. For 5 A Day, the NHS advice is to pick tins in natural juice or water with no added sugar or salt, and the same habit suits plant points. Dates often sit here too. Dried fruit counts, and for 5 A Day a portion is 30g, eaten with a meal rather than as a snack between meals to go easier on your teeth.

Do big bags of spices count as plant points?

Yes, a quarter of a point each, and four different ones make a whole point. In the world food aisle spices often come in larger bags, which makes it easier to keep four or five on the go: cumin, coriander seed, turmeric, fenugreek, cardamom, nigella seed.

Whole and ground versions of a spice are the same plant. Cumin seeds and ground cumin are one quarter between them.

How many points can I get from one shelf?

Do pulses count towards 5 A Day as well?

Yes, but only once a day. Beans and pulses count as one of your 5 A Day however many you eat, because they contain fewer nutrients than other fruit and vegetables. Plant points work differently: five different dals in a week are five points. The two counts measure different things, so it is fine for one to say once and the other to say five.

Pulses are also one of the simplest ways to add fibre, which most UK adults are short of. Adding them quickly can bring bloating and wind with it, so if dal is new to you, start with one kind and a modest portion and build up over a few weeks.

Where next?

If you are working out what counts across the whole shop, what counts as a plant point has the full rules, and does rice count as a plant point settles the grains and the soya. The world food aisle pairs well with the freezer and the tins in the cheapest way to eat 30 plants.

Not sure which guide fits where you are now? The which book quiz points you to one.