Recipes That Love Your Gut

Go with your gut in 2022! A healthy gut is a cornerstone to health and wellbeing so here’s what to eat to keep your gut happy.

Your gut is home to trillions of microorganisms, including bacteria, that help with everything from digesting food and absorbing nutrients to boosting your immune system and regulating your metabolism. It even affects your mental health.

It pays to look after this busy community (aka the gut microbiota) so it can look after you. Getting enough sleep, exercising and managing stress are all important and what you feed it is vital so let’s focus on the food…

It’s easy to predict what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to a good gut diet. Highly processed food is a no-no (obvs), while fruit and veg is a big yes. So far, so familiar.

What might come as a surprise is that choosing a wide variety of fruit and veg is as important as how much you eat with studies showing that 30+ different types weekly has huge benefits.

Also, did you know that it’s the gut microbiota’s job to break down all-important dietary fibre? Most of us don’t eat enough of it so including plenty of wholegrains, beans and pulses is a must.

Sourdough, kimchi and kombucha are praised for their powers but so are sprouts, peas and bananas meaning you don’t have to look too far afield for the good stuff. Check out this list of 15 gut health hero foods.

One blender, endless smoothie possibilities! Fruit, yogurt, nut milks, oats and all are good news for your gut so pour yourself one of these delicious recipes or put together a stunning smoothie bowl to start your day.

Snack it up with some yummy 3-ingredient pancakes or moreish banana and almond butter toast.

For lunch, this speedy coleslaw kimchi is super tasty served with grilled fish or popped in a sarnie. And this roasted garlic and tomatoes on sourdough recipe is a knockout.

Omega-3 has been linked to upping gut bacteria diversity and this wild salmon traybake gives a good dose as well as big hit of yummy veggies.

Have a mouth-watering meal in the slow cooker ready for the end of a busy day with this satisfying chicken and chickpea soup. Or throw together a quick batch of this flavour-rich spaghetti puttanesca.

This crispy tofu noodle bowl is a great addition to a Veganuary menu. The suggested ingredients can be swapped for whatever veggies you fancy, here’s a handy list of a hundred gut loving veg to help you diversify.

To round off these tasty meals, we’re sharing our favourite sweet treats for a healthy gut. We’re good like that. And we’re starting strong with this velvety chocolate mousse.

Reimagine a winter favourite by switching apple crumble for this delish apple cobbler. Serve with a scoop of this next level nutty banana no-churn ice cream.

Finally, foods rich in probiotics may help the gut by relieving issues like bloating and constipation and preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea. It’s worth a try so check out this awesome frozen live yogurt bark for something a bit different.

Listen to your gut – especially when it tells you it’s hungry!