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Gut-Friendly Recipes to Improve Your Digestion
Gut-Friendly Recipes to Improve Your Digestion
Gut-Friendly Recipes to Improve Your Digestion
Having tummy troubles? Or maybe you've recently learned more about the importance of gut health. Whatever your reasoning is, if you're in search of gut-friendly recipes to improve your digestion, then you're in the right spot. Eating foods that support and improve gut health is an excellent way to keep your digestive system running as it should. The healthier you eat, the better you feel, and at Bob's Red Mill, we're on a mission to help you feel your best without sacrificing taste in the process. To help answer your questions about gut health and provide you with tasty recipes to improve it, our Bob's Red Mill food experts put together this quick and easy guide. Keep scrolling to learn more about which gut-friendly meals you can incorporate into your diet today.
What Makes a Recipe Gut-Friendly?
When it comes to gut health, a lot of it has to do with bacteria. Good and bad bacteria live and thrive in your digestive system. The more good bacteria you have, the better chance you have at fighting off the harmful bacteria. The healthy bacteria living in your gut require a steady stream of nutrients to survive, all of which come from the foods you eat. Eating a wide variety of wholesome and healthy foods is essential for gut health. While your body and digestive system require a wide range of nutrients, some compounds perform a more unique role than others. Fiber, probiotics, probiotics and polyphenols are all essential to good gut health. By including more nutrient-rich foods into your recipes, you can ensure that your gut flora remains balanced and keep digestive issues at bay.
Key Nutrients in Gut Health
As we stated earlier, some nutrients play a more important role than others in good gut health. The three essential nutrients you should consume to improve digestion are fiber, probiotics and prebiotics. Regularly absorbing these nutrients through the food you eat is an excellent way to promote healthy gut flora and stop harmful bacteria before it becomes an issue. To ensure that your diet is rich in gut-healthy nutrients, let's take a closer look at each.
Fiber
Searching for a quick way to improve digestion? Fiber is a great start. Eating fiber-rich foods is essential to digestive health. Found in many plant-based foods, fiber helps regulate the speed at which the food you eat moves through your digestive tract. Doing so allows your body to absorb the nutrients needed and rid itself of the waste left over. Because fiber affects how quickly food passes through, it plays a crucial role in keeping you regular. Curious to know how you can begin adding more fiber-filled foods to the menu? Keep scrolling for a few of our favorite recipes.
Fiber-Rich Recipes
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Muffins are always a great idea, especially when they're loaded with good-for-you fiber. By making these Apple Cinnamon Muffins you can ensure that your family is receiving their fill of fiber and enjoying your baking at the time. Made in just under an hour, this recipe uses whole food ingredients like unsweetened applesauce, diced apples, spices and our Organic 7 Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix. Delicious and easy to prepare, this mix features a multi-grain organic flour blend including whole grain wheat, rye, spelt, corn, oat, Kamut, quinoa and brown rice flours, and flaxseed meal for extra nutrition. Enjoy these muffins as a quick on-the-go breakfast or as an after-dinner dessert. Children and adults are sure to love them!
Creamy Fruit Salad
One of the quickest ways to boost your fiber intake is by eating more fruit, and this Creamy Fruit Salad is sure to satisfy your cravings. A mix between a fruit plate and dessert, one thing we know is it's delicious! A long-time favorite, we've put a spin on class fruit salad and updated it with Greek yogurt, freshly whipped cream and unsweetened shredded coconut. Try it out for yourself. We're confident you won't be disappointed.
Tropical Fruit No-Bake Granola Bar
Searching for a quick-to-make, fiber-filled snack that you can take anywhere? Look no further. This Tropical Fruit No-Bake Granola Bar is so easy to make, we encourage you to invite the kids in the kitchen to help out. They'll love being a part of the snack-making process, and you'll have a chance to teach them just how great wholesome food can taste. Customize this recipe to your family's taste preferences by letting your little ones add their favorite tropical fruits to these bars.
Probiotics
Another key player in gut health is probiotics. In the past few years, probiotics have made a name for themself in the health and wellness space. We've all likely heard the word probiotic before, and some of us may even know that we should be consuming them. But, if you're wondering why probiotics are so great for you, you're not alone. To put it simply, probiotics are the "good" bacteria found in your gut that can help fight off harmful bacteria and infections. Though we don't often consume harmful bacteria knowingly, trace amounts can be found in and on our foods. To a healthy digestive system consuming small amounts of harmful bacteria is nothing to worry about. Once it enters your body, good bacteria or probiotics will help fight it off. However, suppose your gut flora is not adequately balanced, and you lack probiotics. In that case, the harmful bacteria that enter your body can pose a threat to your health and even cause digestive issues like bloating, gas constipation, and diarrhea. Eating and drinking foods rich in probiotics will help you maintain a healthy balance of good gut bacteria and prevent those pesky digestive issues.
Probiotic-Rich Recipes
Load up this week's menu with probiotics and make one of the recipes below.
Miso and Tahini Cold Soba Noodle Salad
If you enjoy miso, then you're in luck. It's loaded with gut-healthy ingredients, one of which is probiotics. Because miso is a fermented food, it contains live, active cultures of good bacteria. For a lunch that's overflowing with probiotics, make this Miso and Tahini Cold Soba Noodle Salad. Because this dish is best served chilled, all of the miso probiotics remain intact, making it an incredibly healthy recipe. Serve this tasty salad with seared tofu, microgreens, avocado and snap pea and enjoy!Tip: If you're making traditional miso soup, be careful about overheating the ingredients. To ensure that the miso soup probiotics aren't killed off during the heating process, wait until the soup has been taken off the heat to mix the miso into it.
Maple Sea Salt Granola Parfait
For a light breakfast or mid-day snack recipe, try out this Maple Sea Salt Granola Parfait. Made with probiotic-rich yogurt, it's the perfect way to curb your sweet tooth while replenishing healthy gut flora. Incredibly simple to make, layer one of delicious Homestyle Granolas with yogurt and mix in add-ins like fresh fruit, nuts and coconut shavings!
Prebiotics
Now that you better understand probiotics, it's time to talk more about prebiotics. In short, prebiotics are plant fibers that you can't digest. Now, you may be wondering how something you can't digest can be good for your digestive system. Let us explain, while your body is unable to digest prebiotics, the good bacteria (probiotics) in your gut thrive off of them. Instead of making their way through your digestive tract, prebiotics serve as food for healthy bacteria in the stomach and are necessary for good flora to flourish.
Prebiotic-Rich Recipes
Wondering which foods contain prebiotics? Check out some of our favorite recipes below.
Oatmeal Pancakes
Who doesn't love pancakes, especially when they're made with a prebiotic-rich food like oats? Put a healthy spin on your kid's favorite breakfast dish, and whip up this Oatmeal Pancake recipe. Made with whole food ingredients like Gluten Free Quick Rolled Oats and Gluten Free Oat Flour, these flapjacks become an instant breakfast wonder! Boasting a superior taste and texture, it's a breakfast high in essential nutrients like beta-glucans, prebiotics, protein and healthy fats. Pair your pancakes with a glass of milk, coffee or tea and soak up the morning's sweetness.
Banana Pie Chia Pudding
Pudding is a sweet treat that's hard to resist. And while nearly everyone loves pudding, not all types of pudding are healthy. For a pudding loaded with nutrients and great taste, whip up this Banana Pie Chia Pudding. Naturally sweet and creamy, this pudding uses chia seeds as the perfect base. Sweetened by homemade banana milk and topped with our favorite Maple Sea Salt Granola, it's a nutritious and filling snack that your family won't be able to get enough of! Chia pudding is best enjoyed chilled and will keep in the refrigerator for 45 days.Improving your digestion doesn't have to be done with supplements. By making whole food recipes like those listed above, you can boost your gut health and create delicious meals that your family will love. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, we hope you have a great day full of whole food and delicious recipes!