3 Healthy Recipes To Improve Your Gut Health
Looking for some healthy recipes to make this weekend? Dr Megan Rossi, AKA The Gut Health Doctor, shares three delicious gut-loving recipes with us that can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Cutting down on high-fat, high-sugar and processed foods can be really helpful for improving your gut health. Learn how nurture your gut by eating lean protein and plenty of plant-based foods. These three recipes are light, healthy and guaranteed to help boost your digestive health.
From an Alaskan salmon traybake to a healthy take on pizza, here’s what to cook up this week.
Wild Alaska Salmon Traybake
Packed full of Omega 3, this recipe is a delicious recipe to whip up at mid-week.
Omega-3 intake is linked to increased gut bacteria diversity and microbes that produce the gut-loving short chain fatty acids which are thought to play a role in protecting us against things like diabetes and depression.
Make this simple, nutritious dish for your family in under 30 minutes.
Serves 3
INGREDIENTS
- 3 fillets of wild Alaska salmon (I used Sockeye)
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
- 1 aubergine, sliced and halved
- 1 courgette, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 12 Brussels sprouts
- 1 large red onion, cut into chunks
- 1 pack of vine tomatoes, approx. 16
- 4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- Handful of Kalamata olives
- 1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180c.
- In a small bowl, combine the dried basil, paprika, crushed garlic and extra virgin olive oil.
- Brush some of the mixture onto the wild Alaska salmon fillets and place them back into the fridge.
- Scatter the sweet potato chunks onto a large roasting dish and drizzle them with a tiny bit of the seasoning mix.
- Place the sweet potato in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and add the aubergine, courgette, red and green peppers, Brussels sprouts and red onion to the roasting dish. Coat with the rest of the seasoning and place the dish back in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Next add the wild Alaska salmon, tomatoes and olives, then place the dish back in the oven for a further 15 minutes (or until the salmon is cooked, depending on its thickness and your preferences).
- Serve with a squeeze of lemon and dig in.
Squash and Broccoli Pizza Base with Green Sauce
Simply blitz the base ingredients in a food processor, bake for 20 mins, add your toppings and you’re done. Experiment with whatever you have in the fridge. This is incredibly easy to make and is always a crowd pleaser.
INGREDIENTS
For the base:
- 1 butternut squash (roasted)
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 300g raw broccoli
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the sauce:
- 20g fresh parsley
- 20g fresh coriander
- 1/3 cup (80ml)
- extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup (50g) raw pistachios
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 tsp sweetener of choice (i use date paste)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
For the topping:
- 30g kale
- 30g tenderstem broccoli (blanched)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup (50g) sunflower seeds
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 40g feta cheese (optional)
- Leftover roasted butternut squash, cubed
Method
The base:
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Peel and remove the seeds from your butternut squash, then chop it into chunks. Drizzle it with a little olive oil and roast in a baking tray for 20 minutes.
- Once cooked, mash half of the roasted chunks, making sure you have enough for 1 cup and save the rest for later.
- In a food processor, blitz the oats finely into a flour, then add the broccoli florets and mix again.
- Add the mashed butternut squash, eggs, garlic powder and sea salt to the food processor, then blitz until well combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a lined baking tray and form into a pizza base (whatever shape you like!) by flattening the dough with your hands, making the edges slightly higher. Note that the dough will be a lot stickier than a traditional dough, so don’t worry. Bake the dough in the oven for 20 minutes.
The sauce:
- While the base is cooking, make your sauce. Simply blitz together all of the ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender.
- Prep your kale by tearing the kale leaves into a bowl and adding the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, lemon zest and red onion. Massage all the ingredients together until the kale wilts slightly.
- Once the base has cooked, remove it from the oven and spread the green sauce over the top.
- Add the kale mix, blanched broccoli, any leftover roasted squash, seeds and sprinkle with feta.
- Bake for 10 more minutes until the kale is crunchy. Then take out of the oven and enjoy!
Perfect Roast Potatoes & Veg
There’s nothing more comforting than a big bowl of roasted potatoes. Add in some mixed veg into the mix, a swig of olive oil and you’ve got yourself a delicious light lunch or tasty side dish.
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
For the veg:
- 350g brussels sprouts, halved
- 2 large carrots, sliced
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 aubergine/eggplant, diced
- 1 large courgette / zucchini, sliced
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Pinch of salt
For the potatoes:
- 1.5kg (3lb) potatoes
- 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 360 F
- Boil the potatoes (floury varieties are best such as maris piper, King Edward or Desiree) until they are soft and fluffy (around 10-15mins)
- After draining shake them around in the pot to expose the fluffy edges, then drizzle 6 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil, rosemary sprigs (or dried) and rock salt
- Put them in the oven for 50 mins at 180 C / 360F
- While the potatoes are roasting away, in a separate tray, add chopped veg (I like carrots, sprouts, onions, courgette, or whatever I have in the fridge)
- Drizzle the remaining 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, smoky paprika and rock salt
- Add the veg into the oven for the final 35 mins
