When we eat, we're not only feeding ourselves, we are also feeding millions of microbes that live in our gut. When they are healthy, they keep the rest of our body healthy, but most of us are not feeding them enough plant-based wholefoods to keep them working at their best.
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From the go-to gut-health expert and Sunday Times bestselling author, Dr Megan Rossi, this book shows us the incredible health benefits of a plant-based diet, and shares over 80 simple, crowd-pleasing recipes that everyone will enjoy.
We need to eat 30 plus plant-based foods a week to keep our gut happy so it's all about adding more foods into our diets, rather than cutting them out.
- Eat More, Live Well: Enjoy your favourite food and boost your gut health, by Dr Megan Rossi. Penguin. $35.
Beetroot, lentil and goat's cheese salad
Because boring salads have no place on my plate! This winning combo features layers of earthy flavours rounded off with creamy goat's cheese, and will give you a whopping 14g of fibre per portion. It might even have you making a double batch next time round.
Ingredients
Base:
- 2 x 250g pouch of cooked Puy lentils
- 4 large cooked beetroots, cut into wedges
- 20 sundried tomato halves, preserved in oil, roughly chopped
Dressing:
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp honey, or sweetener of choice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Toppers:
- 60g leaves of choice (e.g. spinach, rocket, watercress)
- 160g goat's cheese, crumbled
- 60g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Method
1. Place the lentils, beetroot and sundried tomatoes into a salad bowl.
2. Whisk together the dressing ingredients before pouring into the bowl. Mix well and let the ingredients absorb the dressing for at least five minutes (ideally 30 minutes if you have the time) while you prep the toppers.
3. Preheat the oven to 220C.
4. Place the blanched hazelnuts on a baking tray and bake for five minutes until golden. Set aside to cool, then chop roughly.
5. On a large serving tray, plate the green leaves, followed by the infused salad-bowl mix. Top with goat's cheese and the hazelnuts. Combine before serving - yum!
Serves 4.
Eat-the-rainbow pancake stack
Nature features so many amazing colours, and this family-favourite breakfast celebrates just that. Alongside the array of gut-loving phytochemicals with their brilliant tones, these rainbow pancakes have just four simple base ingredients and not a food dye in sight. Ease, taste and gut-love flipped into one!
Ingredients
Base:
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ripe bananas (approx. 200g)
- 50g porridge oats
- extra virgin olive oil, for frying
Colourings (choose 1 per base):
- Pretty Pink (betalain): 25g raw beetroot
- Mellow Yellow (curcumin): 1 tsp turmeric
- Proud Purple (anthocyanin): 40g red cabbage
- Go Green (chlorophyll): 30g baby spinach leaves
Toppings:
- live yoghurt, sweetened with honey
- fresh figs
- grilled banana
- berries, blitzed
- toasted mixed seeds
Method
1. Put the eggs, bananas and porridge oats, along with one of your plant colourings, into a high-powered blender. Blitz for one to two minutes until smooth and a little foamy on top. If you are making a second batch using a different colouring, pour the first batch into a jug and set aside. Rinse the blender and repeat the step above.
2. Heat a large frying pan (or two) containing olive oil over a low heat, and when hot pour in approx. 45ml (or 3 tbsp) of the batter per pancake.
3. Cook over a low heat for two to three minutes, until you see the top of the pancake start to bubble and dry over round the edges. This is the sign to flip it and cook the other side for another couple of minutes. Don't be tempted to increase the heat level, otherwise you'll lose the vibrant colours.
4. Repeat until you have used up all the batter. Eat immediately with your toppings of choice.
Storage: Best eaten straight away - but can be kept in the fridge for three days, or frozen for up to a month layered between pieces of baking paper in an airtight container.
Serves 8.
Raspberry and lemon ricotta baked cheesecake
I love cheesecake, but shop-bought versions can be notoriously high in saturated fat. This creamy cheesecake is a gut-loving treat, with fermented dairy, bursts of colour from the juicy berries, and a deliciously nutty base that's just sweet enough.
Ingredients
Base:
- 100g cooked quinoa
- 200g walnuts
- 6 Medjool dates, pitted (approx. 100g)
- 1 tbsp ground ginger (optional)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cheesecake:
- 500g ricotta
- 200g thick live yogurt
- 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp honey, or sweetener of choice
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- juice of 1 lemon (about 45ml), plus zest
- 150g frozen raspberries
Topper (optional):
- 100g fresh raspberries
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C and line the base and sides of a 20cm high-sided spring-form cake tin.
2. Place the quinoa, walnuts, dates and ground ginger in a food processor and blitz until combined (approx. 30-60 seconds), leaving some texture in the crumb. Stir in the egg.
3. Pour into the lined cake tin and press down in an even layer. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, place all the cheesecake ingredients, except the frozen berries, into a food processor and blitz to combine for about one minute. Scrape the sides and blitz again for another minute.
5. When the base has been in the oven for 20 minutes, take it out and pour the cheesecake mix on top, dotting over the frozen berries as you go.
6. Turn the oven down to 180C and return the cake tin to the oven. Bake for 40 minutes until the middle has just set. If there is still any wobble, give it another five to 10 minutes.
7. Turn the oven off, crack the door and allow the cake to cool in the oven. Then remove and chill in the fridge overnight before serving with fresh berries.
Storage: Best eaten soon after it's chilled, but keeps for three days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Switch: Already had raspberries this week? Swap for blueberries.
Makes 12 slices.
Spinach and ricotta ravioli revamped
Coming from an Italian family, homemade ravioli has always been part of our celebrations. But after moving to London and realising I didn't have the time or skill, it was either forgo one of my favourites or conjure up an easier and quicker alternative ... and so these delicious stuffed pasta shells were born. I couldn't let my microbes miss out on the feast, so I've ensured they contain mor than a third of your daily fibre needs and prebiotics too.
Ingredients
Rich tomato sauce:
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 10 sundried tomato halves, preserved in oil, chopped (approx. 85g)
- 20g basil, roughly chopped
- 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 200g passata
Stuffed pasta:
- 250g fresh spinach
- 24 conchiglie shells or 12 cannelloni tubes (about 175g)
- 1 x 400g tin of mixed beans, drained and rinsed
- 120g peas, fresh or frozen
- 250g ricotta
- 150g feta, crumbled
Toppers:
- 20g pine nuts
- 20g Parmesan, grated
Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until aromatic and then add the sundried tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, 200ml water, basil, passata and some seasoning. Cook on a low heat for around 20 minutes with the lid off.
2. In the meantime, make the pasta filling by heating a large saucepan and adding a splash of water and the spinach. Pop a lid on and let the spinach wilt for a couple of minutes. Then transfer to a sieve and squeeze out the excess water before putting into a food processor.
3. Add the beans and peas, and blitz until roughly smooth (approx. two minutes). Stir in the ricotta and feta.
4. Preheat the oven to 200C.
5. Lightly oil an ovenproof dish (approx. 25cm x 30cm). Pour in the tomato sauce and spread out in an even layer.
6. Rinse the saucepan and fill with water. Bring to the boil and cook the pasta shells for two minutes less than the pack instructions, so they're just cooked and holding their shape. Drain the shells and, once they're cool enough to handle, stuff them with the filling and put into the tomato sauce. Repeat until you've filled all the shells.
7. Scatter the pine nuts and grated Parmesan over the top and pop into the hot oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.
Tip: Short on time? Scrap the tomato sauce recipe and use your favourite ready-made tomato and basil pasta sauce.
Storage: Keeps in the fridge for three days. The uncooked filling can keep in the freezer for up to one month. Defrost overnight in fridge, then stuff your shells and bake until piping hot.
Serves 4.