Recipes for Gut Health | Vegan What I Eat in a Day

Welcome back to another What I Eat In A Day video here on the channel. This time I thought I'd share some dishes we like to make that can promote a healthy gut and share some tips on how I take care of my rather tricky stomach. One of the things that really helps me feel my best is to drink enough throughout the day and in the mornings I often drink a glass of water when I wake up, followed by some herbal tea or an infusion. Here I'm making some fennel tea that's actually known for aiding in digestion. While my tea steeps I'm making a fiber-rich breakfast, as getting enough fiber is another thing that is really important for a healthy gut. I'm making my favorite quick and easy spread to pop onto an open-faced sandwich. I start by just breaking up some cooked chickpeas and I add some cubed avocado to my bowl as well. Avocado is actually surprisingly rich in fiber. Then for a little bit more kick I'm going in with some green onion that I just slice up finely. Eating raw onions is actually food for the good bacteria in the gut, it's considered a prebiotic. Sometimes I also add fresh herbs here but I didn't have any on hand but it's a great tip if you want to make this spread. Then I squeeze in some lemon juice to brighten it all up and I add some nutritional yeast for a little bit of a cheesy flavor before seasoning with salt and black pepper. The full measurements for this recipe is on my website so I'll make sure to link that down below if you want to make it and like to have proper measurements. So when everything is in the bowl you just mash it up until you reach a consistency that you like. You can make it more homogenous or like me leave some chunks. Then to assemble the sandwich I've toasted some of my favorite bread. It's a gluten-free whole grain bread but of course any bread would do, it definitely doesn't need to be gluten-free. And then I top that off with the spread and on top of the spread I'm also going to add some sauerkraut. Sauerkraut basically means sour cabbage and it's fermented cabbage and fermented foods contain probiotics which adds healthy bacteria that your gut loves to your diet and the sandwich of course. And then to just finish that off I top it off with a little bit of extra spring onions and I'm also going to have a kiwi on the side. I always like a bit of fruit in the morning, it's just a preference thing. Along with my breakfast I usually take my supplements as well when I remember I'm not the best at this but Rob helps me and the one thing that's especially good for the gut is taking a probiotic. As someone who deals with IBS this has really helped me. Another supplement that I take on a regular basis that can have good effects on the gut is some omega and I use an omega-3 tablet that is made from algaes. So with breakfast I mentioned the benefits of fiber which are totally true but I also just wanted to say that for me personally more fiber isn't always the best thing as I'm someone who suffers from IBS and on average eat a high in fiber diet. Focusing on mainly whole foods while eating a vegan or plant-based diet will do this for you pretty much automatically which is great in most cases but funnily enough it's one of the things that can cause a little bit of a kerfuffle for my stomach. And what I'm trying to say is that not all guts are created equal but the tips that I'm giving here is general advice that works well for many people and the truth is that most people don't get enough fiber on average and the recommended amount is to get about 25 to 30 grams per day. Like I said usually I exceed this by a bit just by eating a very plant-based diet though so it's very simple that way. And another thing that I try to eat more of recently which can have a great impact on your gut is eating fermented foods and you saw in my breakfast that I added some sauerkraut which is really yummy but also very easily accessible here in Sweden so it's a favorite of ours. And you'll see that I'm using fermented foods in all my meals today in some way. I thought for this video it could be fun to show you how I like to get them into my day in different ways and usually I don't eat them for all my meals in a day though just to clarify. I thought why not when I was doing my grocery run leading up to filming this for you guys. Beyond what we eat there are of course other things that affect our guts as well and for me regular movement like walking and going to the gym to attend the classes that speak to me as well as finding ways to reduce stress are the two most important for feeling good in my day today. And as someone who does struggle with IBS I can notice the effects of stress especially on my stomach quite immediately and reducing stress is something I try to do most days through meditation or yoga or just being mindful in general. And lately I've also been using a new little device to help me relax. It's called Sense8 and I'm happy to say they are the sponsor of this video so let me tell you a little bit more about them. The Sense8 device uses sonic resonance to help calm and soothe the nervous system. Basically you listen to sounds and receive gentle infrasonic waves through the chest that vibrate at a frequency that mimics those in your own body. And this is meant to tone the vagus nerve which plays a part in the stress response system in our bodies. The vagus nerve also plays a part in our digestion functioning as it should which has of course piqued my interest. And I really like how the device cues a moment of stillness and deep relaxation in my day and it's really easy to use. You simply place it on your chest and connect it to the app on your smartphone and then the app provides soundscapes that connect to the Sense8 device. I look forward to continuing to use it in the afternoons after work to punctuate the day and help me wind down for the evening. And if you're also looking for a new way to find a sense of calm and de-stress then check out Sense8 in the link in the description box. And get 10% off if you purchase a device using my code which you'll also find in the description box. Now to continue on with my day and food. I am nearing lunchtime and I am going to show you how to make one of our favorite dishes that for some reason we haven't made for an age. It's kimchi fried rice inspired by Korean cuisine of course. It's a really straightforward and quick thing to make so it makes a perfect speedy lunch dish. And I think I could probably get this done and on the table in about 15 minutes much thanks to using kimchi which is such a flavorful component and packs in the veggies to the dish as well without me needing to do any prep really. It's also a great dish to make when you have leftover rice because the best fried rice is made with day-old rice I think at least because then it's firmed up a little and it doesn't break up when you're stirring it around in the frying pan. And I am using brown rice today as it's richer in fiber and in other nutrients as well but white rice works just as well just so you know. Before I get started though I just wanted to say that there might be some of you out there that won't think the kimchi I'm using really looks like kimchi and that's because the only vegan friendly kimchi I could find was this one in our supermarket and it's actually using shredded savoy cabbage rather than the regular larger pieces of napa cabbage that's traditionally used. Just a little FYI before we get started. And I also like to include some tofu in my fried rice as well just to get a good source of protein in there as well. I'm going to start by chopping up some tofu that I bought pre-marinated from the store just to add some extra flavor. The tofu I'm using here is marinated with soy sauce and basil and maybe basil isn't the herb you'd normally associate with kimchi. It still works, it's not a very strong flavor but it's really good with smoked tofu if you have that on hand or any tofu that is just kind of savory. I like to chop my tofu up in cubes and then I also chop up some garlic finely. While I'm doing my prep which is pretty minimal for this recipe I also slice up some spring onion just to have on hand for a topping later on. When I'm ready to start cooking the fried rice I like to add some oil to a skillet and when it's hot I add in my tofu cubes and I like to just fry them on all sides until they're golden and then I push them to one side so that I can fry off the garlic just for a minute or so until it softens and releases its aroma. Then to add more depth and heat I'm going in with some gochujang which is a Korean red chili paste. You can find it in the Asian supermarket or here in Sweden. You can find it in most large supermarkets these days. Next I'm adding in a healthy amount of my kimchi. As you can see mine is chopped really finely but normally it would have really nice big chunks of napa cabbage which is very nice in this fried rice but unfortunately not all kimchi is vegan as traditionally it has fish sauce so this variety was the only one I could find. But when I have fried the kimchi off for a few minutes I add in the rice and I keep frying the rice in the kimchi. To adjust the seasoning I added a little bit of soy sauce to make it more savory but it's always good to taste it first and see where you're at flavor-wise and then I like to let it catch a little bit at the bottom of the pan and then just scrape that off because this adds a lot of flavor to the fried rice. For a final touch after I've taken it off the heat I add in a little bit of toasted sesame oil and stir that through before serving in bowls. For a creamy topping I like to add half of a small avocado to each serving. I just slice it up and pop it on top of the rice and then I sprinkle my pre-sliced spring onions over that. Then my last and probably favorite topping are these fried seaweed sprinkles. I find them in the supermarket they are marketed as a Korean condiment. I'm personally not quite sure whether this usually goes on kimchi fried rice but I really like it on there. I think it adds a nice little umami touch. In the afternoon after I've spent countless minutes watching my cute cat sleep I like to make a pick-me-up snack and I often make smoothies. Like I mentioned before there are certain foods that contain compounds that are great for feeding the healthy bacteria in the gut. These are usually called prebiotics and one of those foods are bananas so my regular smoothie is already helping my gut stay healthy. This one right here is one of my go-tos. Beyond the banana it has some milled flax seeds, some frozen blueberries, some frozen spinach, almond butter today. Sometimes I use peanut butter and also some cinnamon which is meant to help your blood sugar stay level. Then I usually go for oat milk or soy milk depending on my mood. Coming up to dinner time and for dinner we're gonna make something that we really enjoy making when we have a lot of produce on hand and right now a lot of produce is on sale because we're changing seasons into spring here so different kind of veggies are coming into the store and is a better price than they have been for basically six months. So what we're gonna do is prepare like a little messy style dinner with little different dishes that we can just pop onto our plates and enjoy. So I'm gonna prep some veg in a really simple way and the things that are coming into the shop now that's at a better price are things like asparagus. This is really one of our favorite things to eat but we only really eat it in spring so very excited for those and at the moment I'm also really enjoying courgette. I'm gonna fry that up and then one of my all-time favorites and also in my family something that we've always eaten in the spring is fresh cabbage. I mean cabbage is available here all year round but this one is so much more tender and succulent and it's really good just as a basic very simple salad. So I will show you what we usually do with that and I've also got some radish. This is my dad's favorite actually. As a kid when I went with him to the store when these were abundant as they're starting to become here in Sweden now during spring he would just eat these in the store and then he would tell the cashier to like weigh like put press it down when he came to the cashier to actually pay for them because they used to weigh them. Now we buy them with the prices just per bunch but anyways it's just a funny side story. Just a little bit embarrassing when you're a teenager. Anyways for the fermented element in this dinner it's not a dish dinner spread we're going to eat some of these fermented pickles. They're just lacto-fermented veggies like turnip, beetroot, there's some kohlrabi in here and they turn this beautiful pink color of course from the beetroot and I have a recipe for this on my website so I'll link it down below. I also made this in a video several years ago now with my friend Agatha so I'll link it here somewhere if you want to check it out. It's very easy to make and very yummy so that will just go as part of the spread and then there will be a few other elements but it will all be clear in a moment. When making meals like this I like to start by prepping everything that doesn't need cooking that way I can get the things that are actually cooked onto the table fast so that they're nice and fresh. So for this I'm creating a board with some olives as well as my fermented pickles. I'm also adding a good bowl of hummus that I like to top with a little bit of these garlic and sesame seed sprinkles. For something to dip into that hummus I add some crackers and I'm also adding this tempeh that's smoked. It's really nice just to munch on as is. Then finally I'm grabbing my radishes and halving them and adding them to the board as well. Then I just set this aside while I prep all the things that take a little longer. Starting with my cabbage and all I'm doing here is just slicing it up to begin with and then adding that to a bowl. You don't really need to shred this kind of cabbage too finely it's got a pretty soft texture compared to most cabbage. Then you could make a dressing separately but I like to just pour everything over the cabbage so here I'm going in with olive oil and white wine vinegar and then I'm going to sprinkle over this salad seasoning which is made with some dried herbs, ground garlic, as well as some salt and sugar. I just mix that all up and set it aside again while I continue with my other components and next up I'm just going to cut up my courgette and for frying it the way I'm intending to do here I like to just cut the ends off and then cut it lengthways down the middle and then slice it diagonally into pretty chunky slices. Then to fry it I heat up some oil in a skillet over medium high heat so pretty high heat here then I add the courgette and make sure it's in a single layer so that I can get some color on the one side. I make sure to season it well with salt and black pepper and then once it's golden on the one side I like to toss it around a bit and flip it over so that I can fry it until golden on the second side. It will only really take a few minutes on each side you don't want the courgette to go all soft you just want it to get some color. While the pan is hot I'm also going to fry off the asparagus so I just take off the woody ends and keep them for a soup and then I rinse them and pop them in the hot skillet with a little bit more oil and season that with salt and black pepper again. I'm frying these veggies on a pretty high heat so that they get a little bit of char without going too soft so I'm using the same method for the asparagus as the courgette. Then just before serving I drizzle it with a little bit of lemon juice and sprinkle it with some sea salt flakes here I'm using smoked ones because they're nice and I had them on hand and that concludes what I had in mind for this snack dinner or messi style inspired dinner if you will and to go with it I'm pouring some homemade kombucha Rob has become super at making our kombucha at home this one had passion fruit in it again this is a great fermented food to add to your day if you want to get some more prebiotics into you and this type of meal is also really great for adding variety. So with that I thank you all very much for watching this video I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to seeing you in the next one take care