All the best ingredients for a happy gut
I'm beyond chuffed with myself that it's nearly twelve weeks of clean eating. I hadn't intended on becoming most excited about having a loving relationship with my gut, in the process. Honestly, I'm like every other person, who obsessively Googles and searches for the best recipes to just lose the weight.
The number of people who have told me they tried to quit sugar and can't get past a few days has been some of my greatest inspiration. I've also had people tell me they sort of quit sugar, but can't go without a pizza once a week. Partial is not something I do ... but extreme isn't in my nature either. I've loved figuring myself out as I go from day to day, living sugar free.
I'm not partial, because I went the clean eating route, with no exceptions or days of giving in to the sugar craving. Clean eating is basically nothing processed or refined. It's all good, whole, healthy food OF ANY KIND. That brings me to the extreme part, which I'm not. Nature created everything we need to eat for a reason, so fruit, vegetables, whole carbs and certain dairy is my daily eating plan (in moderation).
Inserting my disclaimer here: I'm a woman, falling in love with a healthy and happy lifestyle of eating. I'm not a doctor, dietician, nutritionalist or passing on any who to, what to or why to. There are experts out there and I would much rather you listen to them, but I do hope my story and recipes inspire you!!!
Along my daily searching (thanks Google) for recipes and the impact different foods have on our body, I discovered a list of foods that are specifically good for our gut. I use the word, gut, a lot. When I say it though, I'm talking about intuition ... surely there's something in that? I will have to ponder for a while, which may very well lead to another post.
In the meantime, I found the best ingredients to kick start a morning with all the ingredients our gut loves the most. I'm a big fan of research and playing around with what I discover, so when I found the article, 7 Guts Cleansing Food to Add to Your Diet and I happened to love these seven foods.
One of the ways I have kept myself on track with my new lifestyle of eating, is experimenting with food. Most people who know me always comment on how busy I am, and I am. However, I have discovered how it's possible to manipulate time, when it's good for me. Finding time to keep my digestive system clear of all gluten, processed food and refined sugar has been quite incredible to watch in myself.
So, before I go to sleep at night, I prep my breakfast for the morning. After a cup of green tea (which has so many benefits), which I quietly sip on while watching the sunrise. I have become accustom to having my gut loving breakfast. I start my day early and have been surprised at how long I am full for. A biggie is that I eat, a lot. I can't understand how people have a cup of coffee and then lunch, hours later. Our bodies need fuel and I have truly learned to gage when it's time to eat ... and I eat.
The combination was a curious test in the beginning and now the mix of flavours has become a playful game in my mouth. After all there's sweet (the healthy kind), sour and spicy ...
Ingredients:
1 x cup full cream or greek yoghurt
1 x small banana or 1/4 cup of blueberries (or both ... that's me one some days)
1/2 x a squeezed lemon
1 x tablespoon chai seeds
1 x tablespoon flax seeds
1 x teaspoon mama powder (it's pricey but it's a superfood and well worth it)
1 x teaspoon cinnamon
1 x teaspoon cayenne pepper
Stevia to taste
varient: Cook some quinoa and add it for an porridge like consistency
Method:
Layer the fruit at the bottom of a jar or bowl you can cover in the fridge, overnight.
In a separate bowl, mix the remainder of the ingredients. Taste it for sweetness and you should also pick up the sour and the bite from the cayenne pepper. Spoon it over the fruit and leave it in the fridge. The reason for that is because of the chai seeds and lemon, which create a delicious pudding like consistency.
In the morning, mix it all up and enjoy the taste sensation, knowing it's the first food to hit your gut ... and maybe kickstart a super intuitive, but definitely gut happy day.
My clean eating sources:
That Sugar Film
I Quit Sugar
