three winter porridge toppings for good gut health
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Now that we’re through the multiple but-oh-so-good indulgences of the Festive Season, I’m back to focusing on adding as many plant-based foods as I can into our meals. Last year I read quite a bit about the benefits of good gut health and how beneficial it can be particularly in midlife, perimenopause and beyond. The general consensus is that diversity in the plants in your diet helps to feed and cultivate a healthy gut microbiome. A large variety of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains pulses etc is key and if you aim for thirty different ones in a week, you’re onto a winner. Turns out that number isn’t as hard to achieve as it sounds when you get inventive… and I tend to be at my most inventive in the morning. Maybe that’s the coffee.
Porridge is a breakfast staple for me in the winter months – there’s something so comforting about the very act of just making it and I’m pretty sure that’s linked to some long-hidden childhood memories of being in my Nan’s (freezing cold) kitchen watch her make it for me. In amongst the business of now, standing quietly for three minutes whilst stirring the creamy mixture as it bubbles away on the hob is the perfect way to steal a moment of calm too.
Oats and almond milk tick off two plant-based foods straight off the bat – I like Flahavan’s Organic Oats and when it comes to almond milk I usually buy Plenish Organic. Sometimes I make the porridge with 100% almond milk, sometimes half and half with water and sometimes all water, with just a drizzle of almond milk around the edges. It really depends on how hungry I feel.
talking toppings
This winter, these have turned out to be fast favourites but it would be easy to throw on any combo that you fancy and add at least three ticks to the list of thirty in one breakfast…
from L:R Try adding in sunflower & chia seeds | chopped walnuts & mixed seeds | A few chopped almonds
During the last few years, I’ve found that I naturally don’t want to eat anything much before 10:00am, which I discovered is supposed to be a good thing when it comes to improving gut health. To have a long “fasting” gap between your last meal of the previous day and the first meal of the next is thought to be beneficial to the bacteria that live in your gut and make up the microbiome.
If you’re interested in learning more about the concept of a healthy gut microbiome and it’s benefits, here’s a few resources I’ve found useful…
On Instagram I follow Jess at Eat, Nourish and Glow, Emma Bardwell - a specialist menopause nutritionist, Tim Spector and also the Zoe App team – all of these accounts post really good, gut-friendly meal ideas and I regularly save their recipe ideas in my saved Food folder. In terms of recent books, I recommend Spoon Fed by Tim Spector - I also have his latest - Food For Life - in my bedside reading pile. The article in The Guardian is a good place to start if you’re not familiar with his work. The Midlife Kitchen has lots of meal ideas – as do pretty much any of the books written by Amelia Freer. Her newest - The Organised Cook is also on my list. This year I also added Your Daily Veg by Joe Woodhouse to our collection – Joe’s Instagram meal idea posts always make me hungry!
Feel free to share in the comments below any favourite toppings for winter porridge - variety is the spice of breakfast life! Or, if you’ve recently found great recipe books or informative resources on the subject of gut health - it’s something I’m actively setting out to improve in midlife and am cramming on the subject!
serve your porridge in style!
