Christmas Recipes
We have officially entered “silly season”! The Christmas lights are glistening, the high street shops are filled with hustle and bustle, kitchens are being stocked with copious amounts of food and drinks, every radio station is playing Mariah Carey and the annual hunt for sellotape and wrapping paper begins. It’s time to take a look at some Christmas recipes!
Gut-Loving Christmas Dinner
For many of us, our Christmas dinner is one of the highlights of the festive period. Between work parties, reunions with friends and family gatherings, it’s easy to rank up numerous turkey dinners! But did you know that our traditional Christmas dinner can have gut-loving properties?
- Roast potatoes – Potatoes are rich in insoluble fibre which remains intact throughout the gastrointestinal tract, adding bulk to stool and promoting regular bowel movements.
- Carrots – Loaded with vitamin A and fibre.
- Brussel sprouts – This prebiotic vegetable is high in fibre and vitamin C.
- Parsnips – Packed with fibre to promote digestive regularity.
- Cranberries – Cranberries are rich in polyphenols which can promote the growth of gut bacteria.
Nut roasts are a popular Christmas dinner option for those following a vegetarian and vegan diet. This food packs some serious gut points thanks to its vegetable, lentil, herb, spices and nut content.
Christmas Recipes
Looking for some Christmas recipe inspiration? Check out these Love Your Gut options.
Brussels sprout, chestnut and sage risotto
This is a great option if you’re looking for a vegetarian dish, and the parmesan cheese can easily be swapped for a non-dairy alternative to make it vegan-friendly. Some of the rice has been replaced with pearled spelt, a wholegrain which contains dietary fibre and protein. Chestnuts also contain dietary fibre as well as potassium and compounds called polyphenols which are known to support the health of the gut(1).
Love them or loath them, Brussels sprouts are synonymous with Christmas and are another gut-loving addition to your festive meals as they contain vitamin C, folate and fibre(2). It’s safe to say this is a great dish to include this Christmas period for your tastebuds and your gut bugs!
Roasted parsnips with lentils, zhoug and spiced prunes
This dish is packed with plenty of Christmas flavours and aromas. It also includes lots of ingredients that help to promote a healthy gut including dietary fibre contained in the vegetables and lentils. In particular, prunes are a powerhouse of nutritional benefits for our gut health. They’re rich in fibre and contain sorbitol which increases the amount of fluid our gut absorbs which softens our stools and means we’re less likely to struggle with constipation(3).
Winter trifle with blackberries
Trifle is a firm favourite on the Christmas menu. This winter themed trifle is made with blackberries and, as an optional extra, can be flavoured with sloe gin or a favourite liqueur. The wonderful thing about trifle is that it can be adapted to meet all dietary preferences including vegetarians or vegans.
This recipe contains ground almonds and blackberries. Blackberries are a rich source of a compound called anthocyanins which give them their deep purple colour. Anthocyanins in blackberries have been shown to modulate gut bacteria and may have an important anti-inflammatory effect in the body(4).
The sponge in this trifle is vegan and made using aquafaba (the liquid in canned chickpeas) rather than eggs. We think this is a winning dessert for the entire household!
Struggling with leftovers? Tired of Christmas dinner sandwiches? Why not make a quiche, pizza or noodle stir-fry to use up leftover meat and vegetables.
Happy holidays to happy gut bugs!