This past year has made it quite apparent just how important it is to focus on your health. When it comes to a healthy mind and body, good gut health is essential. While several supplements on the market can help give your digestive system a boost, we believe the best and easiest way to improve gut health is through the food you eat. Eating a diet rich in whole food recipes will improve your digestion and overall gut health and leave you feeling better than ever.
Before diving into some of our favorite recipes, it's important to highlight two of the main components you should look for when choosing digestion-friendly foods: probiotics and prebiotics. Simply put, probiotics are the healthy bacteria that live in the gut and aid in many digestive functions, whereas prebiotics feed the probiotics. There are several foods and drinks rich in both of these nutrients. Starting your day off with a gut-friendly breakfast recipe is an excellent way to rev up your digestive system and maintain regularity. Keep scrolling as we discuss breakfast recipes rich in digestive-boosting nutrients.
What Are Probiotics?
Let's take a closer look at probiotics. When we say probiotics are the good bacteria currently living in your gut, we're not talking about just a few bacteria strains floating around in there. Instead, trillions of great-for-you microorganisms reside in your digestive tract and are responsible for helping you function at your best every day. This army of good bacteria, a.k.a. probiotics, plays a crucial role in helping you digest the foods you eat. Outnumbering your human cells 10 to 1, they are also responsible for fending off diseases and promoting vitamin absorption.
While we continue to learn more about probiotics each day, we know that they contribute to some of these primary functions.
- Probiotics help maintain the health of our digestive tracts
- They support our immune system
- Probiotics help manage inflammation inside of the body
By incorporating more probiotic-filled breakfasts into your morning routine, you can take an active role in your health, helping to prevent diseases and conditions that affect your digestive system, immunity and inflammation levels.
Probiotic-Rich Breakfast Recipes
Fulfill your daily need for probiotics and start your morning with one of these delicious breakfast recipes.
Maple Sea Salt Granola Parfait
If you're craving a refreshing breakfast treat, then you're in luck. Making a breakfast parfait is incredibly simple, and when made with whole food ingredients, it's great for digestive health. One of the main ingredients in a tasty parfait recipe is yogurt. A fermented food, yogurt naturally contains large amounts of probiotic cultures that strengthen the digestive tract. While some yogurt varieties boast more probiotics than others, nearly every type has this gut-friendly nutrient.
If you're following a plant-based diet, don't skip over this recipe! Instead, substitute traditional yogurt for a dairy-free alternative. Most plant-based yogurts undergo the same fermentation process and contain just as many probiotics as conventional kinds.
To make this Maple Sea Salt Granola Parfait, layer one of our delicious Homestyle Granolas with yogurt. Get creative by adding in your favorite fresh fruit, nuts and even coconut or chocolate shavings! Made in just minutes, if you're running short on time, this treat can easily be enjoyed on the go. Sweet and full of flavor, both children and adults will enjoy this breakfast.
Barley and Kombucha Crepes
If you've ever had crepes for breakfast, then you understand just how delicious they can be! A bit lighter than a pancake, crepes are the perfect way to enjoy a sweet breakfast treat without feeling like you're overindulging. Easy to make and customize, crepes come together faster than pancakes or waffles, which means you don't have to spend too much time in the kitchen whipping up this dish. The secret when making crepes is to let the batter rest a bit before cooking. This allows for the flour to fully absorb the liquid resulting in tender crepes rather than chewy ones.
To make crepes that are just as great for you as they taste, follow this Barley and Kombucha Crepe recipe. Loaded with good-for-you nutrients like probiotics, this batter produces a tangy and delicate crepe that pairs well with almost any topping. Created with kombucha, buttermilk and whole wheat pastry flour, use Greek yogurt as a topping for even more probiotic power.
Strawberry Yogurt Muesli Cereal Bowl
For a digestion-friendly breakfast, ditch traditional store-bought cereal and whip up a muesli cereal bowl instead. Less processed and a bit healthier than many store-bought granolas, muesli is loaded with nutrient-dense nuts, seeds and dried fruits. A raw food, most muesli blends pride themselves on leaving the ingredients as close to their natural state as possible. Full of vitamins like iron and magnesium, muesli's powers are multiplied when it's mixed with milk (plant-based or traditional), yogurt or fruit juice.
For a breakfast recipe that's overflowing with probiotic powers, combine your favorite muesli with yogurt to create these delicious Strawberry Yogurt Muesli Cereal Bowls. Easy to make and a tasty way to start your day, probiotic-rich yogurt adds a healthy blend of gut-friendly organisms to help improve your digestion and overall gut health.
Prebiotics
Though they sound similar to probiotics, prebiotics play a much different role in your digestive health. Prebiotics are a type of insoluble fiber that the body is unable to digest. If you're wondering how something indigestible is suitable for your digestive system, let us explain. Instead of being absorbed by the body, prebiotics are used as food for probiotics. As a food source, they support healthy gut flora and can increase your overall digestive health.
Wondering where you can find prebiotics? In food, of course! While probiotics occur in many fermented foods like yogurt and kombucha, prebiotics are most present in fiber-rich foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Prebiotic-Rich Breakfast Recipes
Keep the healthy bacteria in your gut flourishing and boost your prebiotics intake with the delicious breakfast recipes below.
5 Ingredient Berry Cobbler with Oats
If you love enjoying a big bowl of oats in the morning, then you're likely already getting a pretty healthy fill of prebiotics. Excellent food for gut health, oats provide a significant boost of prebiotic fiber, which probiotics then use to promote their growth. Both steel-cut oats and rolled oats are excellent for gut health and eating them regularly can help keep good gut flora flourishing.
As we stated earlier, probiotics won't be happy unless they receive a healthy stream of prebiotics! Ensure that your morning meal is digestion-friendly by incorporating oats into the menu. While there are several different ways you can enjoy this superfood, one of our favorite breakfast recipes is this 5 Ingredient Berry Cobbler with Oats. An easy way to use in-season berries, this cobbler is simple enough to make on weekday mornings, and leftovers can be frozen until you're ready to enjoy.
Banana Nut Muffins
Muffins are always a great idea, especially when you require a quick, filling and healthy breakfast option. By adding bananas to your next muffin recipe, you can ensure that it is loaded with good-for-you prebiotics. Bananas are great for digestive health and contain naturally occurring fibers that help increase the good bacteria in your gut by acting as a food source for probiotics. Including bananas as a part of your regular breakfast routine is a great way to create digestion-friendly meals that will leave you feeling satisfied and healthy.
For the perfect breakfast to boost your gut health, start with this Banana Nut Muffin Recipe. Made with mashed bananas, whole wheat flour and walnuts, it's a whole food breakfast that the entire family can enjoy. Grab one of these muffins to enjoy on the go as you’re heading out the door and save leftovers for a healthy after-dinner treat.
Spinach and Strawberry Chia Smoothie
What would a list of healthy breakfast recipes be without a delicious smoothie on it? Smoothies are an excellent way to sneak hard-to-get nutrition into your diet. While it's easy to overload your smoothies with fruit when making a healthy smoothie, don't forget the veggies! In fact, we suggest adding more veggies than fruit to this breakfast treat. Because fruit is naturally sweet, a little goes a long way. Blend nutrient-dense veggies and greens like spinach, kale and carrots into your morning drink for an added boost of nutrition.
If you're searching for easy ways to boost your morning prebiotic intake, be sure to add spinach to your smoothie! Greens like spinach contain significant amounts of prebiotics and taste great when added to tropical, sweet and savory smoothies. For a breakfast dish that will leave you full and satisfied, make this Spinach and Strawberry Chia Smoothie. Overflowing with protein, fiber, prebiotics and probiotics, it's the perfect combination of sweet and tangy ingredients.
We hope that this list of gut-friendly breakfast recipes has encouraged you to begin incorporating more prebiotic and probiotic-rich foods into your diet. While making these recipes, be sure to get creative by adding in your favorite ingredients. When it comes to healthy and tasty breakfast food, the possibilities are endless!
