Recipes that Help Heal Your Gut
April is National IBS Awareness Month and anyone who has suffered with this condition can tell you it really impacts your quality of life. Many symptoms of IBS are controlled by what you eat and how your body is processing, or not processing those foods. For our functional medicine patients, we use principles and recipes from the GAPS diet, which is an elimination diet that involves cutting out grains, pasteurized dairy, starchy vegetables and refined carbohydrates. It is our mission to help make you stronger than yesterday and these recipes for gut health are not only delicious, they can also help heal your body and relieve IBS.
Butternut Squash Soup
“This recipe is one I use all the time, its a staple in my house from Thanksgiving to March and it’s the first thing I make when I feel under the weather. It’s also something I make for friends who’ve had a baby or are returning from a surgery. It’s a very healing, wonderful soup that is also really tasty!” – Danielle
Recipe is courtesy of The Heal Your Gut Cookbook by Hilary Boynton and Mary Brackett.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
2 quarts chicken stock
2 tablespoons animal fat, coconut oil, or ghee
3 leeks, sliced in half, and sliced again into half-moons (or 2 onions, chopped)
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
1 bouquet garni
Sea salt
Optional Garnishes:
Homemade yogurt or cultured cream
Chopped fresh herbs
Soaked and sprouted pumpkin seeds
Directions:
- Add the stock and fat to a pot.
- Add the vegetables and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the bouquet garni, and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the squash is easily pierced with a fork.
- Take out the bouquet garni and remove the soup from the heat.
- Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Add salt to taste and serve.
Note: You can substitute filtered water for stock if you don’t have enough stock.
Carrot Ginger Soup
This recipe is courtesy of The Heal Your Gut Cookbook by Hilary Boynton and Mary Brackett.
Serves 6 to 8
This warming soup is nice with a dollop of cultured cream and a few sprigs of parsley or cilantro to garnish.
Ingredients:
2 quarts homemade chicken stock
2–4 tablespoons animal fat, coconut oil, or ghee
2 onions, chopped (or 2 leeks, sliced down the middle, then cut into half-moons)
1 pound carrots (about 8–10), peeled and chopped
1 bulb gingerroot, grated (about 3 tablespoons)
Sea salt
Directions:
- Add the stock and fat to a pot.
- Add the vegetables and ginger and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add sea salt to taste.
Mashed Cauliflower
This recipe is courtesy of The Heal Your Gut Cookbook by Hilary Boynton and Mary Brackett.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
3–4 cups filtered water or stock
3–4 tablespoons ghee, coconut oil, lard, or tallow
Sea salt
1–2 tablespoons cultured cream and/or ghee
Directions:
- Break up the cauliflower into little florets.
- Steam it or bring it to a boil in the filtered water or stock.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Strain and place back into the hot pot.
- Add the fat of your choice and blend with a handheld blender, or transfer to a food processor and blend until soft and smooth.
- Add cultured cream and/or ghee and salt to taste.
