Tasty, microbiome diet-friendly breakfast recipes (+Week 2)
The takeaway
I struggled a bit with strong snack cravings and overeating nuts, but I found overall improved hunger and appetite control as well as an awareness of all the mindless eating I did before committing to the diet.
I included 4 recipes that I mentioned in week 1 and am still using: a veggie and meat breakfast skillet, a nut-and-seed granola, chia seed “pudding” and fresh almond milk.
Check it out!
We have been on the microbiome diet for 2 weeks now. Although the week was a bit more challenging than the first, I feel like I’m starting to get into a groove and continuing to experience big payoffs.
Handling snack cravings. This was my biggest challenge this week. I started exercising more so felt hungrier, but also had higher stress which increased my desire to snack. To satisfy snack cravings, I primarily turn to nuts and nut butters, which offer healthy fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals, but also supply lots of calories and can slow digestion. I find it easy to overeat these, so I am reflecting a bit and taking this opportunity to practice mindfulness and moderation.
This week I will focus on eating moderate amounts of nuts and incorporating other healthy fats like avocado, and olive, coconut and flaxseed oils into my diet.
Appetite control. One of the biggest changes I have noticed in the past two weeks is that overall I’m not as hungry, especially in the morning. Previously I felt like I HAD to eat first thing after waking, but now I am fine for even an hour. When I am hungry, I know I need to eat soon, but I don’t get the hangry “I need to eat now” urgency. I attribute this to filling up on high fiber vegetables and fruits, eating lots of protein and healthy fats, and maintaining stable blood sugar levels.
This was me about 3 weeks ago.
As I briefly mentioned last week, beneficial gut microbes produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as a result of the fermentation of undigested carbohydrates, or prebiotic fiber [1]. SCFAs regulate leptin and ghrelin [1, 2]. Leptin is the “satiety hormone” and suppresses appetite, while ghrelin, the “hunger hormone” stimulates appetite. Ghrelin levels are high before eating and low after eating. Leptin signals to the brain that the body has adequate energy stores and can stop eating. So when these hormones are in harmony, and you listen to them, you naturally eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. See how it’s all coming together?
Limiting unnecessary eating. I also noticed how much unnecessary or mindless eating I do. It often happens because my toddler will leave bits and pieces of meals or snacks, and I “don’t like wasting food” so will finish off a breakfast cookie, sandwich or muffin even if I’m not hungry. Sometimes it’s hard to throw it away, but better to put the unwanted food in the compost bin than in my belly.
Focus shifting from “carbs, carbs, carbs to veggies, veggies, veggies.” Previously, I was trying to follow the dietary guidelines for the gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) diet. Because carbohydrates raise blood sugar, the GD diet requires counting carbs. Both in my last pregnancy and this pregnancy, I focused so intently on eating the right number of carbs for each meal and snack that I forgot to incorporate veggies. I knew I needed protein at each meal to balance the carbs, but veggies got pushed to the back burner. The Microbiome Diet is so veggie-centric that now I reach for veggies first and often eat fruit and other compliant carbs as an afterthought.
Veggies are loaded with important nutrients, including both soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins (especially Vitamins A, B, C, D and K), minerals (especially calcium, magnesium and potassium) and phytochemicals, including antioxidants [3]. Current guidelines recommend filling your plate at least ½ full with veggies [3] and many nutrition gurus recommend eating 8 servings of vegetables each day. For a detailed look at the benefits of eating veggies and key nutrients found in veggies, see this article.
Overall, I am loving the food on the diet and how it makes me feel. So much so, I want to share some recipes with you. All of the Microbiome Diet recipes can be downloaded here, but below are my current breakfast recipes.
The Microbiome Diet menu includes mainly fruit-based breakfasts in Phase 1, when eggs are eliminated. While these breakfasts worked well for me when I was on the diet last summer, they don’t seem like sound choices when maintain stable blood sugar levels. So I came up with some alternatives, that still fit in the Microbiome Diet parameters.
Recipes
Ground turkey and veggie breakfast skillet
Breakfast skillets are highly versatile and a great way to use up whatever leftover meat and veggies you have in your fridge and to start the day off with a healthy dose of protein and a few servings of vegetables. My basis is a starchy veg, either butternut squash, parsnip, rutabaga, or turnip, plus some other veggies like zucchini, mushroom, onion, leek, shallot, bell pepper, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, tomato, fennel, kale and/or spinach. Add meat, like ground turkey or beef, shredded chicken, or natural/uncured sausage or bacon. Here’s the recipe we’ve been using, but have fun and experiment with your favorite meat and veggies. We’ve made this by both roasting in the oven, or cooking on the stove in a cast iron skillet or frying pan.
Ingredients
1 small butternut squash OR 2-3 of any of the following: parsnip, rutabaga, or turnip; peeled and diced.
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small onion or half a large onion, sliced
8 white or crimini mushrooms, sliced
6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
1 lb ground turkey
½ bunch of kale, ribbed and rough chopped
Salt, pepper, other seasonings such as garlic powder, rosemary, nutmeg, etc.
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F or heat a skillet/frying pan over medium heat.
Coat the starchy vegetable (butternut, parsnips, rutabaga, or turnip) with 1-2 Tbs olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary to taste. Roast or saute until soft, approx. 30 min in oven or 15 min on stove. Remove from heat and set aside.
Coat remaining veggies and garlic with olive oil or add more oil to pan. Season with salt, pepper and spices of choice. Roast or saute until tender, approx. 20 min in oven or 10 min on stove. Remove from heat and add to starchy vegetables.
Add ground turkey and kale to pan, breaking up turkey into smaller pieces. Season with salt and pepper, garlic powder and a large pinch of nutmeg. Cook until turkey is all brown and cooked through. Kale will be wilted and slightly cooked. Add to veggie mixture and mix all thoroughly.
Notes
This makes 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are in the morning.
Nut-and-Seed Granola
I modified the Microbiome Diet granola recipe to replace the oats (compliant in Phase 2 but not phase 1) with pepitas, pecans, and coconut flakes.
Ingredients
Flaxseed crumbles
1 c water
1 ½ c flax seeds
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Baked portion
2 Tbs water
¼ coconut oil
2 Tbs almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ c sliced almonds
1 ¼ c raw pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
Raw or toasted portion
1 c raw unsalted sunflower seeds—can lightly toast in frying pan on stove over low heat.
½ c pecans piece—can lightly toast in frying pan on stove over low heat.
½ c shredded coconut or coconut flakes
Directions
Mix water with spices and stir in flax seeds. Cover and let sit for 6 hrs to overnight. It should have an oily texture.
Preheat oven to 275°F. Spread flax seeds evenly across a large baking sheet. Bake for 1 hr, stirring frequently (every 5-10 min). Break up large clumps as you go, but leave some (you want clusters in the end). Set aside to cool.
Set or preheat oven to 300°F. Mix ingredients together and heat on stove or in microwave to melt coconut oil and almond butter. Stir and heat until smooth, let cool.
Stir in almonds and pepitas and spread mixture evenly on large baking pan. Bake for 25-30 min stirring frequently (every 5-10 min), until almonds are lightly toasted and mixture appears dry. Remove from heat and let cool.
Toast sunflower seeds and/or pecans in a frying pan over low heat. Stir/turn frequently and watch carefully to avoid burning.
Once everything is cool, mix together and store in an airtight container.
Notes
The Microbiome Diet menu plan lists ½ c as a serving, but I probably eat closer to ¾ c to 1 c for breakfast and ⅓ c to ½ c for snack. The granola is wonderful with berries or diced apples and homemade almond milk.
Chia seed pudding
I love yogurt and will re-introduce it later, but for now my yogurt replacement is the chia seed pudding.
Ingredients
3 Tbs chia seeds
1/3 c – 2/3 c unsweetened almond or coconut milk
Directions
Mix well and let sit for about 20 min. Add more liquid if you like it creamier.
Stir in cinnamon or a dash of vanilla extract if you like.
Notes
Top with berries and your nut of choice—sliced almonds, pecans and walnuts are my favorite. This makes a light breakfast or satisfying snack.
Almond milk
Because I’m really limiting processed foods, I finally bit the bullet and made my own almond milk following a super simple recipe.
Front: the almond pulp before drying (left) and after drying and processing (right); back: used nut milk bag, fresh almond milk, and new nut milk bag.
Ingredients
1 c almonds
6 c filtered water, divided
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Directions
Soak 1 c almonds in 2 c water for 8-48 hours on the counter (I do 48; longer = creamier)
Drain and rinse the almonds
Mix with 4 c filtered water, vanilla extract and salt
Blend on high for 1.5 min, 45-60 sec if you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix
Strain through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (I ordered mind on Amazon)
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last up to about 5 days, but is best fresh.
Notes
If you prefer it thicker, scald the milk (stirring constantly, heat in a saucepan over medium heat until just before it boils). Promptly remove from heat. This coagulates some of the proteins to give it a more creamy texture and mouthfeel.
The almond milk will separate a bit in the fridge, just give a couple shakes to disperse.
If you want to use the almond pulp, spread it on a baking sheet and dry in your oven on the lowest temperature. This can take quite a few hours, so check on it every hour or so for dryness. Then pulse in your food processor or blend in a blender to remove clumps and you have homemade almond flour! I use almond flour to thicken stews and in baking.
References
Byrne, C.S., et al., The role of short chain fatty acids in appetite regulation and energy homeostasis. Int J Obes (Lond), 2015. 39(9): p. 1331-8.
Kellow, N.J., M.T. Coughlan, and C.M. Reid, Metabolic benefits of dietary prebiotics in human subjects: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Br J Nutr, 2014. 111(7): p. 1147-61.
Slavin, J.L. and B. Lloyd, Health benefits of fruits and vegetables. Adv Nutr, 2012. 3(4): p. 506-16.