Reset your gut: More #HappyGut recipes

I am on day 3 of the cleanse and I am feeling a lot better. I have more energy – my stomach is as flat as an ironing board 😁 (banishing bloat) and overall I am feeling pretty positive.

If you’re not sure what I am talking about – check out the first post here.

I am very lucky to have Mel guiding me on this cleanse – because it’s a process she’s walking me through and decoding for me every step of the way.

We talk about the real stuff. She asks me about my poo 🤣. I tell her about my reactions to the food (had a rash on my face this morning). She makes notes and tweaks the cleanse accordingly. She sends me daily affirmations and other tips to help me.

I think it’s important to work with a holistic health practitioner if you want to try to heal certain ailments naturally as it’s vital to have the plan tailored to fit you, because all our bodies are different.

I will be sharing these two more days of the cleanse with you (Mel has so kindly allowed me to share this information with you) so let’s dive in…

Start your day – Sauerkraut
Just like the last two days, start your day with Sauerkraut and a glass of hot water and lemon. Follow with a glass of water.

Belly & Biome Gut Healing Juice

This juice is an ultimate colon cleanser, as the pectin from the apple moves through your gut, it collects and rids your body of microbes such as bacteria, viruses, yeast and mold.

It also gathers and expels putrefied, impacted protein and debris that may be in intestinal pockets and feeding colonies of harmful bacteria. Celery offers enzymes and coenzymes and it raises the hydrochloric acid in your stomach so that food digests with ease and doesn’t putrefy.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sauerkraut
¼ organic lemon (with skin), OR peeled if not organic
¼ red cabbage
1 carrot
1 granny smith apple
1 sprig celery

Special Equipment
Masticating juicer (preferred), centrifugal juicer or juice press. I didn’t have one of these so used a Nutribullet, it still worked, albeit a bit chunky. (I added spring water to loosen off blades)

Directions
Juice ingredients. Add cold pressed olive and stir well. Store juice in a glass bottle and refrigerate, consume within 12 hours.

An hour an hour after this, make this smoothie:

Belly & Biome Gut Healing Smoothie

This smoothie reflects pure healing alchemy with ingredients so gracefully put together to nurture the multi-facets of gut healing and your general well-being.

Bananas are ultimate fungus destroyers, removing unproductive bacteria while feeding beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract. Blueberries are filled with antioxidants and one of the most effective heavy metal detoxing foods, the most potent prebiotic there is, and a star at restoring the liver.

This helps prevent a multitude of gastrointestinal disorders. Red cabbage is one of the most rejuvenating foods for the liver. Its disease-fighting pigments can also help retard and reverse scar tissue in the liver.

Ingredients

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chia seeds, soaked for about 10 minutes
1 tablespoon hemp shelled hemp seeds
1 small banana, peeled (ripe but never over ripe)
¼ cup coconut water, OR filtered, OR spring water
½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
½ cup red cabbage, chopped

Special Equipment
Blender

Directions
In a blender, blend all of the ingredients until smooth.

10am: Organic Granny Smith Apple, slices, dipped in Nut Butter and a glass of water. Sorry it looks so messy. I got hungry halfway through. 😂

This soup is a combination of Mel’s and Emilie’s recipes. For lunch today and tomorrow, I am eating a Belly & Biome Soup of the Day plus a Bone Broth.

Before you freak out – here is Mel’s explanation on why bone broth. 🤣

Bone marrow is so nutritionally dense that wild animals will actually break the bones of their prey and eat the marrow first, before even touching the meat!

Bone marrow, the jelly like substance at the heart of the bone is a nutritional treasure trove. It is an outstanding source of healthy fats, and it contains iron and vitamin A.

Bone broth provides such a magnificent diversity for healing, for instance gelatin helps restore the integrity of your intestines, healing leaky gut and optimizing your immune function.

This in turn makes extra pounds slide off more easily and sets off a cascade of other positive changes throughout your entire body.

May I add that it gives the soups a delicious flavour!!!

Belly & Biome Soup of the Day (Leek & Potato)

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sweet basil
2 teaspoons organic coconut oil
1 medium potato, peeled & roughly chopped
4 medium leeks, roughly chopped
4 cups filtered, Or spring water
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Pink Himalayan salt to taste

Special Equipment – Blender, large stock pot

Directions
In a large pot, heat the coconut oil, stir in leek and sauté for 5 to 10 min. Add all other ingredients and cook till softened. Purée the soup till silky smooth.

+

Emilie’s Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients:

1kg / 1.5 kg marrow bones (It is essential that you find bones from grass-fed cattle free of hormones and antibiotics) try Braeside Butchery in Greenside or the organic market, fresh earth or other health stores)
2 large carrots
2 stems of celery
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic (I left this out)
Pink Himalayan salt
Pepper
2x tablespoon Apple cider vinegar

Method:
1. Boil the bones in a large pot for 20 mins then strain (discard the boiled water)
2. While bones are boiling, preheat your oven to 180 degrees and cut up your veg into large chunks, leaving the garlic whole.
3. Put the drained bones and veg into a roasting pan and roast for 30 to 40 mins.
4. Transfer roasted veg and bones to your slow cooker, cover with water and season also add the vinegar at this point
5. Cook on high for 24 hours,
6. Strain, Cool and refrigerate until a hard fatty layer appears on the surface of the broth, pop the fatty layer off and discard (Your broth may be gelatinous this is normal)
7. Portion and freeze excess immediately (I suggest purchasing some 500 ml jars and defrosting one a day for your consumption)
8. Add a two cups of the bone broth to the soup above

(If you are vegan Nine Aesthetics and Mel can tweak this recipe for you)

Cat’s Nut Butter and Jelly Chia Pudding

As mentioned on my Instagram stories last night, I needed a snack between lunch and dinner. Mel said I could try something with Chia – ensuring it contained no sugar, dairy, gluten or processed food.

So here is my recipe for a peanut butter and jelly pudding that definitely hits the spot if you are craving something ‘naughty but nice’.

Ingredients for pudding:

1/8 cup or half a 1/4 cup of Chia Seeds
1/2 almond milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp Raw Honey

Ingredients for Jam:

6 strawberries, chopped
squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp raw honey

Ingredients for Nut Butter:

15 ml of Nut Butter (not peanut butter)

Instructions:
To prepare the chia pudding, add all pudding ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Place in the fridge and let sit overnight until the texture is a thick.

Just before serving, make your jam. In a saucepan, add your strawberries on medium heat, stirring constantly for 5-10 minutes, until cooked. Add in the honey and lemon and stir together. Let cool.

Add the jam and 15 ml of Nut Butter to your chia pudding and enjoy (makes enough for two days)

For dinner, you can choose to make one of the soups from the past two days and ensure to include a cup of bone broth.

That’s it for now, on Thursday I am off to Nine Aesthetics for the first treatments that form part of this cleanse and I will give you an update on what they are all about on Friday!