Good gut health starts with what’s on your plate – and no, that doesn’t mean cutting out gluten, dairy or all your favourite foods. In fact, “Eliminating foods like gluten or dairy without cause can harm your gut,” says NHS doctor and MasterChef winner Dr Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed. Instead, she encourages a much more joyful approach: “Aim for 30 different plants a week, use herbs and spices freely, and prioritise fibre.”
To help make that easier (and more delicious), Dr Saliha has teamed up with Yakult to create a trio of vibrant, flavour-packed recipes designed for summer. Built around plant diversity, fibre and ease, these dishes aren’t just good for your microbiome – they’re genuinely worth getting excited about.
“As a doctor and a food lover, I’ve always believed that gut-friendly eating doesn’t need to be restrictive or bland,” she says. “It’s about celebrating diversity on your plate: more plants, more colours, more flavours.”
From a creamy smashed greens toast to a fridge-friendly pasta salad and a spice-roasted aubergine traybake, each recipe is rich in prebiotic ingredients and ticking those all-important “plant points”. Better still, they’re the kind of meals you’ll actually want to cook.
Smashed greens with feta and mint on toast
A great way of sneaking in vegetables at breakfast or brunch. You can top with a poached or boiled egg if you prefer this to a fried egg. The recipe makes more of the toast topping than you need, which is a good thing! I use leftovers the next day on toast or as a dip with crostini or crackers when the need for a snack arises.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes
Diversity points: maximum 6¾ points per portion
Ingredients:
175g broccoli florets
150g frozen petit pois
80g baby spinach leaves
200g feta cheese
120mls sour cream
A large handful of mint leaves, finely sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 eggs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sprouted lentils and/or two tablespoons pumpkin seeds (optional)
4 large slices of sourdough bread
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Start by placing the broccoli florets in a pan with a generous splash of water. Cook the broccoli for 2 minutes before adding the frozen peas and cooking for an additional minute or two, until the peas have defrosted. When the entire mixture appears vibrant green, but the moisture has dried, add the spinach leaves and wilt them for just a minute. Then, turn off the heat in the pan and allow everything to cool.
2. Add the cooked vegetables to a food processor along with the feta cheese and sour cream. Season with salt and chilli flakes and blitz to a coarse puree. You are looking for it to have texture rather than being a puree. Carefully take the smashed greens mixture out of the food processor into a serving bowl and stir through the mint leaves.
3. Fry two eggs in olive oil in a non-stick pan and toast the sourdough bread in the grill/toaster until golden. To assemble the dish, spread the smashed greens spread generously over the toast and top with the fried egg. For a final flourish, drizzle over a little olive oil, scatter over the sprouted lentils and/or the pumpkin seeds, and a few small leaves of mint. If you like it spicy, add a few extra chilli flakes.
Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad
A delicious pasta salad that is as nutritious as it is filling. Keeps well in the fridge, and you can add herbs or any extra salad leaves just before serving. A particularly good dish if you’re feeding a large group and want to prepare ahead. Please feel free to add any vegetables of your choice here, whatever is lurking at the back of the fridge.
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 15 minutes
Diversity points: maximum 8¾ points per portion
Ingredients:
400g chicken breast cut into large cubes
250g penne pasta
12 cherry tomatoes
6 sundried tomatoes
12 pitted black olives
100g roasted peppers from a jar
75g artichokes from a jar
1 tin of green/ brown lentils (400g) drained and rinsed
50g parsley
Juice 1 lemon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A handful of golden sultanas (optional)
Pistachios for garnish
Chilli flakes to taste
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Start by placing the chicken breast in a pan and covering it with warm water. Place on medium heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Then, turn the heat off and let the chicken cool. Boil the pasta and cook till al dente as per the packet instructions. Drain the pasta and keep aside.
2. Meanwhile, quarter the cherry tomatoes, roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted peppers and artichokes. Transfer all of this vegetable mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the drained pasta, lentils, and poached chicken, breaking it into smaller pieces with your hands as you add it to the bowl.
3. Finally, add the parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, sultanas, chilli flakes, and season with salt. Then, stir everything together thoroughly and serve with a sprinkle of pistachios.
Ras el hanout and orange-spiced aubergine traybake with herb and orange couscous
A hearty and substantial dinner dish. You can add whichever selection of soft herbs you desire – I like parsley, coriander and mint. The oranges add much-needed sweet, citrussy freshness to the final dish.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 45 minutes
Diversity points: maximum 6¼ points per portion
Ingredients:
100g dry couscous
160g boiling water
2 spring onions
1 orange, peeled and cut into thin wedges
1 large handful of parsley
1 large handful of coriander
12 mint leaves
2 red onions
2 large aubergines
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 large orange
3 heaped tsp Ras el Hanout spice mix
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Place the couscous in a ceramic bowl, season with salt and top with boiling water. Cover the bowl with a lid and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Finely slice the spring onions and chop the herbs finely. After the couscous has rested, separate the grains with a fork and mix them through with the orange segments, spring onions and chopped herbs. Drizzle a little olive oil if desired.
3. Cut the onions into thick, approximately 1½cm slices and place them in a flat layer on the base of a large roasting tray. Splash a little water over the onions (under 100ml). Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise and make deep incisions in a criss-cross pattern – you want to get close to the skin but not perforate it with your knife. Place the aubergines over the onions, with the flesh facing up and the skin facing down. Drizzle or brush a tablespoon of olive oil over each aubergine half, ensuring all parts of the aubergine are coated.
4. Make a marinade for the aubergines with two tablespoons of olive oil, the zest and juice of a large orange, the Ras el Hanout spice mix and garlic paste. Mix well and spread the marinade evenly over the aubergines and onions, ensuring they are well coated. Transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, until the aubergines are soft and slightly charred, and the onions are jammy underneath. Serve with a few pomegranate seeds scattered over the top.
Each of these recipes champions the core principles of gut-friendly eating: variety, fibre and prebiotic ingredients. They form part of the broader Yakult Good Food, Healthy Gut initiative, which highlights the importance of making simple, everyday food choices to support digestion and overall wellbeing.
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