This healthy 7-day meal plan is full of nutritious and nourishing recipes to support gut health. Let me help you make your gut happy, after all, gut health is whole health!! Including a downloadable pdf with a grocery list, full nutritional analysis, recipes, and prep schedule.
A healthy 7-day meal plan focusing on recipes with wholesome ingredients that support gut health. I call this the Happy Gut Meal Plan!
Disclaimer: I have a very inclusive philosophy around food and truly believe that all foods fit into a healthy lifestyle. In sharing these meal plans I hope to support and encourage you to add more nutrient-dense foods into your life in a way that is accessible and easy.
MEAL PLAN SERIES: As often as I can I will share a new meal plan, in the hope to introduce the benefits of a multitude of healthy dietary styles. If reading meal plans or dietary theory is triggering for you please skip this post.
This does not substitute for medical advice and I do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek diagnosis, treatment, and advice from qualified providers based on your condition. If you are interested in personalized nutrition based on your unique constitution feel free to read more about my private functional nutrition practice here.
Ok, let's get to the meal plan!
In this article, we will cover:
- The health benefits of a “Happy Gut” meal plan
- Gut supportive foods
- Who this meal plan is best suited for
- 7-day digestive supportive meal plan recipes
HOW TO USE THIS MEAL PLAN:
Scroll down to find all of the recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and, snacks. This is a 7-day meal plan, including one week of delicious, wholesome, health-supportive foods.
The comprehensive pdf version of this meal plan includes:
- Detailed meal schedule
- Full nutritional analysis
- Complete Grocery list
- Meal Prep Schedule
- All complete recipes
- Downloadable as an easy to read and implement PDF that you can print out and take directly to the grocery store, or open on your phone for easy instructions
WHY GUT HEALTH MATTERS:
To truly understand the health benefits of this Happy Gut Meal Plan, we have to first understand the importance of gut health. In my private nutrition practice, gut health is where I begin with all clients.
Impaired digestive health can manifest in a host of conditions including IBS, SIBO, IBD, and general gut dysbiosis (an imbalance in gut health). Gut health also impacts a wide range of conditions including cardiovascular, endocrine, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, skin conditions, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Over 80% of the immune system resides in our gut and the gut produces 75% of our neurotransmitters! Essentially, if you want to feel better, body, mind, and soul, you have to take care of your gut!
Maybe I’ll write a song “let’s all take care of our guts, no ifs and or buts!”…
HOW TO IMPROVE GUT HEALTH:
Improved digestive function is a lot more involved than a one-week meal plan, it involves proper nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle interventions over the course of several months to a year!
However, there are many healing gut-supportive foods that can put you on the right track. I was so excited to share this meal plan today as a jumping-off point for anyone looking to improve their digestive health (ahem… that should be everyone!)
Gut Healthy Foods!
The overall theme to gut supportive foods is to increase the diversity of the food you are eating. Incorporating some of these foods will be supportive, incorporating many of these foods will make your gut HAPPY!
Probiotic and Prebiotic Foods:
- Eat fermented foods, like kimchi and sauerkraut – Probiotic foods that are rich in wild strain beneficial bacteria
- Eat prebiotic foods, like beans and legumes. Pro tip- green tea has prebiotic-like properties too! Add a cup of green tea to your diet every day. Prebiotics help to feed the beneficial bacteria in our GI system, this is a good thing.
Anti-inflammatory foods herbs and spices:
Increase the fresh herbs and dried spices in your diet that will provide a host of anti-inflammatory properties. Here are some of my favorites:
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Basil
- Mint
- Cinnamon
- Rosemary
- Oregano
Healthy Fat:
Increasing good quality healthy fat in your diet to improve short-chain fatty acid production which has a profound effect on overall gut health.
- Avocado
- Olive Oil
- Grass-Fed Butter or Ghee – grass-fed butter contains butyric acid which is anti-inflammatory
- Salmon (for omega 3 fatty acids)
Collagen and Gelatin:
Collagen/ gelatin is an important nutrient that impacts the health of the gut lining (you can read more about that here). I incorporate collagen daily in my coffee! More sources of collagen/gelatin
Resistant Starch:
Resistant starch helps to feed beneficial bacteria in the gut and increases the production of short-chain fatty acids like butyrate.
- Cooked and cooled potatoes
- Cooked and cooled rice
- Green bananas
- Legumes
Increase the Diversity of your Diet:
- Eat a varied diet, do you buy the same veggies every week? Are broccoli and string beans always in your grocery cart? Mix it up! A diverse diet = a diverse microbiome.
Who is the Happy Gut Meal Plan for?
Anyone could benefit from the Happy Gut Meal Plan, but specifically for anyone looking to improve overall digestive health.
NOTE: not all gut supportive foods will be supportive for people with certain digestive disorders like IBS, SIBO, FRUCTOSE MALABSORPTION, ETC. Please work with your health practitioner to find what foods will be most supportive for your condition.
7-DAY Happy Gut MEAL PLAN RECIPES:
If you'd like a complete pdf download of this meal plan including, a detailed schedule, full nutritional analysis, grocery list, and pdf of all the delicious recipes download it by clicking the button below.
GUT SUPPORTIVE BREAKFAST RECIPES
Smoothies!
When I am giving my digestive system a bit of a respite I love having a nutrient-dense smoothie for breakfast. The downloadable meal plan contains the complete recipes for a Gut Healing Green Smoothie and my favorite Strawberry Collagen Smoothie. You can also try this avocado matcha smoothie and this beet pray love smoothie bowl.
Kimchi + Kale Scramble
Adding fermented veggies to eggs may sound a bit strange but trust me, one bite of this kimchi scramble and you will be hooked! Saute kale leaves in olive oil until tender, add chopped kimchi, and cook until just heated through, move to the side of the pan and cook scrambled eggs, toss all together. Top with salt and pepper as needed.
Eggs + Avocado + Kraut Bowl
Same idea friends, get in those fermented veggies wherever you can! In this “recipe” that isn't really a recipe, make 2 eggs however you like best (fried or jammy is my favorite) enjoy with nitrate-free bacon, a sliced avocado, and a generous spoonful of sauerkraut.
Legumes for resistant starch, a host of anti-inflammatory spices, and loaded with good for you nutrients.
QUICK AND EASY LUNCH AND DINNER RECIPES
There are a few additional gut-supportive recipes found in the downloadable meal plan.
Spicy Cauliflower Burrito Bowl
All the plants, all the flavor! Make a double batch for easy meal prep lunches all week long.
Warm Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad
This is another meal prep mastery recipe. I use pre-cooked lentils (I love Trader Joe's lentils) and roasted sweet potato. Toss with chopped baby spinach and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Easy and delicious!
Sauerkraut Crusted Salmon
You already purchased (or made your own!) sauerkraut – so let's put it to good use! Mix a few spoonfuls of sauerkraut with whole grain mustard and spread on top of a salmon filet. Sear in a hot pan (sauerkraut side down) for 3-4 minutes, gently flip over and finish cooking until heated through. The combo of the mustard and briney sauerkraut with fatty salmon is so delicious! Serve with a big green salad.
Instant Pot Apricot Ginger Chicken with Bok Choy
Ginger, turmeric, and apricot are the stars of this recipe. An easy instant pot recipe with gut-supportive ingredients your whole family will love. You will seriously want to drink the sauce!
QUICK AND EASY SNACK AND HEALING LATTE RECIPES
When I am working with private clients on gut supportive strategies the most important intervention is listening to your bodies hunger cues. Some of my clients thrive by including several supportive snacks throughout the day, others find that spacing out meals 4-5 hours is the best strategy. This is highly individualized, so I added a few options in this meal plan.
Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins
A grain-free muffin recipe using fiber-rich coconut flour. This makes 12+ muffins and is the perfect sweet treat.
The BEST guacamole with veggies
No seriously, the best guacamole. I love having a little guacamole with veggies as a snack. Getting in good quality fat is essential for gut healing, avocado is our best friend here. Loaded with fiber in addition to fat, I've found that clients that regularly include avocado in their diet have far better gut-healing results.
Sipping on bone broth is one of my top gut-supportive strategies. You can follow this recipe for easy instant pot bone broth or buy it premade from Broth Masters, Bonafide Provisions, or Brodo.
Yup, avocado is coming in hot again. This time as a sweet treat. This recipe couldn't be easier and is so incredibly satisfying.
Coconut Matcha Latte
Green tea, matcha, serves as a prebiotic-like food helping to feed the good bacteria we need in our gut. I recommend drinking one matcha or green tea daily when you are on a gut-healing journey.
Watermelon Lemonade Gut Gummies
What's better than a gummy treat that is also gut supportive??? Nothing is better! This simple homemade recipe harnesses the gut-healing magic of gelatin with fresh juice (watermelon or otherwise). Store in the fridge for a fun jiggly treat.
DOWNLOAD THE RECIPES, GROCERY LIST, MEAL SCHEDULE, PREP SCHEDULE, AND NUTRITION ANALYSIS AS A PDF
To make life super duper easy I put this all together in a comprehensive pdf with recipes, grocery list, meal schedule, and nutrition analysis. The cost of the download is $8.
I hope you love this meal plan!
Do you have a specific meal plan you'd like to see in this series? Paleo? Vegan? Low-Fodmap? Shoot me an email: abra@abraskitchen.com or comment below!
MORE MEAL PLANS YOU WILL LOVE:
Real Food, Real Fast Meal Plan
Anti-Inflammatory Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
High Protein Vegetarian Meal Plan
High Fiber Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan
Whole30 Meal Plan
Real Food Mostly Plants 30 Day Meal Plan
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