If you follow me for a while you know that gut health is a topic which I am super passionate about.  My fascination with the subject started few years ago when I embark on the mission of clearing my skin with a holistic and natural approach.The more I researched the more I came across the importance of a healthy gut for a happy and clear complexion. Making improvements to the digestive system has been scientifically shown to improve skin health, immune function, mood, and energy levels. That’s when I started to focus on a varied whole food plant-based diet to help building a strong gut health and to promote microbiome diversity. 

I took a baby step approach and slowly but surely I introduced more and more new plant-based foods to my usual diet. Overnight oats with nuts, seeds and berries replaced my Starbuck croissant, baked jacket potatoes with beans and veggies replaced my lunch sandwich and over the course of a long period of time I found myself eating mostly a whole food plant-based diet which I learned to love and enjoy. At the same time I also saw a huge improvement in my overall digestion and bowel movements.

When Bioglan approached me to try out their inulin powder and do a tummy diary for a month I couldn’t be more excited, I can honestly talk about gut health for hours on end and I was also curious to give inulin a go!

In case you are not familiar with inulin, is a water-soluble fibre sourced from chicory root which offers a range of health benefits. It is non-digestible so it passes through the stomach, and small intestine, into the large intestine where it is fermented by the gut bacteria, providing the bacteria with the material and energy needed to proliferate and grow.

Bioglan Inulin promotes digestive wellbeing naturally. It is rich in fibre which contributes to normal bowel function by increasing stool frequency.

Bioglan Inulin is easily dissolvable in liquid and can be incorporated into your everyday diet without any fuss – by adding to water, juice, smoothies, cereal, baking or other foods you enjoy.

I took 1 teaspoon of inulin 3 times a day, I usually just mixed it with some water or added it to my porridge as it doesn’t really taste of anything. As I mentioned previously I don’t really have any particular gut concern at the moment but I found taking inulin daily made my bowl movements even more regular and efficient. I also found it quite helpful to keep me regular when I went on holiday and travelled around Italy for few weeks.  I always find myself a bit more bloated when travelling and inulin as definitely helped to keep my gut happy.

Although you can simply dissolve inulin in a glass of water I really enjoying adding to some of my foods too! For example I made this really simple Breakfast Muffins sweetened mostly by ripe banana and sweet potato and perfect for a breakfast on the go.  You can make in advance and store them in an airtight container for few days.

I love that they are naturally sweet, moist and fluffy and a great source of fibre too!

Sweet Potato & Banana Breakfast Muffins 

Makes 6-7 muffins 

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato (about 150g) – peeled and chopped into cubes 

1 very ripe banana 

125g of brown spelt flour 

100g of ground almonds

1 tbsp of Bioglan Inulin

5 tbsp of maple or agave syrup 

2 tbsp of mixed sunflower & pumpkin seeds – roughly chopped + extra for sprinkling on top (optional) 

150ml of oat milk 

1 tbsp of melted coconut oil 

1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda 

1 tsp of baking powder 

1 tsp of cinnamon 

1/2 tsp of ground ginger 

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Line a muffin tin with muffins cases.

Steam or boil the sweet potatoes cubes until very soft. About 10-15 minutes. Drain and let them cool down on the side.

Add the cooked sweet potato to a bowl together with the banana and with a fork mash them down to a puree. Add in the maple syrup, melted coconut oil and oat milk. Mix everything well. 

In a separate bowl mix together the spelt flour, ground almonds, Bioglan inulin powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, chopped seeds, cinnamon and ground ginger. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Divide the mixture into the muffin cases, about 2 tbsp each.

Sprinkle some seeds on top of each muffins, or if you have, an harmful of granola would be great too.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked through. Let them cool down completely before digging in!