A gut-health dietitian who doesn't meal prep shares the pantry staples she always keeps on hand
Dietitian Gabrielle Morse makes sure her diet takes care of her gut health.
She stocks up on herbs, spices, sauces, legumes, and whole grains for easy, tasty meals.
Morse also includes a variety of nuts and seeds in her diet for added nutritional benefits.
Eating a healthy, balanced diet can take work, but it doesn't need to feel like a second job if you're stocked up on the basics.
For Gabrielle Morse, a gut health specialist and registered dietitian at The Gut Health Clinic, that involves buying a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables each week while also keeping her store cupboard stocked with a few staples to make nutritious and tasty meals.
That enables her to hit her goal of eating 30 plants — from beans, nuts, and seeds to spices and dark chocolate — a week without meal planning. "I don't necessarily plan my meals for the week, I don't really enjoy doing that. I quite like to just look at what's in the fridge and then decide what I want on the day," Morse told Business Insider.
The US digestive health market is forecasted to continue to grow over the next five years, reaching up to $7.2 billion by 2028, according to Mintel. However, Morse, like other gut health experts, says eating 30 different plant foods a week is best for the gut microbiome, the trillions of microbes that live in the digestive system. Research shows that people who eat a wide range of plants have a more diverse microbiome, which is associated with better gut health.
She shared what she always has on hand in her kitchen with BI.
Herbs and spices
Making sure she's enjoying her food is crucial for Morse, so she keeps her kitchen stocked with lots of herbs and spices for seasoning. She'll throw a combination over some vegetables and make a tray bake, rustle together a chickpea curry, or use them to season fish.
Her favorite spices are:
Cumin
Smoked paprika
Turmeric
Chipotle
Chile flakes
Chile powder
Curry powder
Garlic powder
Ground coriander
She likes to buy herbs fresh and freeze them straight away so she's always got some on hand.
Her go-to herbs are:
Cilantro
Basil
Rosemary
Pastes and sauces
Morse also relies on a number of sauces and pastes for seasoning, particularly when she wants her meal to come together fast.
She loves:
Curry paste
Gochujang paste
Harissa
Pesto
Tahini
Stock
Beans, chickpeas, and lentils
Morse adds legumes into a dish whenever she can for protein and fiber. For example, she might add butter beans to an omelet or chickpeas to mashed potatoes. She always makes sure to stock up on a range of beans.
She mixes up the beans she eats, but some of her favorites include:
Chickpeas
Lentils
Butter beans
Adobo beans
Berlotti beans
Kidney beans
Whole grains
Whole grains play a big role in Morse's diet. They are high in fiber and are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
She keeps a range of whole grains in her store cupboard:
Microwaveable mixed grain bags
Rice
Wholewheat pasta
Quinoa
Buckwheat
Nuts and seeds
Morse likes to snack on mixed nuts and seeds or add them to a dish to boost the nutritional content. She even carries around a Tupperware of seeds to sprinkle on top of her lunch in the office.
Read the original article on Business Insider