‘Set-and-Forget’ Recipes to Boost Gut Health (No Extra Time Needed)

Juggling work, school pickups, and household chores often leave little room for prioritizing your well-being, let alone your gut health. Fortunately, there’s a way to sneak in some gut-boosting dishes for the whole family — including your picky little eaters — without spending hours in the kitchen. Here are a few fermented food recipes for gut health that are easy to manage, even with a chaotic schedule.

Table of Contents

1. Homemade Yogurt

Creating yogurt from scratch lets you save money, and you get to bond with your kids while making it. Yogurt is a popular fermented food that can help replenish your store of good bacteria and promote a well-balanced gut. Try this recipe with a yogurt maker, and use your yogurt on salads, sandwiches and overnight oats. You can also sprinkle on seasonal fruits for a fresh and flavorful treat.

Ingredients:

1 packet of yogurt starter
42 ounces of organic milk

Instructions:

Pour milk into a large glass, microwave-friendly bowl.
Heat in the microwave on high for 10 minutes. Check the temperature with a thermometer, and keep reheating in one- to two-minute increments until it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set the milk aside until it reaches 112-115 degrees F. Another option is to do an ice water bath to speed up the process.
Pour a cup of milk and the yogurt starter into a small glass. Mix thoroughly.
Mix it with the microwaved milk in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
Fill the jars of the yogurt maker, then set a timer for seven to nine hours. Longer incubation time means more tangy, firmer consistency.
Once incubation is complete, refrigerate the jars.
Serve and enjoy.

2. Kimchi

Kimchi is a Korean plant-based fermented food rich in probiotics and antioxidant properties. It has a tangy, slightly spicy and sour taste with a hint of umami that you can enjoy by itself, in fried rice, with eggs, or in a taco. This recipe from Wandercooks is one of the easiest kid-friendly fermented food recipes to make, only requiring 15 minutes of prep time and four hours of waiting time you can use for household chores.

Ingredients:

700 grams of napa cabbage
2 ½ tablespoons of coarse sea salt
6 cups of water
3 tablespoons of Korean hot pepper flakes
2 spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons of hot pepper paste
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fish sauce

Instructions:

Chop the cabbage into chunks, put in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Mix thoroughly and pour in 6 cups of water until the cabbage is fully covered. Put a heavy plate on top and soak for four to six hours.
In a small bowl, put spring onions, Korean hot pepper flakes, Korean hot pepper paste, sugar, garlic and fish sauce. Mix thoroughly. This serves as your kimchi seasoning.
Drain your cabbage or rinse in a colander to lessen saltiness. Keep this in mind, especially when preparing meals for older adults, as they generally need to consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily for optimal health.
Put the cabbage and kimchi seasoning in a large bowl. Lather the seasoning through the leaves with your hands, ensuring everything is coated.
Transfer the kimchi into a sterilized jar. Press down the layers firmly so it’s all compacted. This step is important to release air bubbles and speed up the fermentation process.
Leave it inside the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Enjoy it as a side dish, with tofu or a burger topping.

3. Blackberry Kefir Popsicle

Finding healthy snacks for picky eaters can be tricky. Instead of highly processed snack foods, make snack time healthier with this tasty treat. Kefir is a fermented milk that has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal benefits. Use it to make a delicious popsicle to give your children a cool, nutritious treat. This kid-friendly fermented food recipe from Little House on Laurel only takes 10 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

2 cups of kefir milk
½ cup of organic pure maple syrup
2 cups of fresh or frozen blackberries
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

In a small saucepan, add a ¼ cup of maple syrup and blackberries. Wait until it boils, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Mash and stir until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, pour the remaining maple syrup, kefir milk and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly.
Once the blackberry sauce has cooled, add it to the medium bowl with other ingredients.
Fill the popsicle molds about ½ inch from the top, and place the popsicle sticks.
Let it freeze for a minimum of three hours.
Pull them out of the molds and enjoy with your family.

4. Homemade Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut provides probiotics and vitamins C and E, helping boost gut health and fight inflammation. Its main ingredient is cabbage — a versatile vegetable. This gut-friendly, fermented food recipe from Farmhouse on Boone only takes 15 minutes to prepare, giving you more time for rest or quality time with kids.

Having a food processor can help speed up the prep process. While you can slice by hand, using this gadget shreds cabbages in seconds, making sauerkraut a truly quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients:

3 heads of cabbage
2 ½ tablespoons of salt

Instructions:

Pull off a few of the cabbage’s outer leaves. Set them aside.
Core the cabbages and cut them into pieces before putting them inside a food processor.
In a large bowl, place the shredded cabbage. For 5 pounds of cabbage, use 3 tablespoons of salt.
Massage the salt into the cabbage until it releases a juicy brine.
Pour the cabbage and brine into a mason jar. Press it down until the cabbage is submerged beneath the brine.
Fold the reserved cabbage leaves and place them on top of the jar, pushing all the contents down.
Leave the jar out at room temperature for five days to three weeks. Taste periodically to check desired tanginess.
Once complete, remove the folded-up cabbage leaves, put a lid on the jar and store it in the fridge.

Try These Fermented Food Recipes for Gut Health

Embracing gut-friendly fermented dishes doesn’t have to feel like another huge task on your plate. These set-and-forget recipes for gut health are designed with you in mind, understanding how precious your time is. Try out any of these recipes and see which one your family will enjoy the best.

Author Bio
Beth is a mental health advocate and the family wellness editor at Body+Mind, a health and wellness brand. Her work centers around building healthy dynamics within families. She is raising her own family on plant-based recipes and mindful nutrition.