Today’s post is all about Probiotics and Prebiotics for healthy tummy’s and happy bodies!
Ok…soooo…..why is there a big pic of a Stir Fry at the top of this page??
Where’s the yogurt? The dairy?? Where is Jamie Lee Curtis telling me I will be regulated in 7 days…?
Probiotics and dairy have become almost synonymous for each other when we’re talking about regulating our GI tract, but while yogurt definitely is an enormous powerhouse for all of those good bacteria – there’s still so many other ways to feed our flora and fauna!
But what exactly is good bacteria?? What foods have them? What are prebiotics anyways??
Well.. I asked Ashley!
First, a little background on our gut -
We normally have an abundance of friendly bacteria in our gut. However, antibiotics, stress, and poor diets can all throw our bacterial balance out of whack and result in an overgrowth of bad bacteria and yeast.
Probiotics and prebiotics are what can help restore that balance. These are the beneficial bacteria found in various foods or dietary supplements that add healthy bacteria back into our intestinal tracts.
Probiotics are the friendly bacteria we want in our guts.
Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that help the friendly bacteria grow and flourish.
Still with me?? Here’s some sources of each – you need both for a healthy gut!
Probiotic-Containing Foods:
Prebiotic-Containing Foods:
- Yogurt-purchase only those products that clearly state the presence of live and active cultures
- Kefir
- Sauerkraut
- Dark Chocolate
- Miso Soup
- Sour Pickles
- Tempeh
- Soft cheeses (gouda)
- Buttermilk
- Cottage cheese
- Soy sauce
- Asparagus
- Jerusalem artichokes
- Bananas
- Oatmeal
- Red wine
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Legumes
- Wheat barley
- Rye
- Onions
- Garlic
- Leeks
Are you surprised by any of those foods?? I had no clue probiotics were in soy sauce?? tempeh?? Chocolate…. ok I love that one!
Tempeh and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Yields 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound broccoli
- 6 tablespoons chopped green onions, divided
- 4 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 5 teaspoons canola oil, divided
- 1 (8-ounce) package organic tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup cut asparagus
- 2 2/3 cups hot cooked brown rice
- Cook broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain, squeeze dry and cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Combine 3 tablespoons green onions and the next 5 ingredients (through red pepper) in a bowl.
- Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add tempeh and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until golden brown on all sides. Remove tempeh from pan; keep warm. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add broccoli and asparagus and stir-fry 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tempeh and vinegar mixture to pan; bring to a boil.
- Divide rice evenly among 4 bowls; top with tempeh mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons green onions.
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light
Not only do I learn something new everytime I visit but I see another wonderful recipe my friend :D
Forever love your blog!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thanks Uru! That was the absolute sweetest comment :) Hope you’re having a great weekend!
So informative! I love the dish – yum! xoxo
Thanks Anna :)
Michael, again, loves this! And…omg…probiotics are in CHOCOLATE!? YAYY!
I know, right?! Every time I see a positive fact about chocolate (or any fact) I see it as a reason to buy some!
Of course! :P
What a great post! I love it. I learned about some foods I would never have suspected that would be good for that. Perfect! Yay for red wine and chocolate being on the list! haha
Thanks! And haha yes! Any excuse to eat more chocolate and drink more wine… now I just need to find some amazing health benefit for deep dish pizza and we’re set. : )
I always associate probiotics with dairy also but I’m glad to know there’s way more to them than that! great dish and great post!
Thanks Joanne! And same here, I had no idea about all of the other foods either until I talked with Ashley!
sounds like a delicious stir-fry!
Thanks :) It was a perfect quick Wedn. night meal!
I feel much more educated now. I didn’t know about prebiotics at all. This dish looks delish!
I’m so happy you learned something too! I”ve been having so much fun learning all of these new nutrition tips from Ashley!
p.s. I baked up my post for you last week and its really yummy! Writing the post either today or tomorrow, I’m excited for you to see it!
It’s such a relief that there are dairy-free probiotic options for people who are lactose intolerant!
Agreed! My main source of probiotics has been soy yogurt…. which I have to drive 30 minutes to find at the nearest Whole Foods! Very excited to learn there’s a bunch of different ways I can get the same benefits :)
Yes! That was my favorite part about this list of foods, I had no idea so many other foods beside dairy had probiotics in them! Thanks for the yummy info girl :) Love this!
Awesome recipe! I’ve actually never have tried tempeh before… what does it taste like? If it tastes as good as your pictures look, I’m sure I’d love it!!! Looks delicious!
This was my first time actually! It was pretty good – it’s just like tofu in that it soaks up any flavors you give it – so give it lots of flavor! Thats why its so great in a stir fry :) I’m not gonna lie… I’d probably pick chicken over tempeh, but for a yummy change every once in a while (and for the probiotics!) its great!
The stir-fry sounds delicious! And this is such a helpful post! I went through a period of time last fall where my tummy was all out of whack and I ended up going with a really intense probiotic yogurt (it tasted terrible btw), but I’m glad to know that there are other options should that happen again! I especially love the chocolate option :)
O ew was it Kefir?? I had that same problem (still do….) and tried forcing myself to drink plain kefir.. not good. Haha so not good at all! And yes, very happy about the chocolate option :) As if I needed any more positive reinforcement to keep my M&M stash…
What a great post…thanks for the info!
Now your recipe look and sounds amazing..I love the combination that you used! Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!
Thanks Sandra! I hope you’re having a great weekend too! And so happy you liked all the info :) I love learning and sharing all of these fun health tips!
Oooh! I can dig a probiotic non-Jamie Lee Curtis solution :) This looks lovely! I need to find some tempeh
Hahah thanks so much! And yes you do :) Definitely worth a try!
So interesting to learn sources of probiotics AND prebiotics! Great info! I think I’d have to swap out the tempeh for some real meat, but this looks like one delicious recipe~
Hahaha thats ok, I won’t hold it against you :) I’m with you on the meat, love tempeh every once in a while but really love my chicken stir fry!
Fun fact: I’m terrified of any meat-alternative foods. Tempeh totally falls into that category. I just don’t understand what it’s going to taste like…or what the texture is going to be…it’s all very scary. I’m all for cheese, though! And I’m totally down with that prebiotic list.
Maybe I’ll just start pouring soy sauce on everything. (ok, maybe not)
hahaha don’t be such a baby! Just try it! You’re not going to love it…. haha but its pretty good, I swear!
YES!! thank you for this recipe!!!! I’m looking for a tempeh recipe and I found it!
This was seriously so quick and easy too! Awesome weeknight dinner :) Enjoy girl!!
how cool! i didn`t know what any of this probiotic stuff before! I am so going to try eating more of both! Since i love stir-fry, this is awesome~