Something as simple as keeping a mason jar filled with a batch of this tart and tangy Prebiotic-Rich No-Oil Herbed Vinaigrette recipe in your fridge at all times is an easy and tasty way to dress your salad and boost your prebiotic intake simultaneously.
Let’s talk about preobiotics.
What are prebiotics? What are the benefits of prebiotics?
Quite simply, prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates (mainly oligosaccharides and non-starch polysaccharides) which act by promoting the growth and/or activity of beneficial probiotic bacteria in the gut. Prebiotics are the soluble fiber that your gut can actually consume and utilize for many health-promoting purposes. Basically, you can think of prebiotics as “food” for your intestinal flora.
Also, since prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates they potentially help with weight loss. Interestingly, in a Canadian study, subjects who took a daily dose of oligofructose (a prebiotic fiber) experienced reductions in blood glucose and insulin not seen in subjects who took a placebo, and they lost more than twice as much weight.
The most common prebiotics are fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulin and galacto-oligosaccharides, but pectin should also be included as it too has some prebiotic potential. These prebiotics are found in various unrefined plant foods such as raw garlic, leeks, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, wheat and bananas (note: prebiotics are also found in human breast milk.)
Eat From the Clean Cuisine Pyramid
If you are eating from the Clean Cuisine anti-inflammatory diet pyramid and getting a wide variety of unrefined plant foods then you should have no problem obtaining plenty of prebiotics in your diet. But it still helps to be aware of where they can be found and how you can increase your intake of them. In addition to getting prebiotics from your diet you can also supplement with them, especially if you are traveling and might not be able to eat your normal diet. If you are looking for a good prebiotic supplement we particularly like Optiflora Prebiotic and Probiotic System.
Raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar such as Bragg Organic is an excellent source of prebiotics. This tart and tangy condiment could even help with blood sugar levels; a 2007 study in Diabetes Care on diabetic human patients found that blood glucose levels were four to six percent lower in those who took two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed compared to those who didn’t.
Pin this to your salad board on Pinterest!
Prebiotics are easy to incorporate in your diet on a daily basis. For example, having a banana smoothie for breakfast and tomato sauce with whole grain pasta for dinner could help you boost your prebiotic levels. Eating garlic on a regular daily basis is another easy way to boost your consumption of prebiotics as well as enhance your body’s ability to detoxify itself and improve health in many other ways too.
By the way, we love our Pampered Chef Garlic press for $20 and use it all the time to add crushed garlic to so many different Clean Cuisine dishes. We also use it to add a hefty amount of garlic to the vinaigrette recipe below made with Bragg’s apple cider vinegar.
Prebiotic-Rich No Oil Herbed Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- ½ cup Bragg’s raw apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup hemp seeds, such an Manitoba Harvest
- 2–3 pitted dates
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (if Whole30, avoid white wine)
- Unrefined sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Directions: Place all ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender (we like Luvele’s Vibe Blender) and process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a mason jar and refrigerate. Note: Vinaigrette will keep for up to a week stored in the refrigerator.
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