When it comes to improving your gut health and fuelling our bodies for life, Professor Tim Spector, MD has become a huge name in the game since co-founding the personalised nutrition programme ZOE. Now Tim has combined his groundbreaking health advice with ZOE’s top nutritionists to create a new cookbook, entitled The Food For Life Cookbook. The book aims to show readers how easy and enjoyable it is to adapt to a gut-friendly way of eating. Refreshingly, Tim’s approach is all about abundance rather than cutting things out, as he encourages us to use simple ways to get in your 30 plants a week.
Tim always enjoyed cooking with his mother as a young child but as a young medic he ate a typical junior doctor’s diet of snatched sandwiches and juices, not realising how bad they were for him nutritionally. It was only when he had a mini stroke in his fifties that he was inspired to improve his own health by focusing his scientific research on the groundbreaking area of nutrition and the gut microbiome. His family now complain that their fridge is often jam-packed with a variety of fermented foods and kombucha.
Here Tim’s shares three of his delicious recipes from his new book, The Food For Life Cookbook, Creamy Kale Pasta, Aubergine Parmigiana and Carrot Cake with Tahini Orange Frosting.
Creamy Kale Pasta
A good pasta can be so satisfying, and this recipe improves the nutritional value by adding our beloved fibre-packed beans, which also make the sauce creamy and delicious. Including extra seeds on top will bring a delightful crunch, plus added fibre, good fats and protein.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
90g wholewheat pasta
100g kale or cavolo nero, stalks removed and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp Boosting Bouillon or Parmesan
1 x 400g tin cannellini beans and their liquid
Salt and black pepper
Top-ups:
Sauerkraut Seed Mix Sprinkle
Method
1. Bring two saucepans of salted water to the boil. Put the pasta in one and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until al dente.
2. Put the kale and garlic in the other saucepan and blanch for 3 minutes. When ready, drain and add to a blender with the lemon juice and Boosting Bouillon.
3. Pour the beans into a sieve set over a bowl, keeping the liquid from the tin. Add a quarter of the beans to the blender along with the reserved liquid and blitz until totally smooth.
4. When the pasta is ready, drain it, reserving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water. Return to the pan with the remaining cannellini beans, reserved cooking water and the blended sauce. Heat through for a minute or so, taste and season if necessary and serve.
Carrot Cake with Tahini Orange Frosting
For moments when your cup of tea needs a slice of cake, this one really packs in the plants, and the Greek yoghurt ‘frosting’ adds a lovely tartness – just be mindful it won’t set like usual frosting. The added benefit of the yoghurt is that the protein and fat will help slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream from the cake.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Makes 8–10 slices
Ingredients:
85ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
100ml kefir
3 eggs
4 tbsp honey
85g soft light brown sugar
285g ground almonds
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp pumpkin seeds
50g walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
200g carrots, grated
For the topping:
185g Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp honey
Zest of ½ orange
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Top-ups:
Fresh berries
Walnuts
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 and grease and line a 20cm round springform cake tin.
2. Put the olive oil, kefir, eggs, honey and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Add the ground almonds, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt and mix everything until thoroughly combined.
3. Fold in the carrots and then transfer the mixture to the lined tin. Flatten with a spatula and bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a metal skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the tin.
4. Meanwhile, make the topping: mix the Greek yoghurt, tahini, vanilla extract, honey and orange zest in a bowl – it will thicken slightly. Spread all over the cooled cake and finish with the pumpkin seeds. Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days.
Aubergine Parmigiana
What could be more comforting than an aubergine parmigiana? We’ve given this classic a gut health twist by adding fibre-packed lentils, but this will work just as well with any bean. Add a mix of both to increase the fibre and plant protein in this dish, making it even more hearty and satisfying.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves 4 with leftovers
Ingredients:
3 aubergines, sliced lengthways into 1cm-thick slices
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tin black or green lentils, drained
30g basil, leaves torn, plus a few to garnish
125g ball of mozzarella, torn
20g finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and black pepper
Top-ups:
Kimchi
Extra basil
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and lay out the aubergines in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil all over. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and soft.
2. Meanwhile, place a frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the onion in the remaining oil for 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in the tomatoes and lentils, then half-fill the tomato tin with water and add this to the pan too. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the basil and cook for 5 minutes more, then season with salt and pepper.
3. Spoon a third of the ragu mixture into the base of a 20–23cm square ovenproof dish (or similar) and top with a layer of aubergine. Repeat this twice more, then finish with the mozzarella and Parmesan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Serve with some steamed greens.
Extracted from The Food for Life Cookbook by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, £28). All photography by Issy Croker.
Claire Tapley is a digital editor for Yours.co.uk. She is a journalist with over 16 years' experience writing for women over 50. In her previous role she was deputy editor on Yours magazine for nine years, before moving over to Yours.co.uk.
Claire is extremely passionate about all things health related, specifically fitness and healthy eating. She has a huge amount of knowledge on all areas that interest women over 50 including health, wellbeing, finance, food, tech, beauty and fashion.