Ease digestive symptoms with these preparation hacks

Jen recently wrote two great blogs explaining the reasons behind the improper digestion of protein as well as carbohydrates and fats. For tips to better digest protein, click here. Below, I give you practical tips for better carb and fat digestion.

Let’s Start with Carbohydrates

When it comes to digesting carbohydrates, preparation really is everything. Certain carb-heavy foods like vegetables, beans, and whole grains can be tricky for sensitive digestive systems.

Here are my top tips for optimizing carb digestion:

1. Cook Your Veggies

Raw vegetables might sound healthy, but they can be hard on your digestive system — especially if it’s already compromised. Cooking vegetables (think roasting, sautéing, or steaming) helps break down the fiber and starches so your body has an easier time processing them. Plus, warm cooked food is generally gentler on the digestive tract.

2. Rotate Your Vegetables

if you get gassy and bloated after eating onions, garlic, broccoli or cauliflower rotate in easier to digest vegetables like carrots, zucchini, bell peppers which have a different fiber structure and tend to be easier on digestion. Keeping variety in your meals also helps your gut bacteria stay balanced.

3. Use Digestive Spices in Your Cooking

Spices like cumin, coriander, fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, and turmeric are known to support digestion and reduce bloating. They’re easy to sprinkle onto roasted vegetables and meats. Fennel and cumin in particular can help break down common gas-producing foods like lentils or cruciferous veggies.

4. Soak, then Cook, Beans and Whole Grains

While we discussed beans in the protein digestion blog, beans also contain carbohydrates, so we’ll repeat our tips here and include information about whole grains.

Beans, legumes and whole grains contain compounds like phytic acid and lectins that can irritate your gut lining and make digestion harder. Soaking them first reduces those compounds, improves their texture and makes the food more digestible.

Slow-cooking beans, lentils and chickpeas continues to make them more digestive-friendly and including herbs adds a lot of flavor. A pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, gives similar results in a fraction of the time.

Soak quinoa and brown rice for 1 – 2 hours, rinse in cold water and cook in a rice steamer. Using chicken or beef broth, instead of water, is a great option for more flavor.

What About Fats?

Digesting fats is all about supporting your body’s ability to produce and move bile — a digestive fluid made by your liver and stored in your gallbladder that breaks down fats into something your body can actually use.

Here are 3 easy ways to support fat digestion:

1. Drink a Little Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Water Before Meals

A small amount of apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice in warm water 10–15 minutes before eating can help prime your digestion and get bile flowing. Ginger shots are another fun option if you want to feel like you’re at a spa— they’re warming, energizing, and great for stimulating digestion.

2. Add Cholagogue-Rich Foods to Meals

Cholagogues are foods that support the production and flow of bile and, thereby, aid fat digestion. Here are some suggestions:

Artichokes (regular, not Jerusalem which are different)
Bitter greens
- Kale
- Mustard
- Arugula
- Collard greens
- Pre-washed “Super Greens” – raw or cooked
- Dandelion greens
- Watercress
Beets
Radishes
Roasted Dandelion Tea from Traditional Medicinals

3. Eat Healthy Fats with Bitter or Acidic Foods

Combining fats with bitter or acidic foods naturally boosts the digestive process. For example:

Use lemony vinaigrettes on salads with avocado or olives
Add arugula or mustard greens to meals with eggs or salmon
Top your toast with a slice of beet and a drizzle of tahini

Pairing your fats with foods that naturally stimulate digestion helps your body absorb them better. See the recipes below for more ideas.

Tips for When You’re Busy …

Life is full, and not everyone has time to soak grains or cut vegetables every night. These digestion-friendly tips can be incredibly simple. Here are a few of my favorite time-saving tips that still support your gut:

Use pre-cut frozen vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, or broccoli. Just toss them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and roast.
Buy artichokes or beets in glass jars and packed in water (skip the oil and the canned versions with additives).
Cook in bulk — roast a big batch of vegetables or grains once, then reheat them throughout the week or eat cold as a “salad.”
Make your own salad dressings in a Mason jar with high-quality olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard. Shake to mix and store it in the fridge for the week.
Keep ginger shots in the fridge (you can buy them bottled but avoid fruit juice and added sugar) and sip on before your main meal of the day.

Below are some recipes to try that focus on preparing carbohydrates and fats for better digestion.

Salmon and Quinoa Cakes with Lemon Tahini Sauce
Recipe from JoyousHealth.com
Servings: Approximately 5 cakes

For cakes:
½ cup white quinoa
1 cup water
1 can wild salmon or 1 salmon fillet, flaked
1 carrot, grated
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 eggs
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs of your choice
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP ground flaxseeds
½ tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove, minced
Pinch of sea salt and pepper

For Tahini sauce:
2 TBSP Tahini
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1 TBSP water

Mix ingredients for cakes together and form into patties. Place on baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes until golden brown.
While cakes are baking, mix ingredients for Tahini sauce. Drizzle over cakes when they finish baking and serve.

Cod Oreganata
Recipe from Dr. Hyman’s One-Week Quick Start Recipe Guide
Servings: 4

1 head broccoli, cut up into small pieces
1 lb Brussels sprouts, quartered
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ tsp sea salt, divided
½ tsp black pepper, divided
4 6 oz cod fillets or other white, flaky fish like halibut or sole
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
¼ cup almond meal
1 TBSP lemon zest, freshly grated
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place vegetables in a large mixing bowl and drizzle 1 TBSP oil to coat vegetables. Season with a dash of salt and pepper. Place veggies on a baking sheet and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until vegetables are lightly roasted.
Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Place cod on baking sheet and season with ¼ tsp salt and pepper, to taste.
In a small mixing bowl, make the “oreganata.” Combine remaining salt, garlic, remaining olive oil, almond meal, lemon zest and oregano.
Spoon about 1 TBSP of oreganata mixture over each fillet. Use fingers to spread mixture over fish.
Bake for 15 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Fish is done when it flakes or the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Put vegetables back in oven for another 5 minutes if you prefer a softer texture.
Sprinkle generous TBSP of parsley over fish and vegetables. Serve 1 fillet with 1 ½ cups roasted vegetables.

Arugula Pesto
Makes 1 cup

2 garlic cloves, roasted for 5-10 minutes in the toaster oven, then peeled
1 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts
2 ½ cups packed fresh arugula
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1 TBSP lemon juice
sea salt

With food processor running, drop in garlic and process until minced.
Turn off processor, scrape down sides and add pine nuts, arugula, olive oil and lemon juice.
Process to mince all ingredients and combine.
Season to taste with salt and thin with extra olive oil to achieve desired consistency.
Refrigerate or freeze in air tight container until ready to use.

Collard Greens Lunch Wraps
NOTE: Filling can be anything you have on hand – shredded carrots or beets, guacamole or avocado slices, turkey, salmon salad, lentils, hummus… use some type of spread as the glue to hold it together.

A bunch of collard greens: 2 leaves create 1 wrap

Wash leaves well.
With a sharp paring knife shave the big stalk that runs down the leaf until it is more or less the same thickness as the leaf. This will allow for better rolling.
Place each leaf, one at a time in boiling water for 1 minute until soft, pliable and bright green. Remove with tongs.
Dry off with towel or paper towels.
To roll: place two collard leaves head to foot (stalks at opposite ends) and partially overlap the leaves. Or you can use 1 leaf and roll like a burrito
Apply a spread (hummus, guacamole, pesto) to the center of the leaves, and then pile on the other ingredients (turkey, shredded carrots or cabbage, etc.)
Roll as you would a wrap or tortilla: flip the sides up and then tuck and roll, folding in any stray corners that pop out.
Cut in half and enjoy.

Tip: These store well in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator and they’re great for travel since they don’t get soggy like bread does.

Mashed Squash

1 acorn or butternut squash, or both
1 TBSP coconut oil
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut squash lengthwise and place face down into roasting pan with about 1 inch of water.
Bake until tender – about 45 minutes. Pierce with a fork to feel if it’s tender; when cooked fork will be able to pierce through the skin into the flesh easily.
Remove from oven and cool.
When cooled enough to handle, scoop out the seeds and discard.
Scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the coconut oil, spices and salt.
Mash with a potato masher or mix with a food processor/hand blender to desired consistency. Add a little water if needed.
Serve warm, topped with butter or ghee.

Roasted Roots with Thyme
Servings: 4-6

2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 golden beets, peeled and diced
About ½ lb pearl new potatoes
4-6 cloves garlic
3-4 shallots, sliced
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
Salt & pepper to taste
sprigs of fresh thyme

Toss vegetables in oil and spread evenly on parchment lined sheet pan. Evenly scatter sprigs of thyme on top of the vegetables.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender, stirring once or twice for even cooking. Remove thyme sprigs and serve immediately.

Disclaimer: Nutrition therapy is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or cure for any disease, or as a substitute for medical care. Jen Marshall, Stacy St Germain, and Jill Dopp are not licensed medical providers. Nutrition plans are not intended as a substitution for traditional medical care, nor should they be interpreted as medical advice, but instead is an adjunctive and supportive therapy.

Recipes and Tips to Optimize Carb and Fat Digestion