Gut-friendly Prebiotic Guacamole

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ll be happy to never see another Easter egg (and definitely happy for my kids not to!) for at least another 12 months. By Easter Sunday I generally can’t bear to see any more recipes for delicious chocolate fudge cakes, and I start craving anchovies on buttery garlic bread. This year, Easter Sunday also fell on my son’s 7th birthday, so we had the double-whammy of ice-cream cake too!

Anyway, this guacamole doesn’t have any anchovies (although I might give that a try sometime…), but it’s a good ‘re-set’ dip to keep in the fridge for meals and snacks, with lots of veggies, good fats, and prebiotic fibre.

We hear all about probiotics in health and wellness land, the good bacteria for our gut, which are found in yoghurt, kefir and other fermented products – and the food industry has jumped all over the marketing opportunities. But we rarely hear about prebiotics. In his book ‘The Clever Guts Diet’, Dr Michael Mosley discusses the importance of prebiotic fibre. This is plant fibre the body cannot digest, but which acts like ‘fertiliser for the gut’, laying the foundations so that the good bacteria can thrive.

Maybe gut fertiliser just isn’t as sexy to sell. 😉

Prebiotic fibre is found in garlic and onions (especially raw), leek, endives, dandelion greens, jerusalem artichokes (ugh), asparagus, and unripe bananas. Resistant starch, barley, oats, flaxseeds, apples and seaweed are also good sources. If you’re interested in finding out more, I recommend having a read of Dr Mosley’s book, which includes gut-friendly recipes.

I’ve been looking at incorporating more prebiotic fibre into my diet but can’t stand raw onion. I’ll pick it out of salads and burgers if it’s not cooked. But I have my friend Jacki to thank for this nifty trick; to marinate the the onion in lime juice and salt, which removes the awful onion-y burn. Thanks for the tip Jacki! Now I will often marinate red onion and keep it in the fridge for a week, using it as a condiment and adding it to dishes whenever I want.

Prebiotic Guacamole

Please note this recipe uses marinated red onion and garlic, which will need to be prepared at least three hours ahead of time.

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tbsp greek yoghurt
• 3 tsp marinated red onion / garlic (see below)
• 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
• 4 cherry tomatoes or 1/2 tomato, diced
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Tabasco or chilli flakes, to taste

1. Mash the avocado and yoghurt in a bowl, until smooth.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Make it vegan / dairy free: Omit the yoghurt.

Marinated onion: Finely dice 1 red onion and mince 1 clove of garlic. Add the juice of 2 limes and 1 tsp salt, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours – the longer you leave it the more mellow it becomes! Keep any extra in the fridge in a tightly covered bowl or glass jar – I use it as a condiment to meals, in salads, or as a toast topper (with smashed avo!).

Prebiotic Guacamole