After dealing with a bad case of indigestion or food poisoning, the first foods you reach for when you’re ready to eat are simple and easy to digest. Nobody has the desire to wolf down a double cheeseburger after dealing with stomach issues. More often than not, you choose plain crackers, soup, bread, or rice to remedy symptoms. 

A common theme among easy to digest foods is that they are low in fiber, fat, and flavor. They lack acidity, spice, and are usually soft or easy to chew and swallow. Eating foods that are harder on the digestive system may worsen symptoms, so you choose foods that are more digestible to give your digestive tract a break. Digestion requires energy, which includes mechanical and chemical energy processes like chewing or the work done by acid in the stomach. 

By choosing foods that are easy to digest when you don’t feel 100%, you give your gastrointestinal (GI) tract a break. Your body has to work a little less hard to carry out the digestive processes. That is what you want if you experience diarrhea, indigestion, vomiting, or other digestive issues. Continue reading to learn about some of the easiest food groups to digest when your digestive system isn’t in the best shape. 

Well-Cooked Vegetables

Raw vegetables can be harder to digest than cooked vegetables. When you cook vegetables, their plant cell walls soften and their starches become readily available to enzymes in the digestive system. That makes for an easier digestive process. Consider cooking the following vegetables if you need easily digestible healthy options: 

• Spinach
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Zucchini and squash (seeded)
• Beets
• Potatoes (peeled)

Peeled Or Stewed Fruits

Just like raw vegetables, fresh fruits are high in fiber, which can make them tougher for the body to digest. Because the bulk of dietary fiber in fruit exists in peels and seeds, health experts suggest eating peeled and seeded fruits after dealing with an upset stomach. It can be beneficial to choose fruits lower in fiber, such as ripe bananas or melons, especially if you struggle with diarrhea or nausea. If you choose to eat fruits like pears and apples, remove the skin. Softer fruits like stewed peaches or plums are also good options if you have an upset stomach.

Soups, Smoothies, And Purees

The way you prepare food can influence how your body digests it. Texture modification strategies, such as blending, doesn’t change the fiber content, but it can reduce the size of fiber particles in plant-based foods. That’s why smoothies, soups, and purees are much gentler on the digestive system. Raw kale, for example, is bulky and tough, while cooked or blended kale is soft. The change in texture allows for easier digestibility. The same goes for berries and other fibrous fruits, which you can enjoy if you blend into smoothies. Blending or pureeing these plant-based foods essentially pre-digests food, which takes the majority of the work away from your digestive system. 

White Flour Products

After a bad bout of food poisoning or general GI discomfort, you usually choose white foods, including rice, bread, and plain crackers. As you know by now, high-fiber foods can be difficult to digest if you’re experiencing abdominal bloating, diarrhea, or nausea. White bread, white pastas, and white rice, although not the healthiest foods, have had their fiber components removed. You can temporarily choose these foods to enjoy when dealing with digestive problems, but don’t eat them regularly. 

Soft Proteins

Animal proteins don’t contain fiber, but they are difficult for the body to digest, especially if they are rich in fat, tough, or chewy. Choose softer, easy-to-chew proteins that are low in fat. Scrambled eggs, smooth nut butters, and soft tofu are nourishing options that are typically easy to digest.

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We are going to show you how easy it is to make bruschetta, the vegan way. It is a simple yet impressive appetizer that takes about 10 minutes to make. Not only is bruschetta a classic appetizer that most people enjoy, but this one is also vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, and soy-free. It can even be gluten-free if you choose gluten-free bread.

When making bruschetta, you want high quality ingredients because it is a fresh dish. For this reason, we recommend that you use heirloom tomatoes, which offer a rich, sweet and slightly tart flavor profile. They are only enhanced by the herbs, seasonings, garlic, and olive oil. Speaking of which, we encourage you to use cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil for this vegan appetizer. The richness of that type of olive oil only enhances the natural flavors of the rest of the ingredients.

A typical bruschetta recipe contains parmesan cheese, but this recipe does not. If your taste buds yearn for that signature, sharp cheesy flavor, feel free to sprinkle in some nutritional yeast. Certain vegan food manufacturers also make vegan parmesan, which you can include in this recipe if you want. This recipe, however, only uses simple, fresh ingredients that speak for themselves. We promise that you’ll fall in love with this vegan bruschetta immediately after your first bite. Wanting a little more pizzazz? Hit your bruschetta with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar!

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Americans love table salt, and they eat too much of it. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends keeping daily intake of sodium to under 2,300 milligrams (mg), most American adults exceed this figure. In fact, it’s estimated that people eat an average of 3,000 to 3,500 mg of sodium per day. All of that excess sodium increases your blood volume and with it, your blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk of serious conditions like stroke and heart disease. 

Sodium is a necessary electrolyte that the body needs for many bodily functions. For example, the body requires sodium to maintain fluid balance, transmit nerve impulses, and to maintain muscle movement. If you are worried about high blood pressure, especially if it runs in your family, you should aim to limit your sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day. Cutting back to 1,000 mg per day could improve your blood pressure even more. 

While most people are mindful to steer clear of certain salty foods, they may not be aware of sneaky sodium bombs. French fries and movie theater popcorn are common high-sodium foods, but you need to be on the lookout for less obvious sodium sources. From canned veggies to bread and tortillas, beware of the following salty foods. 

Vegetable Juice

In theory, vegetable juice should be healthy, but it is a sneaky source of salt. Always read your labels! Sodium content is always listed per serving size, and a low-sodium serving should be 140 mg or less, according to the National Academy of Sciences. A can of tomato juice can contain more than 900 mg of sodium per an 11.5-ounce serving. If you want to enjoy healthy vegetable juice, make your own with a juicer or strain a blended vegetable mixture through a mesh sieve. 

Pasta Sauce

Pasta is an easy dinner choice because it doesn’t require a lot of time or effort, especially if you use jarred sauce. If you want to be more mindful of your sodium intake, you may want to rethink how you prepare your dish. On average, one cup of spaghetti sauce has nearly 1,000 mg of sodium. If you enjoy meat sauce, then you have to factor in additional sodium from the sausage or meatballs. Alternatively, make your own sauce by using ripe plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, and fresh basil. You can also toss your noodles with fresh vegetables and olive oil for a healthier, sauce-free pasta dish. 

Breakfast Cereal

A large percentage of the sodium that most Americans consume comes from cereals and other processed foods. One cup of cornflakes, for example, contains almost 270 mg of sodium, which can add up quickly if you don’t measure portion sizes. When you get into sugary cereals, you enter a world of food dyes, artificial flavors, and added sugars, all of which sabotage your health. Pre-made pancake mixes can also be secret sources of sodium, exhibiting over 450 mg of sodium per serving. 

Deli Meats

Sliced deli meats, hot dogs, bacon, and even turkey bacon are packed with sodium. One hot dog, for example, can contain as much as 700 mg of sodium. Two slices of regular deli ham can have close to 250 mg of sodium. People often consume more than one serving of these types of food, which only increases sodium intake. If you want to enjoy animal protein, opt for grass-fed/grass-finished beef or wild caught fish. Always check nutrition labels on meats because you never know if they are “plumped” with sodium to help them retain moisture. 

Canned Soups And Vegetables

Anything in a can typically contains sodium, especially canned vegetables and soups. That’s why you always have to check the nutrition labels and choose low-sodium products or “no salt added” products. A 10.5-ounce can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup contains 2,225 mg of sodium, which nearly accounts for the recommended daily allowance. Canned beans or vegetables can contain nearly four servings of about 400 mg of sodium or more. To reduce your sodium intake, opt for fresh vegetables instead of canned varieties. If you want soup, use low-sodium stocks with fresh vegetables!

Bread And Tortillas

A six-inch flour tortilla can contain more than 400 mg of sodium, but this depends on the brand and ingredients. That number only increases as the tortillas get bigger. If you want to eat tortillas, opt for plain corn tortillas, which may only contain 15 mg of sodium per tortilla. Another sneaky source of sodium is bread, with an average slice containing 100-200 mg of sodium. This, of course, depends on the type of bread and the brand. If you want to watch your sodium and carb intake, opt for a lettuce wrap or portobello mushroom bun for more nutrients and extra flavor.

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People seem to have this idea that gingerbread is solely reserved for the holiday season. You don’t need to think that way! In fact, you can enjoy the same flavors year round, especially when you incorporate them into recipes like this one. These raw vegan gingerbread energy bars are not only rich in healthy fats and protein, but they also exhibit tons of flavor. It’s like a Larabar, but you make it yourself!

There are a lot of unhealthy energy bars in supplement and grocery stores. These bars use whey protein, excess sugar, preservatives, dyes, and artificial sweeteners. While healthy bars are more common nowadays, especially with the growing demand for high-quality products, they can have a high price tag. A single bar that only contains whole food ingredients can cost between two and four dollars, depending on the brand. If you enjoy eating these types of bars, it may be more affordable to buy a food processor and the ingredients needed for the bars. You’ll save in the long run!

The secret to getting an even consistency in your bars is to blend the nuts in the food processor before adding the other ingredients. Once you pulse them into a coarse mixture, add the remaining ingredients and process until you achieve a dough-like ball. You’ll probably have to stop blending, scrape down the sides, and continue blending to fully incorporate the ingredients. You can make the bars as thick as you want, but it’s best to have them in the quarter-inch to half-inch thickness. That helps them harden quickly in the freezer.

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Fret not, people who aim to be gluten- and nut-free, there are many nut- and grain-free flours for you to consume. This is primarily for people who transition to the paleo diet, for which you will find many recipes and exclusive content. Many people make cookies, muffins, pancakes, and more using paleo-approved flour alternatives. So what exactly are those options and are they available?

Because there is a growing market of gluten-free and paleo flour alternatives, you can find them more easily in grocery stores. You don’t have to sift through (pun intended) the deep channels of the internet to find them, or which ones you can consume. That’s also why we decided to compile a list of the best grain-free, nut-free flour alternatives. More often than not, you can use these flour alternatives like regular flour, but you may need to adjust the moisture content of recipes. Even if you don’t adhere to the paleo diet, these flour alternatives come in handy for people with nut or gluten allergies/intolerances. 

Coconut Flour

Coconut flour is quite popular among gluten-free and nut-free diets. In fact, coconut is a paleo staple, whether it is in oil, raw, or flour form. Coconut flour may be the most popular grain-free flour alternative because of how widely available and versatile it is. It has an inherently low-carb profile, making it suitable for keto diet enthusiasts. The macronutrient profile is a healthy balance of fats, fiber, and protein; plus, it offers superfood powers in the form of monounsaturated fatty acids. For every cup of regular flour, you only need to use 1/4-1/3 cup of coconut flour. 

Tiger Nut Flour

Tiger nut is not a nut, but rather a small root vegetable that grows in the Mediterranean and Northern Africa. It is a nutrient-dense plant and historians believe that ancient peoples consumed it. Tiger nut flour contains gut-friendly prebiotics that feed that good bacteria in your gut. It has risen to fame in recent years as a health food staple, especially when you consider that it contains potassium, vitamins C & E, and phosphorus. It can be difficult to source, but if you find it online, you can generally use a 1:1 ratio when adapting recipes with flour.

Green Banana Flour

Although green bananas are not very tasty, they do exhibit an impressive nutritional profile. One of the primary benefits is the presence of resistant starch, which is a highly beneficial prebiotic fiber that fuels beneficial gut bacteria. Green banana flour is similar to the aforementioned tiger nut flour in that way. The good news about this flour is that it doesn’t taste like bitter green bananas. That means you can use it in both savory and sweet recipes. Green banana flour has a mild, earthy flavor profile and the replacement ration is about 2/3 cup of banana flour to one cup of wheat flour. 

Pumpkin Flour

Made from – you guessed it, dried pumpkins, this flour is wonderfully balanced with sweet and savory notes. Pumpkin flour is rich in antioxidants, making it an ideal year-round flour replacement, although the best applications may only exist during fall. Can you imagine making pumpkin bread with pumpkin flour? Generally speaking, you can use a 1:1 ratio when adapting recipes with flour. 

Cassava Flour

What is cassava, exactly? This is a valid question because most people are not familiar with this tuber. Also known as yuca, cassava is in the same plant family as potatoes, yams, and taro. Many people mistake cassava flour for tapioca flour because they both come from yuca. Unlike tapioca flour, which is made from the drained starchy liquid of yuca, cassava flour is made using the entire yuca root, which is peeled, dried, and ground into a fine powder. It has a neutral flavor, making it a great flour substitute for gluten-free, nut-free recipes. The replacement ratio is 1:1 and it adds a light, fluffy texture to your recipes. 

Arrowroot Flour

This flour is made by extracting the starches from the tubers of the arrowroot plant and grinding them up into a fine powder. It is actually commercially manufactured from the cassava root, but it tends to include other tropical ground tubers. Occasionally, it can contain potato starch, so make sure to read your labels in case that is an issue for your diet or health. If you are looking for arrowroot flour in the grocery store, it may go under the name “arrowroot powder” or “arrowroot starch.” It is flavorless and odorless and it has gained popularity in the keto and paleo diet communities. Arrowroot flour is a suitable alternative to cornstarch and is great to use when making bread, sweets, treats, and other baked goods.

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Raw gingerbread cookies are absolutely delicious and the perfect healthy treat during the holidays. There is no wrong way to enjoy them, whether you gobble them up by yourself, share them with the family, or enjoy them with friends. If you are a fan of gingerbread, or anything ginger for that matter, you will love these gluten-free, dairy-free, raw vegan cookies.

Unlike traditional gingerbread cookies, these are not full of refined sugars and carbs. All those sugars only leave you craving more, so you eat the whole box without even realizing it. It’s only at that point when you feel sick to your stomach. This recipe doesn’t have refined sugars; rather, the dates make these gingerbread cookies perfectly sweet. And you’ll only need to eat one or two cookies before you are full. That is because the walnuts and ground almonds provide you with healthy fats, protein, and fiber.

One thing to note about the ground almonds is that you can grind raw almonds if you can’t find that product in stores. All you have to do is add almonds to a food processor and pulse until you achieve a fine powder. Just make sure you don’t process them into almond butter. Finally, if you feel like getting a little experimental, top your raw gingerbread cookies with some flaky sea salt. You might like the sweet and salty contrast in every bite.

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Leave the butter and eggs in the fridge because you won’t be needing them for this recipe. This pumpkin bread is 100% vegan and brims with flavor. Each bite is soft, moist, and straight up delicious. Plus, it is pumpkin bread, which is the perfect dessert during the fall season. And the best part is that it is not overpowering or loaded with sugar.

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Leave the butter and eggs in the fridge because you won’t be needing them for this recipe. This pumpkin bread is 100% vegan and brims with flavor. Each bite is soft, moist, and straight up delicious. Plus, it is pumpkin bread, which is the perfect dessert during the fall season. And the best part is that it is not overpowering or loaded with sugar.

A common question about pumpkin bread, or pumpkin desserts, is whether or not you want to use fresh or canned pumpkin. You just have to keep an eye out when you purchase canned pumpkin. You don’t want pumpkin pie filling because that is loaded with preservatives, sugars, and unhealthy fats. When you purchase 100% pumpkin puree in a can, the only ingredient should be pumpkin. This type of pumpkin can be thicker and more dense than fresh pumpkin puree you make yourself. You can make your own pumpkin puree by clicking here, if you so choose.

Pumpkin bread is very easy to make because once you mix everything in a bowl, you pour it into a loaf pan, bake, and then remove when done baking. When you whisk the ingredients together, make sure that there are no lumps. You want a smooth consistency in the dough in order to have the best pumpkin bread ever.

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If you’re trying to eat healthier, that means you are probably paying closer attention to nutrition labels and ingredients. Nutrition labels are not entirely user-friendly, which is why many people don’t read them correctly. Certain terms, values, or serving sizes may be unrecognizable, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for. One could argue that deciphering a nutrition label is like trying to make sense of a college calculus textbook. 

You don’t have to experience confusion every time you read a nutrition label. These labels have a lot of useful information, and you really only need to pay attention to a few key things. As a general rule of thumb, if you see ingredients that you cannot pronounce, the food is most likely processed or ultra-processed. The packaged food items are harmful to your health, but healthier foods also have nutrition labels. This guide aims to help you read your way to a healthier lifestyle. But first, here are a few nutrition terms to understand:

• Calorie-free: 5 calories or less per serving
• Low calorie: 40 calories or less per serving
• Reduced calorie/fat: At least 25% less calories/fat than the original product
• Low fat: 3 grams (g) or less of fat per serving
• Fat-free: Less than 0.5 g of fat per serving
• Low-sodium: 140 milligrams (mg) or less of sodium per serving
• Very low sodium: 35 mg or less of sodium per serving
• Low cholesterol: 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving
• Sugar-free: less than 0.5 g of sugar per serving
• High fiber: Contains 20% or more of the recommended daily value (DV) of fiber per serving

The Serving Size

This is where your health journey begins. Before you dive into a bag of chips or open a carton of orange juice, take a close look at how many servings exist in the food you’re eating. The rest of the information, i.e. calories, cholesterol, fat, sugars, and protein, will pertain to the serving size. Single-serving packages are easy to understand, but multi-serving packages require a bit more attention to detail. If you take a large bag of potato chips, for example, there are probably 14 servings or more in the entire bag. That’s bad news if you eat the entire bag in one sitting. Most of the time, serving sizes are measured out in cups, tablespoons, or ounces. 

Calories

This is the biggest number you’ll see on a nutrition label, and it’s the first number as well. Many people only pay attention to this number, disregarding the rest of the nutrition label. The number of calories matters, but where the calories come from is of more importance. A healthy snack bar may have as many calories as a candy bar, but the sugar is lower and the fats are healthier. Pay close attention to the calories in relation to the serving size as well, because eating two or three servings from a multi-serving food item doubles or triples your caloric intake of that food. 

Percent Daily Value

The daily value (DV) indicates how much of your total allotment of that particular nutrient you get per serving. If a serving of unsalted nuts contains 20% of the DV of fat, then you know how much more fat your body needs for the rest of the day. As a general rule of thumb, 5% or less is low and 20% or more is high. 

Fats

Most nutrition labels list total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Ideally, you want to make sure that you eat foods that are low, or completely free, of trans fats and saturated fats. Trans fat is added to processed, packaged foods like cookies and crackers. It is an artificial fat that makes snack foods taste good, but it also extends their shelf life. Saturated fat exists in hot dogs, burgers or whole milk. Eating foods that are high in saturated fat can increase your risk for heart disease. You want to focus on healthier, monounsaturated fats!

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that comes from foods like shellfish, butter, meat, whole milk, and egg yolks. The body requires some cholesterol to make hormones and vitamin D, but eating too much of it can cause plaque to build-up in your arterial walls, increasing your risk for heart disease. Always aim low when looking at the cholesterol on nutritional labels. 

Sodium

Most American adults exceed the DV of sodium by about 1,000 to 1,500 mg. Current guidelines state that you should consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, which equates to about one teaspoon of salt. A lot of the sodium you eat comes from packaged and processed foods like pretzels, chips, frozen pizza, and jarred sauces and dressings. Keep salt levels under control by making sure you have less than 300 mg of sodium per serving. 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates (carbs) exist on nutrition labels in three forms: sugar, starch, and fiber. The first two elevate blood sugar, while the third does not. If you are counting carbs, you most likely need to watch out for refined carbs, which tend to come from white foods like pasta, bread, etc. Complex carbs from whole grains and vegetables, for example, are much healthier and better for your diet. In fact, most dietitians say that complex carbs should comprise 50% of your daily caloric intake!

Fiber 

When you eat more fiber, you can stay fuller for longer and avoid blood sugar spikes. That means that you’re less likely to crave unhealthy snacks between meals. The American Heart Association recommends that you eat at least 25 g of fiber per day, but this may depend on specific dietary needs. A good rule of thumb is to eat about four g of fiber per serving for grains and three g of fiber for packaged foods and bread. 

Sugars

Finally, we’ve reached sugar. Sugar can have several names on an ingredient list, including high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, sucralose, fructose, and glucose. Due to the recent nutritional label update, you can easily spot the total sugar and added sugars in a given food product. It also included the percent DV of added sugars per serving. You should aim for most of the sugar you eat to come from natural sources like fruit, as opposed to processed foods. And while artificial sweeteners are zero-calorie, they are highly sweet and don’t get included in the total sugar count. Try to limit your sugar consumption to no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake.

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Could it be that this recipe is actually vegan? Yes, 1000% yes. It looks like chicken salad, but in reality it is “chik’n” salad made from chickpeas. When you take your first bite, we recommend that you do so with your eyes closed. Really savor the bite because you may never go back to regular chicken salad ever again. Identify the familiar flavors on your palate and see if you can identify every ingredient. Then go for another bite, followed by another, and another, until you are dusting the crumbs off your fingers as a proud member of the clean plate club.

The real secret to this recipe is the double dill combination. By that, of course, we mean the duo of dill pickles and fresh dill, which brings that acidic brininess that is signature to chicken salad. Everyone has their own variation of a chicken salad, though, and dill or pickles may not be in the recipes you know and love. Think of this as a hybrid between some of the best recipes out there. To balance out the acidic briny pickle flavor, we added diced red grapes for their inherent sweetness. Fold in the chopped celery, dijon mustard, lemon juice, vegan mayo, garlic powder, and sea salt and pepper and you got yourself an impressive chickpea “chicken” salad.

Now, a sandwich isn’t complete without some toppings, but the real start of the show is the bread. Get yourself some beautiful multigrain bread or a fragrant sourdough baguette. When you figure out the bread you want to use, you can prepare tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado to go in the sandwich. Since you have to get pickles for “chicken” salad, you might as well serve the sandwich with a pickle, right? Yes, that is an excellent idea!

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