3 easy, gut-health recipes by a dietitian who developed an 'ancestral' alternative to the Mediterranean diet

• Anissa Armet is a dietitian who helped to develop the plant-based, high-fiber NiMe diet.
• She ate in a similar way for years to manage her ulcerative colitis.
• Armet shared three of her favorite NiMe diet recipes that she eats to manage her gut health.

A dietitian who helped develop a gut-healthy diet shared her three favorite recipes.

Anissa Armet, a registered dietitian and researcher at the University of Alberta, Canada, and her colleague Jens Walter, studied whether eating a pre-industrial, or "ancestral," diet could improve the gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is the trillions of microorganisms that live in the digestive system. Research has linked a diverse range of microorganisms in the gut to many health benefits, including better digestion, immune response, and mental health.

The resulting NiMe diet (non-industrialized microbiome restore) is plant-based, high in fiber, and low in ultra-processed foods, dairy, and wheat products.

It was based on the eating habits of rural Papua New Guineans who do subsistence farming and lead non-industrialized lives. Walter previously compared their gut microbiomes with those of people from the US, and found the Papua New Guineans' were more diverse.

For the NiMe study, 30 healthy participants followed the diet, which featured foods readily available in the West, for three weeks. By the end of the study, their gut microbiomes weren't more diverse. But they did have fewer signs of chronic disease in their guts, including a lower pH, fewer microbes that cause inflammation, and a healthier mucus lining.

The benefits of the NiMe diet were similar to those of the hugely popular Mediterranean diet, the authors said, in that both appeared to prevent damage to the heart and reduce inflammation. However, they said the participants may have benefited from eating a more nutritious, controlled diet than they usually would.

Armet has followed a diet similar to NiMe — one very high in fiber, minimally processed, and plant-based — for 10 years to manage her ulcerative colitis symptoms.

Prior to making dietary changes, Armet said she experienced bloating, abdominal cramps, and stomach pain, and was making endless trips to the bathroom, where she was passing a lot of blood. But once she overhauled her diet, her symptoms eased. The cause of ulcerative colitis is unknown, but research suggests it's an autoimmune condition.

It's usually treated with medication or surgery, and dietary changes aren't typically prescribed as a treatment. But research suggests that a high-fiber diet could help reduce inflammation in the gut and improve quality of life for ulcerative colitis patients.

We can't be sure that Armet's diet improved her ulcerative colitis symptoms, but she said: "I've personally felt the benefits of following a very high fiber, plant-based, minimally processed diet, which does fit in with the principles of the NiMe diet."

Armet shared three recipes from the NiMe meal plan and her own diet that are nutritious, versatile, and easy to make.

Sautéd vegetables and grains

One of Armet's go-to easy dinners is sautéed vegetables with some grains, which she said comes together in 15 minutes.

She chops up onions, bell peppers, garlic, and frozen leafy greens such as kale, and sautés them with olive oil, along with any other vegetables she has on hand. She adds a drained can of beans, and adds flavor with white wine and vegetable broth.

She said it's a great meal to prep ahead of time or keep in the freezer, and recommended serving it with a whole grain, such as brown rice or quinoa.

Overnight oats

"I'm a creature of habit, so I have the same thing every single morning, which is overnight oats," Armet said. She makes five portions on Sunday, which she keeps in the fridge for a quick, easy breakfast on weekdays.

"I just mix rolled oats with things like hemp hearts, chia seeds, or flax seeds. I mix that with milk and then keep that in the fridge," she said.

She loves how customizable the oats are. "You can add protein powder or yogurt for an extra boost of protein, or whatever additions you like — peanut butter, frozen berries, shredded coconut, nuts, a tablespoon of coffee if you need a little stimulant in the morning," she said.

Business Insider's health correspondent Rachel Hosie has previously shared her favorite high-protein oat-based breakfasts.

Sweet potato black bean hash

This sweet potato black bean hash recipe was labeled a breakfast in the NiMe study, but Armet said that it is "versatile and customizable enough to meal prep and pull out whenever you need."

To make it, chop a sweet potato, bell peppers, and an onion, and season with olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Roast the vegetables until they are soft but not fully cooked. Then add black beans and cooked millet, and put the mixture back in the oven until the vegetables are soft.

"You can also use quinoa, or have the vegetables on a bed of brown rice and leafy greens — whatever you like," Armet said.

She likes this recipe because it combines some of the main foods of the rural Papua New Guinean diet, including sweet potatoes, vegetables, and black beans, which provide plant-based, fiber-rich protein.