Microbiome Analysis in London, London Videos

A really beautiful gift arrived from friends who know my passion for foods made by beneficial bacteria, moulds and yeasts! This is a special collection of cheeses made by women cheesemakers in the UK, and each cheese will have a unique microbiome that’s very dependent on the location, the ingredients, the weather and even the microbiome of the makers themselves! The rinds have the most complex communities of microbes, while the insides of cheeses tend to have a smaller diversity of bacteria, and in the case of blue cheeses, colourful moulds. Research on the role of moulds in our diet and our gut microbiome is still in its infancy, but it’s becoming widely accepted now that fermented foods, containing live, beneficial bacteria, moulds and yeasts, can support gut microbiome health. The Cornish yarg is wrapped in nettle leaves which help provide the microbes that give the cheese its wonderful flavour and soft, crumbly texture. The St Jude (in the wooden box with its wrinkled coat) is made in Suffolk with raw cow’s milk so the beneficial bacteria found in milk will have helped the fermentation and added to the flavour. The Wigmore is a beautifully creamy sheep’s cheese, and the Baby Burt’s Blue is made in Cheshire from local cow’s milk by Claire Burt thecheeseworkshops I quickly grabbed lunch as soon as the cheeses arrived, with more fermented foods: gherkins pickled in vinegar (made by yeasts and mainly acetic acid-producing bacteria) and sourdough rye crackers (wild yeasts and mainly lactic acid-producing bacteria, although these are killed in the baking process). 💕Thank you dear R&W, and thank you @thefinecheeseco for an amazing selection. Video: Viola’s hand undoes a bright blue, branded ribbon around a white box, lifts the lid, revealing four cheeses on a wooden surface. The video cuts between portraits of each of the cheeses listed above, and ends on a plate filled with sliced tomatoes, carrots, gherkins, crackers and cheese. . . . #f

A meal that’s easy and quick to prepare is essential at the end of a long day. Roasted winter veg with feta definitely ticks those boxes. I popped it in the oven while I sent individualised treatment plans to the Microbiome Analysis clients I’d seen earlier that day. Beetroot should be considered a microbiome superfood, and I added a tin of red kidney beans 🫘 and onions for extra prebiotics, as well as lots of mixed herbs, parsley and yellow mustard seeds for more diversity and polyphenols. I didn’t peel any of the veg — for speed and ease, but also because the skins contain fibre and other nutrients, including polyphenols. INGREDIENTS: 🧡 Squash (crown prince) 🧡 Carrots 🧡 Sweet potato 💜 Red onion ♥️ Beet ♥️ Red kidney beans 💚 Mixed herbs 💚 Parsley 💛 Yellow mustard seeds Feta — swap with boiled chestnuts for a vegan, polyphenol-rich version. Lots of olive oil Served with steamed kale and more olive oil! Eleven different plant foods and a tasty meal at the end of the day, nourishing me and my gut bacteria. . Video: chopped orange and purple winter veg in a white roasting pan, with feta and herbs added, mixed, and served in a white bowl with curly green kale and a fork dug in, ready to eat. . . #winterveg #beetroot #roastveg #fetarecipes #microbiomediet #prebiotic #winterecipes #plantfoods #microbiome

Made a little collection of my festive recipes all supporting your microbiome health! There’s a new (temporary) highlight at the top of my profile that links to the original posts, in case you’re needing inspiration over these next couple of weeks. . #festiverecipes #festivefood #originalrecipe #microbiomediet #microbiomehealth

I felt incredibly lucky to find this most perfect chicken-of-the-woods (Laetiporus sulphureus, or sulphur polypore) edible fungus on an ancient oak. It was wonderfully tender, succulent and delicious — with its classic, mild lemony flavour. Lightly fried in olive oil, I served it with freshly steamed green beans and asparagus. Such a delicacy! Foraging is a way I enjoy adding diversity to my diet to help support the diversity in my gut microbiome — a measure of microbiome health. Mushrooms are rich in carbohydrates including chitin, hemicellulose, β and α-glucans, mannans, xylans, and galactans, which can have a prebiotic effect; stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria in our gut microbiome. . . Video: a photo of an ancient oak tree, cuts to a closer shot of a pale yellow fungus growing on its trunk, and then to harvested fungus collected on the grass. A video of sliced fungus frying in a black cast iron pan, cuts to the cooked fungus, next to green beans and asparagus in a white bowl on a wooden surface. . . #foragedfood #ukforaging #ediblefungi #chickenofthewoods #mushrooms #wildfood #eatseasonal #seasonalfood #autumnfood #foraging #foraginguk #microbiome

These blackberries tasted divine — much better than the ones I picked in London a few weeks ago, where blackberry season is now over. I gathered these along one of my favourite walks in the peaceful Essex countryside. The shiniest, plumpest, darkest ones are my favourites. When they lose their shine and go slightly dull, they’re overripe and I find them too sweet and soft. Not only rich in fibre, blackberries are also one of the top ten richest sources of polyphenols that feed your beneficial gut bacteria. I’m often recommending them as part of a treatment plan in my Microbiome Analysis practice. As well as the mental health benefits of getting out into nature and foraging, these blackberries will also cheer me up in winter, when I reach into the freezer to add a handful to a morning porridge, nut roast or stew (yes blackberries are awesome in savoury dishes)! Most berries are rich in polyphenols and should be considered microbiome superfoods. In the UK we can get them fresh all year round, although the air miles are extensive out of season. Frozen berries are great for boosting your beneficial gut bacteria in winter, as are jams and berry powders. How can you make berries a regular part of your week? VIDEO: Viola’s hand picks several blackberries from a bush laden with fruits. . . #blackberries #polyphenols #microbiomeanalysis #foraging #foraginguk #blackberrypicking #ukforaging #antiinflammatorydiet #antiinflammatory #gutbacteria

Here’s a new recipe to feed up your beneficial gut bacteria with prebiotic foods! October in the UK is the start of Jerusalem artichoke season — so if you’re in the UK, be sure to save this recipe and grab some artichokes when you see them! Jerusalem artichokes are one of the richest sources of prebiotic inulin, that feeds a wide range of beneficial species, especially those that produce anti-inflammatory butyrate, such as Faecalibacterium. Yellow split peas provide prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides and resistant starches that also feed up a wide range of bacteria, including Bifidobacterium species. The artichokes in particular can cause wind and pain if your microbiome is not well nourished by prebiotics, and some people may need to start with small amounts and build up tolerance over time. This recipe includes just one artichoke, which brings a lovely flavour, and this can be increased for more microbiome-boosting power! ✳️ Lightly brown 1 leek in olive oil and 1 Jerusalem artichoke chopped finely. ✳️ Add half a celeriac, 1 carrot, 1 courgette, as well as yellow split peas (already cooked in stock until tender). ✳️ Cover with water and half a glass of white wine ✳️ Simmer for 25mins, salt to taste, blend. ✳️ Stir in creme fraiche (I used oatly) ✳️ Serve with paprika, olive oil and creme fraiche if desired. . . #prebiotics #prebioticfoods #microbiomediet #gutbacteria #yellowsplitpeas #splitpeas #artichokes #inulin #vegansoup #souprecipe #peasoup #seasonaleating

With all these tasty, ripe tomatoes available, it’s the perfect time to make my fermented tomato ketchup recipe. It’s great for people who don’t enjoy the taste of other veg ferments, like sauerkraut and kimchi. But it still contains all the beneficial bacteria that do good on the way through our gut when we eat lactofermented foods. The ingredients change a bit depending on what’s available, but I tend to include some kind of root veg to add depth of flavour — grated so they soften in the same time as the tomatoes. To this one I added fresh sage, but in others I’ve added chilli. CHOP Tomatoes Carrots (grated) Red onion Sage SALT I salt to taste, at around 4tsp for a 750ml jar, but err on the side of “very salty” as tomatoes are sugary and this can encourage yeast fermentation — making alcohol, rather the lactic acid made by the bacteria involved in lactofermentation. PACK Squish into a jar and keep the veg beneath the salty juices — use a weight, or push down with a spoon daily. WAIT It’s a short ferment — I usually eat it after 2 or 3 weeks, when the bubbling stops. BLEND Pour off most of the juice (but retain for other taste adventures, or to add back in if you want a thinner ketchup). Blend. Strain if desired. Add to jars and store in the fridge or somewhere cool. I often add different herbs and spices to different jars at this stage, to have greater variety, eg smoked paprika, chilli flakes, dill, cinnamon and nutmeg. See my blog for more details: https://www.violasampson.com/post/fermented-tomato-ketchup VIDEO: A view of the chopping board shows Viola chopping the veg, massaging it in a bowl. The video cuts to the veg fermenting in a clip top jar, and ends on Viola, a white woman with long brown hair, tasting the blended ketchup from the jug, with an expression that shows she’s finding it delicious! . . #tomatoketchup #wildfermentation #lactofermentation #lactofermented #fermentedfoods #homemade #fermentation #fermente

This summer I’ve been indulging my new love affair with tomatoes. I tried out this new recipe idea and yep; I will be doing this one again! Yoghurt dishes always say summer to me. I made this with my favourite soya yoghurt (Sojade), but most plant based and dairy yoghurts would work well. This dish supports your microbiome health with: ✅ Polyphenol-rich foods: olives, olive oil, thyme and black beans. ✅ Prebiotic foods: garlic, black beans and tahini. ✅ Fermented foods: yoghurt and olives. ✅ Pectin-rich foods: tomatoes, lemon peel and olives. ✅ A diversity of 15 different plant foods. ✅ A rainbow of colours (different polyphenols). RECIPE* 1️⃣ Fry up tomato, aubergine, garlic cloves and plenty of thyme in olive oil, cover and leave on a low heat while you prepare the yoghurt dish. 2️⃣ Combine yoghurt, tahni, olive oil and pepper. Add salt if desired. Fold in some black beans (tinned or cooked, strained and rinsed), salt-preserved lemons (or lemon peel shavings) and pitted mixed olives. 3️⃣ Spread the yoghurt mix onto a plate, top with the tomatoes, aubergine and juice. I served this with a side of lightly steamed beans. *All recipe ideas on this profile are my own, unless otherwise acknowledged. . VIDEO: A stop-motion video of red and yellow tomatoes frying in a cast iron pan, with ingredients gradually added. Viola puts a lid on the pan and makes the yoghurt mix. The tomatoes are bubbling nicely, and the yoghurt dish is placed on a white plate, followed by a side of green beans and then the tomatoes. . . #microbiomehealth #microbiomediet #probioticfood #plantbased #plantsonplates #veganrecipe #vegetarianrecipe #yoghurt #tomatodish #tomatolove #probioticfoods #livefood #fermentedfoods #microbiomeanalyst

This summer I’ve been indulging my new love affair with tomatoes. I tried out this new recipe idea and yep; I will be doing this one again! Yoghurt dishes always say summer to me. I made this with my favourite soya yoghurt (Sojade), but most plant based and dairy yoghurts would work well. This dish supports your microbiome health with: ✅ Polyphenol-rich foods: olives, olive oil, thyme and black beans. ✅ Prebiotic foods: garlic, black beans and tahini. ✅ Fermented foods: yoghurt and olives. ✅ Pectin-rich foods: tomatoes, lemon peel and olives. ✅ A diversity of 12 plant foods. ✅ A rainbow of colours (different polyphenols). RECIPE* 1️⃣ Fry up tomato, aubergine, garlic cloves and plenty of thyme in olive oil, cover and leave on a low heat while you prepare the yoghurt dish. 2️⃣ Combine yoghurt, tahni, olive oil and pepper. Add salt if desired. Fold in some black beans (tinned or cooked, strained and rinsed), salt-preserved lemons (or lemon peel shavings) and pitted mixed olives. 3️⃣ Spread the yoghurt mix onto a plate, top with the tomatoes, aubergine and juice. I served this with a side of lightly steamed beans. *All recipe ideas on this profile are my own, unless otherwise acknowledged. . VIDEO: A stop-motion video of red and yellow tomatoes frying in a cast iron pan, with ingredients gradually added. Viola puts a lid on the pan and makes the yoghurt mix. The tomatoes are bubbling nicely, and the yoghurt dish is placed on a white plate, followed by a side of green beans and then the tomatoes. . . #microbiomehealth #microbiomediet #probioticfood #plantbased #plantsonplates #veganrecipe #vegetarianrecipe #yoghurt #tomatodish #tomatolove #probioticfoods #livefood #fermentedfoods #microbiomeanalyst

Our gut microbiome loves vegetables, and I’m always looking for new ways to make vegetables the hero of our plate. Onions in particular are full of prebiotic fructans to feed up beneficial bacteria. Using wooden spoon handles as guides, I cut the onion four times, cross ways, leaving the base intact, and roasted it in olive oil for 15mins or so. (The petals soften as the onion cooks, so don’t worry if it hasn’t spread out into a flower shape before roasting.) I served it with fresh garden peas, pureed with lemon juice, olive oil and fresh dill. (Peas are an amazing source of fibre for gut health too.) The beets and new potatoes were simply roasted with olive oil and black pepper, and served with generous dollops of wholegrain mustard. I garnished the dish with chives and beautiful, sliced radishes. . . VIDEO: A series of stills shows Viola’s hands chopping a red onion into a star shape, and unfurling it into a flower. Two onion flowers go into a roasting tin, while a lemon and herbs are chopped and peas are pureed in a pan. The roasted onion is plated on a green puree, with radishes and roasted, sliced beets and potatoes arranged around the side. . . #summerrecipe #originalrecipe #vegandish #vegetariandish #plantbasedfood #redonion #onionrecipe #prebioticfood #microbiomediet

Our gut microbiome loves vegetables, and I’m always looking for new ways to make vegetables the hero of a plate. Onions in particular are full of prebiotic fructans to feed up beneficial bacteria. Using wooden spoon handles as guides, I cut the onion four times, cross ways, leaving the base intact, and roasted it in olive oil for 15mins or so. (The petals soften as the onion cooks, so don’t worry if it hasn’t spread out into a flower shape before roasting.) I served it with fresh garden peas, pureed with lemon juice, olive oil and fresh dill. (Peas are an amazing source of fibre for gut health too.) The beets and new potatoes were simply roasted with olive oil and black pepper, and served with generous dollops of wholegrain mustard. I garnished the dish with chives and beautiful, sliced radishes. . . VIDEO: A series of stills shows Viola’s hands chopping a red onion into a star shape, and unfurling it into a flower. Two onion flowers go into a roasting tin, while a lemon and herbs are chopped and peas are pureed in a pan. The roasted onion is plated on a green puree, with radishes and roasted, sliced beets and potatoes arranged around the side. . . #summerrecipe #originalrecipe #vegandish #vegetariandish #plantbasedfood #redonion #onionrecipe #prebioticfood #microbiomediet

Can’t get enough of these amazing Romano red peppers. I was unable to eat nightshades for more than a decade. Peppers/capsicum, tomatoes, aubergine/eggplant, potatoes, paprika and chilli are all part of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). If I even ate a small amount of any of the nightshades, I would need to stay within running distance of a toilet for the next 48h and I’d usually be in severe pain. Restaurants often found it hard to accommodate me, and many didn’t take me seriously, so this had quite an impact on my quality of life. Like so many of my clients, I was dismissed from my doctor’s surgery after all investigations found “nothing wrong” with the unsatisfying diagnosis of IBS, and no guidance on how to manage my symptoms. Over almost 20 years of suffering digestive symptoms, brain fog and fatigue, I restricted more and more foods from my diet. Thanks to microbiome repair, I can thankfully eat all those foods, including peppers, now — a lot of them! Indeed nightshades are a daily delight and a daily reminder of how lucky I am to have found digestive health. These I baked with feta, mixed herbs, paprika, Niçoise olives and mustard seeds, then served them with common hogweed flower buds and mixed lentils, garnished with fresh oregano, three-cornered leek flowers and chive flowers. So yum. So grateful. . . VIDEO: a series of stills shows four halves of a long, red pepper lie in a white baking dish, scattered with feta, black olives, herbs and paprika, lentils and bay leaves in a pan, green hogweed buds in a pan and the roasted peppers ready to serve. A video clip shows all ingredients on a white plate. . . #nightshades #nightshadefree #ibs #ibsdiet #brainfog #microbiomediet #eatprettythings #ibsfree #guthealth #peppers #redpepper #capsicum #romanopepper

Magnolia-infused vinegar! It’s one of my favourite early springtime rituals that gifts me a beautiful magenta-coloured vinegar to use throughout the year. It has a complexity of fragrant, floral flavours that’s totally delicious yet hard to describe! I usually gather freshly fallen petals (before they’ve browned), but I found several trees so laden with blooms that gently removing six didn’t seem too sacrilegious! Here’s what I do: 💗 Remove the petals from the flowerhead. 💗 Rinse (if you want to) and gently pat dry without bruising the petals. 💗 Gently cram as many as you can into a jar without bruising them. 💗 Pour over the vinegar. 💗 Weight the petals beneath the surface; a glass ramekin dish is perfect as it’s not too heavy. 💗 Leave in a cool, dark place to infuse for a couple of weeks. You can see how vibrant the colour is after just 48h! 💗 Remove the petals and store the vinegar somewhere dark to preserve the colour. The petals soften after an hour or so in the vinegar, so if you had any petals left that you couldn’t fit in the jar, you can add them later. Or you can add them to a stir-fry or salad — they have a floral-gingery taste, although some varieties can be quite bitter. I used a white wine vinegar as that allows the colour and flavour to be appreciated. I chose an unpasteurised vinegar with the mother, as that means the bacteria and yeasts that made the vinegar are likely to be live. While the research evidence on whether these live bacteria and yeasts have probiotic properties is poor, anecdotal evidence suggests they may have a beneficial effect when a regular part of our diet. I usually have a salad dressing on the go throughout the summer, rotating through a few different vinegars infused with various herbs and berries. My favourites are those with magnolia, elderflower, ground ivy (alehoof) and wild garlic flowers and seeds. . . #magnoliavinegar #foragedfood #urbanforaging #eatprettythings #rawvineg

This was ✨delicious!✨ There’s a rainbow of colours in these 16 different plant ingredients, including foraged greens, to nurture a diversity of beneficial gut bacteria. If you’re aiming for 30 different plant foods in your week, this dish has almost half of them and is super easy to make! Capers, olives, rosemary and purple potato are all polyphenol-rich foods too. This range of polyphenols again feeds a diversity of beneficial bacteria. 🧡 Sweet potato 💜 Purple potato 🤍 Celeriac ◻️ Feta (top tip: crumble it *in* the packet) 🖤 Black onion seed 🧄 Garlic power 💚 Capers 🫒 Green and black olives 🪴 Rosemary 💗 Lots of freshly ground black, white and pink pepper 💛 Plenty of olive oil Roasted for about 25mins at 180°C fan. Topped with foraged three-cornered leek. Served with stir fried: ♥️ Red onion 🥬 Kale 💚 Foraged bitter greens (milk thistle) Yummmmm…. VIDEO: Stop motion footage of the above ingredients added to a roasting tin, cuts to a pan frying red onions, stirred with a wooden spoon, then kale and milk thistle are added, before it cuts once more to the roasting dish removed from the oven, topped with chopped greens, served in a white bowl that is soon scraped clean. . . #urbanforaging #londonforaging #springgreens #purplefood #rainbowfoods #eattherainbow #sweetpotato #roastveg #plantfoods #microbiome #guthealth #healthyrecipe #quickmealideas

I’m not a fan of the ultra-processed plant-based meat substitutes now available. All the microbiome-boosting prebiotic goodness that comes with plant protein has been processed out, for a start. If you’re looking to go plant-based or reduce meat consumption, but want the protein and umami flavours, you won’t be disappointed by this tempeh chilli. Originating in Indonesia, tempeh is made of fermented soybeans. We benefit from increased available nutrients thanks to the fermentation process, as well as umami and prebiotics. And now I’ve committed a #fusionfoods crime and I’ve added it to something vaguely Mexican/Texan! 🧅 Finely chop a large onion or two, start gently frying in a pan. (I use extra virgin olive oil.) Add: 🌶️ chilli powder/flakes, paprika and cinnamon (1tsp of each — less chilli powder if you like it mild) 🧄 finely chopped garlic ❤️1 red pepper, diced 🥘 Crumble a block of tempeh into the pan. Add more olive oil and fry together, stirring frequently, until tempeh and onions are golden. 🤎Quickly stir through some tamari or soy sauce and allow it to be absorbed by the tempeh. Add: 🥕 carrots, diced 🍅 tinned or fresh tomatoes, chopped finely Stir in: 🥫 1 tbsp tomato puree (optional) 🫘 1 can red kidney beans (I used mixed beans) 🧠 a large handful of crushed/chopped walnuts (soaked for a few hours is best) 🪴 a large pinch of dried (or fresh) marjoram (or mixed herbs) 🍫 2-4 squares of dark chocolate Stir gently and simmer for 15-20mins (cover and add water as needed). Enjoy with rice or jacket potatoes, warm tortillas or corn chips, sour cream and guacamole! A classic vegetarian chilli simply omits the tempeh and walnuts but this makes a more substantial meal, if that’s what you’re looking for. Walnuts are a microbiome superfood too! The full video *with sound* is here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CqKd6nIIr__/ . . VIDEO: stills and video footage of the above ingredients being added to a bl

Move over mashed potato! Here’s a simple, tasty way to increase diversity of plant foods in your week; a mixed veg mash. Still very definitely comfort food, but it feeds up a greater diversity of beneficial gut bacteria. The diversity of bacterial species *on its own* isn’t a measure of microbiome health (because it also depends on which species and in what proportions). However medical research shows a more diverse gut microbiome is associated with better health. That’s no surprise because a diverse gut microbiome is capable of performing a good range of functions that support our physical and mental health. Like many ecosystems, a diverse gut microbiome is more robust too, meaning it can better cope with infections or other challenges. A good way to increase your microbiome diversity, and increase the populations of beneficial bacteria, is to eat a greater diversity of plant foods. Research shows people who eat 30 plant foods each week have an optimally diverse microbiome. It’s not as hard as it sounds — plant foods include veg, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices! In this pan, I’m cooking red alouette potatoes (skins on for extra fibre and nutrients) together with swede and celeriac. I’ll mash it with olive oil for its high polyphenol content that feeds my beneficial bacteria, and season with salt and pepper. You could also stir in some cream cheese or creme fraiche (if you eat dairy) yoghurt, mustard, nutritional yeast flakes or crushed garlic for something more deluxe! . . VIDEO: cubes of white, yellow and red-skinned root veg bubble away in a pan of boiling water, together with a couple of bay leaves. . . #rootveg #mash #microbiomediversity #microbiomefriendly #30plantsaweek #swede #celeriac #potatorecipes #comfortfood #healthycomfortfood #healthyfood #healthyfoodideas #simplerecipes

This breakfast is packed full of microbiome-boosting ingredients! I’m a bit late to the baked porridge party, but loving it. Somehow it feels easier to add all these ingredients than when making porridge on the stovetop. It’s also a great way to increase diversity of plant foods in my week — I used 10 fresh, dried and frozen ingredients here. This time, I added frozen elderberries and blackberries I had gathered in the autumn, as well as blackcurrant powder from @arcticberries. These are three of the top ten foods richest in polyphenols that feed my beneficial bacteria. 🍐 Here are all the ingredients and their microbiome-boosting properties: Fresh pear halved (unripe is fine) — pectin A couple of dates — sweetness and minerals Blackcurrant powder — polyphenols Frozen elderberries — polyphenols Frozen blackberries — polyphenols Cinnamon — polyphenols Sesame seeds — prebiotic GOS Hazelnuts — polyphenols and GOS Millet flakes — polyoligosaccharides Rolled oats — resistant starch and beta-glucans Milk (I used oat milk) A drizzle of sesame oil to cover the exposed fruit. Popped in the oven for 20mins or so. Adding spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg turmeric, or cacao powder, can also increase the microbiome-boosting polyphenol content. . . VIDEO: a white baking dish is filled with the above ingredients, before being served in a white bowl with a splash of oat milk. . . #porridge #bakedporridge #porridgerecipe #breakfastideas #plantfoods #polyphenols #microbiomediet #microbiomediversity