I’M A GUT HEALTH EXPERT, HERE’S WHAT I EAT FOR LUNCH EVERY DAY

Slap bang in the middle of the day, sandwiched between meetings and Zoom calls, usually wolfed down over a laptop – unless you’re super organised. Lunch is the meal that can be the hardest to prepare for, let alone spare a thought for how it’s impacting our gut health.

“When it comes to lunch, the key thing many of us are missing is enough fibre and plant diversity,” explains registered dietitian Kaitlin Colucci, founder of The Mission Dietitian. “Fibre is one of the most important things for our gut health because it’s what feeds the good bacteria in our gut and helps diversify the gut microbiome. It also aids digestion, helps us feel fuller for longer and helps prevent a spike in our blood sugars, and therefore that post-lunch slump.”

If you often feel hungry after your largely beige lunch, it’s probably your body’s way of calling out for more nutrients, adds Jo Travers, registered dietitian for Love Your Gut. “Hunger can be a bit of a blunt instrument – we may feel hungry, but what our body is really signalling is a need for additional nutrients like protein, fibre, vitamins or minerals,” she explains.

“When we eat carbs on their own – especially refined ones like white pasta – they hit the bloodstream quickly, which can lead to a sugar spike and leave you feeling hungry again soon after. So, for example, cornflakes for breakfast and then pasta for lunch – mainly just carbohydrates – won’t fully satisfy your body’s needs. “Pairing them with protein, healthy fats or fibre (like nuts, seeds or veg) slows that release, keeps energy steadier, and gives your gut microbiome a helpful boost too.”

Choose your meal deal wisely

There’s nothing wrong with a shop-bought sandwich when you’re on the go, but if your filling of choice is, say, a BLT, gut doctor Dr Arif Hussenbux warns ​​this shouldn’t be an everyday staple of your diet. Processed meats – things like bacon, sausages and deli meats, such as chorizo and salami – contain nitrites and nitrates; preservatives that can form carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds when heated or digested, he explains.

As he puts it: “The industrial processing and curing create entirely new compounds your body wasn’t designed to handle, which can promote oxidative stress and cellular damage.” They are also typically high in salt and saturated fat, he points out – and studies consistently show a higher intake of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

“Whenever I’m rustling up any meal (lunch included), I always like to ask myself, ‘What else can I add?’ Maybe some spices, herbs, nuts or seeds, or extra vegetables that need using, so that it becomes more nutritious and you get a bigger range of fibre and nutrients,” Travers says. “Getting a range of foods is really important, to make sure you’re covering nutritional bases, and in turn, also nurturing your gut health.”

Prioritise variety

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If a sandwich is your lunchtime go-to – “Opt for whole-grain bread and add fibrous fillings alongside protein,” advises Colucci. “My favourite combination is hummus, roasted veg, leafy greens and halloumi. Another easy hack is simply to add fermented foods (which contain probiotics that are supportive of gut health) like sauerkraut or kimchi to a cheese toastie or eggs on toast – both delicious combinations. If you’re going for a meal deal, swap out the crisps for a pot of fruit, nuts or olives.”

Swap plain pasta for a pasta salad of sorts by adding beans, lentils or olives, peppers, radishes or artichokes for extra fibre, Colucci suggests. Travers echoes this advice: “With pasta, couscous or rice, I’ll often replace part of the portion with extra veg – it’s an effortless way to boost fibre for gut health and build more variety into your lunch, without ditching carbs altogether. For example, I might do half the usual couscous and stir through peas, or add roasted veg to bulk it out. You end up with more colour on the plate, and steadier energy levels for the rest of the day.”

When working from home, Colucci suggests a cheap and quick, gut-nourishing lunch of sardines on toast. “Sardines or mackerel on toast is a great healthy lunch and rich in omega 3s (which encourage gut microbiome diversity). It’s a great source of oily fish in your diet, of which we are recommended to have at least one to two per week. Mix with Greek yogurt, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper, then serve on rye bread topped with spring onions and some rocket and even an egg for added protein.

Take the guess-work out of it

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys batch cooking (but let’s face it, not all of us are), doing so on the weekends alleviates the need to even think about lunch in the week.

For Colucci, it’s often a big tray of roast veg on a Sunday, “with peppers, courgettes, aubergine, onions, kale, whatever you have on hand, then you have that in the fridge to add to all your meals throughout the week. I also love making a lentil dahl with red lentils, tomatoes, spinach, ginger, garlic and turmeric; it freezes perfectly. You can have a portion for lunch with wholegrain flatbreads or brown rice and add a dollop of kefir (a fermented food) on top,” she says.

“My go-to for batch cooking is a veggie chilli,” offers Travers. “It’s cheap, easy and great for your gut. I always add beans to bulk it out – plant protein like beans are brilliant because they help you feel fuller for longer.” Soup is another freezable lunch option, but if you find it doesn’t fill you up, rethink your ingredients. “It all depends on what goes into the soup. If you’re having tomato soup, there’s not a great deal in that – a bit of fibre from the tomatoes and lots of water, but not much protein or energy. Add vegetables to the soup and/or protein (cooked chicken, nuts, seeds), as well as enjoying a slice of wholemeal bread alongside, to ensure a more balanced meal.”

In terms of cupboard lunch staples, Colucci says she always has a packet of pre-cooked mixed grains on hand, a combination of high-fibre grains like brown rice, wild rice, lentils, pearl barley, and you can either serve cold or warm. “Add to this your roasted veggies, spring onions, sauerkraut and you can really quickly build a diverse and colourful grain bowl or Buddha bowl,” she says.

Sweet jacket potatoes topped with beans are another simple gut-healthy lunch idea. “I like to use a can of mixed beans (as you get a more diverse selection of beans) and add healthy fats for toppings like feta and walnuts (a good source of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids).”

Finally, Colucci emphasises the importance of slowing down for lunch. “If we’re stressed or eating on the go and surrounded by distractions, this can wreak havoc on our gut because of the gut-brain connection. So one of the most important things we can do is to take five rounds of box breathing before a meal (inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four) as this activates the parasympathetic nervous system, AKA the rest and digest system.”

2025-12-12T10:51:51Z