© Issy Croker
Prof. Dr. Tim Spector is a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College in London.
February 21, 2025
Marianne von Waldenfels
100 Recipes for Better Nutrition: The British microbiome researcher Prof. Dr. Tim Spector has practically implemented the latest findings from nutritional science
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To consume 30 plants a week, you have to get creative. But it's less difficult than you think. The internationally recognized nutrition expert Tim Spector explains in his new cookbook, for example, how we can expand our idea of what we traditionally consider plant-based foods to include fruits and vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.
Not only do our gut microbes benefit from this, but so do our taste buds. Eating 30 plants a week is one of six basic principles for better health and well-being, according to him. The other five:
„Wenn man entdeckt, welch erstaunlich komplexe Vorgänge bei jedem einzelnen Bissen im Körper ablaufen – und wie viele Milliarden Mikroorganismen von dem beeinflusst werden, was wir essen –, dann kann einen das ganz schön mit Ehrfurcht erfüllen,“ so Tim Spector, Professor am Londoner Kings College.
Die neuesten wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zu gesunder Ernährung hat er in seinem 2023 erschienenen Sachbuch „Nahrung fürs Leben“ auf 843 Seiten umfassend zusammengetragen. Mit seinem Kochbuch will er jetzt mit 100 alltagstauglichen Rezepten unter anderem zeigen, wie einfach es sein kann, sich gesund und genussvoll zu ernähren. Wir verraten Ihnen drei Rezepte, und Tim Spector erklärt, was diese für ihn so besonders machen.
© Issy Croker
Mediterranean feeling for the stomach: Prebiotic Greek Salad
No matter the weather, this salad always transports me to the Mediterranean. If you prepare it in advance, add the arugula just before serving with the dressing and vegetables to keep it from wilting. The polyphenol-rich olives and prebiotic artichokes are a true blessing for your body.
5 – 10 g Fiber
6 Plants
Preparation time:10 minutes
Ingredients(for 2 people)
220 g cherry tomatoes, halved1 cucumber, cut into 2.5 cm pieces1 jar of artichokes (285 g), drained and roughly chopped
50 g pitted olives2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 tbsp apple cider vinegar60 g arugula35 g hazelnuts60 g feta, crumbledSalt and pepper
Toppings
Seed mix
Tempeh crumble
Alternatives
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of hazelnuts
Preparation
1. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, artichokes, and olives to a bowl with the olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Season and mix well.
2. Add the arugula and mix well, sprinkle with hazelnuts and feta, and serve immediately.
Preparation of the toppings
Seed mix:5 minutes
You will encounter the seed mix repeatedly in this book, in such diverse recipes as miso spinach eggs, white giant beans with zucchini, or raspberry-lemon pancakes.
It goes with many dishes, increases plant diversity, and adds a pleasantly crunchy note to both sweet and savory dishes. I refill my pantry jar with new interesting seed mixtures every week. This topping is indispensable from my diet.
5g Ballaststoffe
5 Pflanzen
Zutaten(für 550 g)
100 g Goldleinsamen100 g Sesam150 g sunflower seeds 150 g pumpkin seeds50 g chia seeds
Alternatives: any mix of other seeds and nuts
Preparation:
1. Mix all ingredients and put them in a jar. Stored in a cool, dry place in the kitchen, the mixture will last for several months.
Tempeh crumble
Preparation time:8 minutes
Cooking time:20 minutes
Here comes the ideal recipe for anyone who has never tried tempeh. Tempeh comes from Indonesia and is made from fermented soybeans.
Our crispy tempeh crumble is packed with protein and fiber, so it's not only filling but also slows down the rise in blood sugar. The smaller the tempeh pieces, the crispier they will be in the oven.
As a topping, it gives any dish a spicy umami note. But you can also take it anywhere as a plant-based snack on the go, in a sealed container.
5g Fiber
2 Plants
Ingredients (for 4 people as topping)
1 tsp soy sauce1 tsp miso200 g tempeh pepper
Alternatives
Gochujang instead of miso
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C top/bottom heat (180 °C fan) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the soy sauce and miso together in a medium-sized bowl until smooth.
2. Crumble the tempeh into very small pieces and mix with the soy sauce-miso mixture. Season with pepper, spread on the baking sheet, and bake for 15–20 minutes until the pieces are golden brown and crisp. Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
With the number of plants in this dish, you're already a good way towards reaching your weekly goal. Here's another good tip: Make more curry paste than you need and store the rest in the freezer to quickly prepare a meal on another day.
I like how versatile this dish is: The sauce provides a wonderful base for all sorts of vegetables or additional protein sources of your choice, such as tofu, shrimp, or chicken.
10 – 15 g Fiber
11 Plants
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients (for 4 people)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil1 can of coconut milk (400 ml)1 can of black beans (400 ml), with liquid1 serving of cashew cream (page 268) 1 broccoli, cut into florets
200 g green beans, roughly chopped180 g sugar snap peas1 tbsp fish saucesalt and pepper
For the curry paste
2 organic limes100 g fresh coriander1 onion, quartered2 cloves of garlic1 green chili50 g ginger, coarsely chopped1 stalk of lemongrass, crushed and the tough outer layers removed
Toppings:Kimchi
Alternatives:
Coconut milk instead of cashew cream
Soy sauce instead of fish sauce
Preparation:
1. First, make the curry paste. To do this, wash the limes hot, dry them, and grate the peel finely. Set the limes aside for later. Add coriander, onion,garlic, chili, ginger, lemongrass, and gratedlime peel into a food processor and finely chop everything. If necessary, push the ingredients down from the edge of the bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot and sauté the curry paste in it for 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly.Add coconut milk, black beans including their liquid, and 200 ml of water and let it simmer for 5 minutes so the flavors combine well.
3. Stir in cashew cream and vegetables. Mix well and let it simmer for 5–7 minutes until the vegetables are soft but still have a bit of bite.
4. Season the curry with fish sauce and squeeze the reserved limes over it. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with barley and lentils or a rice of your choice.
Kimchi
Fermented foods should be consumed in small quantities, but frequently. Meanwhile, I enhance dishes that I would otherwise season with chili sauce with 2 tablespoons of kimchi.
5g Fiber
6 Plants
Preparation time30 minutes
Brewing time:1–2 hours
Ingredients(for 1 jar of 750 ml)
1 napa cabbage (approx. 300 g after cleaning)
17 g sea salt (or 3% of the total weight of vegetables)3–4 cloves of garlic, peeled
2.5 cm ginger1 teaspoon sugar2 tablespoons soy sauce4 tablespoons Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru)
225 g daikon radish
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
Alternatives
Carrots instead of radish or the radish in thin slices instead of grated
Preparation
1. Cut out the core of the cabbage from the bottom and quarter the rest lengthwise. Weigh to calculate the amount of salt needed. Cut the quarters into 5 cm wide strips, place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Knead with your hands until the cabbage becomes softer. Place a plate on top and weigh it down with a weight. Leave at room temperature for 1–2 hours.
2. Shortly before the soaking time ends, prepare the paste. To do this, puree garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, chili flakes, and 3 tablespoons of water in a food processor until a smooth paste forms. If necessary, push the paste down from the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula occasionally. Leave the paste in the food processor and grate the radish into the paste using the grating attachment.
3. Place the cabbage in a sieve and rinse under cold water for about 1 minute. Squeeze out excess water and put the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the paste with the grated radish, as well as the spring onions, then mix everything until the cabbage is fullycoated (if you do this by hand, a pair of rubber gloves is helpful).
4. Place the cabbage mixture into a clean 750 ml jar and press down firmly until the vegetables are covered with liquid. Leftover cabbage leaves or fermentation weights can be used to help with this. Close the lid and let the kimchi ferment at room temperature for up to 5 days. Vent daily to allow gases produced during fermentation to escape. Refrigerate and enjoy as often as possible!
Cold-pressed olive oil and dark chocolate together make a nutritious and pleasantly bitter mousse, which is also full of polyphenols.
Use a high-quality fruity olive oil if possible – it tastes even better. We used aquafaba from a can of chickpeas instead of egg whites. So next time you are making a dish with chickpeascook, feel free to keep the liquid and store it in the freezer to use for desserts.
5 – 10 g fiber
3 plants
Preparation time:15 minutes
Cooling time:1 hour
Ingredients(for 4 people)
100 g dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa content, broken into pieces)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus a little more for drizzling 2 tsp maple syrup1–2 pinches of salt140 ml aquafaba (liquid from 1 can of chickpeas; room temperature)70 g hazelnuts, roasted and coarsely chopped150 g cherries (fresh or frozen), pitted
Toppings
Crème fraîche
chopped hazelnuts
Alternatives
honey instead of maple syrup
1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of gently simmering water (Note: the bowl should not touch the water). Then remove from heat and add olive oil, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Mix everything well.
2. Place the aquafaba in the clean, grease-free bowl of a stand mixer and use the whisk attachment to whip it to a firm white foam for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir 1 tablespoon of the aquafaba foam into the chocolate mixture, then fold this into the whipped aquafaba. Carefully mix both with a metal spoon, being careful not to stir too vigorously to maintain the airy texture.
4. Divide the mousse into four small bowls and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Garnish with cherries, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
© Issy Croker
Contains eleven plants: Green cashew cream curry
© Issy Croker
It's best to use fruity olive oil for the chocolate mousse!
The perfect blend of the latest scientific findings and culinary delight: Food for Life – The Cookbook. Dumont Publishing
