Emily Leeming's Blog, page 5

Dark chocolate caprese with EVOO and cinnamon 🧠

A quick ask: As I look to 2025, I’m exploring the idea of offering optional paid subscriptions for those who’d like access to bonus content, such as monthly Q&As, narrated audio versions of newsletters, deeper insights, or subscriber-only community chats.

Don’t worry, I’ll continue sharing free content – that’s important to me. A paid option will simply help keep this sustainable.

I’d love to hear what you’d find most valuable in a paid subscription. It’ll take 2 minutes, and your input will help ...

What to eat for a healthy gut microbiome 🧠

What you eat is one of the most powerful ways to nurture a healthy gut microbiome.

After all, what you eat doesn’t just feed you - it feeds the 100 trillion tiny living organisms (microbes) living in your gut.

These microbes create beneficial molecules that influence the health of your entire body, from your brain to your heart and even your lungs.

So, how can you support your gut microbiome?

It comes down to three essentials - let’s call them the three Fs: fibre, fermented foods, and fluids.

Thin...

What does a ‘healthy’ gut microbiome really mean? 🧠

The gut microbiome - home to 100 trillions of microbes (tiny living organisms that live in your gut) that support digestion, immunity, and overall health - is often called an "organ" in its own right.

But what does it really mean to have a "healthy" microbiome?

Surprisingly, we don’t have a clear answer.

Scientists have struggled to define it, as the microbiome varies so much between people and changes over time.

To tackle this, researchers have come together to update our understanding of what a...

What to eat for healthy glowing skin 🧠

Your skin is your largest organ and your first line of defence against the outside world.

But it’s more than just a protective shield - it also offers clues about what’s happening inside your body.

In the last few years there’s been exciting new research suggesting that your gut and skin are constantly talking to each other.

Could looking after your gut be the secret to healthier, happier skin?

Here’s why we think that might be.

Your gut and skin are linked through your immune system. With 70% of y...

Gut-brain teasers 🧠 fibre, ferments and beyond

Wow, hello! If you’re new here - welcome! In the last few months things have taken off, and I’m thrilled (and a little mind-blown) that has just under 7k subscribers.

Scroll down to the end to vote on next week’s post!

Let me quickly reintroduce myself…

Hi! I’m Dr. Emily.

I’m a dietitian and microbiome scientist at King’s College London, researching how diet shapes the gut microbiome.

But here’s the surprise - my first career wasn’t in science.

I spent years as a private chef, traveling the world o...

Quick and easy feta and harissa baked eggs with chickpeas and spinach 🧠

With minimal prep and a super-fast cook time, these feta and harissa baked eggs bring that lazy weekend brunch kind-of-feeling to even the busiest weekday morning.

It’s as easy as cracking your eggs, adding feta, and tossing in your favourite extras into a small baking dish.

You then roast for 12–13 minutes (the feta melts, adding creaminess), then smash everything together and pile it onto warm, crusty toast.

It’s a high-protein winner and packed with fibre - thanks to the chickpeas - and even ...

10 ways to beat the bloat 🧠

I’m back from my two week break - I road-tripped through Spain with friends, making the most of the last of this year’s warm weather. Plenty of pintxos (a type of snack served on a small slice of bread), sipped local wine in Rioja, and picked up fresh, seasonal produce like avocados, mushrooms, and oranges along the way.

Bloating is something we’ve all experienced at one time or another, but for many, it can be a frustrating and uncomfortable.

Whether it causes discomfort, makes clothes feel tig...

How birth shapes the gut-brain connection 🧠

I’m on holiday for the next two weeks, and taking a break from writing while I’m away. I’ll be back Wednesday 13th November - see you then!

A quick recap: what is the gut microbiome and why does it matter?

In your gut lives your gut microbiome - a bustling community of tiny living organisms, called microbes.

There are about 100 trillion microbes in your gut, that’s more microbes than there are stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

These microbes may be small, but they are considered so important for your ...

Cold or flu? Try this miso chicken pearl barley traybake 🧠

It’s that time of year when colds and flu begin.

When you’re sick, soothing and nourishing food is just the ticket, and ideally something you can batch-cook, sparing you from having to prepare meals from scratch when you’re feeling rubbish.

This traybake is my go-to when I’m under the weather. It’s easy to prep before slow-roasting in the oven and packed with nutrients to support your immune system. I make a large batch of this traybake, and keep in the fridge to reheat over a few days.

And most im...

Is ultra-processed bread really 'bad' for your gut? 🧠

What I dislike about the world of nutrition is how polarising it is, and how easily we’re drawn to fearing a food or food group.

And when it comes to nutrition, there’s hatred of one food that seems to unite most - supermarket bread.

I feel almost a sense of duty to spring to the defence of the sliced supermarket loaf, and balance the scales a little.

And while I am, more often than not, reaching for a pumpernickel rye bread, there’s also times where a lovely pillowy soft white bread is just the...