Simple gut-loving poached pears

I was fortunate to have a couple of lovely lunch dates most recently one with my gorgeous Yogi neighbour Pat who made the most simple and delicious ayurvedic poached pears for dessert. He inspired me to treat my dear friend, Kathleen for our lunch. Without a recipe, I have created my own version. Last night I treated my family for dessert (which is a rarity in our house), but as this is so simple, delicious and sugar-free, I couldn't resist.

Ingredients:

Pears - 2-4 peeled and cored

1/4-1/2 tsp of cinnamon or 1-2 cinnamon sticks

1-2 anise pods

sprinkle of cardamom

sprinkle of nutmeg

3/4-1 cup of coconut water

Handful of sultanas to stuff pears

Optional: 1-2 sticks of rhubarb diced, 1 tsp of coconut sugar

Directions:

Peel and core pears and stuff with sultanas

Pour coconut water into the saucepan, add pears and sprinkle spices over pears and into the mixture. Simmer gently until pears are soft.

Serve with your own home-made coconut yoghurt or delicious local dollop cream :D

Nutritional information - Pears, why so gut-lovingly good for you?

Pears contain both soluble and insoluble fibre and are helpful for constipation. The fibre from fruits such as pear assist in sustaining healthy microbiota in the gastrointestinal tract. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced from the fermentation of fibre from fruit such as pears and are important as a vital waste product for the digestive system in which helps balance the anaerobic environment in the gut. Furthermore, research is finding that SCFAs are playing an integral role in the preventation of metabolic syndrom, bowel diseases such as Crohn's, Ulcerative colitis and cancer. In a systematic review pears showed positive outcomes for improving gut health and alleviating constipation. Combining pears with ingredients such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, anise are also highly beneficial for their anti-microbial action. What a combination!

Ref:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4657810/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3735932/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4951383/