The Healing Power of Food: Turmeric, Ginger, and Gut Health

When I think about functional ingredients — the kind that support gut health, digestion, and overall vitality — a few always come to mind: turmeric, ginger, coconut, and Thai lime. These have become staples in my kitchen not because they’re trendy, but because they work. They taste amazing, and they make people feel good.

As a private chef in Austin focused on organic, farm-to-table cooking, I’m drawn to ingredients that bring both flavor and purpose. Turmeric is one of my go-tos. It’s grounding, anti-inflammatory, and adds that golden warmth to broths, dressings, and slow-cooked chicken thighs. It’s functional and familiar.

Ginger brings energy and balance. It shows up often in my pho-inspired broth sets, dipping sauces, and vitamin-rich juice shots. I think of it as clarity in edible form — clean, warming, and a direct source from the healing power of food.

Coconut softens and rounds things out. Whether I’m building a curry base or blending a soup, it brings that subtle sweetness and creamy body that’s dairy-free and deeply satisfying. When I pair it with Thai lime — bright, floral, and slightly wild — it opens the whole dish up.

There was a stretch when I was really into vitamin C juice shots. Whole citrus, whole ginger, turmeric — sometimes coconut water and Thai lime — shaken with honey and salt. Skins on, the whole shebang. Vitamix, pass through, then hand sieve. No chinois here — plenty of minerals live in those skins. Little projects like this, where you're building something from raw flavor and instinct, are some of my favorites.

These ingredients just keep showing up in my life — because I love them, because they do something good, and because they’re worth sharing. I think they’re amazing, and I hope the people I cook for feel that, too.

Whether I’m simmering a restorative broth for a client dinner or building out a component for a tasting menu, these ingredients remind me that great cooking starts with intention — and that the path to feeling good can begin with what’s on the plate.