It’s the final week – week 4 of our Nutrition for Hormone Balance video series and I’m going to show you why the Mediterranean-style of eating is so great for hormone balance (and P.S. it’s been shown to support fertility as well!)
Let’s get started!
Mediterranean Cruciferous Bowl
The Hormone-Balancing Ingredients
Dressing:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – a staple in the Mediterranean diet because of its healthy monounsaturated omega-9 fats. So great for heart health. A variety of healthy fats help support hormone balance and decrease inflammation in the body.
¼ freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ teaspoon dried parsley
Freshly ground pepper & salt to taste
The Goods:
2 organic eggs – A complete protein source and also provides cholesterol. Don’t be afraid women! Cholesterol is an important part of the structure of many of your hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol. If you want more animal protein, you can replace the eggs with a palm-sized portion of good quality chicken, fish or lean beef.
1/2 – 1 cup shredded purple/red cabbage – Cruciferous family veggie – so great for estrogen balance. Also packed with fibre for additional estrogen and insulin balance (fibre helps balance blood sugars!). Its beautiful deep pigmented colour is a sign that it contains a good amount of antioxidants. Remember, antioxidants are crucial to decrease inflammation and protect the body from oxidative stress – both important to overall hormone balance, health & longevity.
1.5 – 2 cups baby kale (or other leafy greens) – another of my favourite Cruciferous family vegetables. BUT if you have a thyroid condition due in part to low iodine, definitely be careful with too many raw Cruciferous family vegetables as they can prevent the thyroid gland from using iodine to make thyroid hormones. If this applies to you, talk to your healthcare professional about how much you can have raw and then enjoy the rest of this family of vegetables cooked.
½ cup spiced chickpeas – provides some plant protein as well as more fibre to stabilize blood sugars (and insulin & cortisol), and estrogen levels. You can definitely add in plain chick peas, but for a bit more flavour you can lightly sauté some chickpeas in some of your favourite spices. I used cumin, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder – and can’t believe I forgot turmeric, but I would definitely add turmeric!
1 radish chopped – the bright red colour is a hint there are lots of antioxidants in this little guy – go back and read purple cabbage if you forgot about why antioxidants are so great!
How this Mediterranean Cruciferous Bowl comes to life:
- Bring eggs and water to a boil. Set timer for 10 minutes – adjust as desired to get softer or harder-boiled eggs. Meanwhile, prep the rest of the ingredients (seriously, this whole thing will be done in 10 minutes!)
- Add the dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk (with the same fork you will eat it with – BONUS!)
- Arrange each of the rest of the ingredients around the bowl to make it look pretty if you plan to Instagram it or share it on Facebook. But if not – just toss it all into the bowl, resting the eggs on top. Give it a good toss to get all of the dressing mixed in.
- If you have any remaining ingredients (because you chopped too many like I always do), throw the rest into mason jars for lunch tomorrow, or if you have a lot of leftover ingredients, put into separate mason jars for easy assembly throughout the week.
- Enjoy!
Thank you!
That concludes are Nutrition for Hormone Balance video series. Thank you for watching, commenting and sharing these videos. I hope you learned something that will help you take charge of your health. I will see you next week for a brand new video series.
Take good care of your Self until then!
