Seasonal Salads For Hormone Health

The nutrient rich meal your body craves in the days before your cycle begins

Picture this - it's a few days before your period, and your body is sending all the familiar signals. You're craving comfort foods, feeling a bit more emotional, and maybe dealing with that familiar bloating or breast tenderness. Instead of reaching for processed comfort foods that might make you feel worse, what if you could satisfy those cravings with something that actually supports your body through this transition?

This warm, seasonal salad is designed for the luteal phase, those crucial days leading up to your period when your body needs extra support for hormone balance and natural pain relief.

Why Warm Foods Matter Before Your Period

Your body temperature naturally rises during the luteal phase, but eating cold foods can actually slow digestion and circulation, potentially worsening cramps and PMS symptoms. Whilst we want salads in the summer months, this warm salad bowl works with your body's rhythms, providing gentle heat and circulation boosting ingredients when you need them most.

The Pre-Period Power Ingredients

Sweet Potato delivers complex carbs that stabilise blood sugar (crucial when progesterone drops) and beta carotene for hormone production. The natural sweetness satisfies cravings without the sugar crash.

Butternut Squash provides vitamin C to support stressed adrenal glands and help your body manage the hormonal shifts. Its natural sweetness and creamy texture feel like pure comfort.

Broccoli contains indoles that help your liver metabolise oestrogen effectively, reducing symptoms of oestrogen dominance like breast tenderness and mood swings.

Red Onions offer quercetin, a natural anti-inflammatory that can help reduce period pain before it starts. They also support liver detox pathways.

Chickpeas provide plant protein and fibre to keep blood sugar stable, plus magnesium, nature's relaxation mineral that can ease tension and support better sleep.

Spinach delivers iron to prepare for menstrual loss, folate for mood stability, and magnesium for muscle relaxation and cramp prevention.

Your Body's Pre-Period Prescription

In the 7 to 10 days before your period, your body is working overtime to prepare for menstruation while managing dropping hormone levels. This warm summer salad provides exactly what your system needs:

• Anti-inflammatory compounds to reduce future cramping
• Magnesium for muscle relaxation and mood support
• B vitamins to combat PMS-related fatigue
• Fibre to support hormone elimination through healthy digestion
• Complex carbs to stabilise mood and energy as progesterone declines

Making It Work for You

Season the sweet potato, butternut squash, and broccoli, roast in the oven until tender. Sauté the chickpeas in a pan with cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper until soft. Add the red onion and cook until sautéed. Thinly slice the pointed red pepper. (Optional: Cut into small cubes some plant-based Greek cheese).

Toss everything into a bowl of fresh spinach that wilts slightly from the heat. Drizzle with olive oil and add a generous spoon of hummus. 

Every bite of this warm, tasty salad will ease tomorrow's discomfort while satisfying today's cravings!