The Happy Hormone Guide Page 15

  Summer Food Chart

  VEGETABLES GRAINS

  arugula

  bell peppers

  chard

  chives

  cucumbers

  dandelion greens

  eggplants

  endive

  fennel

  okra

  scallions

  spinach

  tomatoes

  amaranth

  corn

  quinoa

  NUTS AND SEEDS FRUITS

  almonds (almond butter)

  pecans

  pistachios

  sesame seeds (tahini)

  sunflower seeds (sunflower seed butter)

  apricots

  cantaloupes

  clementines

  coconuts

  figs

  guava

  kiwi

  mangoes

  melons

  papayas

  passionfruit

  pineapple

  raspberry

  strawberry

  LEGUMES OTHER

  mung beans

  lentils (any variety)

  split peas

  chicory

  dandelion tea

  turmeric

  SUMMER RECIPES

  Pineapple Turmeric Sunshine Smoothie

  Mermaid Detox Spirulina Smoothie

  Summer Lovin’ Overnight Breakfast Jar

  Pistachio Apricot No-Bake Breakfast Bars

  Strawberry Quinoa Mermaid Wrap

  Cleansing Arugula Fennel Salad

  Golden Glow Summery Lentil Soup

  Lovely Lentils and Greens with Mango Summer Salsa

  Chocolate Stuffed Raspberries

  Breakfast

  Pineapple Turmeric Sunshine Smoothie

  PINEAPPLE TURMERIC SUNSHINE SMOOTHIE

  (makes 1 serving)

  2 stalks celery, chopped

  1 cup frozen pineapple

  ¾ teaspoon ground or fresh turmeric (or more, to taste)

  ⅓ cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

  1 scoop vegan protein powder (plain or vanilla)

  1-inch chunk peeled ginger

  1 tablespoon tahini (can substitute sesame seeds or hemp hearts)

  1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk + ½ cup filtered water

  Handful of ice (optional)

  Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.

  Mermaid Detox Spirulina Smoothie

  MERMAID DETOX SPIRULINA SMOOTHIE

  (makes 1 serving)

  2 large handfuls kale (can substitute spinach or dandelion greens)

  1 cup frozen mango

  ½ cup chopped cucumber

  1-inch chunk peeled ginger

  ½ teaspoon spirulina (or more, to taste)

  ⅓ cup shredded coconut, unsweetened

  1 scoop vegan protein powder (plain or vanilla)

  1-½ cups coconut water or filtered water

  Handful of ice (optional)

  Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth.

  Summer Lovin’ Overnight Breakfast Jar

  SUMMER LOVIN’ OVERNIGHT BREAKFAST JAR

  (makes 1 serving)

  1 cup light coconut milk (or unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

  3 tablespoons chia seeds

  1 tablespoon tahini (or raw sunflower seed butter)

  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  5-6 stevia drops (or your choice of natural sweetener)

  ½ cup chopped strawberries (or any fruit from the Summer Food Chart)

  OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: crushed almonds or shredded coconut

  Combine coconut milk, chia seeds, tahini, vanilla, and stevia in a mason jar. Stir to combine. Let sit one minute then stir again. Add in the strawberries (or summer fruit of choice) and cover with a lid. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least two hours.

  Pistachio Apricot No-Bake Breakfast Bars

  PISTACHIO APRICOT NO-BAKE BREAKFAST BARS

  (makes 8 bars—I usually snack on 2 bars throughout the day)

  1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

  ¾ cup almond flour

  ⅓ cup shelled pistachios (can substitute raw almonds)

  2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

  1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder

  Pinch sea salt

  1 cup dried apricots

  2 tablespoons tahini

  1 tablespoon maple syrup

  ⅓ cup filtered water (or 1–2 tablespoons more if it feels too dry or crumbly)

  Combine the shredded coconut, almond flour, pistachios, sesame seeds, protein powder, and sea salt in a food processor. Blend to a fine, crumbly consistency. Next, add the apricots and blend until chopped into small pieces. Add the remaining tahini, maple syrup, and water, and combine until it feels sticky and starts forming into clumps. Press mixture into an 8x8-inch square pan (or a loaf pan if you want thicker bars) and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until firm. Remove from refrigerator and slice into bars; store in the refrigerator.

  Lunch

  STRAWBERRY QUINOA MERMAID WRAP

  (makes 2-3 servings, 5-6 small wraps total)

  1-½ cups cooked quinoa (or ½ cup dry)

  1 bell pepper, chopped (any color)

  1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

  1 cup chopped cucumber

  2 tablespoons fresh parsley (can substitute cilantro)

  1 green onion, chopped

  3 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds (or sesame seeds)

  ⅓ cup runny tahini

  ½ fresh lemon, juiced

  ½ teaspoon sea salt

  5-6 collard leaves (can substitute rainbow chard)

  To cook quinoa, combine ½ cup quinoa with 1 cup water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover to simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa with the remaining ingredients (minus the collard leaves) and stir until well-combined. Assemble about ½ cup of the mixture onto a collard wrap and roll up like a burrito; store leftovers in the refrigerator.

  Cleansing Arugula Fennel Salad

  CLEANSING ARUGULA FENNEL SALAD

  (makes 2-3 servings)

  6 cups arugula

  1 small fennel bulb, sliced

  2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

  2 tablespoons pine nuts (can substitute sesame seeds)

  ½ cup cooked quinoa

  SIMPLE LEMON DRESSING

  ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  1 lemon, juiced (about ¼ cup)

  1 teaspoon maple syrup

  ½ teaspoon sea salt

  Whisk together the ingredients for the Simple Lemon Dressing in a small bowl, then set aside. In a large bowl, assemble salad starting with the arugula, fennel, parsley, pine nuts, and quinoa. Toss and divide into bowls (or containers to be stored for tomorrow’s lunch), then drizzle the dressing.

  Note: keep dressing separate for leftovers to prevent the salad from getting soggy.

  Dinner

  Golden Glow Summery Lentil Soup

  GOLDEN GLOW SUMMERY LENTIL SOUP

  (makes 4-5 servings)

  2 tablespoons avocado oil (or grapeseed oil)

  ½ yellow onion, chopped

  1 clove garlic, minced

  2 teaspoons ground turmeric

  2 teaspoons cumin

  2 teaspoons ground yellow mustard seed

  1 teaspoon ground ginger
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  1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

  1 teaspoon sea salt

  ½ teaspoon cinnamon

  ½ teaspoon black pepper

  2 cups broccoli florets

  4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

  2 cups light coconut milk

  1-¼ cup yellow mung beans/split lentils

  4 cups spinach

  ½ lemon, juiced

  Heat the oil on medium-high heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté 4-5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic, turmeric, cumin, yellow mustard seed, ginger, red pepper flakes, sea salt, cinnamon, and black pepper. Add in the broccoli and cook for five minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth, coconut milk, and mung beans. Increase heat to high and bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to simmer about 15-20 minutes or until mung beans are tender. Turn off heat, then stir in the spinach and lemon. Serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator (or freeze for up to three months).

  Lovely Lentils and Greens with Mango Summer Salsa

  LOVELY LENTILS AND GREENS WITH MANGO SUMMER SALSA

  (makes 2 servings)

  1 cup cooked lentils any variety, or ½ cup dry

  2 cups arugula (or spinach)

  1 ripe avocado, divided and cubed

  MANGO SUMMER SALSA

  2 ripe mangoes, diced

  1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

  1 fresh lime, juiced

  1 can organic sweet corn (no salt added variety)

  ¼ cup fresh cilantro

  Sea salt and pepper, to taste

  To cook lentils, combine ½ cup dry lentils with 1-½ cups filtered water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for mango salsa in a small bowl and mix. Set aside. When lentils finish cooking, season with salt and pepper; assemble your plate with greens, lentils, mango salsa, and avocado.

  Sweet

  Chocolate-Stuffed Raspberries

  CHOCOLATE-STUFFED RASPBERRIES

  1 pint of fresh raspberries

  Vegan chocolate chips

  Stuff each raspberry with a chocolate chip and freeze or eat a handful as-is; store the remaining in the refrigerator or freezer.

  IN AUTUMN, THE LEAVES TRANSFORM INTO BEAUTIFUL golden yellow, orange, and red tones before eventually falling, leaving behind bare branches that reveal what truly lies underneath. The weather starts to cool and nature winds down in preparation for the upcoming winter. Your body acts similarly during this phase, coming off the energy high from summer (ovulation) as it begins to slow down and prep for hibernation (menstruation). If your ratio of progesterone to estrogen is off, or you aren’t detoxing estrogen efficiently, you may start to experience PMS symptoms but remember, they are not normal or to be expected, contrary to what you may have been taught. They are merely an indication of an imbalanced ratio of hormone levels, which you can gradually restore through the Happy Hormone Method.

  The luteal phase is my favorite phase because it’s when I get the answers I’ve been looking for and gain clarity. Intuition becomes crystal clear. During this time, you may feel the most detail-oriented, yearning to check things off your to-do list, finish projects, deep clean the house, and reorganize your entire life and home. This may also include productive meal prep, catching up on laundry, purging and donating old clothes, cleaning out the pantry, and running errands that have been pushed to the side all month. You can thank your rise in progesterone for this. I find that the luteal phase features my favorite comfort foods.

  YOUR HORMONES

  This is the post-ovulatory phase when the corpus luteum (what’s left of the follicle from which the egg released) transforms into a short-lived endocrine gland and begins producing progesterone, all in one day. The increase in progesterone alerts your body to keep the endometrium (uterine lining) and signals the pituitary to stop releasing FSH and LH, preventing another egg from being released. Progesterone turns the endometrium into a soft bed in case a fertilized egg is implanted for a baby to grow. The ripening of the uterine lining happens every cycle after an egg is released, whether or not the egg fertilizes. Progesterone also stimulates estrogen to rise again, and testosterone to increase slightly before your period arrives. If the egg is not fertilized the corpus luteum is reabsorbed after 12-14 days, and the body prepares for menstruation by stopping progesterone. The drop in progesterone is what triggers bleeding to shed the lining.

  Power of Progesterone

  Progesterone deserves its shining moment, as it does a lot for the body. While its main job is to maintain and nourish a pregnancy, it also stabilizes your mood (especially in this phase when there could be an excess of estrogen and progesterone will calm you when estrogen levels drop), relieves anxiety, promotes deep sleep, soothes your nervous system, stimulates breast cells to differentiate, and offsets and balances out estrogen, which means lighter periods.

  PMS SYMPTOMS AND HACKS

  In the two weeks after ovulation and before menstruation, PMS can strike at any time. Hormones are wonderfully beneficial but sometimes, the rise and fall of estrogen and progesterone are too much, and symptoms are inevitable. Especially if estrogen is too high and drops off before or during your period, or when the body is not clearing out excess estrogen and levels are too high in relation to progesterone.

  I don’t want emotions in the luteal phase to get discredited as hormonal because as women, we are allowed to express our feelings and emotions however we want. Too often, women are given a demeaning label of being hormonal. While you may feel extra moody, emotional, or weepy during this time, your hormones are not out to get you. What you want to watch out for are any extreme fluctuations or a problem with estrogen detoxification related to diet and lifestyle.

  While the following hacks are amazing to combat PMS symptoms, they are meant to use in addition to the Happy Hormone Method. The ultimate goal is to eliminate PMS altogether. Until then, try these tips:

  BLOATING, PUFFINESS AND DIGESTION ISSUES

  □Fennel Tea: Fennel tea is the one bloating hack I swear by. Whenever I feel puffy or am holding onto water weight, I drink a couple of cups of fennel tea throughout the day, and it works wonders. Fennel supports digestion, reduces bloating, and eases that heavy, too full feeling after a large meal. I drink it 5-6 times per week or as needed throughout the luteal phase. Make sure the tea is of high quality or it won’t help with bloat. The brand I trust and prefer for fennel tea is called Traditional Medicinals. After steeping, I’ll often add 1–2 drops of stevia to sweeten it. You can also combine one fennel tea bag with one ginger tea bag or a licorice tea bag for enhanced digestion support.

  □Magnesium Glycinate: This specific form of magnesium is a must for women of all ages, at all times throughout your cycle. Magnesium is an essential mineral responsible for over 300+ chemical reactions in your body. This form is vital for hormone balance, easing bloating, promoting restful sleep, reducing insomnia, and calming anxiety, especially during stressful times as magnesium is the first mineral to be flushed by the body when it’s stressed.

  □CALM Magnesium Bedtime Tea: This is a different form of magnesium (the citrate form) but is also a must when digestion is feeling off. This tea is known for calming anxiety. I recommend starting small with a half teaspoon and working your way up to two teaspoons to prevent an upset stomach. Only use it when you are constipated or bloated. Mix the powder into hot water and drink it before bed to wind down. If you take magnesium glycinate every night, reduce it to 200mg when taken alongside the CALM tea.

  □Daily High-Quality Probiotic: Keep your gut flora happy which will, in turn, help eliminate bloating and promote daily bowel movements (see Plant Based Essentials).

  □Leafy Greens: Increase your intake of steamed, mineral-rich leafy greens (like kale and collards) to help reduce bloating and balance
out fluid retention from the high magnesium and calcium concentrations. The increased fiber will promote regular bowel movements.

  □Rebounding: Sometimes our face and bodies feel puffy upon waking, and this can be from a stagnant lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is an elimination pathway for toxins and fluids that need to expend from the body. When it’s sluggish, you may feel the puffiness and extra fluid retention in your face, but it’s also throughout your entire body. The only way to drain your lymphatic system is to jump around or move vigorously. Rebounding means jumping on a mini trampoline to help accelerate drainage of lymphatic fluid, by forces of acceleration and deceleration. The up and down motion is beneficial for your lymphatic system since it runs in a vertical direction throughout the body. By gently massaging lymph fluid through the system, it can be pushed out through your lymph nodes and exit the body via urine, bowel movements, or sweat. It is helpful to bounce daily when you feel puffy, and 15-20 minutes should do the trick.

  FOR BLEMISHES OR OILY SKIN

  You want to make sure your liver is effectively cleansing, breaking down metabolized estrogen, and filtering out toxins. If your liver is not effectively clearing out excess estrogen, it will be eliminated through the next best pathway—your skin—which is the cause of acne and excessive oiliness, especially during the ovulation and luteal phases. To help, I recommend eliminating endocrine disruptors and doing the following: