One pan, lots of veggies!
Ingredients for your follicular phase: chicken, zucchini, carrot, broccoli, and parsley. During the follicular phase, your metabolism naturally slows down, so you want to eat foods that are lighter and aid liver detoxification to ensure estrogen buildup doesn't occur in the gut.
Chicken is a follicular phase food because it is high in choline, which is an important mineral for fertility. It is also high in vitamin Bs and minerals such as zinc - which is needed for follicle development- and magnesium - which is important for metabolizing estrogen. Since magnesium is at its lowest during the follicular phase, it's important to maintain healthy levels of it at this time. Lastly, chicken is high in protein (even more so than beef!) which helps regulate blood sugar levels. But also, your body is most easily going to build muscle during this part of the cycle, so load up on protein to ensure you're providing your body with what it needs!
Zucchini is high in both vitamins A and C and is a light food to eat which means our bodies can easily digest it, even when the metabolism has slowed down during this phase. Vitamin A aids in the process of gut detoxification, allowing our body to more easily excrete excess estrogen which can help prevent acne. Vitamin C helps our body absorb iron and aids progesterone production.
Carrots have been shown to have hormone-balancing effects because they're high in magnesium, but also high in fiber which is key for our gut health - which in turn aids healthy hormone production.
Broccoli, and cruciferous vegetables more generally, are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and contain phytoestrogens. Fiber helps the body flush out excess estrogen from the digestive tract, and phytoestrogens mimic estrogen in the body, making estrogen less effective. These two aspects combined make it great for follicular.
Parsley contains high levels of vitamin K which is great for bone health and is also rich in vitamin C and antioxidants which alleviate inflammation in the body.
Fall Harvest Sheet Pan Dinner
Serves: 4 Active Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
2 zucchinis
1 carrot
Broccoli florets
2 chicken breasts, uncooked
1 red onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp rosemary
2 tbsp garlic powder
Process
1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Cube 2 sweet potatoes, and lay on an oiled sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. While waiting for it to bake, cut up chicken, broccoli, red onions, and whatever other veggies you'd like to add. Put them in a bowl and mix with olive oil.
4. After 15 minutes, take the potatoes out of the oven and pour the rest of the veggies and chicken onto the pan to season. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and garlic powder.
5. Bake for another 20 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.
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