As a PCOS girly, I know it can be frustrating when you feel like you’re doing everything to regulate your hormones, and they’re still out of wack - trust me, I’ve been there. But using food as medicine and doing things like seed cycling has done wonders for my mood, skin, and overall health. One of the things I wish I had more of as I started my hormone-healing journey was an understanding of why these things help.
I personally use Manski's Wellness Seed Cycle Blends because they're freshly ground, raw, and organic - and the perk of the seeds being ground is that it makes the nutrients more easily accessible for our bodies to use. If you eat whole seeds, it definitely still has health benefits, but you might be losing out on some as your body poops out a whole seed. You can use Happyhormones10 for 10% off your first order and it has free shipping!
Ingredients for your luteal phase: pumpkin, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. During the luteal phase, you want to focus on fiber-rich foods to support the large intestine in flushing out excess estrogen and consume nutrient-dense food as your body's metabolism naturally speeds up.
Pumpkins are high in fiber and are anti-inflammatory, which aids the body in the process of metabolizing estrogen. It’s also high in vitamin E which can help improve luteal bloodflow and raise progesterone levels.
Sesame seeds help prevent the buildup of excess estrogen but aren’t as potent as flaxseeds. They’re rich in zinc which promotes progesterone production and also contain lignans that help block excess estrogen while progesterone rises.
Sunflower seeds contain high concentrations of selenium which supports liver detoxification, are abundant in vitamin E which is a natural antioxidant and contributes to healthy progesterone levels, and have high levels of vitamin B which aids progesterone production and supports liver detoxification which helps get rid of excess estrogen.
Seed Cycling Pumpkin Muffins
Serves: 8 Active Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Muffins
1 can pumpkin purée
1 egg, whisked
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup seeds
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
Crumble:
1/4 cup Almond flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup ginger pecan butter (or any nut butter + 1 tsp ground ginger)
Process
Preheat the oven to 375°
In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk until thoroughly combined
In a separate, smaller, mixing bowl, add the ingredients for your crumble. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together, leaving the larger clumps as the crumble.
Add parchment paper to your muffin tins, then scoop in the muffin batter. Top each muffin with the crumble.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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