Just about every menstruating person knows the struggle of the dreaded luteal phase. It’s the week before your period starts and all of a sudden your face looks funny, you’re bloated and there’s a rogue zit burrowing its way onto your chin. Let’s face it, it sucks! But luckily for us there are some foods that can help ease our monthly struggles.
This tried and tested recipe won’t just satisfy your chocolate cravings, it will help bloating and cramps whilst also reducing mood swings due to its stabilising effects on blood sugar levels. So don’t dismiss it just yet (I promise it doesn’t taste like it has hidden veggies!).
Here’s what you’re going to need:
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 125g nut butter (I recommend peanut or almond butter)
- 100ml maple syrup
- 25g cocoa powder
- 50g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (can also use bicarbonate of soda)
- 100g dark chocolate chips
- 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin/sesame/ sunflower/flaxseeds (optional)
Instructions:
- Set your oven to 180 degrees celsius and line whatever tin you can find with baking paper
- Cook your sweet potatoes until they are tender enough to easily mash, and then remove the skins and mash until smooth
- Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix carefully until fully combined
- Put the mixture into your baking tin and put into the oven for 30 minutes (leave for longer if you prefer a cake-like texture and take out sooner for a gooey texture)
- Enjoy!
Another option if you want to support your hormones for the duration of your cycle is ‘seed cycling’. As a buzzword floating around social media, this can seem like a tricky concept or a fake trend but there is now evidence to support its power in estrogen and progesterone regulation.
Let’s break it down: firstly your cycle has four main stages — the menstrual, the follicular, ovulation and the luteal phase. During each of these stages your hormones differ to support your body, and these changes are what cause you to experience different symptoms across the month.
During the first 14 days of your cycle, eating just one or two tablespoons of flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds can support and balance estrogen production and metabolism, which can help crucially improve your sleep. Then from days 15-28 you can swap to having one or two teaspoons of sunflower and sesame seeds each day, helping your painful cramps and reducing inflammation in your body. Simply add these seeds to your yoghurt bowls, smoothies or salads!
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash.
