HORMONE HELPING RECIPES

Finding meals the whole family like is one of the hardest job a mum does everyday , add making it healthy makes it impossiable at times . I'm trying to make my family of hormones more happy by the food we eat .

A lot of the vitamins and minerals we lose with hormone changes can be put back in to our bodies through what we eat . Especially menopausal women and teenagers who's hormones need a helping hand . By adding more of the foods with higher vitamins and minerals that help us to have happy hormones like

PLANT BASED ESTROGENS which help with hormone imbalance

soy , flax , almonds , garlic , parsley, strawberries ,oats , peas , pumpkin seeds

CALCIUM FOODS to strengthen bones

milk , yoghurt , cheese , broccoli , salmon , sardines ,honey , rasins

VITAMIN D to help calcium absorption

tuna , makeral ,egg yolks , cheese

MAGNESIUM helps anxiety ,depression ,restlessness as its a natural musle relaxer

sunflower seeds , bananas , salmon , oats , peanut butter ,rasins , honey ,caca powder

and not forgetting foods that contain zinc , iron and fiber just adding a tsp of some herbs and spicies can up your vitamin and mineral intake so spending a little extra time in what you feed your family can change the whole mood in your house hold .

First lets start with the first meal of the day BREAKFAST . Getting my girls to eat a breakfast before school is so hard so I made a breakfast snack they could take to school

BREAKFAST GO BALLS

I keep them on the kitchen side in a glass jar as having healthy snacks in view makes you pick them up when your looking for some thing to kill that hunger feeling . My husband grabs one before his run and I often have one with my afternoon cup of tea or with my morning banana if I'm running late for work .

INGREDIENT

150g of oats

50g of dried fruit of your choice

3 tbs of seeds

2tbs of honey or maple syrup

2tbs of 100 % peanut peanut butter

2tbs of coconut oil

1tbs of protein powder ( macca , cacco powder )

dark chocolate chips optional

different options

NUTS SEEDS DRIED FRUIT

hazelnut pumpkin cramberries

brazil sunflower raisins

almonds chia apricots

coconut flax mango

MAKE IT

Melt coconut oil ,honey or maple syrup , and peanut butter in a pan

In a large mixing bowl add oats , seeds ,nuts,dried fruit , protein powder and chocolate chips if using ,mix together . Then add all melted ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together so all the dried ingredients is covered . Scoop mixture in to balls, I used a mesuring cup . place on a greased baking tray and bake in the oven on 150 c /300 f for 25 mins

GRANOLA FRUIT BOWL

My go to breakfast lately has been a granola fruit bowl , as I've always been really bad at eating fruit , breakfast time I find is a great way to get fruit into my diet And you can use so many different fruits my favourite is raspberries , strawberries, and mango I also drizzle a little honey on the top to add a extra sweetness .Calcium is also another thing I'm trying to add more to my diet and as I've started drinking herbal tea instead of coffee my milk intake has gone down so having yogart on my breakfast is my milk subsitute

I found a great recipe for home made granola on pick up limes .com

Toasted coconut & almond granola

The great thing about homemade granola is you control what goes into it ,it can also be used to make you breakfast go balls . Check out pick up limes on you tube as its a great channel for nutruitonal tips and recipes

My lunch time favourite is hummus I love hummus but I've always eaten it as a dip but using it in a wrap or seeded bread is a great alternative to a cheese and pickle sandwich for lunch and the fancier the bread the posher looking sandwich, I started taking them to work with me a month a go and I always get coments to whats in my sandwich . I also use different favours of humma from sweet chilli to caramlised onion then add peppers, tomatoes and different salad leaves I really do look forward to my lunch now . My 15 year old daughter has also started to eat hummus she likes a moroccon spiced one that she dips seeded bagels or seeded crackers in, quite a break though as her normal lunch is normally a cheese and tomatoe sauce wrap . She’s also started eating raw carrot and celery because of the hummus . I also noticed she put cucumber in her cream cheese seaded bagel . I'm so pleased she’s trying new foods .

DINNER TIME

The two recipes I tried out on my family are italian inspired as Italian food is a family go to meal and

this one was a big hit with the family as its a pasta dish and what family doesn't love pasta.

Recipe from Lorraine Passcale home cooking made easy book

LEMON ,BASIL ,LINGUINE WITH PANCETTA , MASCARPONE, CHILLI AND CHIVE'S

INGREDIENTS

450g spaghetti

220g frozen peas

2 chillis finely diced

200g mascarpone

1 bunch of fresh basil

1 bunch of fresh mint leaves only ( I didn't add the mint as my daughter doesn't like it )

2 very large handfuls of toasted pine nuts

1 bunch of fresh chives finely chopped

juice of a lemon

salt and fresh ground black pepper

extra virgin olive oil for drizzling ( optional )

parmesan shavings , to serve ( optional )

I added diced pancette as my husband doesn't do food with out some form of meat but this to is optional .

MAKE IT

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of water with the peas .

in a frying pan fry the pancette and chilli in a little oil

drain pasta and peas return it to the pan add the mascarpone , pancette and chilli to the pasta sir in gently .

rip up basil and mint leaves and add to the pasta then sprinkle on chopped chives and pine nuts .

Stir very gently and not to many times so the mixture doesn't go all mooshy .

To serve using tongs then add a good squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste to finsh off add some parmesan shaving .

ITALIAN TOMATOE & VEG SOUP WITH BABY PASTA

This to was a great success and soup is always a good way to hide vegatables from the family .

This would also make a good meal for little ones with the little pasta and blended more .

This recipe is adapted from the new covent garden soup co great book the great british soup book.

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

2 tbs of oil

100g of pancetta diced

pinch of fennel seeds

1 med onion diced

2 med carrots diced

1 stick of celery sliced

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 med red & yellow pepper diced

1tbs of tomatoe puree

half a med chilli

half a tsp of paprika

1 bay leaf

3 springs of thyme , leaves striped

400g of tin tomatoes

1.1 litres veg stock

3 handfuls of soup pasta

handful of fresh basil

salt and blak pepper

MAKE IT

Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the pancette and fennel seeds for about 5 mins remove from pan and set aside .

In the same pan sweat the onion , carrots and cerlery for 10 mins then add garlic and cook for 1 min .

Add the peppers and sweat a little then add tomatoe puree , chilli , paprika, bay , thyme ,tomatoes, stock and pancette and fennel seeds cover and simmer for 30 mins untill veg cooked .

this is where I removed the bay leaf then I set aside some of the vegatables then blended the rest .

once smooth put the vegatables back in and added the dried pasta and simmered till pasta was cooked .

severed with the torn basil leaves sprinked on top

I really liked the chunky vegatables but my youngest not so much ,so next time I'm going to blend all the soup before adding the pasta as I think she would have eaten more if she couldn't see what was in it .

This soup would also make a great pasta sauce if you used less stock and blended it smooth

It also freezes really well so a great one to have in as a quick lunch when your not in the mood for a sandwich .

All these recipes are full of happy hormone ingredients all the ones we need to keep those hormones in check.

After looking into what food helps balance my families hormones it has made me enjoy cooking again and the best reward of all is when you see your family enjoying a meal you have lovely cooked for them and knowing you are feeding them healthy food ,it gives me a bit of zen in my house of hormones .