Today I am going to share with you my top foods that will help you balance and optimize your hormones. Plus I will share with you a few delicious recipes to help you get started incorporating these healing foods into your diet.

• Cruciferous and Green Leafy Veggies: Think broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, Swiss chard, spinach and arugula  
• Citrus Fruits: Lemons (great in water), limes, grapefruits and oranges  
• Omega-3 Sources: Wild caught Alaskan Salmon and other low mercury fatty fish, flax seeds, hemp seeds, physician grade fish oils  
• Organic dairy, in moderation (raw is ideal when available for maximum enzymes and nutrients that help with digestion). Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in dairy is also estrogen balancing.   
• Raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) and seeds (pumpkin, flax and hemp seeds)  
• Avocado, olive oil, coconut oil and organic butter (not margarine) are all good sources of healthy fat
• Legumes (green beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, etc. but not soybeans or soy products)  
• Spices: Turmeric, thyme, rosemary and sage  
• Fresh fruits: especially citrus, berries, green apples, kiwi and papaya  
• Onions and Garlic
• Meat: Choose Hormone Friendly Meats, Fish and Poultry. Organic is best when available  
• If you can’t find organic, at least get hormone free and anti-biotic free at a minimum  
• Grass fed beef is best (better fatty acid profile and more balanced Omega3/Omega-6 ratio
• Free range poultry is an excellent option when available. Animals are likely to be in a less stressful environment in contrast to their non-free range counterparts. Those animals are releasing stress hormones regularly, which then end up in the food that you eat. This is another reason why grass grazing cows are often better.   
• Choose fish that are low in mercury. Mercury can cause substantial hormone disruption (see the graphic below on low-mercury fishes).   
• Choose fish that are wild-caught instead of farm raised where the use of pesticides and antibiotics is more common and the fish are fed a quite unnatural diet of corn and soy.  

PS ) If you are looking for some extra help with balancing your hormones check out my Hormone Detox Kit –  a collection of my top picks to help women find relief from the symptoms of hormonal hell, on sale now!  

Green Power Up Salad

Ingredients:

1 large head of fresh broccoli, cut into small florets (about 2 ½ cups florets)
5 large kale leaves, very finely chopped
1 medium carrot, grated with a box grater
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup roasted sunflower seeds
2 tbsp dried cranberries
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon stone ground mustard
2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp raw honey

And then to taste:
Garlic
Paprika
Sea salt
Ground pepper

Recipe:

Pulse the broccoli in a food processor about 10 times to give it a fine chop, then add it to a large mixing bowl. Add the sunflower seeds, finely chopped kale, grated carrot,red onion and cranberries to the broccoli. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and spices whisk together until smooth and add to the broccoli and kale mixture. Toss to combine.

Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator in a glass, airtight container for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

Garlic Butter and Caper Wild Salmon

(recipe from www.freshmarket.com)

2 lbs. salmon, with skin on
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
6 lemon slices

Lemon Caper Butter:  

6 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 ea. garlic cloves, minced
4 tbsp. capers, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread olive oil or melted coconut oil on it. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet, skin side down. Sprinkle fillets with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Place lemon slices on top, overlapping if necessary. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and tent with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 – 15 more minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

While salmon is cooking, prepare the Lemon Caper Butter by melting butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add garlic, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice. Cook for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When salmon is done, remove from oven and discard lemon slices. Gently slide a metal spatula between the skin and the flesh of the fillet to remove fish from the skin, it should separate very easily. Transfer fillet to a serving platter and spoon Lemon Caper Butter over the top. Serve immediately with Green Power Up Salad.

Fibre Bombs

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten free old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup nut butter (I use almond butter)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup raw honey
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.

Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.