My Mean Green PCOS-friendly salad guide
How do you like your salads? As a side or a main? With fruits? What toppings do you like? Are you partial to the greens or do you need more elements to make it feel less….. well, green? Do you need some inspiration to make healthy food attractive again? Well, that’s where this PCOS salad guide comes in!
I went from seeing salads as an inconvenience… to having them as a side to “help” the main attraction of the dish…. to being curious about them and the various ways I could use them to make my life better… to loving them… and now growing them and literally being unable to survive without them!
For PCOS, a balanced plate is critical. So with my salads, I make sure I have a bunch of elements that I will share below. This is simply a guide. Please note that not all of these have to feature in every plate. But you want to have this in mind; and what do you know, maybe you won’t roll your eyes at having a salad for a meal anymore!
Keep it interesting! A mix of textures give my digestive system a workout - I like to add a bit of crunch with nuts, seeds, croutons and other toppings
Keep it rich! Greens are great as a base, but a girl needs her proteins and omega 3s- steak pieces, prawns, eggs, salmon, chicken…. Should I go on?
Keep it effective! Wanna have the bowels doing what they should be doing? Legumes are a must! Chickpeas, Red kidney beans, black beans etc. no Go crazy on fiber. Root vegetables must be a staple. Beets, sweet potatoes, radishes, onions….
Keep it classy! I move it around with the greens. Not every day spinach. Sometimes arugula/rocket, kale, lettuce leaves….
Keep it balanced! Shall I talk about healthy fats without talking about avocados? Will I be me if I didn’t talk about avocados? 😁 Also, my salad dressings heavily feature various types of healthy oils - olive, almond, avocado oil etc.
Keep it fun! Variety especially as the seasons change. So I infuse pumpkin in the salad and fun spices in the dressing during autumn, smokey/spicy elements in the winter, fruit in the spring and summer etc.
Keep it creative! Use a lettuce lead as a wrap. Load it with whatever you have on hand! Drizzle whatever sauces you need. Boom! Handheld salad!
Keep it colourful!
I wanna see YOUR salads and learn tips from you as well. Tell me what has resonated the most with you from this PCOS salad guide. Show me what you’ve been making and what you make using these tips. Tag @livingwithmae on Instagram and let’s trade recipes!