Main Dishes for Fighting PCOS (Recipes)
Are you looking for recipe ideas for main dishes that can help fight PCOS in women? In this section, you'll find a plethora of recipes starring foods that are chock-a-block full of PCOS-combating nutrients such as chromium, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, B complex vitamins, and zinc. But before you get started with the recipes, check out the section Diet Tips for Women with PCOS and the section Best Foods for Fighting PCOS for more general information about PCOS and nutrition (if you haven't already done so).
Marinated Crimini Mushrooms
Mushrooms are low in calories, have a low GI rating, and provide plenty of PCOS-fighting B vitamins. However, they are often overlooked as they can be quite bland. Marinating is a great way to add more flavor to mushrooms. These marinated mushrooms are very easy to make, and they can be served as appetizers or as a side dish.
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Steamed Asparagus with Sesame Seeds
Turbo-charge your anti-PCOS diet by indulging in this delicious, low glycemic dish. Both the asparagus and the sesame seeds this recipe calls for are cram-full of nutrients that are considered particularly beneficial for women with PCOS.
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Risotto with Crimini Mushrooms and Arugula
Here's an easy recipe for creating a risotto that's full of flavor and nutrients. Thanks to the crimini mushrooms and brown rice, this dish is loaded with B vitamins. It is particularly rich in vitamin B2, which is essential for normal thyroid function and metabolism and which can thus help reduce excess body weight, but it also provides plenty of vitamin B3, which helps keep blood sugar on an even keel.
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Tomato, Cucumber and Red Onion Salad
Red onions are one of the best dietary sources of chromium, a mineral that helps maintain normal blood glucose levels by making insulin more efficient. This will fight insulin resistance which is often associated with PCOS. Furthermore, chromium can aid in weight loss due to its ability to help reduce cravings and hunger. The PCOS fighting effects of this salad may be further strengthened by balsamic vinegar, which not only adds palate invigorating pungency but which also contains compounds that help fight insulin resistance and obesity.
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Super-Healthy Gazpacho Soup
This healthy twist on a Spanish classic is loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Unlike traditional gazpacho soup, this cold soup uses unpeeled tomatoes and unpeeled cucumber in order to reap the maximum health benefits (most of the fiber and vitamins tomatoes and cucumber provide are in their skin). It also uses wholemeal bread instead of white bread.
See the RecipeSalmon Salad
Salmon is one of the best dietary sources of vitamin D. Low levels of vitamin D and have been associated with many problems associated with PCOS, including infertility, weight gain, and insulin resistance. In addition, this salad delivers plenty of vitamin B3 and vitamin B6 which help maintain normal blood sugar levels, hormonal balance, and fertility.
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Upgrade Your Salad-Making Tools!
Toss out that old plastic bottle and invest in an elegant salad dressing shaker made of high-quality glass! Don't know which one to pick? Try Trudeau's wonderfully-designed vinaigrette mixing bottle – it has a large spout opening, dripless design, and three mouthwatering recipes printed on it for easy reference.
Do you live in the UK? Typhoon manufactures a similar glass shaker which is available from Amazon.co.uk
.
Tangy Tomato Soup with Basil
Not only do shallots add flavor to this wonderful tomato soup, they also supply a great amount of dietary chromium. Chromium is a component of the glucose tolerance factor (GTF) which helps maintain normal blood glucose levels by making insulin more efficient. This in turn fights insulin resistance which is often associated with PCOS. Furthermore, chromium promotes weight loss due to its ability to help control cravings, reduce hunger, and control fat in the blood.
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Beet and Carrot Soup
Beets are loaded with magnesium. Research indicates that there is a strong link between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance associated with PCOS. Magnesium is required for proper glucose utilization and insulin signaling, both of which are impaired in people with insulin resistance. Magnesium appears to be the most common micronutrient found to be depleted in insulin resistant people.
See the RecipeWholewheat Pasta with Nettle Pesto
Don't worry, this pasta dish featuring young nettle won't sting you! Young, blanched nettle leaves are wonderfully edible, and they are packed with PCOS fighting nutrients, including B complex vitamins, magnesium, and zinc. What's more, the whole wheat pasta this recipe calls for provides a healthy, high-fiber alternative to the traditional white pasta.
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Radicchio, Tomato and Cress Salad
This low-calorie, low-GI recipe pairs crisp radicchio, cress, and romaine lettuce with refreshing cucumber, celery, and tomatoes to create a super-healthy salad that is full of nutritional goodness. Radicchio, for example, contains anthocyanins, the same plant pigments that give blueberries their famous health benefits. Garden cress in turn contains the same health-protecting glucosinolates that have made Brassica vegetables such as kale and broccoli so famous.
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Apple and Onion Soup
This soup is crammed with chromium. Chromium is a component of the glucose tolerance factor (GTF) which helps maintain normal blood glucose levels by making insulin more efficient. This will fight insulin resistance which is often associated with PCOS. Furthermore, chromium promotes weight loss due to its ability to help control cravings, reduce hunger, and control fat in the blood.
See the RecipeWholesome Winter Pea and Watercress Soup
This light, peppery soup with an irresistible velvety texture is a good source of vitamin B6, which helps keep blood glucose on an even keel and ease PCOS symptoms. It is also rich in chromium, a mineral that helps maintain normal blood glucose levels by making insulin more efficient. This in turn helps fight insulin resistance which is often associated with PCOS. Furthermore, chromium promotes weight loss due to its ability to help control cravings, reduce hunger, and control fat in the blood.
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Beet and Carrot Salad with Ginger
Beets are loaded with magnesium. Research indicates that there is a strong link between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance associated with PCOS. Magnesium is required for proper glucose utilization and insulin signaling, both of which are impaired in people with insulin resistance. Magnesium appears to be the most common micronutrient found to be depleted in insulin resistant people.
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Arugula, Avocado and Tomato Salad
This delicious salad has a very low glycemic rating. Low glycemic meals help fight insulin resistance and obesity, both of which can worsen PCOS symptoms.
See the RecipeMinty Watercress Soup (Served Cold)
This light soup is rich in pyridoxine, a vitamin that helps keep blood glucose on an even keel and ease many PCOS symptoms. Thanks to the yoghurt it contains, this dish also provides plenty of calcium, zinc, and vitamin B2, all of which are important if you suffer from PCOS.
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Want More Recipes?
For more recipes that help fight PCOS, please visit the main recipe directory of HealWithFood.org's Nutrition Guide to Fighting PCOS.
(if you live in the UK, click
).