Healthy PCOS Friendly Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is a PCOS friendly meal? ›

She notes that other well-balanced plans emphasizing non-starchy vegetables and fruits, lean protein, healthy carbs and low-fat dairy can help people with PCOS get healthier and prevent complications.

Best foods for PCOS

Low GI carbohydrates for slow energy release to maintain blood sugar control – e.g. porridge oats, wholegrain bread or pasta, brown rice. Fruits and vegetables are a great way of getting more fibre. I tell my patients to make their plate as colourful as possible.

Look for fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and legumes when selecting your breakfast options. Healthy Fats: Don't shy away from incorporating healthy fats into your breakfast. They are essential for blood sugar balance, the absorption of certain vitamins, and hormone health.

Apples with almond butter or sunflower seed butter. Chia seed pudding with fresh fruit. Avocado toast with hemp seeds. Homemade trail mix (I recommend a mix of nuts/seeds like almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or pumpkin seeds, a small amount of unsweetened dried fruit, and handful of dark chocolate chips).

'A PCOS belly can result in a protruding or "apple-shaped" appearance. It often feels firm and solid to the touch due to increased visceral fat surrounding the internal organs,' explains Milanova. 'This differs from regular belly fat, which is more evenly distributed and soft.

Foods which have saturated or hydrogenated fats in, include dairy products such as cream or cheese and fatty red meats, as well as processed or fried foods. These unhealthy fats can increase estrogen production, which can make your PCOS symptoms worse, and can lead to weight gain which can also worsen symptoms.

High levels of caffeine have been said to make your PCOS symptoms worse by: Increasing the stress hormone cortisol, which raises insulin, which suppresses progesterone production. Increasing sugar cravings (when you're on a low after having a caffeinated coffee earlier, you often crave a sugar boost).

It involves visceral fat accumulation in the lower abdomen and typically feels hard to touch. A PCOS belly is also characterized by a high waist-to-hip ratio of >0.87 (apple body shape). Still, some people may not have any noticeable stomach changes. In that case, watch out for other symptoms of PCOS.

Well don't worry… eggs are a great component to a balanced diet with PCOS due to their high protein, healthy fats, and nutrition content.

What is the best toast for PCOS? ›

Toast. Gluten-free whole grain toast is another easy PCOS breakfast idea. Pop the bread in the toaster, and then add nut butter, avocado, fruit, seeds, or eggs. I love avocados in the morning and have a Sweet Potato Avocado Toast recipe on the app that makes your toast feel gourmet!

Eggs, rich in protein and essential nutrients, can be part of a PCOS-friendly diet. They're a valuable component of a balanced meal plan.

Try to limit foods that tend to spike blood glucose, such as packaged, processed foods like chips. If you can't read or recognize the ingredients on a food label, that food is highly processed. Other foods to avoid include: Foods with refined flour, such as white bread, pizza crust, and pasta.

Peanut butter has a glycemic index of 14, indicating that it does not induce a fast surge in blood sugar and insulin levels. As a result, peanut butter is an excellent complement to your PCOS diet. It contains a balanced source of healthy fat, fiber, protein, and sugar.

Anti-inflammatory foods include berries, fatty fish like salmon and tuna, broccoli, avocado, green tea, grapes, tomatoes, leafy greens, olive oil and mushrooms.

Eating three full meals and one snack—and spacing them out four to six hours apart—is a good strategy to follow for PCOS, as it allows insulin levels to come down between meals.

For PCOS symptom management, it is supportive to combine carbohydrates with protein, fat and fiber. These components come together to form a balanced meal that will cause a more gradual rise and fall in blood sugar, rather than a steep spike and crash.

Eggs are SO good for managing PCOS symptoms. They are a great source of protein, good cholesterol, and healthy antioxidants. Additionally, the egg yolk and albumen contain selenium, phosphorus, thiamin, choline, iron, folate, and omega-3 fatty acids. Plus, vitamins B12, A, D, and E are in there too.

If you think of your plate as a circle, protein should make up 1/4 of the plate. Protein helps you stay full longer and keeps your blood sugar from spiking after a meal — so important for PCOS and combatting insulin resistance! I tell my clients to aim for 25–30 grams of protein per meal.