Warm Sweet Potato & Kale Salad (Menopause Friendly Recipe)
- Emma Lisa
- Mar 25, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 28
Menopause and peri-menopause can bring with it fatigue, weight changes, and hot flashes, but the right foods and adopting a menopause friendly-diet can make a real difference. As a 50+ year-old mum of five personally in the thick of it, I know how much a healthy diet supports hormone balance as women. This Warm Sweet Potato & Kale Salad recipe is a just the nourishing recipe to help make menopause a little easier. Grab a herbal tea and come learn why with me, and then try the delicious recipe. Bon appetite!
Today, I'm cooking up a delicious, high-fibre recipe that is super loaded with essential nutrients that support good gut health, appetite control, and can help maintain body weight balance. If you're just interested in the recipe, jump down to details, click here. But if you are going through "the change", read on to learn how the food you eat every day can help ease your perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
The Menopause Friendly Diet
Menopause often quietly rolls with hidden hormonal shifts that can affect everything from your metabolism, energy levels, sleep cycles to even how your body digests and assimilates food. But here's what I want you to know: this isn't about your body failing you. It's about understanding what your menopausal body needs now, and how to feed it a menopause friendly-diet that provides the right fuel to thrive. Because truth is, certain foods can and do make menopause symptoms significantly worse, and this is totally avoidable.
Processed carbohydrates and sugar are two of the biggest hormone disruptors during peri-menopause and menopause, and can send your already fluctuating blood sugar levels on a wild rollercoaster ride. Alcohol may suddenly start to disrupt your sleep (which is probably already challenging enough), while caffeine from coffee, tea, and chocolate can intensify hot flashes, night sweats and anxiety. Spicy foods you've tolerated for years can begin to trigger those sudden heat waves, and excess salt can worsen bloating and blood pressure changes. All of this can feel like an unwelcome sh** storm with seemingly now end in sight.
But this post isn't about another list of "menopause does & don'ts." I'm sharing all this as a menopausal woman myself, as your invitation to uncover what a healthy menopause friendly-diet can actually do for you. The right foods won't just help to manage symptoms, eating right for menopause can you get your sparkle back, revie that all-day energetic mentally clarity you had in your 20s. Fuel your body and you can soon start feeling physically stronger than you have in years.
Menopause isn't the end of feeling vibrant, it's actually the beginning of a new chapter where you get to nourish your body with intention and watch it respond with resilience!
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What Foods Are Good For Menopause?
& Why Nutrition Is Now So Important
One of the most complained about symptoms of menopause is that dreaded stubborn belly and weight gain, especially around the middle. You know that spare tyre that feels like it appears overnight and doesn't respond to dieting, rigorous workouts, and is frustratingly stubborn to shift? Well, the not-so-good- news is that, that kind of weight gain requires a difference approach than just a calories deficit and hitting the gym hard. It's hormonal, and you just can't treat like a 20 year old's binge, you have to be more strategic than that to even make a dent.
The good news is you can finally ditch restrictive diets, expensive shake programs, and influencer trends that only work for twenty-year-olds. Instead, we're going to focus on what actually matters in menopause, and that is to focus on wholefoods and hormone balancing recipes. Yes, the right nutrition and a well-balanced menopause friendly-diet can go a long way in helping to manage peri-menopause and menopause symptoms. In fact, it can give you your vitality back too. The secret is consuming more of the nutrients that play a key role in supporting hormone balance, bone strength, and the return of that all-day energy you had as a 25 year old. When your body is properly nourished, you'll can naturally cope better with the shifts and physical changes of menopause.
Best Foods For Coping In Menopause
Hormone-Friendly Foods & Nutrients Every Woman Needs
Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods is one of the best ways to support your body through peri-menopause and menopause. Focusing on clean eating foods that provide fibre, protein, healthy fats, and key vitamins and minerals can help balance hormones, support digestion, and maintain energy levels. Below, I’ve outlined some of the most important types of foods to include in a menopause friendly-diet, along with practical examples and tips for incorporating them into your weekly menu.
Foods Rich In Dietary Fibre
The menopause friendly-diet places a strong focus on high-fibre foods such as beans, berries, celery, chia seeds, leafy greens, lentils, raw oats, and psyllium husk to make your plate and bulk up the fibre content of your favourite recipes. Just like the kale and sweet potato used in my warm salad recipe below, both are an excellent sources of dietary fibre. Sweet potatoes also contain beta-carotene and other nutrients that support overall hormone health. I recommend consuming at least 40-80g of wholefood-based, high-fibre foods per day. Pair these with a serving of lean protein from either plant-based or animal sources at every main meal, and be diligent with your water intake. Whenever you increase dietary fibre, you must also increase your water intake to avoid constipation. Aim for 2.5 - 3 litres of clean, drinking water per day.
Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium is essential during both peri-menopause and menopause, helping to support your bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Foods like sweet potatoes and kale used in today's recipe, are naturally rich in calcium. You can also find it in calcium-fortified foods such as baked beans, dairy products, canned fish like salmon and sardines, tofu, and collard greens. Make conscious ingredient choices when building your plate and meal prepping to include a variety of these menopause friendly foods.
Magnesium-Rich Foods
Equally as important, and often consumed together, magnesium is another menopause-must for women during midlife. It can be found in dairy products, but if you are limiting those due to sensitivity, you can get it from leafy greens like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard greens, nuts (raw almonds, cashews), lentils, pumpkin seeds, organic raw cacao, and non-GMO soy tofu. Adequate magnesium will help alleviate common menopausal symptoms such as difficulty falling asleep, night-time anxiety, and mood swings. It is fine to consider a supplement if your diet falls short, or if your doctor has told you, you are deficient.
Meal planning more menopause-friendly meals like this Sweet Potato & Kale Warm Salad below and adding vitamin-rich, high-fibre foods to your weekly menu consistently can make a real difference. When you focus on nourishment, managing menopause becomes much more achievable and your body can thrive through this transition.
Warm Sweet Potato & Kale Salad Recipe
A Hormone Balanced Lunch & Dinner
This vegan recipe can be made as a side or served as a main meal simply by adding a lean protein source such as organic chicken with the skin, tofu or a fillet of salmon. Personally, I love preparing this clean eating recipe as a plant-based dish without any meat, and have shared it that way for this post. If you wish to make it a main meal and include chicken, add it to the roasting step below.
Warm Sweet Potato & Kale Salad
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed clean
1 cup kale, de-stemmed, rinsed well
2-3 gloves of garlic, fresh bulbs
3 tbsp avocado oil, organic
1 tbsp turmeric, ground root
1/2 vegetable or rock salt
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 pinch of cracked pepper
OPTIONAL: add 2 chicken breast, dice and add to the marinade step.
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200c. Rinse and prepare the vegetables for cooking. Then finely chop the garlic (or use crushed), and cover with the avocado oil; add the seasonings, and set aside to marinade. Meanwhile, chop the sweet potatoes into chunks. I like to leave the skin on for the added nutrients, but it is just as good without, so prepare as you enjoy it. Then, tear the kale leaves into smaller sections. If you are using chicken or another protein such as tofu, prepare it into chunks or diced pieces ready for the next step.
In a roasting pan, add all the ingredients (if you are adding chicken or salmon, add it to this step). Pour in the avocado oil mixture and toss the veggies (and meat) to coat well with the oil. Bake for 30 minutes in 180c or until the potato (and chicken or salmon) is tender and cooked through. Be sure to turn often to keep the veggies moist and coated in the oil. Serve straight from the roasting pan as a main meal, or portion a large spoonful as a side dish. If you made this recipe without adding chicken, but tolerate dairy well, a tablespoon or two of crumbled feta makes as a tasty topping.
Nutritionist Note
If I leave you with one thought, it’s that with the right menopause friendly-diet and nutrition, you can feel confident and optimistic about navigating the hormonal and physical changes of menopause. Focus on foods (and not restrictive diets) that truly nourish, providing your body with the full range of nutrients it needs to move through this phase of life with energy, balance, and even a wink and a smile!
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
Love love love this recipe! Never knew kale could taste so good. Yummy!
Emma most informative. I had no idea that food could help with my menopause symptoms. Will definitely try this recipe, thank you Gilly x