The PCOS Diaries: Best Lunch Foods

Sorry for the delay in my next post in the PCOS Diaries series. I have had so much other work to get scheduled in that it has been hard to find the time. But breakfast foods was the last one, so now moving on to the best food for your lunch. Granted they might be similar to foods for dinner, but I guess lunches tend to be a little more snacky and quicker than most dinner options.

One of the best things to do is to pick high–fibre foods and eat them alongside foods that are high in protein. For example, try an apple or celery with peanut butter, whole wheat crackers and guacamole, whole wheat pita chips or carrots with hummus, or coconut yogurt and nuts.

So, onto the acceptable list for lunches:

Carbohydrates/Starches:

Basically, any carbs or starches need to be of the wholewheat or brown variety. They are much better for your blood sugar, keeping it at a much more stable level than their processed white counterparts. So if you fancy a sandwich for lunch, something like tuna or chicken salad on a rye or wholewheat loaf would be a good option for you. Wholewheat wraps are a good idea too (just check that they don’t have any added sugar in them if you aren’t making your own).

Pasta should be wholewheat, as well as having brown rice (that has the benefit of being gluten-free too, so helps for hormone balance. So you could have a past salad with veggies or some chicken and brown rice, for example. Sweet potato jacket potatoes are a good option too, or you could make sweet potato fries. Just be careful to only season them and not deep fry them or have them dripping in oil.

Vegetables:

Other than vegetables that are too starchy (like sweetcorn or white potatoes), you can have most vegetables. Think of green vegetables especially, like broccoli, sprouts, avocado, spinach, and kale. Cauliflower is a good option, as well as tomatoes.

Protein:

Getting lots of protein is a great way to lose weight. So you want to have plenty of it alongside lots of vegetables. You can get your protein from meat, of course. The best options are white meats like chicken and turkey. Eggs and fish are good options too. I think that it is best to go for organic when you have PCOS. So much of our meat is injected with all sorts and extra hormones, for example. We’ve got enough hormones flying around our body as it is, right? So choosing organic helps keep the balance as it is.

But if you don’t eat animal products, or want to limit how much you eat, then hummus, tofu and beans are a great way to go. You could make bean burger patties and have them in lettuce wraps, or hummus on rye bread. Nut butters a re great option too, so a pure nut butter on toast is a quick option.

Fruit:

You’d think that any fruit is good, but it really isn’t the case. The best options are:

• Apples
• Pears
• Oranges
• Berries
• Dates

If you can eat the say, berries, with a handful of nuts, then that helps your blood sugar level too. You could always make up some energy balls as a quick snack, if you were after something sweet with your lunch.

Hope this helps you with your food prep and lunches!