‘first crush’ smoothie

Remember your first crush?

You broke out into a sudden sweat, had no idea why, felt butterflies in your belly and your heart beat 10x faster. That was the first sign you:

• had a low-grade fever

• met your first love

• had a burst of hormones

• all of the above

As we start to age, our estrogen and progesterone levels begin to drop (the opposite to what happened at 13) - this can cause an imbalance and, perhaps, an estrogen dominance. Seems counter-intuitive, but it’s not. As they both fall, estrogen can remain or appear to remain high. Aside from this, we don’t produce the same type of estrogen during menopause (estrone is produced over estradiol, largely. While we convert some to estradiol, we just can’t do such a great job later in life and we can cope better with estradiol. Hence, the feeling of sudden “change”).

We also have a number of xenoestrogens in our environment that mimic estrogen and can be difficult for our body to decode and determine what’s going on. But I’ll park that for another day.

As we age, without enough estrogen in our bodies, we increase the risk of osteoporosis and bone loss.

In a randomized trial, postmenopausal women taking Omega-3 fatty acids (in addition to regular moderate exercise) saw a positive effect on their estrogen levels. Another study, exposed that omega 3s potentially play an anticancer role, particularly breast cancer. (PMID: 30787641)

Including seeds throughout your day is a great way to incorporate more Omega-3 fatty acids to help balance your estrogen levels. If you want to learn more, set up your free strategy call and be sure to sign up for my newsletter.

Since February is all about love, so why not look after your hormones with this omega—3 rich smoothie.

Ingredients & Directions

Estimated time: 10 minutes

Effort/Skill: Easy

Base Layer

• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

• 1-2 tbsp ground flax seed

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

• 2 tbsp oat based plain yogurt

• 1 nub ginger

• 1/2 lemon (leave the rind on, remove seeds)

• 1/2-3/4 cup Water or oat milk

• 1-2 scoops of your favourite plant-based protein powder

Top Layer

• 1/2 cup frozen spinach or greens

• 1 tsp oat-based plain yogurt

• 3 tbsp water

• Optional: sweetener or cinnamon

Directions

1. In your favourite blender, blend ingredients for the base layer. Pour into smoothie cup or glass.

2. Rinse your blender and blend the top layer ingredients.

3. Pour top layer on top of base layer. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup or a dollop of yogurt.

4. Stir. Sip. Enjoy.