Black Bean and Avocado Salad

Ok guys here is an amazing recipe for a light lunch, or a snack with some whole grain chips!! SOOO yummy!

Ingredients:
1 can of Black Beans (16 oz.)
1 avocado
2 vine ripe tomatoes (I used Roma)
1/2 of red or green onion (I used red, love the flavor better)
Salt, Pepper, and cumin to taste (I used garlic instead of Cumin)
Cilantro and Lime

Directions:
Drain, rinse, and dry black beans ( I set them out for about a half hour to dry out)
Chop avocado and tomatoes
Dice onions
Combine avocados, tomatoes, onions and black beans
Season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin (garlic)
Squeeze lime juice over salad, and add cilantro.

Sorry no pics of this, I forgot to take a pic before I knew it it was all gone! I made this to go along side some chicken enchiladas on corn tortillas. Yummy!

Diet and Exercise

Diet and Exercise are important parts of managing PCOS. This is because as women with PCOS often have higher levels of insulin in their blood, and many have trouble maintaining a healthy weight. This nutrition guide will help you to understand how your body uses the food you eat, and what foods to eat to keep your insulin levels down.

Instead of:
Sweetened juice, canned fruit in heavy syrup or sweetened applesauce
Choose:
Fresh/frozen fruits, canned fruit without added sugar, or unsweetened applesauce
Instead of:
Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and peas
Choose:
broccoli, spinach, and carrots
Instead of:
Refines grains made with white flour such as white bread, pasta, bagels, and white rice
Choose:
whole grains such as whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and whole wheat bread
Instead of:
Sugary cereals
Choose:
High fiber cereals, like Kashi shredded wheat, or All Bran. Try to have a cereal that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving
Instead of:
Sugary drinks like soda, and juice
Choose:
Sugar free or low sugar drinks such as water, diet soda, crystal light, powerade zero, vitamin water, etc

Just some tips when thinking about foods to choose from. You should eat a balance of high fiber carbohydrates and lean proteins. Proteins such as beans, hummus, nuts, peanut butter, tofu, eggs, fish, chicken, and meat. Fats such as canola oils, avocados, are also a healthy part of a PCOS diet.

That is all for today! More to come!

PCOS- What is it?

PCOS is poly cystic Ovary Syndrome. Many women suffer from this, and the more research I do, the More I find. It is a hormone in balance that can cause irregular periods, unwanted hair growth, and acne. I know I have suffered with these things for the past 5 years or so. It is not an easy thing to deal with, not only not having regular periods, but to have hair growth and acne!

There are many options to treat this, one is the birth control pill. This regulates hormones. When you are trying to get pregnant, obviously birth control is not the way to do this, so many Dr's recommend Clomid to help you ovulate. If you are having trouble with insulin they also might give you Metformin to regulate this.

I am not a fan of taking pills to make my body do something, I think we are all created to do these things, so there has to be a natural way to correct. In researching this they say that diet is a huge part of regulating hormones. So in this blog I hope to post snack ideas, food menu ideas, recipes, tips and tricks to help balance our hormones. When trying to get pregnant it is often stressful, sad, and so many emotions all together.