Foods that Make Women Feel Amazing
Because I am older, foods that make women feel amazing and help them age gracefully is a topic that is near and dear to my heart! I have lots of info for you on what to eat to feel your best, maintain our youthful glow, and fight chronic disease!
In addition to my new Apple Blueberry Tofu and Kale Salad recipe, I have some links to other recipes on my places to my blog.
This post is for ladies in mind, but it is also for men who want to better understand the women in their life and help them be healthier!:
First of all, let’s start off with some of the main health and aging concerns that women over 50 (and even women who are younger) have:
Health Concerns for Women:
- Having a healthy heart
- Maintaining healthy youthful skin
- Balancing a stable hormone balance
- Preventing cancer
- Keeping bones strong and preventing bone loss
- Retaining a healthy memory and brain health
- Nurturing a healthy relationship with food and our bodies
10 Healthy Foods for Women Over 50
I have provided nutrition counseling to women of all ages. Each one wanted to know what to eat to feel the best they can and to stay healthy. When moms, wives, and partners are healthier, the entire family benefits. And when daughters, granddaughters and grandmothers are healthier their family benefits too!
As a result of learning more about the health concerns of women, I wanted to share a list of 10 foods that make women feel amazing! that I think is really important. Although, there are many other foods that improve and maintain our health that this is just a shortlist!
Foods for Healthy Aging and Women’s Health
1.Purple Foods
Bright purple berries including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and even strawberries. These beautiful purple foods promote brain health and help reduce inflammation in the body which prevents other chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.
2. Green Foods
Your daily greens including kale, collards, arugula, spinach, and green leafy lettuce. Health benefits from these include that they are high in lutein and zeaxanthin which are important for eye health. They also are rich in calcium, beta carotene a powerful antioxidant and iron.
3.Fermented Foods
Fermented dairy with healthy probiotics for gut health including yogurt, kefir and live-cultured buttermilk. These foods are a great source of protein, calcium, and riboflavin which is a B vitamin needed for good health. Some of us do not tolerate dairy but there are a couple of good lactose-free yogurts. If you do not do dairy, there are some delicious, fermented plant milks also with healthy probiotics.
4.Legumes like Beans and Lentils
Beans have great anti-inflammatory benefits that help prevent and manage chronic diseases, autoimmune conditions and promote digestive wellness. Bring on the chickpeas, lentils, black beans, pinto beans, navy/Great Northern beans, soybeans, and all those other ones! Protein is an important food to get an adequate amount to build and repair muscle mass and organs.
5.Nuts, Seeds, Olive Oil & Omega 2 Fatty Acids
Include some healthy fat like nuts, seeds, olive oil, omega 3 rich foods and fatty fish like salmon and trout. Limit fats that can increase inflammation in the body like saturated, trans and an excess ratio of omega 6 to 3. Here is a blog post a little about the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 fats in your diet.
6. Cruciferous Vegetables
Add cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale. These foods provide cancer-fighting benefits, reduce inflammation in the body and have lots of beneficial antioxidants.
7.Whole Grains
Whole grains like oats, millet, brown rice provide fiber, B vitamins and selenium provide protein and fiber in addition to beneficial B vitamins.
8.Apples
There is a reason why an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Apples contain beneficial flavonoids, antioxidants, and a phytochemical called quercetin. All of this help prevent chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. For more about apples check out this research article which is full of great information.
9.Beta-Carotene
Bright orange and yellow foods rich in antioxidants like beta carotene. Foods included are sweet potatoes, carrots, winter squash, and other root vegetables. They help the body build collagen and promote mouth and gum health. It also helps boost immunity.
10. Soy Foods
Soy and other foods that help balance healthy hormones in our body.
Recently, my cousin, Cat asked me to write about the benefits of tempeh and its benefits to women’s health. Thanks for asking Cat! Here are some recipes below from some of my previous blog posts for using tempeh.
These recipes include tempeh or hempeh (read more about this product made by Smiling Hara right here in the Appalachian Mountains below) and tofu. You can use these whole soy foods interchangeably in recipes if you like.
Barbecue Tempeh Open-Faced Sandwich with Slaw
Raspberry Habanero Hempeh Tacos
Lots of Breakfast Recipes Using Soy
It can also use for lunch and supper!
Colorful Tempeh Breakfast Scramble
Savory Tofu Cherry Pecan Green Salad
Apple Cider Glazed Tempeh
Wild Blueberry Veggie Bowl
Two Protein Bowls
One Containing tempeh and one with tofu.
Mushroom and Tempeh Lo Mein
(and another recipe not including soy with polenta and roasted vegetables in this post!)
Stir-Fries with Tempeh or Tofu
Grilled Tofu Fajitas
Curried Tofu Salad with Pecans and Cherries
Blueberry Hempeh Kale Salad
Caribbean Low Fodmap Tacos
However, when it comes to soy foods, the benefits and the controversies pop up and many people have concerns and feel concerned.
Some of the questions include:
Can soy foods to help with hot flashes, can soy help with hot flashes?
Do soy foods increase the risk of cancer?
How can soy benefit women with perimenopause, menopause and post menopause?
What are the concerns for men and soy?
Does soy interfere with fertility?
How does soy affect thyroid health?
Here is a great podcast discussing the topic of soy and health on fellow registered dietitian, Mary Purdy’s post cast as she talks with registered dietitian Whitney English.
I hope that this interview helps clear up questions that you may have had!
Check out Whitney’s series on soy on YouTube also which are included in Mary’s post.
Additional Foods to Help Balance Our Hormones
As a result of doing research for this post I found a great article on even more foods that help balance hormones and help prevent chronic disease. I hope that you find it as helpful as I did! It gives me even more reasons to eat avocados, flax, broccoli, pomegranates, salmon, leafy greens, nuts, soy, turmeric and quinoa. Foods that help balance our hormones.
Here is my new salad recipe, I hope that you enjoy making it and eating it. You can add frozen blueberries instead of fresh if you prefer.
Apple Blueberry Tofu & Kale Salad
This salad contains of lot of foods that I shared that are beneficial for women’s health which include apples, blueberries, soy, a cruciferous vegetable, walnuts and a yogurt dressing. That is six out of the ten that I mentioned that are foods that make women feel amazing!
Makes 2 servings (but double it to easily make 4 or have for the next day)
1 apple chopped in large pieces (I like a tart apple like a Granny Smith or Pink Lady. Use a smaller serving if apples are one of your trigger foods with IBS)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
3-4 cups of baby kale or you can massage and remove large stems of large kale leaves
1 package of firm tofu (use half of the box to make the two salads)
Lime Cilantro Yogurt Salad Dressing
Bake tofu according to the Farfalle recipe above (but use lime juice and chili powder for the seasonings.
Lime Cilantro Yogurt Salad Dressing
1/2 cup yogurt (use lactose-free if are sensitive to lactose)
1 lime squeezed
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Place ingredients in a blender and blend until mixed well.
To construct the salad, fill bowls with baby kale, add blueberries and apples. Sprinkle with walnuts and arrange baked tofu on top. Drizzle with salad dressing.
Double your ingredients for a salad today and one for later.
- 1 apple chopped in large pieces I like a tart apple like a Granny Smith or Pink Lady. Use a smaller serving if apples are one of your trigger foods with IBS)
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
- 3-4 cups baby kale Or you can massage and remove large stems of large kale leaves
- 1 package 1 package of firm tofu Use half of box to make another salad the next day or use as a sandwich.
- 1/2 cup yogurt Use lactose-free if sensitive to lactose
- 1 lime, squeezed
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
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To construct the salad, fill bowls with baby kale, add blueberries and apples. Sprinkle with walnuts and arrange baked tofu on top.Drizzle with salad dressing.
-
To make dressing:
Place ingredients in a blender and blend until mixed well.
Women’s Nutrition Plan
Finally, as a registered dietitian nutritionist living in Asheville NC, I love providing nutrition counseling for women and sharing my tips for healthy aging. We are what we eat and what we eat can help us feel healthier and maybe even younger and happier! Schedule an appointment and we can talk about how to feel your best before and after 50 beyond! In addition, we will talk about more foods that make women feel more amazing!
A Fresh Approach to Women’s Wellness Program – (vineripenutrition.com)
