Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms - PCOS-Friendly Recipe
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups French green lentils
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 dashes sea salt
- 2 tbsps sherry vinegar
- 1 lb crimini mushrooms, quartered lengthwise
- 16 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 leaves basil (chiffonade)
- 1 dash black pepper
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic with a good glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender.
- Add the smoked paprika. Season with salt, sherry vinegar, and more smoked paprika to taste. I like there to be just an edge of vinegary sourness without it being overpowering.
- Meanwhile, in a very hot sauté pan, fry the mushrooms with another glug of olive oil, turning occasionally. Try to get them to brown well on most sides. Season with salt.
- Toss the cherry tomatoes and basil with a little olive oil, sherry vinegar, and salt.
- To serve, divide the lentils into bowls. Top with the mushrooms, and top that with the salad. Give the whole thing a grind of black pepper and maybe another little dusting of smoked paprika.
How This Recipe Supports PCOS Management
Understanding the nutritional profile of what you eat is a powerful step in managing PCOS. Here is how the key ingredients in this Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms contribute to your health goals:
- Lentil: Fiber helps slow glucose absorption, reducing insulin spikes
- Olive oil: Anti-inflammatory properties make it especially beneficial for PCOS
- Garlic: May help reduce cholesterol levels often elevated in PCOS
- Tomato: Antioxidants help combat oxidative stress elevated in PCOS
- Mushroom: Vitamin D deficiency is common in PCOS and supplementation may improve symptoms
PCOS Diet Principles in This Recipe
The PCOS diet focuses on three core principles: reducing inflammation, managing insulin resistance, and supporting hormonal balance. Every recipe in our collection is evaluated against these principles. This recipe excels in providing protein-rich ingredients that help regulate appetite hormones (ghrelin and leptin), and anti-inflammatory spices that target the chronic inflammation underlying PCOS. As part of a balanced PCOS meal plan, we recommend pairing recipes like this with a variety of nutrient-dense foods throughout the week to ensure you are meeting all your micronutrient needs.
Meal Prep Tip: This Spanish Lentils and Mushrooms can be prepared ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Meal prepping is one of the most effective strategies for sticking to a PCOS-friendly diet, as it removes the temptation to reach for processed convenience foods when time is short.
PCOS-Friendly Foods in This Recipe
This recipe contains the following foods that may benefit PCOS management: Crimini Mushrooms, Basil.
Crimini mushrooms are a tasty way of loading up on vitamins B2. Vitamin B2 plays an integral role in normal thyroid function and metabolism, which is vital for those with PCOS, as those with the disorder also tend to have a thyroid that doesn’t produce sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in sufficient quantities (Reference: http://www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatment/vitamins.html). Getting sufficient Vitamin B2 allows androgen and testosterone to be better restrained, preventing them from causing...
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