This Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 230 calories, 16g protein, and 11g carbs per serving. Ready in 16 minutes. High in fiber (5g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a large salad bowl, combine the salad ingredients.
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Add the salad dressing and toss to coat.
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Recipe Cost: $7.83
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MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE: Confirm all ingredients are gluten-free and this recipe can be made gluten-free.
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 Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado contribute to your health goals:
- Chicken: Protein-rich meals help manage insulin resistance common in PCOS
- Spinach: Magnesium may help improve insulin sensitivity in women with PCOS
- Avocado: Healthy fats support hormone production and help reduce inflammation
- Tomato: Antioxidants help combat oxidative stress elevated in PCOS
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 healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that support cell membrane health and hormone synthesis. 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 Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado 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.
Why this Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado works for PCOS
This Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado delivers 16g of protein per serving, which sits in the moderate range for a PCOS-friendly meal. If you find yourself hungry within 2-3 hours, pair this dish with an additional protein source (Greek yogurt, a boiled egg, or a small portion of fish) to push the meal closer to the 25-35g per-meal target most PCOS dietitians recommend.
The 11g of carbohydrates here come paired with 5g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 59% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Lunch is where most PCOS meal plans either succeed or collapse. A meal like this Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado that combines adequate protein, fibre-rich carbs, and fat keeps blood sugar stable for the rest of the workday and reduces the late-afternoon energy crash that drives sugar cravings around 3-4pm.
PCOS-Friendly Foods in This Recipe
This recipe contains the following foods that may benefit PCOS management: Sunflower Seeds, Chicken Breast, Spinach.
Sunflower seeds are an excellent food for PCOS as they are packed with vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). Just one cup of sunflower seeds provides 30% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin B6. Sunflower seeds are also loaded with two other important of PCOS busting minerals: zinc and magnesium. Skinless chicken breast, often heralded for its lean nutritional profile, is undeniably a powerhouse when it comes to protein content. With an impressive 21 grams of protein packed...
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Spinach Salad with Chicken and Avocado recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 230 calories per serving with 16g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 5g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 16 minutes total. Prep time is 16 minutes. It makes 4 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 230 calories, 16g protein (28%), 11g carbs, 15g fat. Plus 5g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Lunch. At 230 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Lunch. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 4 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
Cook Another PCOS-Friendly Lunch
Each recipe you add to your rotation makes PCOS management easier. Variety keeps you from getting bored and quitting.
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