Hormone Balancing Raw Carrot Salad

Raw carrot salad is one TikTok phenomenon that I can get behind! But it didn’t start there. The original raw carrot salad was developed by Dr. Ray Peat to help support hormonal balance. According to Dr. Peats research, raw carrots contain a unique fiber that binds to endotoxins and excess estrogen to safely eliminate them from the body. 

He found that when his female patients consumed a raw carrot salad once or twice per day, they experienced: less painful menstrual symptoms (heavy periods, cramping, acne, headaches, diarrhea, etc)

Estrogen dominance is a common hormonal imbalance in women that experience menstrual symptoms above so by effectively binding to excess estrogen in our intestines, our body can safely eliminate via our bowels which helps to reduce uncomfortable menstrual cycle symptoms. 

• Digestive symptoms improved Just like estrogen, the fiber in raw carrots is also highly effective at binding and safely eliminating lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which is an inflammatory bacterial toxin that most often is accompanied by an infection or intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Raw carrots, being fibrous, naturally promotes bowel regularity which positively affects digestion and elimination as well! 

• Optimal liver and thyroid function Since the raw carrot salad assists in eliminating excess estrogens and endotoxins, this also reduces the heavy load the liver carries. About 70% of hormonal conversion takes place in the liver so detoxification is imperative. This means that when you are supporting the liver, you are also supporting the thyroid!

Raw Carrot Salad component breakdown: 

Raw carrot - As we noted above, this fibrous vegetable helps to bind to endotoxins and excess estrogen and safely eliminates them from the body. 

• Sources: 1-2 large raw carrots, shredded lengthwise

Acetic acid - helps to increase the germicidal effect of carrot fibers. 

• Sources: Raw apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, white or red vinegar 

Oil - rich in saturated fat helps to further reduce bacterial overgrowth in the digestive tract. 

• Sources: coconut, olive or avocado oil

Salt - contains trace minerals that are important for thyroid function. Also, it flavors the dish!

• Sources: sea salt

The best way to consume this salad is consistently and ideally on its own as it works best on an empty stomach to help with gastrointestinal absorption. Great as a snack option or to turn into a bigger salad with hormone-health promoting ingredients such as high quality protein, fats and fiber. 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Raw Carrot Salad - To support hormone and gut health.

Ingredients 

• 1-2 medium organic raw carrots, outer layer peeled

• Splash of apple cider vinegar

• 1 Tbsp oil source (MCT, avocado, coconut, EVOO)

• Generous pinch of sea salt

Directions 

1. Use a peeler to shred the carrot lengthwise into long ribbons or strips. 

2. Add carrot ribbons into a bowl and toss in all remaining ingredients

3. Feel free to add in your favorite hormone-health promoting ingredients if you would want to elevate the salad! 

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Balanced Rice Cake Snack Combos

As someone who follows more foodie accounts than a normal person should, I usually try to spot major food trends so that I can “beautify” or rather “healthify” for my clients. Hence, healthy crispy chicken salad, crunchwrap supreme, catfish nuggets, and Reese's peanut butter cup to name a few.  

But a recipe trend I want to highlight today is an actual health trend that started in the low fat craze of the 1990’s - the rice cake! 

If you have ever tasted a plain rice cake on its own - there is literally no flavor. Made with puffed rice pressed together into a cake with maybe a hint of salt. That’s it. And since this started in the 90’s, everyone wanted to swap out bread and crackers for this low calorie substitute. 

So are these flavorless, crunchy snacks good for your health? Since plain rice cakes are essentially rice and air, they don’t really have an impressive nutrient profile. They are low in essential vitamins and minerals, basically fat-free and contain very little protein or fiber. Some benefit is that most rice cakes are typically gluten-free and made with whole grains. 

But eaten on its own, eating multiple servings in one sitting or choosing a sweet-flavored variety that contains added sugar may raise your blood sugar. As said before, rice cakes are mostly carbs, so combining them with protein, healthy fat and fiber can balance their potential effect on your blood sugar. 

Try pairing rice cakes with: 

• A nut butter, cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit slices

• Caprese style (tomato slices, basil, and mozzarella)

• White bean spread with veggie slices

• Tuna or chicken salad 

• Avocado toast style (mashed avocado, fried egg, EBTB)

• Bagel and lox style (cream cheese or goat cheese, smoked salmon, sliced veggies, fresh dill and lemon)

• Turkey sandwich style (pickles, sliced turkey meat, avocado, sprouts)

More rice cake combo inspo on our TikTok! 

If you want more balanced meals and snack inspo, check out the Nourished Roots Meal Prep Program!

Medjool Date Snacks

Medjool Date Snacks - 10+ easy and healthy ways to create the perfect mates for dates! 

Snacks don’t have to be complex and include every ingredient in your pantry. If anything, snacks need to be simple. They need to be a quick grab-and-go and something to whip up fast as you need something ready before or after your workout, to help stabilize blood sugar, or to tie you over before a late dinner reservation. 

So that is why I’m showing you my favorite carb source - medjool dates and the many medjool date snack ideas you can do to make sure your date is macro balanced, less than 5 ingredients, and is a quick grab and go snack! 

The OG lately, medjool date + goat cheddar cheese + prosciutto. The perfect blend of sweet, smokey and salty! I also like it because it’s very reminiscent of having a charcuterie board in one bite! (*bonus if you elevate it with honey or balsamic glaze drizzle and crushed nuts like pistachio.)

Other great medjool date snack combinations are: 

salted chocolate peanut butter date

Ex: stuff the date with peanut butter and top with an almond and some crunchy sea salt and dip the bottom in dark chocolate

Cheese + nut combo date

Ex: Stuff the date with cheese like a slice of brie and a nut like pecan.

Italian inspired date

Ex: Stuff the date with goat cheese and some sun-dried tomato pieces, and top with basil chiffonade.

Wrapped in bacon date

Ex: Stuff the date with cheese of choice like goat cheese, wrapped in bacon and cook in the oven for 350 degrees - 10 min on both sides or until bacon is crispy! Sprinkle with pistachio and honey if desired.

Prosciutto Wrapped Figs

A sweet, salty and acidic appetizer or snack delight that features figs stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios, wrapped with prosciutto, and air fried or baked to tender goodness.

Confession time: I don’t like figs, there I said it! Dried figs, sure. Fig newtons as a kid when that was the only snack you could find in the pantry, you bet. But fresh - you can forget it! 

So when my personal training client handed me a bag of freshly picked figs, I had no idea what to do. But she entrusted me to create a recipe using them and I didn’t want to let her down! So not only does this recipe goes out to my client … you know who you are ;) This fig recipe also goes out to my newfound fresh fig taste buds! 

The secret to enjoying fresh figs is wrapping them in prosciutto and roasting or air frying them. Having the addition of goat cheese and pistachio for added creaminess and texture doesn’t hurt either. And to take it to an even magical level, enhance the complexity in sweet, salty, and acid flavors with a drizzle of honey. 

It quite literally cannot get any better than this! 

So if you are looking for a summer appetizer, macro balanced snack, or trying to figure out ways to use figs, then this is your recipe ladies and gentleman! 

And feel free to switch out ingredients: figs for dates, goat cheese for blue cheese, pistachio for almonds, honey for balsamic glaze, prosciutto for bacon, air frying for baking…you get my drift ;) 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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A sweet, salty and acidic appetizer or snack delight that features figs stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios, wrapped with prosciutto, and air fried or baked to tender goodness.

Servings: 4 | Prep Time: 4 min | Cook 5 min

Ingredients

• 8 figs

• ⅓ cup goat or blue cheese, softened

• 8 prosciutto slices

• 2 Tbsp raw pistachios, chopped

Garnish

Local honey and chopped pistachios

Directions 

1. Cut the figs in half and set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, mix softened goat cheese and chopped pistachios until well combined.  Dollop a small amount on one fig half and place the other fig half on top like a sandwich. Repeat with the remainder of figs where you should have 8 fig sandwiches. 

3. Wrap the prosciutto around each fig sandwich. The ends of the prosciutto should overlap. Place a wet toothpick through prosciutto wrapped fig so that it doesn’t fall apart. 

4. If using an air fryer: preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 5-7 minutes flipping halfway until prosciutto is crispy. 

5. If using the oven: preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place in the oven on the top rack and roast for 8-10 minutes. 

6. Garnish with honey drizzle and leftover chopped pistachios and enjoy! 

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Curry Chicken Nachos

Curry Chicken Nachos - A fun and healthy crowd-pleasing dish that is bursting with flavor and texture!

So earlier this week, I posted my red curry sauce on the blog. And as I discussed in that post, you can put red curry sauce on just about anything and everything! But today, I wanted to share a fun and crowd-pleasing recipe that will get your weekend starting strong - Curry Chicken Nachos!

These are so much fun to make and will take you less than 30 minutes to prepare. If I am cooking over a lb of chicken - Instant Pot is my friend! So if you are crunched for time and would like to make this recipe on the fly, I would highly recommend cooking the madras curry yogurt chicken in the Instant Pot. 

For the curry sauce, you simply blend all ingredients into a blender, Nutri bullet, processor, or simply sub fresh ginger for ginger powder and heat in a small saucepan to thicken the sauce. That’s it! 

Last but not least, salsa! Other than the sauce, it’s my favorite part! We are following the same base as most salsas except we are using Indian influenced produce like mango, cilantro, fresh ginger, and pomegranate seeds. You can also use leftover salsa to put over grilled chicken, eggs, and fish. 

Every element in this dish is Indian inspired so welcome to FlavorTown! Did I just write that? :|

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

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Curry Chicken Nachos - A fun and healthy crowd-pleasing dish that is bursting with flavor and texture!

Ingredients

Madras Curry Yogurt Chicken

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

• ¼ cup unsweetened greek yogurt (or DF)

• 1 tsp madras curry (or regular curry powder)

• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

• ¼ tsp turmeric

• ¼ tsp cayenne

• Pinch of organic cane sugar

Red Curry Sauce

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk 

• 2 Tbsp red curry paste

• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

• 2 Tbsp curry powder

• 2 scoops collagen peptides (optional but helps to thicken the sauce)

• 2 tsp (heaping) organic white miso paste

• 1 Tbsp liquid aminos

• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

• 1 tsp pure maple syrup

• Juice of ½ lime

Mango Pomegranate Salsa

• ½ mango (diced)

• ½ tomato (diced)

• ¼ red onion (diced)

• 2 Tbsp pomegranate seeds

• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)

• 1tsp - 1tbsp* fresh ginger (minced) Depending on preference

• ¼ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

Toppings

Lime wedges, fresh cilantro, a dollop of Greek yogurt, tortilla chips 

Directions

1. Start by cooking the chicken: Add seasonings to yogurt until combined and coat chicken with the yogurt sauce until completely covered. Either cook in Instant Pot (meat setting; 20 min with less pressure or preferred setting), grill, or bake until chicken is cooked through. *If cooking in Instant Pot, I love adding about ¼ cup chicken bone broth and using the rack so it can keep the chicken extra juicy!  

   1. Allow the chicken to cool and then shred using two forks. 

2. Curry Sauce: While your chicken is cooking, prepare the curry sauce by adding all ingredients to a blender or nutribullet and blend until the mixture is in a sauce form. *If you do not have a blender, you can sub fresh ginger for ginger powder so that the sauce is smooth and consistent in texture. 

   1. At this point, taste sauce and see if it needs more umami (miso paste/liquid aminos), cheesy (nutritional yeast), bitter (lime juice), spice (curry paste/powder), or salt.

   2.  Pour sauce into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir sauce until the sauce is about to boil and turn the heat off. Make sure you are constantly stirring so as to not burn the sauce. 

   3. As the sauce cools down, it will thicken. Collagen helps to thicken the sauce so if you are adding more collagen, make sure the sauce is hot enough for the collagen to blend well so that you don’t get clumps! 

3. Salsa: While the sauce is cooling, prepare the salsa by adding all the ingredients into a small serving bowl. 

   1. You can easily double this recipe so as not to waste produce! 

   2. If you have leftover salsa - it’s great to have over grilled chicken, fish, or eggs!

4. Prepare the rest of the toppings, and start building your nachos!

   1. Tortilla chips < shredded chicken < dollop of yogurt/sour cream < salsa < curry sauce < cilantro < lime juice < devour! 

Notes

Products that were used in the curry sauce: coconut milk, curry paste, collagen peptides, nutritional yeast, white miso paste, curry powder, maple syrup, liquid aminos.