Kick Off Summer With a Fertility Boosting Salad

Summer might not officially begin until next month, but this weekend’s Memorial Day holiday is the unofficial harbinger of summer in the United States.

I love summer. I love it so much I chose to get married in the summer. While each season has something special to offer, I love summer the most because it’s synonymous with parties, picnics, fun, being outside and having a good time.

As a kid, I loved the long summer break from school and time to hang out at the pool with friends. Now as an adult, I love my annual summer pilgrimage to the beach in Cape May, NJ with my family.

All the parties and fun of summer can mean that sometimes we don’t eat as healthy as we should. Hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, cookies, soda, potato chips and other not-so-healthy stuff can really wreak havoc with your health (and your waistline).

And your fertility. The sugar, salt, trans fats, preservatives and other gunk in these foods aren’t the best for your hormones, ovulation or overall fertility.

Here’s a recipe for a yummy salad that is a perfect side dish to take to your summer picnic or potluck party. It’s light and delicious, simple to make, and packed with nutrients that are a real boon to your fertility.

In fact, I plan on taking this one to my pool’s opening picnic this weekend.

Black-eyed Pea and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 14 oz can black-eyed peas
• ½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 avocado, cubed
• Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce

Instructions – pay attention, this is really tricky:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Serve and enjoy!

Serves 2

This salad is FULL of fertility-boosting foods. Black-eyed peas are rich in B-Vitamins, Vitamin E, iron and potassium. B-Vitamins, especially B-6, are important for regulating your hormones and ovulation, thereby keeping your menstrual cycle regular, lengthening your luteal phase (if luteal phase defect is an issue for you), and keeping your progesterone levels balanced (essential for facilitating implantation of a fertilized embryo).

Black-eyed peas are also a great food to eat if you’re trying to lose weight, because they’re filling but low in calories. They also don’t contain any fat or cholesterol, making them a great food choice when looking to eat healthy overall.

Avocados, as I’ve said before, are a venerable superfood for boosting fertility. They’re loaded with folate, an essential B-vitamin for your diet if you’re trying to conceive or pregnant, as it reduces the occurrence of birth defects. Avocados are also a great source of healthy fats. Fat really gets a bum rap; some fats, like trans fats (think, partially hydrogenated oil that comes with many packaged snack foods) are so bad for you they’re illegal, but we actually need to have some fat in our diet. These are the “good” fats, and avocados are loaded with them.

Olive oil is another good choice for health and fertility. Extra virgin olive oil is my cooking oil of choice, because it is rich in Vitamin E which helps protect the health of our cells, including our egg and sperm cells.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: what and how you eat can really make or break your fertility journey. This salad is definitely one for the “win” column.

So give this salad a try and let me know how you like it!

Love,

Stephanie xo