Recipes  /  Late Luteal
🔥 Days 24–30

Late Luteal

Soothe, ground, support serotonin — heat is peaking

This is when PMS symptoms tend to peak. Pitta (heat) is at its highest, progesterone is dropping, and serotonin needs support. Focus on cooling, grounding, tryptophan-rich foods with complex carbs at dinner.

Cooking Principles

No spicy, no ginger excess, no garlic heavy · Skip tropical fruit (warming) · Complex carbs at dinner for serotonin · Pitta-pacifying spices: turmeric, coriander, fennel, cardamom · Bone broth for glycine + sleep support

⭐ Featured · Dinner
Golden Crockpot Chicken
with Sweet Potato & Zucchini
Sweet potato supports progesterone. Zucchini cools. Turmeric, coriander and fennel are all Pitta-pacifying. Chickpeas add tryptophan for serotonin. Bone broth base gives glycine for deep sleep.
Prep15 min
Cook6–8 hrs low / 3–4 hrs high
Serves4
Ingredients
  • 4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin on or off)
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
  • 2 medium zucchini, thick rounds
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 large leek, sliced (or half onion)
  • 2 cups bone broth
  • 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
  • 1½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground fennel seed
  • ½ tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp sea salt · black pepper
  • Handful fresh coriander/cilantro
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
Method
  1. Place leek and sweet potato cubes in the bottom of the crockpot.
  2. Nestle chicken thighs on top.
  3. Add chickpeas and zucchini around the chicken.
  4. Whisk together bone broth, coconut milk, turmeric, coriander, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Pour over everything.
  5. Add a spoonful of coconut oil or ghee on top.
  6. Cook on LOW 6–8 hours or HIGH 3–4 hours. Chicken should fall off the bone.
  7. Taste and adjust salt. Serve over brown rice or as a bowl. Top with fresh coriander.
🔥 Sweet potato + chickpeas = progesterone-supporting roots + tryptophan for serotonin. No chili, garlic or ginger overload. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and cools systemic heat. The glycine in bone broth specifically supports sleep quality tonight.
💡 Serve with: Brown rice or oats-based flatbread for extra tryptophan. A spoonful of tahini on the side adds sesame (your current seed cycling food). Skip adding hot sauce.
Lunch / Dinner
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash is progesterone-supporting and cooling. Bone broth base, healing spices. A Dr. Mindy Pelz recipe adapted for late luteal.
Prep20 min
Cook1¼ hrs
Ingredients
  • 4 cups butternut squash, cubed and roasted
  • ½ cup chestnuts, peeled and halved
  • ½ onion, quartered and roasted
  • 2 cloves garlic (keep light)
  • 3 tbsp hazelnut oil
  • 2½ cups bone broth
  • 1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger (minimal)
  • ⅛ tsp cinnamon · salt · dash cayenne (optional, go light)
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F. Roast squash, onion, chestnuts and garlic tossed in hazelnut oil with salt and pepper for 45 mins.
  2. Cool slightly, blend in batches adding bone broth until desired consistency.
  3. Add ACV, spices. Taste and adjust. Serve with fresh thyme.
Breakfast
Sweet Potato Hash Browns
Simple, progesterone-supporting, stabilises blood sugar in the morning — critical this week. A Dr. Mindy Pelz staple.
Prep10 min
Cook10 min
Ingredients
  • 3 cups shredded sweet potato
  • Grass-fed butter or ghee
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Method
  1. Mix shredded sweet potato with salt and pepper.
  2. Melt butter on medium heat. Place ¼-cup mounds in the pan.
  3. Cook 4–5 min each side until tender inside, crispy outside.
💡 Serve with 2 fried eggs and a handful of spinach. Add a tbsp of tahini on the side — sesame supports your seed cycling this week.
Dinner · Serotonin Bowl
Turkey & Mung Bean Rice Bowl
Turkey is the best dietary source of tryptophan → serotonin. Mung beans are the most Pitta-pacifying legume in Ayurveda. Brown rice complex carbs at dinner help tryptophan cross blood-brain barrier.
Prep10 min
Cook25 min
Ingredients
  • 300g ground turkey
  • 1 cup cooked mung beans (or yellow split peas)
  • 1 cup brown rice (cooked)
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • Large handful spinach or cooked kale
  • 1 tsp coriander · ½ tsp turmeric · ¼ tsp fennel
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • Sea salt · lemon juice to finish
  • Sunflower seeds to top (seed cycling)
Method
  1. Cook turkey in coconut oil, breaking apart. Add spices.
  2. Add zucchini, cook 3 mins. Add mung beans and warm through.
  3. Wilt in spinach at the end.
  4. Serve over brown rice. Squeeze lemon. Top with sunflower seeds.
🔥 Eat this at dinner specifically — the complex carbs from brown rice help tryptophan get into your brain to make serotonin overnight, which directly counters the emotional drop of late luteal.
🌰 Seed Cycling Butter for This Phase
Phase 2 — Luteal Blend

Moon Butter

Sunflower + Sesame Butter
Days 17–30 · Early Luteal → Late Luteal
Ingredients
  • Raw sunflower seeds — ¾ cup
  • Raw sesame seeds — ¼ cup
  • Coconut oil — 1 tbsp
  • Vanilla extract — 1 tsp
  • Ground cardamom — ½ tsp
  • Ceylon cinnamon — ½ tsp
  • Raw honey or maple syrup — 1 tbsp
  • Flaky sea salt — pinch
Method

Add sunflower seeds to a food processor and blend for 8–10 minutes until creamy — same patience required. Add the sesame seeds and blend another 2 minutes. Then add coconut oil, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, honey, and salt. Blend until smooth and fragrant. It'll smell like chai. Transfer to a glass jar.

Why it works Sunflower seeds are high in selenium and vitamin E to support progesterone production in the luteal phase. Sesame seeds provide lignans and zinc for hormone balance. Cardamom is a classic Pitta-cooling spice in Ayurveda — perfect for calming the heat and emotional volatility that peaks in the late luteal phase.

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