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Welcome to Her Health Code, the podcast that helps women in midlife feel better in their bodies without the confusion or overwhelm. We’re two health coaches sharing real talk, personal stories, and our best coaching tips that help you reconnect with your body’s wisdom. Think of us as your health-savvy girlfriends, here to help you crack the code to feeling vibrant and strong again.
Jessica Franklin (00:00)
Welcome to Her Health Code. We're your host, Jess and Michelle. Here, we're all about helping women in midlife decode what their bodies are telling them through real talk and sharing our practical tips and simple tools that put you back in control so you can feel stronger, healthier, and more vibrant every day.
Jess & Michele (00:15)
Welcome to Her Health Code. I'm Jess and I'm Michelle. today we are going to share our favorite recipes. Yes, we are. because we know how hard it can be to face the week and have to think about all of the meals that we're going to make in our kitchens. And so if this can help just take a little bit of that indecision. Decision fatigue. Decision fatigue.
get that mixed up in my, it's a menopause moment in my brain. It was definitely a menopause moment. And decision fatigue is actually a symptom of menopause and perimenopause because we get so overwhelmed. So it's that overwhelm that affects us in the kitchen. Yes. So if we can help with that and take that off your plate then we are so grateful to be able to do that, For me, I love soup and I could eat soup like every day of the week.
365. I mean wow like that's a love for ⁓ my gosh. That is a love for soup. I sometimes will go to a restaurant and just get soup because if I'm not feeling anything else on the menu soup is a safe thing for me because I will love whatever they bring me basically. I could eat split pea soup and I'm happy. There are so many different kinds of soup but this month
I dove into, I'm going to dive into minestrone soup. It's just back to my Italian roots and you can use high protein, ⁓ pasta and you can also throw in beans. like a Northern white bean in this soup, but you can also do kidney beans or you could do a little bit of both. I like to make a big pot that lasts all week. So we'll have it for dinner on the initial night and then maybe a few nights later, and then I'll eat it for basically lunch every day that week.
because it's just an easy nutritious meal to have. ⁓ I might even throw it in a thermos for my son one or two days a week for his lunch And then on the weekends, sometimes that last serving goes as a quick lunch because
the weekends we're always running around. So ⁓ I also will use a bone broth, a beef bone broth, ⁓ not beef excuse me, you could use beef if you that's all you have on hand. It's a flavor that works with this dish, but you can also use a chicken bone broth as well and that adds that bumps up the protein like it's nine grams of protein per cup of broth and Trader Joe's has a decent one for a good price and I think that that just
you know elevates it a little bit with flavor and with nutrition and the pasta that I've been using lately that I found is a pasta from Italy. It has it's made with beans and wheat so okay not grain free it's not gluten free but it does add a lot of protein and a lot of fiber into your soup so I don't use the whole box I just use half because if you use the whole box
it will absorb all of the liquid. it'll become a pasta. Yeah you have to be careful with it and then the vegetables I use my base of vegetables for soup is really just the basics onion, carrot, celery and always garlic always always garlic and of course salt and pepper and then in this soup I use an Italian just a dry Italian seasoning mix super simple and
was trying to think if there's anything else that I toss in here every now and then I might even toss in some zucchini too. yeah, I've zucchini in there. That definitely is a nice addition. Yeah, it goes with a Mediterranean diet, which is, super healthy and you can use a little bit of olive oil when you're sauteing your garlic and your vegetables. But if you don't want to do that,
You can also saute in water and that's just as good. And some people don't like that little bit of oil that gets added to the broth. And I get that. I do thicken up my broth a little bit with just a roux. So I'll make a roux with some butter and flour, salt, pepper, my herbs and spices, and a little bit of the broth. And then we just do that in a separate little pot.
And then I tossed that in after the vegetables have sauteed and I've added my broth, then I just throw that in and it thickens it up just enough. But also your pasta and your beans will help with that as well. So you kind of have to decide like, you know, where you want your broth. I don't like my broth super like liquid, like water. You need a little bit heartier. get a little bit heartier
We just serve it with some nice sourdough bread and butter or crackers and cheese just to add that little bit of extra something, especially if there's a lot of hunger coming in after basketball practice. Yeah, yeah. Well, that sounds yummy. That sounds so yummy. So what a great pick for February. I this my pick and that I actually make quite a bit is stir fries.
So stir fries is my go-to. I have this nice big wok where I saute a ton of different vegetables, whatever really is in my fridge. But my favorite, I love bean sprouts and broccoli and carrots and water chestnuts. Those are my go-to's, maybe some bok choy if I have that. And then I usually do tofu with this.
but a lot of times I'll do chicken or I'll do some thin, really sized beef if that's what my son wants. yeah, and stir fry is a really easy go-to and I can make it a variety of different ways. All I have to do is alter my sauces. And so my go-to sauce usually is just a little bit of hoisin sauce and some soy sauce, some fresh ginger, some fresh garlic, and a sweetener of choice, usually a little bit of honey or maple syrup. And that's pretty much it.
And do you use a base for that? What I typically use is white rice. So that is what my family loves. And so I just kind of throw all that once it all sautés together a little bit on white rice and voila, that is a usually it takes me about seven minutes to make that meal. Very easy, simple and then good for leftovers too,
Yeah, so my leftovers usually is like one extra day or the next meal or I'll put it in my son's thermos. He likes a lot of thermos meals for his lunch. But yeah, it's great. it's not gonna last all week for sure, because the vegetables get soggy. But usually the next day is a nice second meal effect with the stir fry. But again, it only took me seven minutes.
So it's not that time consuming, that I would have to put too much effort and time into it, where I could make something different the next day. Yeah, definitely. There's weeks where something that lasts all week is what you absolutely need if you kind of know this is just going to be a busy week. And other weeks, you're just making a meal every day or every other day, and that's fine too. So whatever works for you.
definitely refer back to our episode where we talk about our tips to avoid this what is it called decision fatigue in the kitchen because again it is a real thing and it does weigh on our minds and it contributes to that feeling of always feeling overwhelmed yes absolutely so don't be overwhelmed in the kitchen there's lots of tips and tricks coming your way
we'll share those in a future episode. So thank you so much for joining us. And until next time, thank you and be well.
Jessica Franklin (07:43)
Thanks for being part of her Health Code community. Your voice matters here. Take a minute to subscribe so you can continue decoding your health with us. And if you found this helpful, please do share with a friend and leave us a quick review on Apple or any platform that you listen in on. It supports us in sharing this information with more women like you. And if you're wanting a little bit more one-on-one guidance, I would love the chance to support you more deeply, whether you're looking for clarity, accountability, or just a health plan that actually fits your life.
I'm here to help. Just come visit me at lovingyourwellness.com. And if you're a woman in midlife wanting to rebuild your health through a holistic lens, whether you're navigating fatigue, overwhelmed, detox needs, or the desire to feel more aligned, I love to work with you. You can find my email at livelightly.eco or check out The Live Lightly Podcast for more wellness inspiration. Now, before we say goodbye, just a quick disclaimer.
The information shared on this podcast is only for educational purposes and not for medical advice. We are not medical doctors and this content is not a substitute for professional medical care. Definitely not. We encourage you to consult your health care provider before making any changes to your diet, lifestyle or wellness routine, especially if you have a medical condition or taking any medication. By listening, you are acknowledged that you are responsible for your own health choices and we are honored to be part of your wellness journey. Thank you again for joining us.