My 4-Week Cycle Synced Family Meal Plan

Nov. 9

Feeding my family sometimes feels like a full-time job. With a tiny human whose tastes change on a whim and the responsibility of helping him develop a healthy diet, it’s often a pretty frustrating one. And what we eat can also play a big role in the health of our hormones…so choosing how I nourish myself is of vital importance.

“Cycle syncing” our meals to our menstrual cycle definitely gets a lot of buzz. You can find books and blog posts detailing what foods you should be eating more of in each phase.

I don’t know about you but that feels like more complication than I can manage while also trying to prepare healthy food my kid will actually eat.

I really like Lucia’s approach of eating nutrient-dense, hormone-friendly foods all month long. With this approach, cycle syncing is more about doing a bit more food prep in the parts of your cycle when you have more energy so that you can do a lot less when you’re bleeding.

There are times when I love meal planning and it feels like a joyful, creative process. I also have seasons where it feels like a Sisyphean task and I draw a complete blank trying to think about what we might eat in a week.

To make my life easier, I created myself a 4-week meal plan that I can rotate through as needed. It’s designed so that I’m spending a bit more time cooking in the first half of my cycle and less in the second half when I don’t have as much energy. And during the first 3 weeks of my cycle, I prepare extra of 1-2 dishes so that I can freeze them for when I’m bleeding.

These are meals that we like, in this season of life. I can update it seasonally and when our preferences change. We don’t need to stick to it religiously. It’s just there for when I don’t have as much energy or will to meal plan.

I’m sharing it here in hopes that it might be helpful for others. But I know that tastes and dietary requirements might mean that these recipes aren’t right for your family. Which is why I’ve also created a free cycle-synced meal planner that you can download at the bottom of this post.

This meal plan is just for dinner as we eat the same thing for breakfast most days (eggs, bacon, roasted kale, and sourdough toast) and I just pick a couple of soup recipes each week to make for lunches.

It’s also designed for a 28-day cycle, which mine isn’t always but I just adapt as necessary if my bleed is a bit longer or shorter.

With those caveats in mind, onto the recipes…

Pre Ovulation

Monday: Sole meuniere, barley with fresh herbs and lemon juice, and two servings of greens

Tuesday: Lamb shank pasta and salad

Wednesday: Vegan pad Thai with extra greens

Thursday: Sheet pan mini meat loaf with vegetables and a side of steamed greens

Friday: Copycat “KFC”

Saturday: Slow-cooked pork belly baked beans with roast sweet potatoes and two servings of greens *I freeze half of the pork & beans for when I’m bleeding

Sunday: Roast chicken, salt and vinegar roasted potatoes, and two sides of greens (usually spinach and green beans) *We use the carcass to make bone broth

Ovulation

Monday: Chicken satay pops, plus crudites to dip in the extra satay sauce

Tuesday: Balsamic maple glazed salmon, roasted root vegetables, and two servings of greens

Wednesday: Baked butternut squash and sage risotto, and salad (I’ll use some of the bone broth we made from our roast chicken in this recipe)

Thursday: Tuna melt quesadillas and salad

Friday: Chili served with sour cream, grated cheese, avocado, cherry tomatoes and rocket *I make enough to freeze at least one meal’s worth and we don’t have a slow cooker, so I cook on the stovetop

Saturday: Homemade pizza and salad (we use this recipe for the dough and I like this one for gluten-free)

Sunday: Pulled pork (*I freeze some of the pulled pork in a muffin tin to make simple broth bowls when I’m bleeding), mashed potatoes or roasted parsnip, and two servings of greens

Pre Menstruum

Monday: Slow cooked chicken curry with two sides of greens *(I double up on this recipe and freeze half for when I’m bleeding. Also, we don’t have a slow cooker so I cook on the stovetop for one hour).

Tuesday: Pulled pork tacos

Wednesday: One pan satay chicken + green beans with mashed potatoes and steamed spinach

Thursday: We might get a takeaway here if energy is really low or make our favourite spaghetti Aglio e Olio with a big salad

Friday: Some sort of freezer oven meal…like store bought fish and chips with a big salad

Saturday: Burgers, homemade chips, and salad

Sunday: Roast chicken, salt and vinegar roasted potatoes, and two sides of greens (usually spinach and green beans) *I’ll use the leftover chicken to make a big batch of chicken noodle soup for lunches

Menstruation

Monday: Freezer meal

Tuesday: Freezer meal

Wednesday: Freezer meal

Thursday: Freezer meal

Friday: Sausage tray bake. No recipe, I just bake sausages on the same pan as roasting root vegetables + brassica vegetables and serve with a side of greens, sugar-free ketchup, and homemade mayo

Saturday: Mac and cheese with crispy bacon garnish, steamed broccoli, and salad

Sunday: Lemon and cinnamon lamb shanks with gremolata, cauliflower mash, and two sides of greens

I’m not a nutritionist or dietician, so I’m not sharing these as anything more than an example of the types of healthy, delicious meals I feed my family and the ways that I’m trying to sync my meal prep with my menstrual cycle. In general, I use “the plate method” to plan our meals as this general breakdown of macros works really well for my body. Your body might be different. Or these recipes might be to your family’s tastes. That’s why I’ve also created this simple, cycle synced family meal planner for you to download: