Healthy Eating in Menopause: Simple Food & Pantry Tips

Everyone keeps saying that menopausal women need to do things differently than when we were younger. Eat more protein. Lift weights. Reduce stress. Pay attention to calcium. Fuel your workouts.

All well and good. But LIFE IS BUSY.

Menopausal women have teenage or college-age kids, hectic jobs, aging parents, packed schedules, and bodies that seem to keep changing no matter how carefully we eat.

So how are we supposed to manage all of this? It's no wonder so many of us feel overwhelmed and confused about food.

What do you actually do when it's Tuesday night, everyone is hungry, and you have no idea what's for dinner?

Take a breath. Healthy eating doesn't have to mean complicated recipes, restrictive diets, or starting over every Monday.

Here are some simple ways to make eating well easier.

Make healthy choices the easy choices

1. Don't keep unhealthy food at your fingertips.

It's very easy to grab the bag of chips when you're hungry. If the chips aren't there, you're more likely to find something else to eat.

This doesn't mean you can never have chips, cookies, or chocolate. It just means that the foods you see and reach for most easily are the foods you will probably eat most often.

2. Keep your pantry stocked.

A well-stocked pantry can save you from the "there's nothing to eat" problem. If you have a few basic ingredients on hand, you can put together a meal without another trip to the grocery store.

I've included my basic pantry list below.

3. Have a few go-to recipes.

You don't need a new recipe every night. Find a few meals that your family likes and that you can make without much thought. Repeating a meal once a week is a simple hack that still gives you plenty of variety overall.

4. Give your week a little structure.

A nightly theme can make meal planning much easier:

• Meatless Monday

• Taco Tuesday

• Breakfast for Dinner Wednesday

• Stir-Fry Thursday

• Leftover Friday

  
  

The particular themes don't matter. The point is to make the decision about what to cook a little easier.

5. Use what you already have.

Recipe apps can help, but you can also simply type the ingredients you have on hand into a search engine. Have chicken and corn? Search "chicken corn recipes" and you'll find plenty of possibilities. You don't need to shop for an entirely new list of ingredients every time you want to cook.

6. Make extra.

Double a recipe when you can. There's no reason to make something new for every meal. Last night's dinner can become today's lunch, and sometimes leftovers taste even better the next day.

7. Build meals around protein, plants, and a carbohydrate.

A simple starting point is to include a protein source and vegetables or fruit at most meals, along with a carbohydrate that you enjoy. That might be eggs and vegetables with toast. Chicken, rice, and broccoli. Beans, roasted vegetables, and tortillas. Salmon, potatoes, and a salad. And yes, you can have dessert. You can have a small treat. You can eat bread.

The goal is a healthy overall pattern, not perfection at every meal.

8. Pay attention to portions without turning food into a math problem.

Portion size matters, particularly if you're trying to maintain your weight, but you don't need to measure and weigh everything you eat. A useful starting point is to think about the proportions on your plate rather than obsessing over exact amounts. If you're still hungry, eat more. If you're exercising heavily, you may need more food than you did on a sedentary day. Your needs aren't exactly the same every day, either.

9. Cook food you actually want to eat.

Healthy food shouldn't be punishment. Try new things, too. Our tastes can change as we get older, and there are always interesting foods at the grocery store or farmers market that you may never have tried before.

10. Don't be too ambitious.

Good habits start with small steps. You don't need to completely overhaul your diet next Monday. Make one change this week. Once that feels normal, make another. Soon enough, you won't remember doing it any other way.

What should I have in my pantry?

The exact list will be different for everyone, but these are the kinds of ingredients I like to have around because they make it much easier to put together a healthy meal without starting from scratch.

Staples

Tuna, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, marinara sauce, chicken or vegetable stock, unsweetened coconut milk, brown rice, quinoa or bulgur, polenta, whole-wheat pasta, canned beans such as white, black, pinto, kidney, and cannellini beans, chickpeas, rice noodles, basmati or jasmine rice, panko breadcrumbs, fruit jams and preserves, anchovies, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, and pickled jalapeños.

Spices and dried herbs

Kosher salt, red pepper flakes, cayenne, curry powder, bay leaves, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, garlic powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried basil, chile powder, coriander, turmeric, smoked paprika, cardamom, za'atar, allspice, fennel seeds, cloves, nutmeg, dry mustard, garam masala, five-spice powder, and sesame seeds.

Oils and vinegars

Olive oil, canola oil, red-wine vinegar, white or white-wine vinegar, sesame oil, sherry or balsamic vinegar, apple-cider vinegar, rice vinegar, mirin, and nonstick spray.

Sweeteners

Honey, maple syrup, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.

Condiments and sauces

Mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce, salsa, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hoisin, Thai red or green curry paste, fish sauce, harissa, gochujang, miso, wasabi, tahini, and sriracha.

Freezer

Fish fillets, lean meats and poultry, shrimp, spinach, corn, peas, and berries.

Baking

All-purpose flour, cornmeal, old-fashioned oats, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract, baking chocolate, semisweet chocolate chips, and cocoa powder.

Produce

Garlic, onions, ginger, potatoes, scallions, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, lemons, limes, apples, and oranges.

Dairy

Butter, cheeses such as mozzarella, feta, and blue cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese.

Put these on your weekly grocery list

Your pantry gives you the building blocks. These are some of the fresh foods I like to have around each week:

Produce

Tomatoes, bell peppers, squash such as yellow squash, zucchini, acorn, butternut, and spaghetti squash, mushrooms, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, berries, grapes, cherries, bananas, parsley, cilantro, fresh mint, fresh rosemary, and fresh bay leaves.

Dairy

Milk.

Grains

Whole-wheat bread.

You don't need to buy everything on the list every week. Pick the foods your household actually eats.

Choosing lean meats and poultry

If you eat meat, choosing leaner cuts can be an easy way to keep saturated fat lower without giving up meat altogether.

Beef

Round steaks and roasts, including eye of round, top round, bottom round, and round tip; top loin; top sirloin; tenderloin; chuck shoulder and arm roasts; and 93–95% lean ground beef.

Pork

Pork loin, tenderloin, center loin, and ham.

Poultry

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, turkey cutlets, ground chicken, and ground turkey.

Deli meats

Turkey breast, roast beef, and ham can be convenient, although these are best used as occasional convenience foods rather than the foundation of your diet because many deli meats are high in sodium and are processed meats.

Eggs

Don't forget that eggs are a reasonable source of protein and can be used in a variety of ways.

The goal is to make healthy eating easier

You don't need a perfect diet. You need a way of eating that works with your actual life.

Keep some basic ingredients around. Have a few meals you can make without thinking. Make enough for leftovers. Use your freezer. Don't be afraid of carbohydrates. Include protein regularly. And give yourself permission to eat food that you actually enjoy.

For active women, fueling your body adequately is part of healthy eating too. If you're interested in how nutrition changes when you're exercising regularly during menopause, take a look at Eat to Stay Strong: Rethinking Nutrition for the Active Woman During Menopause.

Healthy eating shouldn't become another full-time job.

With a little planning and a reasonably full pantry, it can become something you simply do.