PMS & PMDD Balance Diet Menu: A Seven-Day Healthy Eating Plan

So far, our diet section has covered five important points about what to eat for PMS and PMDD, establishing a firm foundation for the PMS Balance Diet: what to eat; what not to eat; how to eat for hypoglycemia or blood sugar problems; becoming aware of potential food allergies and intolerances; and how to inexpensively test yourself for food allergies.

Based on decades of practice with thousands of women, we feel confident telling you that these are the five most crucial aspects of food and diet to understand to get back to a healthy, symptom-free menstrual cycle, and to give you a PMS diet plan that works—without adopting any fads or difficult or expensive food programs.

To make it even easier for you to follow a healthy eating plan, we're giving you this seven-day meal plan. It is meant to illustrate how you might apply the PMS Balance Diet to your own situation. For the most part, we've assumed you don't have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen and sometimes have to catch some meals and snacks on the run. But you can still eat healthy! Some of these meals may not work for every food allergy or sensitivity, and you may need to tweak the amount of protein and fat in some of them to address hypoglycemia. But our goal with this one-week menu is to provide a jumping-off point to get you started. This is a great one-week healthy menu for PMS and PMDD, but will also help with many other conditions that require a healthy diet, and most of all, create a healthy you, now and in the future.

For your convenience, please print PMS & PMDD Balance Diet MenuPDF : A Seven-Day Healthy Eating Plan and place on your refrigerator or take it with you when you grocery shop.

PMS Balance Diet: A One-Week Menu

What To Drink (while on the seven-day meal plan):

• Water or bubbly water
• Herbal tea
• Coffee substitute
• Bottled drink sweetened with stevia powder or erythritol-based sweetener
• Homemade herbal fruit tea
• Fruit juice mixed 50:50 with water

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 2-3 oz. Scottish oats (or brown rice or other whole-grain, sugar-free hot cereal), sprinkled with cinnamon, 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, handful of toasted almonds
• 1/2 grapefruit

Lunch:

• Last night's steamed broccoli, dressed with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), salt and pepper
• 1 small can of pink or red salmon, seasoned with 1 teaspoon dressing
• 3 or 4 rice cakes
• 1 medium-sized apple

Dinner:

• 6 oz. broiled chicken breast seasoned with rosemary, thyme, sea salt, and fresh-cracked black pepper
• spinach salad with sliced peppers and chickpeas, drizzled with EVOO and vinegar or lemon juice dressing
• 4 oz. (or 1 scoop) cooked brown and wild rice
• 1 orange for dessert

Snacks:

• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.
• Whole-grain crackers with hummus or goat cheese
• Baby carrots
• Walnuts

Day 2

Breakfast:

• 8 oz. plain, non-fat yogurt (regular or Greek-style), mixed with 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 6-8 oz. fresh or frozen berries
• 1 slice whole-grain rye toast, spread with old-fashioned peanut or almond butter

Lunch:

• Vegetarian sandwich on whole-grain bread, with lettuce, tomato, hummus, and avocado, spread with 1 teaspoon mayonnaise and/or mustard
• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.

Dinner:

• Organically raised, grass-fed mini-hamburger patties on bed of romaine lettuce, topped with basil pesto and sautéed onions
• Steamed beets*
• Baked russet potato, skin only (discarding most of the starch)
• Cinnamon baked apple, topped with half and half, yogurt, or small scoop ice cream
• * NOTE: If you haven't eaten beets before, they will turn your urine pink from the coloring in the beets, but this is normal and completely harmless.

Snacks:

• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.
• Small bowl brown rice, topped with 1 tablespoon almond butter and dash of soy sauce
• Celery sticks with plain yogurt and salt (for people who like sour, salt, and crunch combination)

Day 3

Breakfast:

• 2 eggs, scrambled or fried in 1 tablespoon canola or safflower oil
• Leftover baked potato skin
• Leftover baked apple

Lunch:

• Leftover steamed beets
• 2 leftover mini-hamburgers, topped with health food store ketchup
• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.

Dinner:

• Baked marinated tofu, seasoned with rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil
• Bok choy, onion, and garlic, sautéed in canola or safflower oil
• Cooked brown rice and quinoa
• Fruit salad of sliced kiwifruit, mango, and peaches, topped with 1/2 teaspoon crushed ginger and splash of lime juice

Snacks:

• Apple with 1 tablespoon almond or peanut butter
• Zucchini or summer squash slices with 2 tablespoons dip
• 1 or 2 healthy cocoa truffles

Day 4

Breakfast:

• Wheat-free oatmeal pancakes, topped with apple sauce and non-fat plain yogurt, or with 1 pat butter and 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Lunch:

• Mixed baby green salad, with black beans, toasted hazelnuts, diced fennel
• 4 oz. canned pineapple in juice (not syrup)

Dinner:

• 6 oz. mixed dark and white meat from store-bought roasted chicken, preferably organic
• 6 oz. baked orange yam, drizzled with 1 teaspoon EVOO
• Ice-cream scoop-sized serving of steamed and sautéed dark leafy greens
• Poached Bosc pear with cinnamon

Snacks:

• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.
• Whole-grain crackers with hummus or goat cheese
• Baby carrots
• Walnuts

Day 5

Breakfast:

• Whole-grain, low-sugar oat circles cereal, topped with handful of blueberries and 1% milk

Lunch:

• Tuna salad sandwich on whole-grain bread with lettuce and tomato
• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.

Dinner:

• Leftover roasted chicken
• 6 oz. baby carrots
• Pre-packaged broccoli slaw, dressed with oil and vinegar dressing
• Leftover baked yam
• Bowl of cherries or berries, fresh or frozen

Snacks:

• Fruit of your choice
• Cherry tomatoes and/or veggie sticks
• Edamame soy beans

Day 6

Breakfast:

• Whole-grain toast, spread with peanut or almond butter
• Mango, papaya, melon, or fruit of your choice

Lunch:

• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• Celery sticks with hummus or other bean dip
• Fruit salad in juice, not syrup

Dinner:

• Steamed butternut squash
• Broiled lamb shoulder
• Tabouleh salad
• Stewed plums or other fruit with cinnamon and clove

Snacks:

• Small bowl brown rice, topped with 1/2 oz. toasted cashews
• Sunflower seeds
• Sliced jicama with salsa or salad dressing

Day 7

Breakfast:

• Smoothie made with sugar-free whey or soy protein powder, 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, and frozen berries/mango/peach

Lunch:

• Leftover butternut squash
• 1 can canned tuna or salmon, on 4 popped corn cakes with mustard
• In season fruit of your choice, 1 piece or 6-8 oz.

Dinner:

• Crispy kale chips
• Turkey burgers on whole-grain buns with melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato
• Steamed broccoli
• Fruit cobbler

Snacks:

• 4 oz. non-fat plain yogurt, mixed with berries and 1 stevia powder packet; or with cinnamon, vanilla, and 1 stevia powder packet