Strawberry Sunflower Seed Cycling Smoothie

Hands up if the whole concept of seed cycling for hormone health sounded great until you realized that… you never eat seeds?!

I liked the idea of such a simple addition to my day for a nutritional boost, but seeds aren’t really something I’ve ever included in my diet as much more than a garnish. So much so that I didn’t really bother reintroducing them after the AIP elimination phase other than the odd bit of tahini in my beanless hummus recipes.

After a few days of sprinkling seeds atop meals that didn’t necessarily benefit from their addition – 2 tablespoons of seeds is a surprisingly generous amount! – I came up with this easy seed cycling smoothie.

Specifically, this combination of raw sunflower seeds and sesame seeds is recommended for the luteal phase of your cycle, approximately days 15 – 28. But the bonus here is that combining these faintly nutty flavored seeds with fresh strawberries gives you a seed cycling smoothie that’s got some nut free pb & j vibes going on.

While your strawberries & seeds bring the flavor here, the sneaky part is what brings the creaminess without adding any kind of milk, dairy or otherwise.

Can you guess it? Cauliflower! I was insanely skeptical of this cauliflower in smoothies nonsense to start out, but it really does work without being detectable at all.

I like to use the ready prepped bags of cauli rice from the freezer section, since it’s so convenient and also helps chill the smoothie nicely. Since frozen veggies are typically blanched before packing, the cauliflower isn’t completely raw which means that it doesn’t have any bitterness or scent to it at all. Just dreamy creaminess and an extra serving of vegetables in your day!

There are a couple of additions I usually make to this strawberry seed cycling smoothie that you can omit or adjust if you like. If I want to make it more filling, I’ll throw in some unflavored collagen peptides or you can sub your favorite whey protein powder or plant based protein powder. A smidge of maple syrup for sweetness is nice but not totally necessary especially if your fruit is nicely ripe.

Honestly, the beet powder I add purely because I bought a bag for another recipe and have no idea what else to do with it. It’s an absolutely optional little nutrition boost. But don’t skip the vanilla extract if you can help it, it really brings the flavors out nicely!

For the follicular 1st phase of your cycle, days 1 – 14, swap out the raw sunflower seeds and sesame seeds for 1 tablespoon of raw pumpkin seeds & 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed.

Looking for more seed cycling stuff?

• Blackberry Blueberry Seed Cycling Smoothie (follicular phase)
• Fig Tahini Seed Cycling Energy Balls (luteal phase)
• Fudgy Chocolate Cherry Seed Cycling Balls (follicular phase)

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