THE MIDLIFE KITCHEN
No fads. Just delicious health-boosting food
MOVE over, middle age — now it’s fashionable to think of yourself as a ‘midlifer’. While your 50s were once all comfortable shoes and embracing the greys, these days they’re about having fun and living life to the full. At the cutting edge of this movement are Mimi Spencer and Sam Rice. This week, we’re serialising their new book, The Midlife Kitchen, full of tasty recipes to keep you fit and healthy in midlife and beyond.
MOST women tick along through their 20s and 30s so busy with life, career and family they barely have time to notice the years hurtling past.
But when we nudge into our 40s, things begin to change — and, often, it’s our pesky hormones that are to blame.
The slings and arrows of peri-menopause start in your early 40s, perhaps initially masquerading as PMT, before slowly encroaching on other aspects of your life.
This hormonal ebbing and waning can play havoc with moods, sleep patterns and confidence. It can trigger a redistribution of body fat, too. You might eat and exercise as usual, but fat will start to accumulate in tell-tale places — with muffin tops and bingo wings arriving unexpectedly, like uninvited guests at a party.
For some of us, menopause really is a trial by fire: hot flushes, headaches, mood swings, irritability or restless nights. It happens to us all. That’s vital to understanding midlife’s most challenging moments. As someone wise said, there’s still no cure for the common birthday.
We believe the best way to achieve hormone harmony in these middle years is to eat a nutrient-rich, diverse and balanced diet. We use plenty of ‘hormone-helpers’ in our recipes, from phytoestrogens (the natural nutrients found in plants that mimic the action of our hormones) and B vitamins, to omega 3 fatty acids and mineral-rich foods.
We also recognise that women in particular may need some slow-release carbohydrates — wholegrains and pulses — to help maintain the best balance of hormones. We love avocados, too, as they contain essential fats which are fundamental building blocks for hormone production. Women can also benefit from flaxseeds, green leafy veg, legumes and soya, as they contain phytoestrogens.
Japanese women, whose soyarich diet includes edamame, miso and tofu, rarely suffer from the menopausal symptoms — notably hot flushes and night sweats — commonly experienced sunflower seeds and almonds. This power-packed topping adds extra oomph to our recipes — a brilliant coating for veggie burgers or falafel, and for our version of energy balls, the lovely little ‘Uncookies’ (recipe on the back page).
While our midlife message isn’t about weight loss, a healthy diet can help to combat hormonallytriggered redistribution of body fat. If there is one thing we have learned, it’s that successful weight management comes down to a moderate quantity and diverse variety of fresh ingredients. Our recipes tend to
be naturally low in calories, without you having to give dieting a thought.
Some peri-menopausal women also experience fluid retention linked to hormonal imbalance (as progesterone starts to decline before oestrogen, the two can become out of kilter).
So it’s important to support progesterone levels, too, by eating foods rich in vitamin B6 such as tuna and salmon, soya, nuts and lentils.
After your 50s, you should notice hot flushes easing. But at this point, as oestrogen levels dwindle, women are at risk of bone weakening and osteoporosis. Look for foods rich in calcium and magnesium, such as dairy, almonds, kale and broccoli.
Studies also show post-menopausal women can experience decreasing muscle mass, so taking in good-quality protein and adequate vitamin D is vital. An excellent way to do both is by eating oily fish, such as mackerel, sardines and salmon — try our Smoked Mackerel Kedgeree recipe.
For all its ups and downs, we think there’s something about midlife — its experience, its wry understanding of the world, its new freedoms — that demands we rejoice our middle years, rather than lament lost youth.
Eating for health needn’t be complicated. With these familiar, fresh foods in fantastic combinations, it is easy and delicious to bring hormone harmony to your midlife meals.