Health

The Ultimate Grocery Shopping List Broken Down By Each Phase Of Your Cycle

In 2024, we're optimizing our health and that starts with a personalized shopping list.

By Anna Hugoboom2 min read
Pexels/Алёна Жигарева

Regardless of where you are in your cycle, there are some food items you will always want to keep in your kitchen. Stock up on salmon, eggs, steak, bone broth, collagen powder, sweet potatoes, lemons, herbal tea (ginger, raspberry, mint), berries, spinach, avocado, garlic, bee pollen, and extra virgin olive oil. These are staples that are versatile throughout the different phases and will boost your metabolic rate, as well as reduce inflammation in the body and provide healthy protein, fats, and complex carbohydrates.

Now, not everyone has the same blood type, and many have digestive sensitivities or full-blown food allergies, so if you can’t eat a certain item on this list, simply swap it for the next best thing!

Menstrual

During your period at the beginning of your new cycle, calming foods are the order of the day. Think nourishing soups, light protein, warm bone broth, and refreshing berries. And, of course, don’t forget the dark chocolate! 

For your period list, add:

  • liver, beef bone broth, chicken, eggs, crab or shrimp

  • beets, spinach, cucumbers

  • yogurt, avocado

  • overnight oats, sweet potatoes

  • watermelon, banana, grapes, raspberries, lemons. 

One of my favorite meal preps is making little egg quiche muffins. They’re easy, delicious, and keep for several days in the fridge! Just mix pre-cooked sweet potato chunks, spinach, and eggs (scramble the cracked eggs first, then pour over veggies in muffin holders), and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Follicular

In your follicular phase, you might feel like a butterfly awakening from its captivity in the cocoon, budding into calm but renewed energy. Your body is ready to focus on projects and build lean muscle. Your system might not be especially hungry or sparking cravings, but you still need a balanced plate with sufficient protein.

Your grocery list for this phase is:

  • salmon, eggs, steak

  • green peas, sauerkraut (probiotics help the stomach after menstrual swelling), cabbage, cauliflower (cruciferous veggies help metabolize estrogen)

  • almonds, chia, flax seeds, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, lentils

  • kiwi, citrus fruits, apples, pears

Ovulation

Bursting into the light of ovulation and attractive energy, you are feeling bubbly and ready to mingle! During the ovulatory phase, choose foods that support healthy ovulation, balance estrogen, and reduce inflammation. Foods that are high in folate, vitamin B, fiber, beta carotene, and vitamin A will be your best buds.

This phase’s list includes:

  • salmon, eggs, tuna, lobster, shrimp, beef

  • leafy greens, spinach

  • dark chocolate, walnuts, yogurt, avocado

  • sweet potatoes, quinoa

  • berries, blueberries, blackberries, herbal tea (raspberry), grapefruits, lemons

Luteal

In this time of fluctuating hormones, static energy, increased metabolism and appetite, you need to fuel your system with enough protein and nutrients. That way, it doesn’t backfire and end in a meltdown or a fight. Being hangry is unpleasant for everyone.

Here is your list:

  • eggs, beef, turkey, cod, halibut

  • mustard greens, carrots, squashes

  • walnuts, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, coconut milk

  • chickpeas, lentils, golden potatoes, sweet potatoes, wild rice, brown rice

  • pineapple, dates, tart cherries

28 Wellness

Based on the average 28 days of the feminine menstrual cycle, the health and wellness app 28 is a cycle-based program that includes fitness personalized to your current cycle. Talk about unique! This platform is equipped with workouts that are designed for the feminine physique and physiology, as well as cycle-based nutrition with recipes and grocery food lists, a cycle-tracking calendar, and even a partner-sharing feature so your man is no longer in the dark about your energy, mood shifts, and fertile window!

28 has also launched a new feature: a Mother Nature-inspired AI tool for immediate advice and holistic health guidance called Gaia. Last but definitely not least, 28 offers a Cyclescope of emotional insights into the workings of your current hormonal energy and how your changing hormones affect your brain, focus, mood, and libido.

This is the first site that offers women a holistically balanced approach to wellness and a healthy lifestyle, according to our physiological nature as females. Our feminine bodies are unique and precious and should be cared for as such!

Closing Thoughts

Today is the age of wellness enlightenment, where we know more than our mothers and grandmothers ever knew about their bodies and how to properly fuel them to feel their best! Don’t waste this gift of knowledge. Throw on your cutest athleisure, grab a pen, and get to shopping!

Support our cause and help women reclaim their femininity by subscribing today.