Oven Roasted Roots and Shrimp
Warm, hearty, and savory. My Roasted Roots and Shrimp is an excellent Paleo dish for your luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, especially at the turn of the season where we are now experiencing the colder weather of Autumn.
Roasted roots are one of my favorite meals to eat during lunch, dinner or even breakfast during luteal phase of my menstrual cycle. Why? The luteal phase occurs right before menstruation and can often include symptoms of PMS: bloating, irritability, and cravings.
One way to reduce cravings and irritability is to eat more foods that are considered complex carbohydrates at this time of our cycle to support healthy blood sugar responses. The roasted roots in this recipe: sweet potato, radish, fennel and Brussel sprouts are great forms of complex carbohydrates.
Blood sugar levels are meant to rise and fall, but if insulin is rising and falling drastically throughout the day due to stress or overconsumption of sweets, this will lead to additional feelings of hunger and irritability during the luteal phase. If we eat many of the foods we crave that are simple carbohydrates: cakes, muffins, cookies, etc during our luteal phase, this can contribute to higher insulin spikes and can further affect imbalances in the mood and energy levels, causing more cravings.
In addition fennel root helps alleviate bloating that may come at this time of the month from fluctuating progesterone and estrogen levels.
This dish will warm you up from the inside out and the fiber will keep you feeling full and satiated.
You can make this dish with or without shrimp. Shrimp is high in choline, which is a precursor to building the brain chemical acetylcholine, which affects the mood and the nervous system. Shrimp has adequate amounts of choline as well as B vitamins to boost energy and alleviate the mood. 
Oven Roasted Roots and Shrimp
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients:
3 cups sweet potato, cubed
2 cups asparagus, chopped
2 cups fennel, chopped
1 ½ cup radish, chopped
2 cups Brussel sprouts, chopped
3 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt + pinch sea salt for shrimp
1 3/4 cups bay shrimp
½ Tablespoon grass-fed butter or ghee
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. If coconut oil is in the solid form in the jar, a trick is to scoop it into the baking dish and put it in the heating oven to melt while you chop the veggies.
- Prepare vegetables and add to baking dish.
- Stir vegetables with coconut oil with a wooden spoon to coat with oil. Add spices and stir.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Meanwhile, heat coconut oil or ghee over medium-low heat in a skillet. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
- Once veggie roast has finished cooking, stir shrimp into the dish of baked vegetables.
