PPFF Edamame & Spinach Soba Noodle Salad: What’s PPFF? Find Out!

Do you love a good salad that’s hormone-friendly? Of course you do! Well, you’re in the right place. Our recipes follow PPFF guidelines for women in pre-, peri- and post-menopause.

To clarify, this stands for Protein, Phytoestrogens, (Healthy) Fat and Fibre.

In addition, they’re anti-inflammatory and guided by the Mediterranean Diet.

Why do we follow PPFF?

As a result of PPFF, your body works beautifully to keep your blood sugar balanced, your hunger hormone satisfied, your body packed with nutrients and your weight under control.

Furthermore, phytoestrogens can weakly mimic your body’s natural estrogen supplementing depleted estrogen receptors. (But if you’re very overweight they’re best avoided until you bring it down simply because estrogen is stored in fat cells.)

There’s also compelling evidence that a plant-based diet or certainly a diet heavily skewed to plants can help to minimise menopausal symptoms.

Indeed, the European Menopause and Andropause Society released a position statement that summarised the evidence of the Mediterranean Diet and menopausal health.

By all means, download a copy of our FREE Phytoestrogen Food List here. 😊

The Goods: Edamame & Spinach Rice Noodle Salad

To that end, this delicious salad uses lots of midlife-body-loving greens and protein/healthy fat from beans, soba noodles, peanut butter and seeds.

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, a gluten-free grain which is a complete protein.

Note: this recipe is flexible. We’ve made it a vegetarian base but you can add other proteins such as eggs or fish dependent on your preferences.

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

For the noodles:

• 200g soba noodles (or you could use rice noodles)
• ½ cup (75g) edamame beans
• 140g baby spinach, torn
• ½ tsp chilli flakes, to serve
• 2 tsp sesame seeds, to serve

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp rice syrup
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or hemp seed oil

Method:

1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packaging.
2. Once ready, drain, and run under cold water.
3. In a small bowl, mix together all the dressing ingredients and set aside until needed.
4. Transfer the noodles to a bowl with the edamame beans and spinach.
5. Drizzle over the dressing and toss gently until coated.
6. Serve topped with chilli flakes and sesame seeds.

Nutritional Information:

• Gluten-Free (depending on noodles used)
• Dairy-Free
• Meal Prep/Freezable
• Quick

Approximate nutritional value per serve:

• Kcal 293
• Fats(g) 6
• Carbs (g) 50
• Protein (g) 6
• Fibre (g)