From abso-f**king-lutely heavenly brownies to comfort breakfast to YUMMY dinner ideas, here are 5 PMS comfort food recipes for your progesterone-filled cravings!
Having those pms cravings and looking for the bestest comfort food, all the while trying to not feel guilty for wanting sugary and fried food all the freakin’ time? I feel you, sister! I’ve become a total foodie since my progesterone shot up in the last two days. I had ice-cream (with brownie), made lots of (more) brownies and all I could think of before going to bed was what heavy breakfast I could have the next morning. My husband happily asked me if I could be pregnant, and I was like no, it’s just good ol’ PMS, dude!
Google “PMS food” and all you’ll find is healthy stuff your mom wants you to have. Oh, forget it! When I’m pms-ing I need carbs and sugar, not some healthy fruits and I don’t know – whole grains. Between constant hunger and trying not to yell at everyone in my line of sight?! Ugh!
I texted my friend while making brownies (you know, to make her jealous)! But she told me she was making cheesy pasta herself! Yum! I wanted pasta, too, now. If only restaurants had a PMS patter, I texted her, with a serving of dessert, a little pasta, a small pizza, maybe fruit tart, and even mini-burgers and fries! Wouldn’t that be heavenly?
But yes, then it struck me – I should write about the best PMS comfort food recipes I can think of . ‘Cause who wants to even get dressed to go out when you’re pms-ing! We want our PMS comfort food right at home.
PMS Comfort Food Recipes
So I’m bringing to you my list of the ideal, yummiest & best foods for PMS cravings. Plus, some easy PMS comfort food recipes! Eat now and thank me later!
P.S. Note: Every girl’s PMS is different. Some of these recipes, although yummy, may exacerbate your cramps, especially fried food. So avoid if you’re too crampy.
1. PMS Roasted Potato Breakfast
Yum! I just had these for brunch and my desk still has their fragrance, which is comforting in itself. These potatoes are the reason I’m happily typing away! Even cooking these was already comforting – with the fragrance of basil and garlic wafting around. And they’re not even unhealthy! Here’s the recipe of this delicious PMS comfort food:
Prep+Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 1
Level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-sized clove of garlic – minced
- 2 small potatoes – peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2-3 basil leaves or dried basil
- Extra-virgin olive oil – 2 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
Recipe:
- Heat an iron skillet or non-stick pan. Reduce the heat to medium, add 1tbsp extra-virgin olive oil.
- Add the potatoes and saute for about 2 minutes, don’t over-toss or turn them too frequently.
- Once edges are golden brown, you can cover the lid and cook them a bit more until they soften and are golden brown all over. Alternatively, I also parboil them before sauteing, in which case you don’t need to cover the lid. Once their edges are golden brown, add a pinch of salt and basil. Toss to coat. Cook for another minute.
- Once all their edges are nicely golden brown, add 1tbsp more of extra-virgin olive oil or a touch or butter. Add a pinch more of salt and garlic. Toss to coat. Adding garlic too early will make them burnt, so add it now.
- Cook for a few minutes until a few of the edges are light-browned, adding freshly ground pepper and more salt if necessary. Let them cook for a minute or so more as they soften.
- Turn off the heat. Add honey and mix as they caramelize.
- Once the potatoes seem fully caramelized and cooked, take them off the heat and transfer to a plate.
- Cover for about a minute to soften them before serving (to yourself)! You can even add a bit of truffle oil for extra flavor and fragrance.
2. Easy Chocolate Chip Brownies
Here are the brownies I’m talking about. Very rich, soft, moist and just heavenly. Desserts have to be in any list of foods for PMS mood. Perfect for your sugar cravings during these days. Be careful to not gorge on the whole batch in one go, though! I know it’s tough.
Prep+Cook time: 1-1/2 hour
Gives 8-10 brownies
Level: Medium
You’ll need:
- 3 eggs – room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate – roughly chopped up into chunks
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar (mix brown and white, half and half)
- 1-1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup walnuts, broken
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp unsalted butter for coating baking dish.
Recipe:
- Preheat your oven to 170 deg C.
- Melt the butter. Combine it with oil and sugar.
- Add the eggs and whisk until evenly combined.
- Add vanilla and salt and combine these to the mix everything evenly.
- Sift in the cocoa powder and fold gently.
- Sift in the flour along with walnuts and half the chocolate chunks, and fold everything together, do not over-mix.
- Rub a 6″x9″ baking dish with butter until it coats every bit of surface evenly. Then sprinkle 1/4 tsp all-purpose flour onto it. Toss and turn while hitting the bottom of the dish so the flour coats the butter evenly. This will avoid the brownies sticking to the dish and also help their edges bake evenly. Alternately, you can also sprinkle powdered sugar.
- Transfer the brownie batter into the baking dish and spread evenly so the top is smooth.
- Top with the remaining chocolate chunks. Press the bigger chunks ever so slightly into it.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a fork inserted into the brownies comes out nearly clean.
- Remove from the oven immediately to avoid making the edges too hard. Allow them to cool for a couple of minutes.
- Slice equally into 8-10 brownies or create large cake-sized slices as you please!
- My god, these brownies are the perf PMS comfort food. Bestest ever! They’ll change your mood.
Also read:
– Small Cakes: 5 Ultimate Recipes of Little Cakes You Have to Try
– Chocolate No Bake Cookies: Easy Recipes & 4 Delicious Variations
3. Epic Cheesy Nachos with Guac & Refried Beans
This party food is usually reserved for fabulous house parties and served with beer. But comforting food during PMS is as good as a party! So here we go…
Prep+Cook time: 45 minutes
Serves 1-2
Level: Easy
You’ll need:
- 1 avocado
- 1 medium-sized onion – finely chopped
- 1 onion – cut into large chunks
- 3 small garlic cloves – minced
- 1 tomato – finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes – cut into large chunks
- 1/2 cup cilantro (coriander leaves) – finely chopped
- Cheese sauce – 4 tbsp
- 1 pack cheesy nachos
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup boiled red kidney beans (not drained)
- Extra-virgin olive oil – 1 tbsp
- Salt & pepper to taste
Recipe:
1. Set the oven to preheat at 170 degrees.
2. Heat a non-stick pan, add 1/2 tbsp oil and three-quarters of the garlic. Saute on medium heat for a couple of seconds, then add kidney beans with 1 tbsp of the water they were boiled in.
3. Add salt and pepper powder to taste and cook for 3-5 minutes on high heat until the water evaporates. Let the beans shallow-fry for another minute on low heat. Set aside.
4. In a food processor or chopper, add the large chunks of tomato and onion along with half the cilantro. Chop to create a chunky paste.
5. Drain half of its juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well in a bowl with half the lemon juice to create salsa. Set aside.
6. On a baking dish, lay out the nachos. Spread the fried beans on it. Layer on the salsa on top.
7. Top with the cheese sauce, spread evenly (almost). Slide it into the oven gently!
8. Bake for 5-7 minutes until the cheese melts and the beans brown slightly, without burning.
9. While they bake, you can make guacamole. In another bowl, mash the avocado. Combine it with rest of the lemon juice, onions and tomatoes and rest of the garlic and cilantro. Mix the ingredients with a spoon and the guac is ready.
10. Take the nacho tray out of the oven once done. Layer on the guacamole and serve your PMS comfort food immediately!
4. Super Simple Cherry Tomato Burst Pasta with Lotsa Cheese
Craving some cheese and summer tomato-ey goodness without the effort of cooking for an hour? Here’s just the recipe for you! This is one of those PMS comfort food recipes that’s more healthy than not…
Prep time: 30 minutes; Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1
Level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes – halved or cut into discs
- 3/4 cup spaghetti pasta – cooked al dente and drained
- 2-4 basil leaves or 1 tsp dried basil
- 1-1/2 tsp shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
- Freshly ground sea salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe:
- Heat a non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and tomatoes. Cook on medium heat until they soften.
- Add the basil leaves, garlic and continue cooking until the tomatoes start to burst, tossing from time to time.
- Turn the heat to low and add the pasta, mozzerella, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Turn the heat off when the pasta is evenly coated.
- Transfer to plate and top with the parmesan before serving.
5. Comfort Honey Chilli Cauliflower
This Indo-Chinese street-food recipe is mouth-watering and fried food is soul food, we all know that! It’s also one of my fave PMS comfort food ideas:
Ingredients:
- 1 medium-sized cauliflower – cut into small-medium-sized florets.
- 1-2 cloves garlic – minced
- 1/2 green chilli – diced (optional)
- 1 medium sized onion – finely chopped
- 1/2 green pepper (capsicum) – diced
- 1 tbsp shallots – diced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 2 tsp chilli-garlic sauce
- 1-1/2 tbsp tomato chilli sauce
- 1-1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- Kitchen towel
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp honey
Recipe:
- Heat the oil in a kadhai on high heat.
- In a large bowl, mix flour with 2 tbsp water. Mix well to form a paste, neither too thick, nor too watery. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Add the cauliflower florets and toss to fully coat them in the flour paste.
- When the oil is hot enough for frying, gently add the florets one by one and let them fry until golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate with kitchen towel to soak the excess oil.
- Fry all the florets in 3-4 batches. Set aside.
- In another kadhai, heat 1 tbsp oil and add onion and shallots. Cook for 2-4 minutes until the onions start to turn golden.
- Add garlic and cook for another minute until the onions turn golden brown.
- Add pepper (capsicum) and cook for another 2 minutes until it starts to soften. Do not over-cook.
- Add the fried cauliflower. Add the sauces and toss to coat evenly. Add extra salt or pepper if needed, but the sauces already contain salt so that’s usually not necessary. Cook for a minute or so.
- Turn the heat off when the cauliflower is fully coated with the sauces and the sauces look cooked (not runny). Add the honey and toss again to coat evenly.
- Serve immediately.
Other Ideas
Here are some more PMS comfort food ideas you can home-order/cook:
- Margherita pizza from scratch. You can even check out our favorite recipe in our Italian recipes article.
- Mac n’ cheese
- Cheesy zucchini lasagna or casserole
- Thick fries with cheesy dip (love ’em!)
- Double cheese pasta with parmesan, ricotta and Roma tomatoes
- Caprese crostino with cherry tomato, basil and balsamic glaze. This is my very own heavenly gourmet snack. You can find a recipe here.
So girls, I hope these are my recipes for PMS cravings. Hope you find them helpful this cycle, and during many more cycles to come… If you have any more suggestions, lemme know below. If you try any of these recipes, I’d love to see how it went. So tag me on your Instagram pic @shilpaahujadotcom to show me your beautiful brownies or whatever it was that you made!
Muaah, and hope you have a happy, cramp-free period! 🙂
Shilpa Ahuja the editor-in-chief of ShilpaAhuja.com, which she founded with the goal of inspiring confidence in the modern working woman through fashion. Other than defining the direction of the magazine, she also writes about fashion & beauty trend forecasts, industry analysis, and opinions.
Shilpa’s work has been published in the University of Fashion blog and Jet Airways magazine. She is also an artist, illustrator and cartoonist. She is also the creator of Audrey O., a comic series that represents the lifestyle of millennial women. She enjoys creative writing and world travel. Her art has been exhibited at Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Aroma Hotel, Chandigarh and been published in Chandigarh Times.
Originally from Chandigarh, Shilpa also has a degree in architecture and has worked in interior project management. She is also the author of the book “Designing a Chinese Cultural Center in India”. Shilpa has a Masters in Design Studies degree from Harvard University.
For feedback and questions, please email [email protected].