No-Bake, Chocolate Flaxseed Bars for Healthy Hormones

*fair warning: lots of talk about hormones + periods. Feel free to scroll down to the recipe.

I’ve never really put too much thought into my period other than how much it sucks. Throughout my life, I’ve spent countless days laying in bed from excruciating pain, experienced extreme mood swings, weight loss and gain, acne – you name it. I wasn’t one of those who had ‘easy periods’ and I thought it was normal. I recently listened to an audiobook called In the FLO: Unlock Your Hormonal Advantage and Revolutionize Your Life by Alisa Vitti. And WOAH. Im floored with how little I actually knew about my monthly cycle.

In short, the takeaway I got from the book was that these horrible monthly symptoms that many of us face could be a sign of a *treatable* hormonal imbalance. Some signs of estrogen imbalance include: abnormal menstrual periods, PMS symptoms (bloating and breast swelling or tenderness), mood swings, often presenting as depression or anxiety, loss of sex drive, thyroid imbalances, poor concentration + sleep, hair loss and more.

Another key takeaway Alisa Vitti promotes throughout her book is that we can use our diet to help take control of our cycle. And one of the key foods she promotes for healthy hormones is Flaxseed.

Flaxseed is the richest dietary source of lignans, a type of phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens are nutrients derived from plants that are very similar to estrogen. These phytoestrogens can help balance your hormone levels when your estrogen is too low OR if your estrogen is too high. So if you’re trying to “normalize” your hormones, flaxseeds can be a great addition do your diet.

For the men who now think they should avoid flax – no, these bars won’t make you grow man boobs. Although, men do have estrogen and can also show imbalances.

I’ve been trying to find creative – yet realistic – ways to add flaxseeds to my diet. I stumbled across this recipe from Angie Greene’s Blog and decided that I could throw some flax in the recipe to create a snack to help me balance my hormones. And if it involves chocolate, well, that’s a supplement I’ll make sure *not* to forget to take it every day.

Chocolate Flaxseed Bar for Healthy Hormones

Ingredients

Base Layer

1 cup almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp Sea Salt
1 cup almond meal
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp honey

Middle Layer

1 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup flaxseed meal

Topping

1 cup dark chocolate
2 tbsp butter

Method

In a high speed blender, combine almonds, cinnamon, allspice and cardamom and blend thoroughly.
Gradually add in almond meal, melted butter, and coconut oil. Blend until mixed through.
Line a 9×13” pan with parchment paper and pour in blended mixture. Make sure the mixture covers the bottom of the pan evenly. Place pan into freezer for ~10 minutes.
In the meantime, use a double-boiler to melt the coconut oil. Once melted, gently mix in flaxseed meal and stir through.
Remove the tray from the freezer and pour coconut butter/flax mixture onto the frozen base evenly. Place back into the freezer.
While it’s freezing, melt your dark chocolate and butter.
Pour on top of coconut butter layer evenly and sprinkle with sea salt. Place back in the freezer for 3 minutes.
Remove from freezer and sprinkle with sea salt.
Place back in freezer until firm.
Once firm, remove from freezer. Using the free edges of the parchment paper, pull the large bar out of the pan and onto a large cutting board. Use a knife or metal spatula to break into chunks (might need to defrost for a few minutes before breaking apart). Store the bars in the fridge or freezer — just needs to be cooler than room temperature so it doesn’t melt!