The Menopause Pantry: Moon Cycle Eating.
We’ve forgotten that food has seasons.
Strawberries arrive in December. Asparagus appears on supermarket shelves all year round. We can eat tomatoes in January and apples in May without giving much thought to where they’ve come from, how far they’ve travelled or whether our bodies might actually be craving something completely different.
And somewhere along the way, I think we’ve forgotten that we have seasons too.
We’re expected to wake at the same time, eat the same breakfast, have the same amount of energy, exercise with the same intensity and be just as productive every single day.
But nothing else in nature works like that.
The tides rise and fall.
Plants grow, flower, fruit and retreat.
The seasons move from abundance to rest and back again.
Even within a single day, light and darkness quietly tell the natural world when it’s time to wake, feed, move and sleep.
And for thousands of years, the moon has been there too, marking time as it moves from darkness to fullness and back again.
Not controlling us.
Not dictating what we should eat.
Simply reminding us that everything in nature has a rhythm.
So why do we expect our bodies to be any different?
This is something I’ve become increasingly fascinated by, particularly through menopause.
Because while menopause eventually brings our menstrual cycle to an end, it doesn’t turn us into static beings.
Our appetite changes. Our energy changes. Our sleep, digestion, mood and response to stress can feel different from one day to the next.
We still live within a circadian rhythm, respond to the seasons and move through periods when we naturally want to do more and others when our body is asking us to slow down.
Perhaps instead of constantly trying to override those signals, we could start listening to them.
That’s what Moon Cycle Eating means to me.
It’s not a moon diet.
There are no rules about eating particular foods on particular days and you certainly don’t need to believe that the moon is somehow controlling your hormones.
I simply use its four phases as a beautiful, visible framework for checking back in with my body.
What do I need right now?
Do I need to replenish? Build and nourish? Support my body’s natural clearing processes? Or slow down, rest and prepare to begin again?
It’s an idea that has been quietly weaving its way through my work for years.
Through my Moon Feast blog series, my cyclical approach to nutrition and, more recently, the Menopause Moon Kitchen recipes.
And I’ve realised that it belongs right here, at the heart of The Menopause Pantry.
Because the pantry gives us the ingredients.
The seasons give us variety.
And the moon?
The moon gives us a rhythm.
What Does Moon Cycle Eating Mean?
Moon Cycle Eating isn’t about believing the moon is controlling your hormones, and it certainly isn’t another diet with a new set of rules to follow.
For me, it’s much simpler than that.
The moon gives us a rhythm for nourishment.
Instead of eating in exactly the same way every day, I use the four phases of the moon as regular opportunities to check in with my body and think about what might support it.
The New Moon becomes a time to restore and replenish.
As the moon begins to wax, we focus on building and nourishing, particularly our gut and microbiome.
Around the Full Moon, the focus shifts towards supporting the liver and the body’s natural detoxification processes.
And as the moon wanes again, we move towards slowing down, satisfying our appetite and supporting the nutrients and habits associated with the luteal phase, including satisfaction, adequate carbohydrates and rest.
This isn’t about suddenly changing everything on the day the moon moves into a new phase.
Think of each phase as a gentle nutritional theme rather than a prescription.
Your plate will still contain the foundations I talk about all the time, good-quality protein, nourishing fats, plenty of fibre, colourful plants and satisfying carbohydrates. We’re simply changing the emphasis.
And there’s another important part of this.
You still listen to your body.
If you’re hungrier, you eat more.
If you’re tired, perhaps you choose something warming and nourishing rather than forcing yourself to make the salad you’d planned.
If you’re craving something, instead of immediately deciding you need more willpower, you can get curious about what your body might actually be asking for.
The moon isn’t telling us what to eat.
It’s reminding us to pay attention.
Menopause Doesn’t End Our Rhythms
How did you (or do you) feel about your menstrual cycle?
Did you honour it and notice the different phases of your month? Or was your period mostly an inconvenience, something to manage, medicate or wish away?
I was definitely in the latter camp for a long time. I spent years medicating my cycle away rather than thinking about what it might be telling me.
And I don’t think I was unusual.
Periods were something we quietly dealt with. Painkillers in the handbag. Hormonal contraception to regulate, delay or stop them. Carry on working, exercising, parenting and doing everything else regardless of where we were in our cycle.
But whether we consciously connected with it or not, there was a rhythm happening in our bodies every month.
Perhaps you knew your period was coming because your appetite changed. You felt more tired or emotional. Your breasts became tender. You wanted to retreat from the world for a couple of days. Then your energy returned and you felt like yourself again.
Month after month, year after year, those subtle shifts became familiar.
And then along comes perimenopause.
Suddenly, something that may have quietly marked time in your body for decades becomes unpredictable. Cycles shorten, lengthen, become heavier, lighter or disappear for months before unexpectedly returning.
Alongside all the other changes happening during this transition, I wonder if this is one reason menopause can leave us feeling a little detached from our bodies.
We’ve lost a rhythm we may not even have realised we were relying upon.
Eventually our periods stop altogether, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped being rhythmic.
We still respond to daylight and darkness. Our energy, appetite, sleep and stress fluctuate. Our bodies continue to move through daily and seasonal rhythms, and our hormones continue to respond to what’s happening both inside and around us.
So eating with the moon isn’t about pretending we’re still menstruating or trying to recreate a menstrual cycle after menopause.
It’s about finding a new marker.
A familiar rhythm in the natural world that comes around every month and gently reminds us to check in again.
How am I feeling? What am I noticing? What does my body need?
Perhaps menopause isn’t the end of cyclical living after all.
Perhaps it’s an opportunity to consciously reconnect with a rhythm we spent much of our lives being taught to ignore.
The Four Menopause Moon Kitchen Phases
So how do we actually bring this into the kitchen?
I’ve divided the lunar month into four Menopause Moon Kitchen phases, each with a different nutritional focus.
They loosely echo the rhythm many of us once experienced through our menstrual cycle – from rest and renewal, through building energy and abundance, before turning inward again.
You don’t need to change your entire diet every seven days. The foundations remain the same: real food, good-quality protein, nutritional fats, fibre, satisfying carbohydrates and plenty of colourful plants.
We’re simply shifting the emphasis.
🌑 New Moon – Restore & Replenish
The darkness of the New Moon marks the beginning of a new cycle and, for me, this is the point to come back to our foundations.
Think warming, mineral-rich, deeply nourishing foods: good-quality protein, leafy greens, lentils, beans, eggs, meat, fish, nuts and seeds.
My particular focus here is iron, folate and magnesium – nutrients that support energy, blood health, the nervous system and so many of the processes our bodies rely upon every day.
This phase loosely mirrors menstruation: a time traditionally associated with lower energy, rest and replenishment.
Moon Kitchen intention: What can I add back in?
🌓 First Quarter – Feed Your Microbiome
As the moon waxes and light begins to return, our focus shifts towards building.
In the Menopause Moon Kitchen, that means turning our attention to the trillions of microbes living in our gut.
We’re adding fibre-rich vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, fruit, nuts and seeds alongside fermented foods such as live yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi.
This becomes particularly important through menopause because our gut microbiome plays a role in digestion, immunity, metabolic health and the way hormones are processed and eliminated.
Rather than worrying about eating perfectly, think diversity.
How many different plants, colours, flavours and textures can you bring into your kitchen this week?
Moon Kitchen intention: What can I grow and nourish?
🌕 Full Moon – Support & Clear
The Full Moon is the point of greatest light and traditionally a time of abundance.
This is when my Menopause Moon Kitchen focus turns towards the liver and our natural detoxification pathways.
Not detox teas, juice cleanses or restriction.
Our bodies are detoxifying all day, every day. The goal is simply to make sure they have the nutrients they need to do that job well.
Think cruciferous vegetables, bitter leaves, herbs, garlic, onions, colourful vegetables, good-quality protein, fibre and plenty of fluids.
Fibre is particularly useful here because what the liver processes ultimately needs a route out of the body, which is why liver and gut health are so closely connected.
Moon Kitchen intention: What can I support my body to let go of?
🌗 Last Quarter – Satisfy & Slow Down
As the moon begins to disappear again, we turn towards the quieter part of the cycle.
This phase loosely mirrors the luteal phase, the part of our menstrual cycle when progesterone would traditionally rise and many women noticed changes in appetite, cravings, mood and energy.
So this isn’t the week for trying to be extra good.
It’s the week for satisfaction.
Protein, magnesium-rich foods, vitamin B6 and most importantly enough carbohydrate. Root vegetables, oats, rice, potatoes, whole grains, fruit and comforting meals all have a place here.
It’s also a lovely time to cook from the pantry, use what you already have, make a pot of soup or broth, batch cook something nourishing and begin slowing things down before the cycle starts again.
Moon Kitchen intention: What would leave me feeling genuinely nourished and satisfied?
And then we begin again.
Restore. Build. Support. Slow down.
Not four sets of rules.
Not four different diets.
Just four gentle prompts throughout the month that bring us back to the same place:
What does my body need now and how can I nourish it?
The Menopause Pantry Meets the Menopause Moon Kitchen
This is really where the two parts of my philosophy come together.
The Menopause Pantry gives us the ingredients.
The Menopause Moon Kitchen gives us the rhythm.
When your kitchen is stocked with simple, nourishing foods, proteins, nutritional fats, fibre-rich carbohydrates, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, tinned fish, frozen vegetables and all those everyday staples, eating with the moon doesn’t require a completely different shopping list every week.
Download The Menopause Pantry Checklist HERE.
Instead, you begin looking at what you already have through a slightly different lens.
A tin of lentils might become part of a mineral-rich New Moon meal. The jar of sauerkraut in the fridge gets added to lunches during the First Quarter. That forgotten broccoli becomes perfect for your Full Moon liver-supporting focus, while the oats, root vegetables and rice in your cupboard make wonderfully satisfying meals as the moon begins to wane.
This is one of the things I love most about eating this way.
It moves us away from meal plans telling us exactly what to eat and towards having the confidence to feed ourselves.
Because real life doesn’t always follow the plan.
Sometimes the courgettes in the garden all arrive at once. Sometimes there’s half a cabbage that needs using before you buy anything else. Sometimes you’re tired and dinner needs to come from the freezer. And sometimes you simply really fancy beans on toast.
That’s okay.
The Menopause Pantry isn’t about creating the perfect kitchen, and the Menopause Moon Kitchen isn’t about eating perfectly according to the lunar calendar.
Together, they’re simply tools to help us become a little more intentional.
- To shop from our own kitchens first.
- To notice what’s in season.
- To waste less.
- To eat a wider variety of real foods.
And, most importantly, to keep coming back to the question:
What could I make with what I have that would nourish me today?
That’s the kind of relationship with food I want us to rediscover.
Less following. More noticing.
Less restriction. More nourishment.
Less trying to control our bodies and more learning how to care for them.
My Journey Back to Rhythm
I’ve always felt deeply connected to the natural world from making rose petal perfume and snail hospitals with my best friend as a kid to being mindful of harmful ingredients in toiletries and food and being kind to the planet as I got older.
I’ve always loved food, ingredients and cooking. Feeding people is absolutely my love language!
I’ve also spent years dabbling with essential oils and herbs and growing things that I can actually do something with (vegetables over flowers).
But as my children grew older and then began building Nutrition Naturally Forever, I finally had more time and space for my own interests to grow too.
The moon actually came into my life through business, of all places.
A business coach introduced me to using the moon cycle as a rhythm for working: a time to plan and create, a time to grow and take action, and then a time to review, let go and rest.
I was going through perimenopause at the time, when reducing stress and making space for myself was becoming increasingly important, and that rhythm felt like a lifeline.
Instead of expecting myself to constantly do more, I had permission to ebb and flow.
And then I started wondering…
If this rhythm could support the way I worked, where else could I use it?
I began bringing the moon phases into other areas of my life, particularly health and nutrition. That eventually led me into Body Astrology and, well, I had a complete geek-out. I can get as woo as you like about all of this! 😂
But underneath all of it is something very grounded.
As I’ve moved through the different stages of menopause, reconnecting more deeply with the natural world has genuinely sustained me.
I never stop being fascinated by how amazing our bodies are and how much they continue to do for us long after they’re no longer needed for reproduction.
For me, eating with the moon is simply another expression of that.
A reason to notice. A rhythm to return to. And a reminder that we are part of nature, not separate from it.
You Don’t Need to Follow the Moon Perfectly
If you’ve reached this point thinking, this sounds lovely, but I really don’t need another thing to keep up with, please don’t turn eating with the moon into another set of rules.
You don’t need to know exactly what phase the moon is in every morning.
You don’t need to eat particular foods on particular days.
And you definitely haven’t failed because you ate something that wasn’t on the “right” list.
That’s the opposite of what this is about.
The moon is simply a rhythm to return to.
Four times throughout the month, it gives us a little nudge to pause, notice and perhaps shift the emphasis of what we’re eating.
Some months you’ll feel really connected to it. Other months life will be busy and you’ll barely notice the moon at all.
That’s okay.
There will still be beans on toast nights. There will be meals out, takeaways, holidays and weeks when you’re eating whatever needs using from the fridge.
Nourishment has to work in real life.
The aim isn’t to become better at following another plan.
It’s to become better at listening to yourself.
And if the moon helps you pause occasionally and ask What do I need right now? – then it’s doing its job.
🌙 This Week’s Menopause Moon Kitchen Recipe
Moon Phase: 🌕 Full Moon | Detox
Moon Kitchen Focus: Support your body’s natural hormone metabolism through the liver and gut with fibre, antioxidants and healthy fats.
This Week’s Recipe: Sheet Pan Dill & Caper Salmon with Vegetables
The Full Moon is a wonderful reminder to support the body’s natural cleansing processes rather than trying to force a detox. Your liver and gut work continuously to metabolise hormones and remove waste, and nourishing them with real food is one of the kindest ways to support this process.
This vibrant sheet pan meal combines omega-3-rich salmon with colourful vegetables, fresh dill and lemon for a meal rich in protein, fibre and antioxidants. It’s a simple seasonal dinner that helps nourish your body while celebrating the abundance of late summer.
Let Me Keep Track of the Moon for You
If you’re thinking, Sue, I love this idea, but I’m never going to remember which phase the moon is in – you don’t have to.
Join my email list and I’ll do that bit for you.
Every Monday, I’ll pop into your inbox with what you need to know about the week ahead.
- Where we are in the moon cycle
- What that means in the Menopause Moon Kitchen
- Whether we’re focusing on Rest, Body, Mind or Soul
- One simple way to put it into practice.
No complicated moon charts.
No rules to remember.
No need to become an astrologer. 😂
Just a little Happy Moon Day! In your inbox every Monday, reminding you to pause, reconnect and nourish yourself for the week ahead.
Because eating with the moon doesn’t need to be complicated.
I’ll keep an eye on the moon. You just keep listening to your body.
