It's finally cooling down here in Southern California, and the change in the weather has shifted my food preferences away from no-cook, fresh, and raw and more toward cooked, warm, and comforting. Have you been feeling it too? I've also been doing some reading on Ayurvedic body types, and according to that philosophy, I am predominantly vata, which is balanced by warm, cooked, sweet, and fatty foods. I'm not complaining, those are some of my favorites!! Last week's meal plan was actually more along the lines of what is recommended for a vata type, because I did incorporate a no-cook meal this week for the sake of cutting down on cooking time. I had several culinary projects this weekend and didn't want to spend every minute in the kitchen!
This week's meal plan is all Whole30 compliant, which is generally my default during the week. I do like to get more creative on the weekends, but I know that I feel best if I stick to the basics (aka real, whole, nourishing foods) most of the time. I DO have a piece of Eating Evolved chocolate DAILY though!! Usually the crunchy caramel bar is my bar of choice...it has huge chunks of caramelized maple syrup on top. It's made with the cleanest ingredients and tastes A M A Z I N G. Use the code "traceygmt" for a surprise gift with ANY order!!
Here's the plan for this week:
Breakfast: Spaghetti Squash Porridge // This is similar to the Pumpkin Porridge that I made a couple of weeks ago and LOVED. I started by cutting two small spaghetti squashes in half and steamed them in my Instant Pot for 8 minutes. (Alternatively, you could roast in the oven until tender if you don't have an Instant Pot, but I HIGHLY recommend getting one!!). De-seed, then add all of the squash (4-6 cups) into a large pot on the stovetop. Add a can of full fat coconut milk, about 5 pitted and chopped dates, 1-2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine, then pulse a using an immersion blender to break up the strands of squash and give it some texture. At this point I added in about 1/2 cup each Almond Pro high protein almond flour and Guiltless Superfoods Superseed Flour (use code "wholedailylife" with your order!). You could easily leave it like this, but I like to add some protein by whisking up 10 eggs in another bowl, ladling in some of the hot porridge, mixing, adding more porridge (this is to prevent the eggs from cooking immediately when you add them into the pot), then dumping the whole lot into the pot and whisking until the mixture thickens. I portioned this into 5 containers, which I will reheat in the mornings using my Hot Logic Mini; I just plug it in before I head to the gym and it's ready to eat when I get home and cleaned up! I plan to top this off with a hearty spoonful of MEENUT almond butter and a dollop of COYO before serving!
Lunch: Curry Chicken Meatballs + Cauli Rice + Zucchini // I have had my eye on this recipe for a long time, so that is what I used for the meatballs. I made my own version of the sauce using what I had on hand: 1 can of full fat coconut milk, heaping spoonful of almond butter, about 2 tbsp coconut aminos, 1 tbsp of a curry spice blend (with coriander, cinnamon, fennel, turmeric, pepper, and ginger) and 2 drops of doTERRA lime essential oil. I simmered this on the stovetop until it thickened, then poured it over the meatballs and the roasted zucchini and cauli rice that I served them with.
Dinner: Zupa + Sardines + Sweet Potato Bake // This truly is a throw together meal, but I'm trying to prioritize using what I have on hand rather than buying additional groceries if I can get by with it. As you already know, I almost ALWAYS have bottles of Zupa on hand, and I recently picked up several tins of sardines on super sale, so I used those as the foundation of my meal. I didn't figure that would be quite enough, so I also whipped up a modified version of this dish that I have had saved for a long time. I left out the apple and added more sweet potato instead, omitted the raisins, and replaced the pecans with walnuts. It turned out well and I think it will be the perfect warm and slightly sweet finish to the meal!
Snacks: Nourishing Nutz + Ayoba-Yo // If you follow me on Instagram, you saw me mention these soaked and sprouted nuts by Nourishing Nutz last week in my stories. It's a newer company that I discovered at Expo East and their products ROCK. They are working with Paleo Powder, another company that I am a huge fan of, to use their top quality sugar-free spice blends in their Texas Chili blend! Soaking and sprouting nuts helps to reduce the phytic acid content (which can hinder mineral absorption) as well as aid in digestion. I try to prioritize soaked and sprouted nuts whenever possible for this reason! I'll also have some Droewors beef sticks by Ayoba-Yo, which are one of my favorite jerky products on the market! They have a hint of vinegar, which might sound weird, but seriously takes the flavor over the top!!
In addition to my meals this week, I also prepared s stir fry and salsa verde pork with rice and salad for my husband. This prep was a longer one because I was trying out a couple of new recipes and was a little distracted by watching a movie at the same time, but I still finished all of the food for the week in about 4 hours, including all prep, cooking, and cleanup!
Have a great week and I'll see you back here next Monday!
-Tracey