Hi there!
I've shared before that every time I have an extra serving of food I stash it away in my freezer in a single serving portion to pull out on a rainy day. (Aka, a day that my plans change, or that I'm not in the mood for the food that I prepped for the week.) Every once in a while my freezer gets so overstocked that I try to plan a week around using up most of what I have in there! It's kind of like a game. I usually end up with some mismatched meals, but it makes for a cheap week of groceries! Well, this past week I was getting something out of the freezer and one of my perfectly prepared and portioned meals came crashing down and shattered all over the floor (after the longest workday, nonetheless), which was a sign that it was definitely time for a freezer sweep!
In other news, this past week I got to host the Autoimmune Paleo Instagram account, which was SO FUN! I really enjoyed getting to share so many of my strategies, tips, tricks, and recipes with the autoimmune community, and loved getting to learn from so many others! If you want to check out my posts, you can use the hashtag #traceyaip. It definitely made for a busy week though, so the freezer sweep came at a good time...less cooking over the weekend!
Here's what I'm having this week:
Breakfast: Fruit and Veggie Smoothie // I love adding steamed and frozen veggies into my smoothies, and this week I picked up some organic yellow squash to blend in! I also grabbed some frozen organic spinach to incorporate because (a) it's cheaper and (b) it's already frozen and chopped! I have lots of different fruits on hand currently (pineapple, cherries, berries, mango, pomegranate) so each day I'll have about 1 cup of fruit with the veggies and some protein powder. I'm currently rotating between several: Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides, Ancient Nutrition Bone Broth Protein, and Equip ("wholedailylife" for 15% off!).
Lunch: No Cook Spread with Pâté, Dairy Free Cheese, and Zupa // I have some dairy free cheese and pâté left over from last week's meal prep, so I'm using that up this week. I'm adding my usual cucumber, radish, and apple, and bulking up the veggie content with a Zupa! You already know my love for these super convenient, Whole30 approved, nutrient dense, drinkable soups :) Use the code "wholedailylife" for 20% off your order and free shipping! My current favorite is the beet. It's so summery and fresh!
Dinner: Turkey Patties and Veggies // This is where the true freezer sweep comes into the picture. I had a bag of frozen cauliflower rice that I cooked up in some ghee until golden, a combination of frozen chopped kale and fresh kale that was on sale at the store (again, sautéed with ghee until tender), some frozen sage roasted butternut squash that I had plenty of leftover from a previous week, and some turkey patties by Man Cave Craft Eats. More on that below!
Snack: Rx Bar
A little more about the Man Cave brand:
Man Cave sent me some of their goods a few weeks ago to try out, and I finally got around to incorporating them! They have several really unique and creative products, such as Italian sausage with prosciutto, resiling, kale, and smoked gouda chicken sausages, and an all in one breakfast sausage that includes eggs, bacon, cheese, and hash browns. Several of their products do contain gluten and/or dairy though, so be sure to read the labels if you're sensitive to those things!
The two products that I tried this week are the Italian sausage with prosciutto, which I worked into a lasagna casserole for my husband, and some southwestern turkey patties (which actually aren't listed on their site, I think they are a product that they phased out). I will say, the flavor is great! The company also has a really neat mission with their Bite Back program, which helps to give food to children in need. You can read more about that here.
In talking with them about where they source their meat, they assured me that the meat comes from smaller family farms, but couldn't tell me whether it was grass fed/pasture raised. As well, they do use some ingredients that I prefer to avoid, such as soybean oil, nitrates, added sugars, etc. Personally, I probably wouldn't purchase these products, because it is a high priority to me to source top quality meat products, and they couldn't confirm with confidence that their products meet that criteria. However, I have many friends and family who don't have the same health concerns and would love the novelty aspect of some of these products! Their purchase would help to support Man Cave's mission to end childhood hunger, which I absolutely think is a valuable endeavor.
I never like to share a less than glowingly positive review, but it's extremely important to me that you guys know that I'm being honest with you! I don't recommend products that I don't absolutely love and trust to use for myself. That's just how I roll!
That's enough for this longer than average blog post, so let's wrap it up. Have a great week, and I'll see you back here next week for another meal plan!
-Tracey