It’s not all kale and ground flax seeds folks – it just isn’t.
This is life – it’s moving, it’s real, it can’t be perfect and I have several moving humans in my nuclear family that just don’t allow perfect. For life to be good and for food to work – it has to be live-able, sustainable, and have some wiggle room to keep me moving forward. Here is how that looks in my world, in my full and imperfect life.
When I am in my stride here are some of the meals that I rotate through to put together solid days:
Breakfasts:
- Two hard-boiled eggs over two handfuls of greens, chopped and mixed with avocados, olive oil, and lemon juice. Sometimes, if on hand, I’ll throw pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, ground flax seed and nuts over the top.
- Autumn Gold Grain-Free granola with almond or cashew milk mixed with coconut flakes and berries.
- Two quick-scrambled eggs mixed with chopped up veggies from dinner the night before and avocados or black olives sliced on the side.
- Apple slices with almond butter
- Egg casserole, slice it into servings, freeze some, refrigerate some and warm one up for breakfast.
- Chia Seed pudding – there are several thousand online recipes for this. I like vanilla with almond milk, different kinds of nuts, coconut flakes and berries. Here’s a good recipe that is YUM!
- Smoothies with clean protein powder and maybe Organic Applegate Sausage Links on the side. Here’s a version of a smoothie recipe for you – I take the “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” method to heart.
- 1 banana
- A pour from a bag of mixed organic frozen berries
- A few tablespoons ground flaxseed
- A few tablespoons chia seeds
- A couple handfuls of greens
- 1 scoop of collagen
- 1 scoop of Ancient Nutrition Veggie Bone Broth Protein Powder
- Water – enough to make things move around the blender
Lunches:
- Leftovers from dinner
- Apple Slices with Almond Butter
- Simple Mills Almond Flour Sea Salt Crackers with chopped up deli meat, chicken salad, a few slices of organic cheese, celery stalks, cucumber spears, sliced apples or pears or peaches.
- Two handfuls of organic greens with leftover protein from dinner and olive oil or lemon juice. In addition I add salt, pepper, and any sprigs of basil, cilantro, parsley, etc that I have hunkering in my produce drawer. I love finding radishes, carrots, celery, olives, pickles, artichoke hearts, avocados and throwing these on top. Primal Kitchen has a great line of dressings that use the right oils, no-to-low sugar, and taste great!
- Slices of prosciutto wrapped around cucumber spears or cantaloupe; roast beef slices around cucumber spears, turkey slices wrapped around carrots, avocados, and jicama with trail mix and fruit on the side.
- One of these Stews – thank goodness we are entering into the stew season! I make big batches of these, freeze them and then have an easy “convenience food” to thaw out, heat up, pour into a thermos and go. Here is another favorite resource for stews and soups.
Dinners:
- Taco Tuesday – crockpot shredded chicken, browned ground beef or turkey with tons of chopped veggies. Lay out the table with greens, avocados, jicama, olives, organic shredded cheese, organic whole fat sour cream, chopped cilantro, chopped limes, corn tortillas, lettuce wraps, or salsa – it’s different every time based on what’s actually IN the fridge and pantry.
- Burgers with green salad and roasted brussels sprouts with bacon.
- Sheetpan Fajitas – chicken thighs taste better than chicken breasts cooked this way.
- Frittata – this is an amazing way to clear out the veggie drawer in the fridge and root drawer in your cabinet.
- Maya Kaimel Coconut Curry sauce over cauliflower rice or white rice with extra potatoes (red, sweet, or purple) and extra veggies simmered and stirred in. I stretch this stuff like crazy. You can get a great deal from Costco.
- Aidell’s Chicken sausages with steamed Artichokes (dipped in grass-fed butter), butter roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts on the side.
- Sausage, Kale, and Sweet Potato Stew with a gluten free baguette (and lots of grass-fed butter).
Snacks
- Keeping good quality food bars on hand is key: Epic brand, Rx Brand, Primal Kitchen Brand, and Larabars
- Jerky – there are three great brands I like – Duke’s, Krave, and Perky Jerky – all of these, as of late, have been available even at Walgreens – perfect for when picking up that Strep Antibiotic because the school year has started.
- Wholly Guacamole is a brand that has individual packs of guacamole to grab and go. You can dip jerky, veggies, Terra brand chips, or Siete brand chips with this awesomeness. Who am I kidding?! Just about anything and everything tastes better when dipped in guacamole.
- Olives – all kinds – plain black, green, Kalamata, stuffed with peppers – Delicious and filling!
- Build a beautiful personalized trail mix – walnuts, almonds, coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, high quality dark chocolate pieces, pecans. Store this in the fridge and then grab some on your way out.
- Gluten-Free/Grain-Free crackers and prosciutto, organic cheese, avocados – YUM!
- Hummus, of all kinds, with an army of carrots, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, olives, jicama, radishes just hanging around waiting to be dipped.
Good food is a decision we make for our overall well-being. It does not need to be terribly complicated. It would not work for me if it was! It comes down to real, whole food, that our great-grandparents would recognize and food that sits well in our bodies.
Some of the above foods are not right for everyone. My family and I have had to do a LOT of trial and error to find what works for us.
The work we do at Cornerstone is to develop Nutrition & Lifestyle plans for individuals to find what sits best for each person. As the diet settles into a lifestyle and the lifestyle settles into improved overall well-being, you will find your long-term health settle. This nutrient rich foundation gives people the body terrain that sets them up with a full and vibrant life. Probably not a perfect full and vibrant life, but definitely a delicious one!
Happy & Healthy Eating Friends!
mj ~ Moyra Jean Stiles, CNT
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