Spaghetti Squash Porridge (Whole30, GAPS)

I have been loving this simple, grain-free porridge recipe so much that I decided to give it a spot here on my blog! The texture is spot on and reminds me exactly of the cream of wheat that I grew up eating.

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

1 can full fat coconut milk 

5 dates, pitted and roughly chopped

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup almond flour (I used Almond Pro high protein almond flour)

1/2 cup Guiltless Superfoods Superseed Flour (use code "wholedailylife" with your order!) or 1/4 cup each ground flax and chia seeds

10 eggs

Instructions:

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half (or in quarters if needed). Put the steamer insert in the bowl of an Instant Pot, then add the squash and 1 cup of water. Steam for 8 minutes, then use the quick release function. (Alternatively, you could roast in the oven until tender if you don't have an Instant Pot, but I HIGHLY recommend getting one!!).

2. When the squash is cool enough to handle, remove the seeds, then add all of the squash (4-6 cups) into a large pot on the stovetop.

3. Add the coconut milk, dates, and spices, then stir to combine. Add the almond flour and seed flour, then stir again. Use an immersion blender to puree to your texture preference.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 10 eggs. Add in about 1/2 cup of the hot porridge, whisk until combined, then repeat. (This is to prevent the eggs from cooking immediately when you add them into the pot.)

5. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the porridge and continue whisking until the mixture thickens.

6. Portion into 5 containers for storage. I reheat them 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! 

Top each serving off with COYO, nut butter, seeds, coconut, granola, and anything else you want! 

Meal Plan 11/13/17: Embracing The Season (Whole30 Compliant)

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

Meal Plan 11/6/17: Easy Peasy Whole30

Hi friends! As I'm sure you saw on Insta, I was in Palm Springs this weekend! I was working at a conference for my full time job (most of my other travel this year has been for my private practice), and I felt so spoiled by the good weather and beautiful views there. It was the full moon on Friday, and when I woke up on Saturday the sight of the moon over the mountains in the early morning hours was just breathtaking!

See what I mean? I literally stopped in my tracks just to stare and take it in. The photo doesn't even begin to do it justice!

We stopped at an overlook and took a quick hike to stretch our legs. The views were incredible!

I got back to town on Sunday evening, so I did some quick grocery shopping and veggie prep so that I could be ready to cook this morning. I had today off, since I worked both weekend days, which has been a welcomed day of rest and self care. But more on that another time.

Here's the meal plan for the week:

Breakfast: Sugar Free Pork Sausage + Sautéed Spinach + Roasted Sweet Potato // This meal comes together in a flash. I start by chopping up some sweet potatoes into cubes, then roasting in the oven at 350 with my fat of choice (either ghee, avocado oil, or coconut oil), tossing every 15 minutes or so until golden. In the meantime, I take 1# of the sugar free breakfast sausage from US Wellness Meats (one of my staple items that I always keep on hand!) and cook it in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through. When that is done, I add in two bags of chopped baby spinach (about 10 oz) to wilt, then transfer everything into four pyrex dishes to store and freeze!

Lunch: Pineapple Bacon Burgers + Roasted Carrots and Zucchini // This recipe is super popular with my clients, so it's about time I gave it a try myself! Start with 1# of ground beef seasoned with 1 tsp each salt and garlic powder, plus a dash of cinnamon and ginger. Form four patties, top each one with a pineapple ring, and wrap with two slices of bacon. Bake at 425 until internal temperature reaches 165, roughly 25 minutes. I originally got this idea from A Clean Plate! I'll be having these with roasted zucchini and carrots (both tossed with fat of choice, listed above, and roasted at 400 until tender and golden!). 

Dinner: Tuna Casserole // This was a complete experiment of a meal, but I think it turned out well! The base is spaghetti squash (cut in half and steam in the Instant Pot for 7 minutes, then quick release the pressure) and cauli rice, which I sautéed on the stovetop until tender. I mixed up the squash and cauliflower with 4 cans of Safe Catch original tuna (the only brand of tuna that I use; here's why) and about 2/3 cup mayo, a mix of Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime and Chosen Foods Black Garlic (cleaning out the fridge!). Topped it all with some fresh green onions and called it a day! Sometimes I pop this in the oven at 425 until golden on top, but today I just went ahead and portioned it out as is. 

Snack: Zupa + Soft Boiled Egg // As always, you can get 20% off of your order + free shipping at www.drinkzupa.com using the code "wholedailylife"! I always have some of these on hand as an easy grab and go snack that is Whole30 compliant and nutrient dense. I'll be pairing these with an egg or two for a protein boost! For the perfect soft boiled egg: bring a pot of water to a soft boil, then add your eggs straight from the fridge. Set a timer for 7 minutes. When the timer goes off, transfer the eggs to an ice bath to quickly cool. 

Alright friends, that's all for now. Have a great week!

-Tracey

Meal Plan 10/30/17: Whole 30 Compliant + Impromptu Vacation

Well hello there! It's been a couple of weeks since I've published a blog, but that's because I was on a last minute mini vacation!! As I'm sure you can tell by my meal prep strategy, I'm a planner by nature, so it's not often that I'm spontaneous enough to drop everything and change my plans at the last minute. However, when an opportunity comes up to escape to your favorite little cabin in the woods (15 miles outside of town, behind three locked gates, and across a bridge...talk about retreating to nature!!), you say YES. We booked tickets on a Sunday night and flew out not even four days later on Thursday morning. We ate plenty of home cooked food, did lots of sitting on the back porch, spent plenty of time outside in the beautiful fall weather, and cozied up to a fire every evening. 

It was a perfect getaway. As much as I love schedules and routines, getting away from them is so refreshing! 

We got back late on Sunday and jumped right into our normal work week on Monday, so I relied on frozen leftovers and some quality convenience foods to get us through the week. As such, it felt great to get back to my usual with this week's meal plan!

Here's what's on the menu:

Breakfast: Spaghetti Squash and Pumpkin Porridge // Here's how: start by cutting a spaghetti squash in half (hamburger style), then put it in your Instant Pot and steam for 7 minutes. (Alternatively, roast in the oven until tender.). De-seed, then add all of the squash (4-6 cups) into a large pot on the stovetop. Add a can of pumpkin puree, 2 cups of liquid (I used unsweetened vanilla almond MALK and some full fat coconut milk), and spices of choice (I used about 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 few times using an immersion blender to break up the strands of squash and give it some texture. 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. Other optional additions include a couple of mashed bananas or a few pureed dates for sweetness. I portioned this into 5 containers, which I will reheat in the mornings using my Hot Login 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 drizzle of maple syrup (obviously not W30), a hearty spoonful of nut butter, and a dollop of COYO before serving!

Lunch: Yai's Thai Curry // This is one of my go-to meals when I need something easy. All I did was steam some carrots and yellow squash, add some chicken that I cooked in my Instant Pot, and top it off with a jar of yellow curry mixed with an additional can of coconut milk. I also add either steamed sweet potato (W30 version) or occasionally some white rice that I've cooked up in bone broth. I'll also be taking some baby spinach so that I can stir it into my bowl to wilt. 

Dinner: Beef and Liver Meatballs + Veggies // These beef and liver meatballs are my favorite way to get some organ meat in through the week. I love the flavor! I use a pre-mixed blend by Da-Le Ranch here in SoCal and follow my basic meatball recipe. I added some roasted sweet potato and asparagus as sides and called it a meal. 

Snacks: Zupa + RxBar Kids // Zupa superfood soups are a super convenient way to sneak some extra veggies in through the week, and I like to use the Rx bars as a pre-workout on my HIIT days. As always, you can get 20% off + free shipping at www.drinkzupa.com with the code "wholedailylife." Lately I've been really digging their seasonal Pumpkin Cinnamon Sage flavor!!

I'm looking forward to nourishing my body with so many delicious wholesome foods this week!

My thoughts on Carb Cycling:

I also owe you my final thoughts on carb cycling. I implemented this for three weeks, as described in my earlier post, looking for a balance between the benefits of LCHF eating and physical toning.  It wasn't too difficult to implement, but I don't feel like it accomplished what I was looking for. Eating balanced and intuitive meals feels much more natural to me, so that's what I'll be sticking to moving forward, at least for now! I'm glad I gave it a try though, because every opportunity to learn more about what works for each individual is worthwhile. This might be a strategy that I'll try again in the future, but for now I'm enjoying the flexibility of eating what I crave!

Have a good week!

-Tracey

Meal Plan 10/16/17: Carb Cycling Week 2

I know I sound old when I say this, but I can't believe how quickly the weeks fly by these days. I think it happens because I'm so busy between my full time job, my private practice, and managing my blog and Instagram. Not to mention my health, which between all the IV's, acupuncture, appointments, supplement ordering and prep, etc etc could be a full time job itself! I wake up, exercise, go to work, come home from work, answer a few emails or do 1-2 other chores, then head to bed to do it all over again. Before I know it, another week is gone, and now here we are half way through October!

Don't get me wrong, I've been thinking lately how incredibly grateful I am for my life. I enjoy my job(s), I get to help people daily, and I get to share my obsession with healthy, practical, and creative food with the masses though social media. I get to work with brands that I love and respect to get the word out about their products, and I get to eat plenty of them! I live in a beautiful place with so much sunshine, and even though I pay an arm and a leg in taxes, it's the middle of October and the weather is in the high 50's at night and mid 70's during the day, and I can walk a mile and be at the beach. I really can't complain. 

I just don't want to miss it, you know? These weeks that fly by. I want to be intentional with them, purposeful. After all, that's the whole point. 

Alright, on to the practical part of this week's blog post, the meal plan.

First, an update on carb cycling:

I'm officially one week into my carb cycling routine. For those who are curious, I'm averaging around 100 gm of protein per day (I've experimented with varying amounts and found that this is where I feel best personally), and then either 75gm CHO (all from non-starchy vegetables) and 120 gm FAT or 175 gm CHO and 45 gm FAT. I'm eating to satiety and not limiting my portions. On higher carb days I have been eating more frequently, which makes sense because fat definitely helps with satiety! 

I've been feeling pretty good overall. I can't say that I've noticed any major changes, but I'm only a week in. One thing that I can say is that my workouts on the day after a LCHF day are more challenging, naturally, because my glycogen stores are depleted. However, I just take that into account and plan for a little less intensity. My Rootz pre-workout is also a gem and keeps me fueled all the way through. It's really the best. (You can get 10% off with the code "wholedailylife"!)

I'm content to continue the experiment for another two weeks! 

Here's this week's meal plan:

Breakfast: Overnight Oats or Protein Shake // On higher carb days I'll be incorporating some overnight oats into my diet! I very rarely eat grains, but I recently tried some overnight oats and did really well with them (aka no digestive issues). I've been craving them since! I'll be using Maker overnight oats (a newer company that I discovered at Expo East) and having some additional protein on the side, probably a couple of eggs or a small protein shake. Sometimes I also mix protein powder right in. On higher fat days I'll be having a protein shake with MALK (favorite nut milk!!), frozen veggies, Equip protein powder ("wholedailylife" for 15% off), and MCT oil. It seriously tastes like a milkshake!!

Lunch: No Cook // I decided to keep things simple and repeat my usual no-cook plate for lunches this week. I'll be having deli turkey lettuce wraps with either avocado or an apple, depending on the day, and a bottle of Zupa ("wholedailylife" for 20% off and free shipping!).

Dinner: Meatballs or Chicken with Roasted Veggies // These really are two completely different meals depending on the day, so let me break it down:

• Carb days: chicken tenders (cooked in some broth with Paleo Powder seasoning) + steamed broccoli and cauliflower seasoned with Sari Foods Nutritional Yeast + roasted delicata squash
• Fat days: beef and liver meatballs (I use the blend by Da Le Ranch, a local farm, and cook according to my basic meatball recipe) + creamy cauli rice + roasted asparagus. For the cauli rice, I cooked up a package of Trader Joe's pre-riced cauliflower in a few tbsp of ghee and then added about 1/2 cup of coconut milk.

Snack: Pumpkin Bread or nut butter // For the pumpkin bread, all I did was mix 1 can of pumpkin puree with about 1/2 tsp salt/ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 cup Almond Pro high protein almond flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup egg whites. I also added a little bit of sweetener to taste (pure maple syrup tastes amazing!). I baked it at 350 until cooked through, about 30 minutes. 

That's a wrap for this week! Have a good one and I'll see you back here next Monday!

-Tracey