I’ve been talking quite a bit about food and using food for healing over on Instagram but I’ve still received so many questions about what a day of eating looks like for me. I’d say my diet is a mixture of Whole30, Paleo and AIP as I continue to walk through healing for Hashimoto’s. I’m at the point now where I would prefer to eat my own food than eating at a restaurant which is truly a gift! Here’s a peek into one day of meals and snacks these days.A key note: I love knowing the quality of ingredients going into my body and always, always buy organic. It is more expensive but always worth it to me. Lets get into it.

Breakfast: ‘Fab 4 Smoothie‘ using Kelly LeVeque’s system. I’m still unable to eat bananas right now which left me scratching my head when it came to smoothies. I discovered Kelly LeVeque’s Fab 4 Smoothie after hearing about it all over the place. Once I looked into the research I couldn’t wait to try it out myself. A month or so in, I am absolutely hooked. While i’m no stranger to a daily smoothie, I feel full much longer now that I always add protein, collagen and acacia fiber. The system is protein, greens, fiber, fat.

This particular smoothie has:

Frozen Spinach (green)

Acacia Fiber (fiber)

Vega Protein (protein-which also has tons of good stuff in it like maca powder and chia seeds)

Almond milk + teeny spoon of almond butter (fat)

plus strawberries, blueberries and cherries

Snack: An Envy apple with cashew butter. Since I recently cut out the little bit of natural sugar I was having, my sweet tooth has definitely gone down. BUT. That post lunch or post dinner hour always leaves me craving something sweet and this always does the trick. Cutting the apple fairly thin makes the snack last forever and feels more indulgent than it is! Of course, this isn’t the most impactful snack but to be real, it’s what I’ve been most excited about in this season of no sugar! This is something I’ve been loving taking on the go along with clementines or citrus of any kind. I’ve switched to reusable sandwich bags and my favorite brand by far is this one pictured in the photo.

Lunch: Salmon with a giant arugula salad on the side. I make salmon weekly which truly shocks me because I spent my entire life disgusted by it. I learned the only way I want to eat salmon is bone dry. When I order it at a restaurant, I say “I’d like it to be so well done that someone else would send it back.” And that right there is perfect for me.

I pat the salmon dry, season it with paprika, dried basil, garlic salt, and pepper then pan sear it on all four sides. Once each side has a nice sear and crust, I pop it into the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes and it’s honestly my favorite meal.

As for the salad, I use this Braggs Garlic and Sesame Dressing because it has no added sugar or onion which I’m not eating right now. I always top my salads with pumpkin seeds (high in antioxidants and fiber) and sunflower seeds (promote thyroid health, bone health and glowing healthy skin) as my non-negotiable as well as either cashews or almonds. Growing up, my salads used to look like a bowl of croutons with a few greens on top and my love for crunch in my salad hasn’t changed! A sliced pear, shredded carrot and radishes also top it off perfectly.

Dinner: Beyond Meat Sausage, sweet potato and veggies. I have raved about the Beyond Meat Sausages since they came out last year. Before reintroducing animal protein into my diet, this was my JAM that I relied on multiple times per week. My favorite thing about these sausages aside from how shockingly delicious they are is that they’re gluten free-a rarity in plant-based proteins. I slice this sausage on zoodles for myself and over chickpea pasta for O and the babes, add it to stew and curry, put it in to my favorite stuffed peppers and so much more. My personal favorite way to use it, though, is as a protein for potato + veggie night.

Dessert: Unsweetened Applesauce with coconut manna and cinnamon. This has been the only “dessert” I’ve been eating aside from fruit and I have it at least 4 nights a week. If you haven’t had coconut manna yet, it’s a very interesting texture. The thing I’m currently craving most is change in texture so adding a spoonful or two of this to warmed up applesauce and sprinkling cinnamon on top just feels like the a treat even though it’s really not. It’s more than satisfying! I don’t have a photo of it  so you get my second favorite dessert-oranges.