Six Weekday Meals I’m Eating Right Now

Hello friends!  

Let’s take a break from formal baking recipes.  I’d like to show you what I’m eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner these days.  The real deal.  Not fancy.  Very little sugar and gluten. Everyday delicious food.  

I’m putting some work into my health and diet these past few months.  It’s not a revamping of my New Year’s Resolution but rather a (deep-breath) real commitment to my health and my body as I learn how to combat the symptoms of my Stage IV endometriosis that I’ve really struggled with the past several years.  I’m using the food I eat more strategically, avoiding things like gluten, dairy, and white sugar for a bit / increasing things like beans and dark greens and nuts and seeds, to see if I can cut some of the pain and inflammation in my body.  

It’s been hard in some ways – because butter and gluten and sugar are such a huge part of my life.  It’s been easy in a lot of ways – because I can function with noticeably less puffiness and pain. It’s a journey I’m on to see what works for me and since we’ve been in this whole thing together for 11 years now, I wanted to share these meals with you too. 

There are loads of recourses out there for anti-inflammatory diets, but in my particular case and at the start of figuring out how I best function, here are some of the things I’m reading: 

•  Woman Code by Alisa Vitti – I bought this book ages ago when I had more questions (and pain) than I did answers and I find myself going back to it now that I have more answers (and less pain). 

•  Beyond The Pill by Dr. Jolene Brighten – This book is a game changer for me and you can listen to Dr. Brighten on an episode of One Part Pod here.  

•  One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane – super approachable and delicious recipes!  Quinoa and Beans below is from Jessica’s book and now a staple in my refrigerator! 

•  Know Your Endo – Jessica’s practical 5-week program (that starts next week!) for managing endo. 

•  The Anti Inflammatory Diet and Action Plans by Dorothy Calimeris and Sondi Bruner – a simple cookbook with adaptable recipes for the everyday. 

Socca is a flat bread (very flat, there’s actually no leavening at all in it) made with equal part chickpea flour and water, salt and olive oil to enhance the flavor.  What so surprising is its charred top (it’s cooked actually under the broiler in home ovens) and its creamy insides.  It’s a bread I like to slice up warm in the skillet and top with roasted vegetables and maybe an egg and use a fork or my pinched fingers to lift the wedges into my face.

It’s absolutely bready enough to be satisfying, full of protein and vegetable comforts. The recipe is most flexible as you’re encouraged to roast or not roast anything you might have in your refrigerator.  

I used a small 5-inch skillet for a single portion of this breakfast skillet. Feel free to double the recipe and cook it in a 10-inch oven proof skillet if you’re serving more than just your hungry self.

Ya dig? 

Socca Breakfast Skillet

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1/2 cup water

a good pinch of salt

a tablespoon of olive oil 

Whisk it all together until no lumps remain. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes to allow to flour to absorb the moisture.  Set the oven to broil.  Place a 5-inch oven-proof skillet under the broiler until it’s piping hot.  Remove the pan (be careful and keep a pot holder on the hot handle of the skillet so you don’t forget it’s hot!) and drizzle the hot pan with oil. Tilt to coat the pan in oil. Pour the batter into the pan and place it under the broiler for 5 to 7 minutes. The top with puff slightly and brown and blacken – that’s right!  Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly.  

Top with anything you have on hand – roasted or not.  

•  Roasted cherry tomatoes

•  Roasted sliced carrots

•  Fresh arugula tossed in lemon juice, salt, and pepper

•  sliced avocado with salt and pepper

• Scrambled, fried, or poached eggs

Part of what makes some of these meals easy is the big batch of brown rice I make on Sunday so I can toss it into anything and make it more of a meal – or make it a meal entirely.

This is my play on breakfast oatmeal when I’m too lazy even to boil water.  It’s a mixture of cooked brown rice, coconut milk, spices, chia seeds, candied ginger and dark chocolate.  When I need breakfast to also be dessert – I’m sure you understand. 

Coconut Brown Rice Morning Cereal

1 cup of leftover brown rice

1/4 cup whole fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons water

a few sprinkles of sea salt

a few sprinkles of ground cinnamon

a few tablespoons of maple syrup

sliced candied ginger

chopped dark chocolate

a few sprinkles of chia seeds

In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together cooked brown rice, coconut milk, and water.  Stir until warmed through and just starting to bubble.  Sprinkle in the sea salt and cinnamon and stir to combine. 

Spoon into a bowl for breakfast.  Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with ginger, chocolate, and chia seeds.  Enjoy warm – it’s breakfast! 

It’s helpful to have a bowl of sooooomething in the fridge that is both second breakfast or lunch.  A savory salad something that can hold up to a few days in a bowl so I have something to go to while I finish my coffee and think about dinner.  

This salad is protein and greens and any handful of tomatoes, nub of onion, half jar of capers you have.  Olives would be nice too, and would shredded carrots.  The more color the more flavor.  

Tuna and White Bean Salad

a can on tuna, drained

a can of white beans, also drained

3 or 4 handfuls of arugula

3 or 4 handfuls of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

finely diced red onion, just a bit

capers, a smal handful

sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

two or so glugs of olive oil

Mix it all together. Taste, season, taste again, season again. Enjoy for a few days. 

You say I can make something in a slow cooker and I’m running to the fridge.  Sure, I have an Instant Pot too, but listen… I just like the long game sometimes.  

This is a deeply comforting mixture of squash and cauliflower, coconut milk because it’s a wonder, and curry because it helps combat inflammation.  I like this soup served over warm brown rice with lots of torn fresh cilantro and a few lime wedges.  It’s bright, creamy, and comforting all at once! 

Squash and Cauliflower Soup with Brown Rice and Lime

a few tablespoons of coconut or olive oil

a pound of butternut squash pieces (it’s been peeled and chunked, ya know?)

a small head of cauliflower, diced into bite-size pieces

1 onion, sliced

a tablespoon of curry powder

1/2 cup apple juice

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can (13.5 ounce) full fat coconut milk

a teaspoon or so of sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

a bay leaf

cilantro leaves and lime wedges for serving 

Combine everything (except the cilantro and lime) in a slow cooker.  Set on high for 4 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours.  Test the doneness of the vegetables with a knife. Remove the bay leaf and discard.  When everything is soft use an immersion blender to blend the soup to smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully pour the soup mixture into a blender in batches being careful not to overfill the blender and being careful to place a towel over the blender before starting.  Serve warm with cooked brown rice, cilantro leaves and lime wedges. 

I am reigning queen of making a big batch of somethingorother and eating it for a week and a half straight, until it’s absolutely gone. I feel like there’s a special skill in eating the same thing day after day. This recipe is my jam.  It’s easily turns into dinner with some sautéed garlic and greens.  It can become breakfast with a fried egg.  It’s great cold from the fridge with an extra spritz of lime.  Plus, beans – the actual backbone of my diet, amen. 

Quinoa and Bean Bowl with Cilantro

a splash of olive oil

a medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, smashed

sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1 poblano pepper, skins charred and peeped, pepper diced (How To Roast and Peel a Poblano)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed

1 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk

3 cups kidney, pinto, or black beans (rinsed and drained if canned)

Top with: ripe avocado, lime juice, hot sauce, fresh cilantro

In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.  When the oil is hot add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and heat for 30 seconds more.  Add the diced poblano and cook until warmed through.  Add the vegetable broth, quinoa, coconut milk, and beans.  Stir and bring to a simmer.  Lower heat and cover pot.  Simmer for 20 minutes until the liquid os absorbed.  Spoon into bowls and add toppings. Enjoy warm or cold! (If you’re reheating this dish add another splash of vegetable oil.)   

Here’s what to do when with all of the random carrots in the refrigerator. You must have random carrots in the refrigerator too – I can’t be along in this.  

Roast them whole and toss them in a very easy tahini and mustard sauce. If you have enough carrots, and a small bowl of cooked brown rice, call it a meal! Salty and bright with a hint of sweetness. It’s everything I want! 

Tahini and Mustard Roasted Carrots

rainbow carrots or whatever you have in the fridge, peeled

olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper for roasting

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

3 tablespoons tahini

salt and fresh cracked black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Add the peeled carrots, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Roast the carrots until fork-tender, about 20 minutes – maybe more maybe less depending on the size of your carrots.

While the carrots roast whisk together maple syrup, mustard, tahini, salt and pepper, and lemon.  Whisk in the parsley.  

When carrots are cooked through, place on a serving plate and drizzle with sauce. Enjoy warm!

More soon! Thank you so much for being here. It really means the most to me.

I hope you have the most lovely day!

xo Joy