September has a very specific energy.

Even if it’s still 90 degrees outside, the calendar says summer is over.

Schedules tighten back up. Work seems to get serious again. School, activities, appointments and commitments return. Dinner needs to happen at an actual dinner time. And all those things we casually told ourselves we’d “get back to in the fall” suddenly show up for collection.

Including our health habits.

This is usually where we make one very predictable mistake:

We try to restart everything.

• Meal prep.

• Exercise.

• Steps.

• Sleep.

• Water.

• Supplements.

• Morning routines.

• Sunday planning.

Whatever we loosened up on over the summer suddenly gets dumped into one giant September Reset Project.

And then we wonder why, three weeks later, we’re already tired of our own routine.

I’m not doing that this fall.

I’m asking a different question:

What needs to become easier to repeat?

Because I don’t think September needs a harder push.

I think it needs a better rhythm.

That can be incredibly helpful.

→ But structure and capacity aren’t the same thing.

The calendar may become more predictable while simultaneously becoming more crowded.

And that’s where healthy habits get tricky.

We often build them for the version of ourselves who slept well, has groceries in the fridge, finishes work on time and has absolutely nothing weird happen on a Tuesday.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t appear as often as we’d like.

Real weeks have late meetings, appointments, bad sleep, takeout nights, errands, kids needing things, forgotten groceries and afternoons where the last thing you feel like doing is changing clothes for a workout.

So this month, I don’t want us building habits around the ideal week.

I want us building them around the normal one.

Here’s the idea I’m carrying into September:

A routine that only works on your best days isn’t a system.

That’s why I’m thinking less about rigid routines this month and more about rhythm.

A routine tends to sound like:

I work out at 7 AM for 45 minutes.

A rhythm sounds more like:

Movement has a regular place in my day and week, but I have more than one version of what that can look like.

That’s a subtle distinction with a very practical payoff.

• Because some days you’ll have 45 minutes.

• Some days you’ll have 10.

• Sometimes dinner is beautifully prepped.

• Sometimes you’re assembling food while everyone is already asking what’s for dinner.

How I’m Handling this September

I’m deliberately not doing a giant fall overhaul.

I’m making a few things easier to repeat.

I’m deciding fewer things every day.

Any decision I can make once instead of renegotiating repeatedly gets my attention right now.

→ When does movement usually happen?

→ What are the easiest meals to keep stocked?

→ What gets prepped automatically?

→ What do I keep around when dinner has gone sideways?

The less useful stuff my brain has to continually reconsider, the better.

I’m separating movement from “working out.”

A workout absolutely counts.

But movement isn’t only a workout (which is our entire concept around “oscillate” of the CORE 4).

• Walking after dinner counts.

• Ten minutes of strength counts.

• Getting outside between work blocks counts (I think these are being referred to as ‘exercise snacks’ now?)

• Breaking up an afternoon that’s otherwise spent sitting counts.

My goal this month isn’t to rack up exercise points.

It’s to stop letting “I didn’t have time for the whole workout” turn into “so I did nothing.”

And I’m letting food follow the season without making it complicated.

This is where I’m especially excited about bringing the Kitchen element back into these issues.

The Fall Moods + Foods Edition gave us the bigger seasonal palette.

Now each Balance Issue is going to take three combinations from that palette and actually use them.

Not just:

Apples are in season!

I want:

Here are three foods/flavors that work beautifully together and three easy ways to turn each one into food you can actually eat this week.

So let’s start there.

September food sits in an interesting middle ground.

We’re beginning to want warmer, more grounding foods … but we’re not necessarily ready for everything to taste like Thanksgiving yet.

So this month I’m leaning into combinations that bridge the seasons.

One of my favorites:

Apple + Walnut + Cinnamon

Nothing revolutionary about the ingredients.

The usefulness is in how many different directions you can take them.

Breakfast

Plain Greek yogurt + chopped apple + walnuts + cinnamon.

Add chia or ground flax if you want more fiber.

Lunch

Chicken + greens + chopped apple + walnuts with a simple olive-oil vinaigrette.

The apple gives you crunch and sweetness without needing a sugary dressing.

Snack

Apple wedges + walnut butter + cinnamon.

Simple, portable and much more blood-sugar friendly than eating the apple completely by itself.

That’s exactly what I mean by a seasonal pairing.

One combination.

Several uses.

Less figuring out what to eat.

Inside this month’s Balance Plan, I’ve put together all three September combinations in a printable cheat sheet.

This Month’s CORE 4 Focus: EAT x OSCILLATE

Food will always be the foundation of what we do here.

But each month this fall, I’m pairing EAT with another piece of my CORE 4 framework so we can work on the lifestyle factors that help anti-inflammatory eating actually stick.

September’s focus is:

OSCILLATE: Build the movement system.

I use OSCILLATE as my shorthand for the way our bodies are meant to move between activity and recovery rather than staying stuck in one mode all day.

And no, that does not mean you need another complicated fitness program.

For this month, I want you thinking much smaller:

Where can movement become part of the architecture of your day instead of another task piled on top of it?

Here’s your free September experiment:

Choose one movement cue.

Pick something that already happens most days.

Maybe:

• finishing lunch

• closing your laptop at the end of work

• starting the coffee maker

• getting home from work

• finishing dinner

Then attach 5–10 minutes of movement to it.

That’s it.

Don’t optimize it yet.

Don’t build a color-coded fitness schedule around it.

Just practice making movement happen after something that already happens.

Because before we increase a habit, we need to make it easier to repeat.

This month inside Alchemy, I’ve kept this intentionally simple.

1. The September Seasonal Pairings Cheat Sheet

Three early-fall combinations with practical ways to turn each one into breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks:

Apple + Walnut + Cinnamon

Pear + Rosemary + Arugula

Sweet Potato + Sage + Pumpkin Seed

2. The 30-Day Movement Rhythm Challenge

A simple way to build movement around your actual capacity instead of treating every day like it should look exactly the same.

You’ll create:

Minimum → Standard → Stretch

versions of movement and spend the month figuring out what really fits your life.

Not a 30-day workout challenge.

Not a streak to protect.

And definitely not penance for summer.

We’re building something you can still use when October gets here.

3. The September Check-In

A section with targeted questions to dig a little deeper and notice what worked and what had friction so the rest of your fall is even more effortless.

Alchemy members can keep reading below for the complete September Balance Plan + both downloads (The September Balance Kit).

If you’re a free subscriber and want to join us, Alchemy is now $8/month or $80/year, and the Monthly Balance Kits are part of your membership along with the rest of the paid library and weekly resources.

UPGRADE TO ALCHEMY

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There is something about fall that makes us want to get our lives back underneath us.

Summer is wonderfully loose. We travel. We stay up later. We eat outside. Weekends spill into weekdays. Schedules bend.

And then September shows up.

Suddenly dinner needs to happen at an actual time again. Calendars start filling. The days begin getting shorter. We find ourselves craving warmer food, more familiar routines and maybe just a little less chaos.

I don’t think that’s something we need to fight.

I think it’s something we can use.

Because fall sits in this really interesting little window between the looseness of summer and the intensity of the holidays.

It’s our chance to get grounded before life gets louder.

So this season inside The Balanced Body Brief isn’t about launching a massive self-improvement campaign.

We’re doing something much more useful.

We’re building the structures that make taking care of ourselves easier when life gets busy.

• Better meals.

• Fewer decisions.

• More predictable rhythms.

• A plan for the hard weeks.

• And enough flexibility that one football game, Halloween party or Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t somehow turn into, Well, I guess I’ll start again in January.

Welcome to the Fall Mood Report.

Here’s where we’re going.

If summer is expansive, fall is gathering.

We pull things inward.

Dinner moves back into the kitchen. Sweaters reappear. Soup starts sounding like dinner again. Morning light changes. The garden begins winding down. Even our appetites tend to shift toward warmer, heartier foods.

And underneath all of that coziness is something else:

structure.

Fall is one of the best times of year to create it.

The goal isn’t rigid scheduling.

It’s having enough structure that every healthy decision doesn’t require a negotiation with yourself.

You know what you’re having for breakfast.

There are a few reliable dinners you can make when the week goes sideways.

Movement has a default place in your day.

Your bedtime isn’t being decided by whatever happens to be playing on Netflix.

You have a way back when things inevitably get off track.

That’s what I mean when I talk about building a healthy lifestyle.

The real magic usually isn’t in finding a better food.

It’s in creating a life where the better choice becomes the easier, more familiar choice.

GROUND

Come back to the routines that give your days some shape.

Not fifteen new habits.

A few anchors.

The meals you can count on. The weekly planning ritual. The walk that happens even during busy weeks. The bedtime boundary that keeps tomorrow from starting half-empty.

Fall is where we’re rebuilding the foundation.

NOURISH

Summer food tends to be light, cold and spontaneous.

Fall gives us a completely different kitchen.

Roasted vegetables.

Soups.

Slow-cooked meals.

Apples and pears.

Mushrooms.

Squash.

Dark leafy greens.

Warm spices.

Wild rice.

Comforting food can absolutely be anti-inflammatory and blood-sugar-friendly.

In fact, I want food to feel more satisfying this time of year.

Because when meals actually satisfy you, you spend a lot less time prowling around the kitchen later wondering what else there is to eat.

FORTIFY

November is coming.

And with it comes Thanksgiving, travel, parties, desserts, alcohol, disrupted schedules and more opportunities to eat something simply because somebody put it on a counter.

Our strategy isn’t avoiding all of that.

It’s going into it well-fed, well-rested and with some established habits already working for us.

Fall is preparation.

Not restriction.

Here’s the 30,000-foot view of where we’re headed together over the next three months.

SEPTEMBER | GROUND

The focus: Return to rhythm.

This is where we shake off some of the summer looseness and rebuild our baseline.

We’re getting meals more predictable, putting some structure around our weeks and creating systems that still work when motivation is nowhere to be found.

This is also where the Fall Reset comes in.

Think of September as the month we stop asking, What should I be doing? and start deciding, What am I actually willing to keep doing?

OCTOBER | NOURISH

The focus: Make healthy eating easier.

October is kitchen season.

We’re talking seasonal meals, slow cookers, batch cooking and ways to make anti-inflammatory eating feel warmer, simpler and more satisfying.

We’ll also get into weight loss through a very different lens: building meals and systems that help your body work better instead of continually trying to eat less (in addition to our 4-week Fall meal plan kit to do that, of course.)

Basically, Crocktober is coming.

I’m not mad about it.

NOVEMBER | FORTIFY

The focus: Protect what’s working.

November is where healthy routines start running into real life.

Food costs.

Busy schedules.

Thanksgiving.

Holiday foods.

Parties.

Family.

And the slow creep of I’ll deal with it after the holidays.

We’ll look at how to eat well without blowing your grocery budget, build a gorgeous anti-inflammatory fall charcuterie board, navigate inflammatory Thanksgiving foods and start setting ourselves up for winter.

Then at the end of November, we’ll move into the Winter Reset.

The goal isn’t to arrive there needing rescue.

It’s to arrive there ready for the next season.

Every season has foods that seem almost designed for what our bodies need next.

These are some of the ones I want showing up in our kitchens more often this fall:

Butternut + winter squash

Roast it, blend it into soup, add it to bowls or mash it as a side.

Sweet potatoes

A fantastic prep-ahead carbohydrate. Pair with protein, vegetables and healthy fat rather than letting the potato carry the whole meal.

Apples

Slice them into oatmeal, chop them into salads, bake them with cinnamon or pair them with nuts or nut butter for a more balanced snack.

Pears

Beautiful in salads, smoothies and warm breakfasts, and ridiculously good roasted.

Mushrooms

Throw them into soups, eggs, skillets, pasta alternatives and basically anything happening in a slow cooker.

Kale + other dark leafy greens

Soup season makes these ridiculously easy to eat. Add a handful and let the pot do the work.

Cabbage

Cheap, versatile and underappreciated. Roast it, sauté it, shred it into salads or cook it into soups and skillet meals.

Brussels sprouts

Roast until the edges get crispy. Nobody needs to relive the boiled Brussels sprouts of childhood.

Cauliflower

Roast it, mash it, rice it or turn it into soup.

Pomegranate + cranberries

A little tartness goes a long way in salads, sauces, sparkling drinks and fall dishes.

Wild rice

One of my favorite fall prep foods. Make a big batch and use it throughout the week in bowls, soups, salads and side dishes.

Rosemary, sage, thyme, cinnamon + ginger

Fall flavor without needing everything to taste like dessert.

Consider this your permission slip to make healthy food feel deeply seasonal.

I care just as much about how we’re cooking as what we’re buying.

Because the best nutrition plan in the world isn’t terribly useful if Tuesday-night-you cannot execute it.

This season, we’re leaning into:

ROASTING

One pan. Protein. Vegetables. Maybe a smart carbohydrate.

Dinner.

This is exactly the level of complication I want from a Wednesday.

SIMMERING

Soup, chili and stews give us an easy way to layer vegetables, protein, herbs and fiber into meals that also happen to taste better the next day.

SLOW COOKING

Put dinner in earlier.

Forget about it.

Feel oddly accomplished at 5:30.

We’ll be doing plenty of this in October.

BATCHING

A pot of wild rice.

A tray of vegetables.

A cooked protein.

A dressing or sauce.

Not an entire refrigerator full of identical containers. Just enough prep to make the next few meals easier.

BUILDING

Bowls, salads, snack plates and fall charcuterie.

Some nights we cook.

Some nights we assemble.

Both count.

BALANCING

Especially when we start reaching for more warming carbohydrates.

Protein + fiber + healthy fat + a thoughtfully chosen carbohydrate gives us a meal that is far more likely to keep blood sugar and appetite steady than eating that carbohydrate by itself.

No need to fear the sweet potato.

Just stop making it fend for itself.

There are about a thousand habits somebody on the internet would like you to start this fall.

We are not doing that.

I’d rather you choose one or two rhythms that make everything else easier.

Maybe it’s:

A weekend food-prep anchor.
Look at the week, choose your meals and prep the few things Future You will be deeply grateful to find in the fridge.

A hard-week dinner plan.

Decide now what you eat when you have zero bandwidth.

A default form of movement.
Walking, strength training, cycling, whatever you will realistically continue as the days get shorter.

A consistent sleep window.
Fall is a great time to stop letting bedtime wander all over the map.

Morning light.
As daylight changes, make getting outside earlier part of your rhythm when you can.

One pocket of actual downtime.
Not scrolling. Not errands. Not productivity disguised as self-care.

Rest.

Pick the rhythm that solves the biggest problem in your life right now.

Start there.

Because fall can look cozy on Pinterest and feel like logistics in real life.

THE SCHEDULE SHOCK

Everything starts again at once.

Suddenly meal planning feels harder precisely when you need it most.

Better move: simplify. Fewer recipes. More repeats. Create default meals.

COMFORT FOOD IN CARB FORM

Warm food is wonderful.

A bowl of pasta with bread followed by something sweet may also leave you hungry again remarkably quickly and zap your energy (and good mood).

Better move: build protein, vegetables, fiber and healthy fat around your meal and season it with comfort flavors.

MOVEMENT DISAPPEARS WITH THE DAYLIGHT

The walk you naturally took at 7 p.m. in July suddenly feels much less appealing when it’s dark outside.

Better move: decide what replaces it before you lose the routine.

THE HOLIDAYS START IN OCTOBER

Halloween candy appears.

Then Thanksgiving food starts.

Then Christmas events.

It can become a ten-week eating season remarkably fast.

Better move: keep ordinary days ordinary.

A holiday meal is one thing.

A holiday lifestyle is something else entirely.

THE “JANUARY” MINDSET

This one causes more damage than any Thanksgiving dinner ever could.

I’ll get serious again in January.

No.

You do not need to be perfect through the holidays.

You just need a few anchors strong enough that you don’t completely disappear from your own life for two months.

• Starting twelve habits on Monday.

• Treating every pumpkin-flavored product as seasonal nourishment.

• Making healthy dinners unnecessarily complicated.

• Saving your health for January.

• Turning one off-plan meal into three off-plan weeks.

• Buying a pile of wellness products when what you really need is a plan for dinner.

(That last one may have just saved us all some money.)

MAKE

A big batch of wild rice and use it in three completely different meals.

TRY

Choose your hard-week meal now. The dinner you can make with almost no thought when life inevitably goes sideways.

DO

Take one of your normal walks somewhere that actually looks like fall.

READ

Revisit the Fall Reset Protocol and decide which pieces would make the biggest difference in your current routine.

SAVE

The upcoming fall meal plans, Crocktober recipes, budget comparison and Thanksgiving resources as they arrive. They’re designed to build on each other rather than leave you with another collection of disconnected wellness tips.

BEFORE FALL IS OVER...

A few things worth doing before we move into winter:

☐ Make soup from scratch (and maybe freeze a batch … our Fall/Winter Freezer Meal Session is coming up!)

☐ Try a fall vegetable you don’t normally buy.

☐ Take a long walk somewhere beautiful.

☐ Make something with apples that isn’t dessert.

☐ Create one dinner your family immediately asks you to make again.

☐ Invite someone over without making the meal a production.

☐ Spend one slow afternoon prepping food for the week.

☐ Have one genuinely early night.

☐ Notice which routines have started feeling automatic.

☐ Decide what you want winter to feel like before winter arrives.

And maybe leave a few blank spaces.

The best parts of a season are rarely the ones we schedule.

One question before you go...

Imagine it’s the end of November.

The holidays are starting, winter is around the corner and you’re looking back at the last three months.

What would make you think:

I took really good care of myself this fall.

Not perfectly.

Well.

Hold onto that answer.

Because that’s what we’re building toward.

🍂 Want to map out YOUR fall?

Reading about the season is one thing.

Actually deciding how you want to move through it is another.

So I created the Fall Field Guide to help you turn everything in this Mood Report into your own simple plan.

⭐What’s Inside the Fall Field Guide

YOUR FALL COMPASS

Decide how you want this season to feel, what needs your attention and what can take up a little less space.

YOUR 90-DAY FALL MAP

Map September, October and November around a health focus, a life focus and something you’re genuinely looking forward to.

YOUR CORE 4 ANCHORS

Choose simple anchors for food, movement, calm and rest without trying to overhaul your entire life.

THE FALL FOOD CHALLENGE

A seasonal food checklist plus easy ideas for actually using everything you check off.

YOUR FALL KITCHEN

Choose your reliable breakfasts, dinners, batch foods, snacks and sauces so feeding yourself requires fewer decisions.

YOUR FALL RITUAL MENU

Seasonal ideas for when you have 5 minutes, 30 minutes or an entire afternoon.

YOUR FALL LIST + TRACKER

Choose a few things you’d like to experience this season and up to three habits or intentions you actually want to practice.

FALL REFLECTION

A simple end-of-season check-in so you can see what worked, what didn’t and what you want to carry into winter.

PLUS: FALL SIPS

You’ll also get six new seasonal drink recipes:

3 blood-sugar-balanced fall smoothies
+
3 fall m/cocktails

If you’re not an Alchemist yet...

The Fall Field Guide is one of the seasonal resources I create specifically for Alchemists.

But upgrading doesn’t unlock only this guide.

Alchemy includes everything inside, including the weekly anti-inflammatory meal plans, seasonal Reset and deeper seasonal guides...

Plus the resources where we go further:

The full BEAT Inflammation framework
So you can move from figuring out what to eat → customizing it for your body → building systems that make it stick.

The complete workshop library
Including the deeper trainings around blood sugar, gut health, fasting, elimination diets, emotional eating, weight loss, habits, systems and more.

The Seasonal Weight Loss Meal Plan Kits

The Seasonal Food + Mood Reports and Field Guides

The Monthly Kitchen Editions

Alchemy-only workshops + resources sprinkled in throughout the year

You don’t have to piece together another health plan from random posts, saved recipes and whatever Instagram decided to show you this week.

It’s all there.

And if the Fall Field Guide is the thing you need right now, you can upgrade today for less than $2/week and start there.

UPGRADE TO ALCHEMY

Once you’re inside, come right back here.

Your Fall Field Guide and Fall Sips are waiting below. 🍂✨

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Summer asked you to loosen up.

Fall asks you to come home.

The light is shifting earlier. The mornings feel different; heavier, cooler, more grounded. Your schedule is pulling back into shape, and your body is already telling you what it wants: structure, warmth, rhythm, something solid underneath your feet.

That pull toward soups, slower mornings, and earlier bedtimes isn’t nostalgia. It’s biology.

🌿 And that’s why we reset now.

Why We Don’t Wait Until January

You already know this if you’ve been here for a while:

Your nervous system doesn’t thrive on arbitrary calendar pressure.

It thrives on alignment.

→ Summer was for loosening:

For letting routines breathe.

For eating lighter, moving differently, adjusting to longer days and louder schedules.

Fall is where we take all of that and channel it back into something solid.

The holidays are the single most difficult season for women managing inflammation and blood sugar. Travel, social eating, financial stress, emotional load, disrupted sleep, sugar on every surface.

Every other time of year, you have some degree of routine to lean on … November and December strip that away.

Most women enter the holidays reactively and spend January recovering.

The fall reset flips that. You’re not recovering. You’re fortifying.

If you build your rhythms, systems, and meal structure before the chaos hits, you don’t have to grip your way through December. You have something to come back to.

And here’s the thing that changes everything going forward: if you can hold your anti-inflammatory foundation through the holidays, you have proof that this works in real life.

• Not in ideal conditions.

• Not when the schedule is clean and the weather cooperates. In the hardest season.

→ That kind of confidence compounds into every month after.

Where I Am Right Now (Honestly)

Summer got away from me.

Not in a spectacular way. In the way that happens when everything shifts at once and you don’t fully register it until you’re standing in the kitchen at 6pm with no plan and no desire to make one.

My oldest left for college.

My youngest started her senior year.

Both of them drive now, both have jobs and their own cars and their own schedules.

And I didn’t realize how much of my meal planning rhythm was built around their presence until they stopped needing me to feed them. The structure I relied on wasn’t just a meal plan; it was a family cadence.

When that shifted, my planning slipped with it.

Then I got a kidney stone. If you’ve never had one, I’ll spare you, but it ended in a procedure that knocked me sideways for a while. The travel we’d planned for the summer didn’t happen. The release valve I was counting on never came.

I’ve been on the Peloton every single day because it’s been so hot outside that walking isn’t even an option. My daughter and I were just talking about how much we miss Alaska and Scotland; we both crave that cooler, milder weather where you can actually be outside without feeling like you’re standing in a convection oven. Right now I can’t even sit on the patio with an after-work drink because the heat is relentless.

So yeah. Summer wasn’t the season I planned.

But here’s what’s also true: school started back two weeks ago, and I can already feel the rhythm returning.

I jumped back into meal planning and prep without forcing it. The pull is there. My body wants this.

I’m ready for cooler air, outdoor walks, open windows, and that particular fall energy where everything feels like it’s settling into place. I’m ready to get cozy.

And I have things I want to get clear on this season beyond food.

1. I want to understand where it actually makes sense to spend more on food quality versus where we can genuinely save without compromising what matters. {I think that part is important, especially during these months where finances are at the forefront before gift-giving season}

2. I want to deliberately map out October through December spending so the holidays don’t create the kind of financial stress that wrecks my nervous system (because it always does when I don’t plan for it).

3. And I want to finally take the fall break trip we couldn’t take this summer (the consensus is Maine …. eeeek — so excited!!)

Want to join me in the Fall Reset?

2 ways to get it:

1)Upgrade to the paid Alchemist Tier for less than $2/week

UPGRADE TO ALCHEMY

or

2)If you’re not ready for the membership, you can purchase it as a one-off workshop RIGHT HERE.

My Personal Quarterly Reset Protocol

This protocol has helped me avoid the panicked and outdated “New Year, New Me” frenzy that totally ignores our biology.

It’s helped me get truly grounded; to settle into a season of nourishment and preparation with zero guilt or anxiety.

Here’s exactly what I do:

🩸 Donate blood (I discovered the incredible benefits of this when I was prescribed a blood donation from having too-thick blood, a side effect of hormone replacement therapy for some) → Read all about the mega health benefits of donating blood

💧 Hydrate + Replenish (iron-rich foods for 2–4 weeks post-donation)

🌿 Begin my Reset:

Goal Setting Session — This covers everything, not just health goals. Relationships, financial planning, projects, personal growth. I use mine to map out things like holiday spending strategy and the food-budget clarity I mentioned above. It’s the session that helps me look at the full picture of the next 90 days and decide what actually deserves my energy. The structure works for all of it.

Fasting reset — A 24-hour water + electrolytes fast, or a 1–3 day Fasting Mimicking Diet. I’ve added the FMD as an option because for some women, a full 24-hour fast feels too aggressive or doesn’t fit their life right now. The Fasting Mimicking Diet gives you the metabolic benefits of fasting while still eating.

The Everything Fasting workshop inside Alchemy walks through exactly how to do it, step by step.

(My personal favorite for electrolytes is [LMNT. Order here] for a free sample pack with your first purchase.)

7 Days of:

• Cleansing fall meals

• Calming detox baths

• Healing, cleansing teas

• Gentle movement

• Targeted supplementation

• More sleep or non-sleep rest

• Fall wellness shots

Create my new habits in my routines + schedule

Shift back into seasonal anti-inflammatory meals + implement my new habits

What the Fall Reset Includes

Here’s how we begin:

• A focused Seasonal Goal-Setting Session

• A 7-day reset structure to reduce inflammation and simplify meals

• A habit alignment exercise for the next 90 days

• A seasonal shift in meal rhythm

• A realistic reset; no extreme detoxes, no hustle energy

→ Building the foundation now so the holidays don’t require a recovery plan in January.

What Happens Next Depends on What You Want

If you just want inspiration and seasonal perspective, you can absolutely reflect on your own.

But if you want structure (if you want a clear path from September through November that builds toward the holidays instead of bracing for them), that’s what ✨Alchemy is for.

Inside ✨Alchemy this Fall, you’ll receive:

• The full Fall Reset workshop + goal-setting session

• Weekly anti-inflammatory meal plans aligned with fall foods and seasonal rhythms

• Prep guides so you don’t have to think

• Monthly Anti-Inflammatory Kitchen Editions that layer in strategically

• Deep dive essays tied directly to where we are in the season

• Full access to the BEAT Inflammation Framework and the complete workshop library

One thing worth knowing:

Alchemy now includes the full workshop library and BEAT Framework access.

I’ll be sharing the complete breakdown of what that means in the Fall Foods + Moods Edition, but if you’ve been on the fence, this is a meaningful expansion of what’s inside.

This isn’t more content.

It’s a guided season.

And we begin this week.

If you’re ready to move into Fall with direction instead of reaction, join us inside ✨Alchemy.

*It’s your seasonal compass for living an anti-inflammatory life for less than $2/week.

Become an ✨Alchemist

BECOME AN ALCHEMIST

We Begin This Week

Fall momentum doesn’t come from motivation.

It comes from structure.

If you’re ready to ground your routines, build the systems that carry you through the holidays, and move into fall with clarity instead of chaos, join us inside ✨Alchemy.

The full Fall Reset workshop is included for members.

Let’s begin.

Settle in with some comfy clothes, a cup of tea, and your favorite candle~

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There are maybe two weeks left where peaches taste like peaches, strawberries are worth buying, and fresh basil is still cheap enough to use by the handful. After that, the season shifts and so does the produce.

This week’s plan is built to use all of it while it’s still here.

I think about this every year around this time. There’s a window in late August where the summer ingredients and the early fall energy overlap, and the meals that come out of that window are some of the best eating of the year.

Bright and warm at the same time. Light but satisfying. The kind of food that feels like summer’s last gift before the kitchen starts leaning toward soups and roasted root vegetables.

If you’ve been coasting on simple meals all summer (no judgment, same), this is the week to let the produce do the work for you one more time.

• They’re how I reversed prediabetes by keeping my blood sugar steady all day instead of riding the spike-and-crash.

• They’re how I got my inflammation down far enough that my knees stopped negotiating with me before every workout.

• They’re how I finally lost the weight that stuck after my third kid and dug in harder once perimenopause showed up. I’m not teaching this from a textbook.

I built the system because I needed it to work in my own messy week first.

This week we’re supporting

Peak-season produce nutrition | Omega-3 rich anti-inflammatory meals | End-of-summer energy and blood sugar stability

This week rotates between chicken breast and salmon as the two primary proteins, giving you lean, anti-inflammatory options across all four dinners.

The fruit is the standout, though. Peaches, strawberries, and fresh basil appear across multiple meals in ways that blur the line between savory and sweet in the best possible way.

What’s in this week’s plan

The overall feel this week is colorful, seasonal, and surprisingly elegant for how little effort it requires.

Za’atar, Greek seasoning, lemon, and fresh herbs do the flavor work across the chicken dishes.

The salmon dinners are clean and simple: one pan-roasted with zucchini and bell peppers, the other baked with garlic, lemon, and butter and served over a spinach salad.

And the breakfast and snack lean into the last of summer’s berries in two completely different ways.

This week includes:

• 1 protein-loaded breakfast: Veggie Scramble with Strawberries (29g protein, 8 eggs for 2 servings)

• 1 seasonal snack: Strawberry Basil Summer Smoothie Bowl with hidden zucchini

• 1 make-ahead lunch: Peach Avocado Chicken Salad

• 4 dinners: Za’atar Chicken with Spinach and Peach Salad, Greek Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Wild Rice, One Pan Salmon, Zucchini and Bell Peppers with Wild Rice, and Lemon Garlic Salmon with Spinach Salad

The ingredient overlap is strong this week. Spinach (10 cups total), red bell pepper, strawberries, peach, lemon, garlic, and chicken breast all cross multiple meals. One smart grocery run and one prep session covers the whole plan.

The 3-anchor prep that makes this week work

Same concept as last week: instead of approaching every meal as its own project, the whole week runs on three prep anchors you can knock out in one session.

Anchor 1: Cook all the wild rice at once.

It shows up as a side for Tuesday’s Greek Chicken Lettuce Wraps and alongside Wednesday’s One Pan Salmon, Zucchini, and Bell Peppers.

Wild rice takes about 40 minutes on the stove, so start it first and let it run in the background while you handle everything else (unless you use an Instant Pot, and in that case, make it quicker). It stores beautifully for up to five days, so this is one of those “set it and forget it” prep tasks that pays off twice.

And the resistant starch benefit applies here: cooking your rice ahead and reheating it later increases the resistant starch content, which supports both blood sugar regulation and gut health.

Anchor 2: Chop all your veg and herbs, and prep all the fruit.

This is the biggest anchor of the week, and it’s also the one that makes the most difference.

Spinach alone totals 10 cups across three meals (lunch salad, Monday’s za’atar chicken, Thursday’s salmon salad), so wash it with agitation, use the salad spinner to dry, and portion it out.

Red bell pepper crosses three recipes (breakfast scramble, Tuesday’s wraps, Wednesday’s salmon sheet pan).

Strawberries hit two (breakfast and the smoothie bowl). Peach hits two (lunch salad and Monday’s dinner).

Then tackle the rest: zucchini, cucumber, tomato, green onion, garlic, leeks, cauliflower, red onion, basil, dill, parsley, and mint.

While you’re already at the cutting board, chop and freeze the zucchini, banana, and extra strawberries for the smoothie bowl so that’s ready to blend any morning.

Anchor 3: Poach the chicken for the lunch salad.

The Peach Avocado Chicken Salad calls for chicken that’s poached in simmering water, cooled completely, and cubed.

That’s a 20-minute task on a Sunday that turns into an impossible ask on a Tuesday at noon. Get it done during prep and store it in the fridge.

Then all you’re doing for lunch is mashing avocado, folding in the chicken and veg, and spooning it over spinach. Two minutes, tops.

A taste of what’s inside

One dinner from this week is the Za’atar Chicken with Spinach and Peach Salad.

The chicken goes into a parchment paper packet with vegetables, olive oil, and za’atar spice, then bakes until everything is tender and fragrant.

While it roasts, you build the salad: a bed of baby spinach topped with sliced peach, feta, and fresh parsley.

The roasted chicken and vegetables go right on top, and a squeeze of lemon ties the whole thing together. It’s the kind of meal that looks like a magazine spread but comes together in one baking sheet and a cutting board. The parchment folding technique that keeps the steam inside (and the chicken impossibly tender) is in the plan below.

What unlocks below

Alchemists tell me this is the piece they use most every week.

Inside this week’s plan, you’ll get:

• A full week of meals built to keep blood sugar steady through summer’s messiest weeks without requiring complicated cooking

• A shopping guide organized by store section so you walk in knowing exactly what to grab and walk out without the usual wandering

• A prep workflow that maps the three-anchor system so your entire week is handled before Monday hits

• Full recipes with every ingredient, amount, and step for all seven meals plus the snack

• Simple swaps so the plan still works when life throws a curveball

• Downloadable files ready to save or print

The week is already built. Unlock it below and it’s yours.

How to use this week’s plan

Three ways, depending on your week:

• Use the full plan + prep guide if you want everything mapped and your week simplified.

• Use the bulk-prep strategy: cook your proteins once and assemble different meals through the week.

• Use the recipes à la carte: every recipe stands alone, so just pull what sounds good that day.

Upgrade to ✨Alchemy for the Meal Plans

Read more

The August air is heavy with change.

Summer’s carefree days are drifting into memory, and fall’s crisp potential is just around the bend.

It’s a time of transition, of letting go and embracing new beginnings.

And for me, it’s a reminder of the power of intentional habits and self-care during these seasonal shifts.

As I’ve been navigating this change, I’ve been reflecting on my own habit-building journey.

A few years back, I dove headfirst into the world of bullet journaling. I did the whole “life wheel” exercise, set a bunch of SMART goals, and bought a fancy journal with all the bells and whistles.

For a while, I was on fire - color-coding, stickering, the works. But after a few months, I realized I just had a glorified to-do list. I wasn’t making much progress because each task required time I didn’t have.

That’s when I had my lightbulb moment: Habits are about intention and time, not just tasks.

I started looking at my days differently, noticing my natural energy patterns and carving out specific time slots for the habits that mattered most.

For example, I put a recurring Friday afternoon check-in with my parents on my calendar, complete with a reminder. Non-negotiable relationship time.

I also noticed that my brainpower peaks in the morning, but my physical energy is higher in the afternoon (thanks, stress and nervous energy). So I moved my workouts to match that flow.

Suddenly, my monthly reviews weren’t about crossing off to-do’s, but about assessing whether I was honoring those habit slots and troubleshooting friction points. By working with my natural rhythms and baking intention into my schedule, I found a way to build habits that actually stuck.

What I Made, Did, & Loved: August Edition

In the spirit of savoring summer’s final days and preparing for fall’s fresh start, here’s a peek into my August highlights:

• Made: Overnight Oats Parfaits with homemade granola and farmer’s market berries. The perfect no-cook breakfast for steamy August mornings.

• Did: Aside from indoor bike rides mid-day because of the heat … evening walks with the family. We’ve been soaking up the golden hour glow and catching up on the day’s adventures. It’s become a cherished ritual.

• Loved: “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. Even though I’ve had this book for a while, I keep re-reading it. This book has been a game-changer for my habit-building mindset. Highly recommend for anyone looking to make lasting changes. {PS- We’re diving into some of these concepts in Fall!}

• Cooked: Grilled Veggie Skewers with Chimichurri. Our go-to for easy summer dinners. Pro tip: make extra chimichurri for grain bowls throughout the week.

• Cherished: Sunrise coffee dates with my journal. School’s back in so I’m up extra early again, and taking a few quiet moments each morning to set my intentions and check in with myself has been a sanity-saver.

These simple practices - nourishing my body, connecting with loved ones, feeding my mind, and honoring my own needs - are the anchors that ground me through life’s transitions.

They’re the embodiment of the BEAT Framework’s Anchor phase, the daily actions that make anti-inflammatory living a sustainable reality.

In case you missed it, here’s what else I shared this month:

1. Anti-Inflammatory Overnight Oats for balanced blood sugar and steady energy

• What we did: Shared a simple, customizable recipe for overnight oats that supports stable blood sugar and sustained energy throughout the morning.

• Why it matters: Starting your day with a balanced, nourishing breakfast sets the stage for better energy, focus, and appetite control all day long.

2. Not All Oats Are the Same: How to Choose the Best for Blood Sugar

• What we did: Dove deeper into the world of oats, exploring the differences between various types and how to select the best options for blood sugar control.

• Why it matters: Understanding the nuances of seemingly healthy foods like oats empowers you to make informed choices that genuinely support your unique physiology and goals.

3. 4 Anti-Inflammatory Dinners: 1 Lunch, 1 Snack, 1 Breakfast + Meal Plan: August Weeks 1-4

• What we did: Provided a week’s worth of anti-inflammatory meal ideas, including dinners, lunch, snack, and breakfast, plus a complete meal plan to make implementation easy.

• Why it matters: Having a practical, actionable plan takes the guesswork and decision fatigue out of eating for optimal health and inflammation control.

→ See Meal Plans

4. It’s Too Hot to Cook: Here’s How to Make a Summer Salad That Actually Satisfies

• What we did: Offered tips and strategies for creating filling, nourishing salads that serve as complete meals, even on the hottest summer days.

• Why it matters: Learning to craft salads that are both refreshing and satisfying helps you stay on track with your health goals without feeling deprived or resorting to less nutritious convenience foods.

5. Making Meal Plans Simple: How to Build a Weekly Menu System

• What we did: Broke down the process of creating a streamlined, efficient weekly menu system that simplifies meal planning and prep.

• Why it matters: A reliable menu system reduces overwhelm, saves time and energy, and makes consistent healthy eating much more achievable in the real world.

6. The August Anti-Inflammatory Kitchen: The Transition Month

• What we did: Explored key strategies and mindset shifts for navigating the transition from summer to fall while maintaining an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

• Why it matters: Seasonal transitions can be tricky, but with the right tools and perspective, they become opportunities to double down on nourishing routines and supportive habits.

🍂Fall: What we’re moving into next

And for the Alchemists in the house, get ready.

The Fall Reset is coming, complete with a 90-Day Goal Setting Workshop to help you align your habits with your vision for the season ahead. Plus, the Fall Foods + Moods Edition - your culinary compass for the cozy days to come.

If you haven’t joined the Alchemy inner circle yet, now’s the perfect time. Because this community is your soft place to land as you navigate life’s changes. Your source of support, inspiration, and practical tools to help you flourish, no matter what the seasons bring.

If you want this done for you

This is exactly what we’re working through inside ✨Alchemy: not more information to manage, but the tools to keep you consistent.

Knowing what to do usually isn’t the problem. Consistency is. ✨Alchemy is built around that reality.

Join us in Alchemy

A final thought

As summer slips away and fall unfolds, I encourage you to pause. Honor the season that was, and embrace the one that’s yet to be. Trust that you have everything you need to weather this transition with grace and intention.

And remember, we’re here - walking alongside you, every step of the way.

With love (and pumpkin spice),

Laura

You switched to oatmeal because someone told you it was healthy. Maybe you even bought the organic kind. But … if you grabbed the wrong type off the shelf, you may be starting every morning with a blood sugar spike that undoes the very thing you’re trying to fix.

The type of oat matters more than most people realize. And the reason comes down to one thing: how much processing stands between the whole grain and your bloodstream.

If you read my recent post on building anti-inflammatory overnight oats, this is the companion piece.

→That one covered how to build the meal.

→This one covers the ingredient decision that determines whether the meal actually works for your blood sugar or quietly works against it.

The whole grain rule most people misunderstand

Here’s where the confusion starts. A box that says “made with whole grains” sounds like it should be fine. It’s not.

“Whole grain” on a food label means the product was made from a whole grain at some point in its life. It does not mean that grain is still intact when it hits your digestive system.

Whole wheat bread is made from whole grain wheat, but by the time that wheat has been ground into flour, it behaves nothing like the original kernel. Your body breaks it down fast, and your blood sugar responds accordingly.

The anti-inflammatory standard is different. What matters isn’t where the grain started. It’s how structurally intact it is when you eat it.

Whole or partially cracked grains release their energy gradually, which means a slower, steadier glucose response. The more a grain has been cut, rolled, flattened, or ground, the faster it converts to sugar in your bloodstream.

This is the lens that makes the rest of this post make sense.

Every oat type below is the same grain. The difference is how much has been done to it before it reaches your bowl.

What each type of oat actually does to your blood sugar

Think of this as a spectrum from least processed to most, and from slowest blood sugar response to fastest.

Oat groats

are the whole oat kernel with nothing removed, nothing flattened, nothing cut. They’re the most intact form of the grain you can buy. They cook similarly to steel-cut oats (hearty, chewy, takes some time), and they deliver the full spectrum of fiber, nutrients, and resistant starch the grain naturally carries.

Per half cup of dry oats, groats pack roughly 360 calories, 68g of carbohydrates, 10g of fiber, and 10g of protein.

That fiber-to-carb ratio is the highest of any oat type, which is part of why they’re the most insulin-friendly option. If you’re looking for the closest adherence to the “structurally whole” standard, groats are it.

Steel-cut oats

are whole groats chopped into a few pieces. That’s it. No steaming, no flattening. They still have a hearty, slightly nutty texture, and because the grain is only partially cracked, digestion is still slow and steady.

Per half cup: roughly 300 calories, 54g carbs, 8g fiber, 10g protein.

For most women, steel-cut oats are the sweet spot between blood sugar stability and realistic prep time.

Rolled oats

(also called old-fashioned oats) are where things start to shift. These have been steamed and flattened with heavy rollers, which makes them cook faster but also breaks down more of the grain’s structure. They’re past the “partially cracked” threshold. The result is a noticeably faster glucose response compared to steel-cut or groats.

Per half cup: roughly 190 calories, 33g carbs, 5g fiber, 6g protein. That’s a significant drop in density, fiber, and protein from steel-cut.

Rolled oats are the most common type called for in recipes, and they’re not terrible, but they’re not the best choice for blood sugar management either. If rolled is the texture you prefer, you can still make it work, but it becomes more important to pair them with protein and fat, and to use the cook-then-cool method to increase resistant starches.

Quick oats and instant oats

are essentially the same thing: oats that have been cut finer, steamed longer, and processed to cook in minutes.

Per half cup: roughly 150 calories, 27g carbs, 4g fiber, 5g protein.

They break down rapidly in your digestive system, and the blood sugar response reflects that. For anyone managing inflammation or insulin resistance, these should be avoided. The convenience isn’t worth the metabolic trade-off.

The pattern is straightforward: the less the oat has been processed, the more fiber it retains, the slower it digests, and the gentler the blood sugar response. The more it’s been cut and flattened, the more it behaves like refined carbohydrate in your body. Same grain. Completely different metabolic outcome depending on what was done to it before you bought it.

Factors in swapping out one type of oats for another

You would think it would be easy to just swap out one type for another, but here are 2 things to consider:

1: Different oat types don’t cook the same

They’re different densities and therefore the less processed they are, the longer they take to cook. For this reason, instead of trying to swap them 1:1 in a recipe, I would search up a new recipe that’s been tested and lists that type of oat specifically (unless you’re good at or like doing swaps and testing yourself first.)

2: Different oats have different energy

Since each type has a different density, they’re also different in macro and calorie-count (which matters if you’re tracking that to lose or gain weight).

When oats might not be the right choice for you

Oats work well for a lot of women. But not all women, and not under all conditions. This really becomes about knowing whether they’re actually serving your body right now.

If you have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, oats are naturally gluten-free, but cross-contamination during manufacturing is extremely common. Unless the package specifically says “certified gluten-free,” assume there are traces of gluten present. For some women, that’s enough to trigger a reaction.

If you have an autoimmune condition, the gluten cross-contamination issue matters even more. Research has connected gluten to intestinal permeability (leaky gut), and women with autoimmune conditions tend to be more susceptible.

Some women with autoimmune issues do fine with certified gluten-free oats. Others find they need to eliminate grains entirely for a period, then reintroduce them one at a time to see what their body tolerates. That’s part of the Explore phase of the BEAT Framework, where you test and customize based on your own response.

If you have IBS, IBD, or Crohn’s, any grain can potentially irritate the GI tract or cause bloating, especially if there’s an underlying gut bacteria imbalance. Oats aren’t automatically off the table, but they need to be tested carefully rather than assumed to be safe.

If you’re managing insulin resistance, even the best oat choice in the right portion may still push your blood sugar higher than you’d want. This doesn’t mean oats are permanently off limits. It means they need to be treated as a carbohydrate that requires strategic pairing.

The overnight oats essay (linked above) covers several approaches: reducing the oat portion and eating protein first, adding protein powder directly to the oats, or switching to a keto overnight “oats” base that skips the grain entirely.

If you’re dealing with mood disorders or ADHD, this one is less commonly discussed, but emerging research on low-carb and ketogenic diets is showing promise for mood regulation, focus, and cognitive function. If you have depression, anxiety, or ADHD, it may be worth experimenting with reducing or eliminating grains (including oats) to see how it affects your mental clarity and stability.

This isn’t a blanket recommendation. It’s a variable worth testing and experimenting with, which is a huge part of how I work with clients: discovering what works with YOUR body.

None of this is meant to scare you away from oats. It’s meant to help you make the decision with open eyes rather than defaulting to “oatmeal is healthy” without asking whether it’s healthy for you.

Buy organic if you can

This one is brief because the recommendation is simple. Non-organic oats (and grains in general) are commonly sprayed with glyphosate, a chemical with enough documented harm that it’s been the subject of successful lawsuits worldwide. The research on long-term exposure continues to build, and it’s not reassuring. Organic oats eliminate that variable. If you can afford the slightly higher price, it’s worth it for a food you’re eating regularly.

The timing question most people never think to ask

Here’s the part that surprises most people: oats might actually be better suited for dinner than breakfast.

This sounds counterintuitive because oatmeal has been branded as a breakfast food for decades. But from a blood sugar and performance standpoint, a carbohydrate-heavier meal first thing in the morning isn’t ideal.

Research has shown that lower-carb mornings tend to support better focus, sharper cognitive function, and more stable energy through the productive hours of the day.

A higher-carb meal early in the day can leave you foggy and sluggish by mid-morning, which is the exact complaint most women have about their current breakfast.

An evening bowl of oats (or overnight oats prepared for an after-dinner snack) could actually help you wind down and sleep better. And since blood sugar management and inflammation are both significantly affected by sleep quality, this one small timing shift can create a ripple effect that goes well beyond the meal itself.

*This won’t be true for every person. Some women do well with oats in the morning, especially when they’re paired with protein and fat.

But if you’ve been eating oatmeal for breakfast and still crashing by 10 a.m., it’s worth asking whether the issue isn’t what you’re eating, but when.

The decision framework in 5 easy steps

1. Choose the least processed oat you enjoy eating (groats or steel-cut if possible, rolled if that’s your texture preference),

2. buy organic and certified gluten-free,

3. use the cook-then-cool method to maximize resistant starches,

4. pair it with protein and fat,

5. and pay attention to how your body responds, because that’s the data point that matters most. (this means energy-wise, mood-wise, and blood-sugar wise)

Which brings me to a question I’ve been considering lately …

And if you want to see how this comes together in an actual recipe, the overnight oats post (linked above) walks through the full build step by step.

Inside Alchemy, all of this thinking is already done for you. The weekly meal plans account for grain type, portion size, protein pairing, and blood sugar balance in every breakfast, so you’re not standing in the oat aisle trying to do the math yourself.

Upgrade to Alchemy

✨ Why upgrade to Alchemy? ✨

• Every Friday: A done-for-you anti-inflammatory meal plan with shopping list and prep guide. No more Sunday decision fatigue.

• 2x/month: Deep dive essays that go further on inflammation, blood sugar, emotional eating, and real-life implementation than the free tier.

• Every season: A full Seasonal Reset Protocol and 90-Day Goal Session to help you recalibrate before each new season instead of scrambling to catch up.

• On arrival: The Anti-Inflammatory Starter Kit, yours the day you join.

For free subscribers, you already get:

• Educational essays on anti-inflammatory eating, blood sugar balance, and sustainable habits (2x/month)

• Personal essays from my client work and my own experience navigating inflammation, cravings, and a lifestyle that actually holds (1x/month)

• A free meal plan preview each month

For less than $2/week, you get the full system in the ✨Alchemist Lab: weekly recipes, plans, and prep guides, seasonal resets, and a growing library of workshops and guides built for women who are done guessing and ready to build something sustainable.

LET'S DO IT! ✨

Mid-August sits in this strange in-between.

Summer isn’t over, but mentally you’re already thinking about September.

The produce is still peak season, but the urge to start tightening things up is real.

If you’re feeling pulled between “savor what’s left” and “get my act together,” this week’s plan holds both of those things at the same time.

What I notice in my own kitchen at this point in the season is that I start craving more grounded, savory meals without wanting to give up the fresh, bright flavors that make summer cooking feel easy.

It’s a shift in energy more than a shift in ingredients. And it’s a signal worth paying attention to, because your body is already starting to transition even if the calendar hasn’t caught up yet.

The meals this week reflect that. They’re warm and satisfying without being heavy, and they use the summer produce that’s still available while it lasts.

These weekly plans are also the same approach I used on myself first in healing my own health issues.

• They’re how I reversed prediabetes by keeping my blood sugar steady all day instead of riding the spike-and-crash.

• They’re how I got my inflammation down far enough that my knees stopped negotiating with me before every workout.

• They’re how I finally lost the weight that stuck after my third kid and dug in harder once perimenopause showed up. I’m not teaching this from a textbook.

I built the system because I needed it to work in my own messy week first.

This week we’re supporting

Seasonal transition nutrition | High-protein variety across four different proteins | Anti-inflammatory spice layering

August’s “Sustain” theme is about building the bridge into fall without forcing a hard reset.

This week rotates through four different proteins (chicken thighs, flank steak, tuna, and eggs) so you’re getting variety in your amino acid profile while keeping the shopping list manageable.

The spice work this week is worth highlighting: turmeric in the breakfast omelette, rosemary and coconut milk in Tuesday’s creamy chicken, Thai basil and tamari in the stir fry, and lime-cilantro in the pineapple salsa.

Every one of those has documented anti-inflammatory benefits, and they all taste incredible.

What’s in this week’s plan

The overall feel this week is hearty, globally inspired, and built around meals that feel more like real cooking without actually being complicated.

Monday is French-leaning (lemon garlic butter chicken).

Tuesday is comfort food with a coconut milk twist.

Wednesday goes Thai.

Thursday lands somewhere between Latin and tropical.

And every single dinner takes 30 minutes or less.

This week includes:

• 1 protein-loaded breakfast: Veggie Turmeric Omelette with Raspberries (27g protein)

• 1 satisfying snack: Egg and Avocado Salad Lettuce Wraps

  

• 1 hearty lunch: Brown Rice Tuna Avocado Salad with Feta

• 4 dinners: Lemon Garlic Chicken and Green Beans, Creamy Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Chicken, Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry with Brown Rice, and Steak with Pineapple and Avocado Salsa with Brown Rice

The ingredient overlap this week centers on brown rice (three meals), spinach (three meals), avocado (three meals), and eggs (breakfast and snack). One grocery run, one prep session, and the week is covered.

The 3-anchor prep that makes this week work

Same concept as last week: instead of approaching every meal as its own project, the whole week runs on three prep anchors you can knock out in one session.

Anchor 1: Cook all the brown rice at once.

It shows up in the Brown Rice Tuna Avocado Salad for lunch, alongside Wednesday’s Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry, and again with Thursday’s Steak with Pineapple and Avocado Salsa. One pot, three meals handled.

Brown rice takes about 40 minutes on the stove, so start it first and let it run in the background while you tackle the other two anchors.

And the resistant starch benefit applies here: cooking your rice ahead and reheating it later increases the resistant starch content, which supports both blood sugar regulation and gut health.

Anchor 2: Chop all your vegetables, herbs, and prep the pineapple.

This is the big one this week.

You’ve got 8 cups of baby spinach across three meals (omelette, tuna salad, and Tuesday’s creamy chicken).

Cherry tomatoes cross two (omelette and lunch).

Then there’s green beans for Monday, broccoli and bell peppers for the stir fry, onion and garlic for multiple recipes, shallot for the snack wraps, and Thai basil and cilantro for the second half of the week.

Dice the pineapple for Thursday’s salsa while you’re already at the cutting board.

This single session is the difference between a week that flows and a week where you’re chopping onions at 6:15pm while the oil is already smoking.

Anchor 3: Hard boil the eggs and whisk together the stir fry sauce.

The Egg and Avocado Salad Lettuce Wraps need four hard boiled eggs, peeled and ready to mash. If those are sitting in the fridge, your snack becomes two minutes of mashing and assembling.

The Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry sauce (tamari, fish sauce, lime juice, and monk fruit sweetener) takes about 30 seconds to whisk together, but it’s the kind of small task that’s easy to skip on a Wednesday night when you’re tired.

Make it during prep, store it in a small jar, and it’s ready to pour into the skillet when the vegetables are done.

A taste of what’s inside

One dinner from this week is the Creamy Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Chicken. Chicken thighs get seared in olive oil until golden on both sides, then set aside while full-fat coconut milk and chopped spinach go into the same pan.

The spinach wilts into the coconut milk, the chicken goes back in with sun-dried tomatoes and dried rosemary, and the whole thing simmers covered until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is rich and silky.

It tastes like something you’d order at a restaurant, but it takes 25 minutes and one skillet. The specific ratio of coconut milk to spinach that keeps the sauce creamy instead of watery is in the plan below.

What unlocks below

Alchemists tell me this is the piece they use most every week.

Inside this week’s plan, you’ll get:

• A full week of meals built to keep blood sugar steady through summer’s messiest weeks without requiring complicated cooking

• A shopping guide organized by store section so you walk in knowing exactly what to grab and walk out without the usual wandering

• A prep workflow that maps the three-anchor system so your entire week is handled before Monday hits

• Full recipes with every ingredient, amount, and step for all seven meals plus the snack

• Simple swaps so the plan still works when life throws a curveball

• Downloadable files ready to save or print

The week is already built. Unlock it below and it’s yours.

How to use this week’s plan

Three ways, depending on your week:

• Use the full plan + prep guide if you want everything mapped and your week simplified.

• Use the bulk-prep strategy: cook your proteins once and assemble different meals through the week. The pesto chicken and Cuban beef are both designed to be made once and eaten multiple times.

• Use the recipes à la carte: every recipe stands alone, so just pull what sounds good that day.

Upgrade to ✨Alchemy for the Meal Plans

Read more

Overnight oats might be the most popular “healthy” breakfast on the internet right now. And honestly, I get why. Five minutes of prep, no morning cooking, grab it from the fridge and go. For busy women trying to eat better without turning breakfast into a project, it checks every box.

Except one.

Most overnight oats recipes are spiking your blood sugar before your first meeting even starts. And some of the “cleanest” looking versions are the worst offenders.

The good news: this is completely fixable. You don’t have to give up overnight oats. You just have to understand what’s actually happening in the jar, and make a few changes that most recipes skip entirely.

This is one of the most-read posts on my blog for a reason. It’s the breakfast question I get asked about more than almost anything else. So I want to go deeper here on why the typical approach backfires, and what to do instead, whether you’re managing inflammation, watching your blood sugar, or both.

The problem with most overnight oats recipes

If you search “overnight oats” on Pinterest or Instagram, most of what you’ll find falls into one of two categories:

1. recipes loaded with honey, maple syrup, agave, or brown sugar;

2. or recipes that skip the obvious sugar but still use ingredients that hit your bloodstream fast.

1️⃣The first category is easy to spot. Sweetened overnight oats are essentially dessert in a mason jar. They taste great because they’re built on the same sugar-fat-carb combination that makes pastries satisfying. That’s not breakfast. That’s a blood sugar roller coaster with chia seeds on top.

2️⃣The second category is trickier, and it’s where a lot of well-intentioned women get caught. The recipe looks clean. No added sugar, maybe some fruit, good ingredients. But the oat type, the portion size, and the way it’s prepared still create a glucose response that can leave you foggy, hungry, and reaching for something else by 10 a.m.

Here’s why.

What’s actually happening with the oats themselves

Not all oats behave the same way in your body. The more processed the oat, the faster it breaks down into glucose.

Quick oats (the instant kind) have been cut, steamed, and flattened to cook fast. That convenience comes at a cost: your body absorbs them rapidly, which means a sharper blood sugar spike. Rolled oats are less processed and slower to digest. Steel-cut oats are the least processed option; they’re whole oat groats chopped into pieces, and they take the longest to break down.

For blood sugar purposes, steel-cut or rolled oats are the better choices. Quick oats aren’t doing you any favors here, even if the rest of the recipe looks good.

But here’s the part most recipes miss entirely.

The resistant starch trick that changes everything

When you cook oats and then let them cool (like putting them in the fridge overnight), something happens to the starch structure. A portion of the starch converts into what’s called resistant starch, meaning it resists digestion in the small intestine and instead ferments in the large intestine, acting more like fiber than like a typical carbohydrate.

This matters for two reasons.

First, resistant starches lower the overall glycemic impact of the meal. Your blood sugar doesn’t spike as high or crash as hard.

Second, resistant starches feed beneficial gut bacteria, which supports the kind of gut environment that helps manage inflammation over time.

Most overnight oats recipes tell you to just soak raw oats in liquid overnight. That works for texture, but you’re leaving the resistant starch benefit on the table. The better approach: cook your oats first (stovetop or microwave, just follow the package directions), then let them cool before adding the rest of your ingredients and refrigerating overnight. That cook-then-cool cycle is what triggers the starch conversion.

It’s a small change in process. It’s a meaningful change in what the meal does in your body.

Building the base: four layers that matter

Instead of following a single recipe and hoping it works, it helps to understand the framework so you can build your own version confidently. There are four layers to an anti-inflammatory overnight oats base.

Steel-cut or rolled oats, labeled gluten-free if you’re avoiding gluten (oats are naturally gluten-free, but cross-contamination during processing is common). A half cup of dry oats is a standard single serving.

A half cup of milk, dairy or non-dairy. If you’re using a non-dairy option, look for unsweetened with minimal fillers and thickeners. A lot of plant milks sneak in ingredients that some people react to, so read the label.

This is what keeps the meal from being mostly carbohydrate. A quarter cup of plain, unsweetened yogurt (Greek or coconut) plus a tablespoon of chia seeds. The yogurt adds protein and probiotics. The chia seeds add healthy fat, fiber, and a little more protein. Together, they slow glucose absorption and keep you full longer.

If you want sweetness (and most people do, because plain oats can taste like cardboard), use a zero-calorie natural sweetener: monk fruit, stevia, erythritol, or allulose.

Skip honey and maple syrup for daily use. I know the Paleo community considers those acceptable, and they have their place, but for a breakfast you’re eating several times a week, the daily sugar load adds up.

A pinch of salt also makes a surprising difference here; it brings out the natural flavor of the oats and balances the sweetness so the whole thing tastes more like food and less like a cardboard box.

This is where you can get a real anti-inflammatory boost without adding a lot of extra calories.

Cinnamon is the easiest win. Studies have shown it supports lower blood sugar levels, which makes it a natural fit for a grain-based breakfast. It also happens to taste great with almost any flavor combination.

Turmeric and ginger both have well-established anti-inflammatory properties. They add a bit of warmth and bite. Not everyone loves them in oats, but if you do, they’re doing real work.

For crunch and healthy fats, chopped almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, or pistachios all work well. And if you’re adding fruit, lower-sugar options like berries are your best bet. They’re loaded with antioxidants and won’t spike your blood sugar the way banana or mango will.

A few flavor combinations that work well together:

• apple with cinnamon,

• strawberry with peanut butter,

• coconut flakes with almonds and sugar-free chocolate chips,

• or peppermint extract with sugar-free mini chocolate chips if you want something that tastes like dessert without acting like it.

The part most overnight oats content won’t tell you

Even with all of these adjustments, there’s something I want to be direct about: a half cup of oats is still a meaningful serving of carbohydrates. For women who are actively managing insulin resistance, that portion alone may still push blood sugar higher than you’d want, even with the resistant starch trick and the protein and fat anchors built in.

If that’s you, there are a few ways to work with it.

1. One option is to reduce the oat portion (a quarter cup instead of a half) and pair it with a full serving of protein on the side, like eggs or a turkey sausage, before you eat the oats. Protein first, carbohydrate second. That sequence alone changes how your body processes the glucose.

2. Another option is to add a scoop of protein powder directly into the oats. This increases the protein content of the meal itself and further blunts the blood sugar response. Just make sure your protein powder doesn’t have added sugar or artificial sweeteners.

3. And for some women, the best option might be skipping the oats entirely and using a keto overnight “oats” base built on seeds and coconut instead of grain. I have a recipe for that version too, and I’ll include it below for my Alchemists.

This is one of those places where the generic “healthy” advice falls short. What works depends on your body, your blood sugar patterns, and where you are in your own anti-inflammatory journey. The framework above gives you the tools to figure out which version works for you.

Why this matters for building a breakfast you can sustain

The reason overnight oats have stayed so popular isn’t the novelty. It’s the sustainability. Five minutes of prep the night before, and breakfast is handled. No decisions in the morning. No standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what to eat while the coffee brews.

That’s exactly the kind of low-friction habit that makes anti-inflammatory eating stick in real life. Not because any single breakfast is going to transform your health, but because removing one daily decision, every day, compounds into consistency you can actually feel over time.

If you’ve been making overnight oats the standard way and wondering why your energy still crashes mid-morning, now you know what to change. And if you’ve been avoiding them because you heard oats are “bad,” you have a framework for making them work.

Here’s the full base recipe with exact measurements and step-by-step instructions if you want to grab it:

✨ Why upgrade to Alchemy? ✨

• Every Friday: A done-for-you anti-inflammatory meal plan with shopping list and prep guide. No more Sunday decision fatigue.

• 2x/month: Deep dive essays that go further on inflammation, blood sugar, emotional eating, and real-life implementation than the free tier.

• Every season: A full Seasonal Reset Protocol and 90-Day Goal Session to help you recalibrate before each new season instead of scrambling to catch up.

• On arrival: The Anti-Inflammatory Starter Kit, yours the day you join.

For free subscribers, you already get:

• Educational essays on anti-inflammatory eating, blood sugar balance, and sustainable habits (2x/month)

• Personal essays from my client work and my own experience navigating inflammation, cravings, and a lifestyle that actually holds (1x/month)

• A free meal plan preview each month

For less than $2/week, you get the full system in the ✨Alchemist Lab: weekly recipes, plans, and prep guides, seasonal resets, and a growing library of workshops and guides built for women who are done guessing and ready to build something sustainable.

LET'S DO IT! ✨

There’s a version of August where everything clicks into place: the back-to-school prep is handled, the meals are sorted, and you glide into fall feeling grounded.

… And then there’s the version most of us are actually living, where every day feels like a countdown and dinner is whatever you can pull together with the energy you have left at 6pm.

If your meals have turned into an afterthought, your blood sugar already knows. That mid-afternoon crash, the “I’m not hungry but I can’t stop snacking” loop, the brain fog that makes even simple decisions feel hard.

None of that is random. It’s what happens when the structure that was holding your eating together dissolves, and your body starts scrambling to regulate on its own.

This week’s plan is built to give you that structure back without adding complexity. Two lean proteins, two grains, and a lot of overlap between meals so one prep session carries the whole week.

If you’re new here, welcome! Every week I put together a full anti-inflammatory meal plan built to do one thing: take the daily “what’s for dinner” decision off your plate so you can actually stay consistent.

Consistency is what moves inflammation and blood sugar, not perfection, and these plans are designed to make consistency the easy option.

These weekly plans are the same approach I used on myself first.

• They’re how I reversed prediabetes by keeping my blood sugar steady all day instead of riding the spike-and-crash.

• They’re how I got my inflammation down far enough that my knees stopped negotiating with me before every workout.

• They’re how I finally lost the weight that stuck after my third kid and dug in harder once perimenopause showed up. I’m not teaching this from a textbook.

This week we’re supporting

Blood sugar stability through protein-forward meals | Anti-inflammatory spice variety | Back-to-routine simplicity

August’s “Sustain” theme is about making anti-inflammatory eating feel automatic, not aspirational.

This week leans on ground turkey and pre-cooked shrimp as the two primary proteins, which means half your dinners require almost no active cooking at all.

What’s on the menu this week

The overall feel this week is savory, Mediterranean-inspired, and built around bold flavors that don’t require a lot of ingredients.

🍋Lemon, olives, and fresh herbs carry the first half of the week.

🌶️Cajun seasoning and sriracha bring the heat for the second half.

🍍And pineapple shows up twice (in the smoothie and the lunch bowl) as a natural anti-inflammatory that also happens to make everything taste like summer.

This week includes:

• 1 protein-forward breakfast: Spinach and Quinoa Salad with Eggs, topped with olives, walnuts, and a lemon-mustard dressing

• 1 anti-inflammatory snack: Pineapple Turmeric Protein Smoothie with ginger and almond butter

• 1 batch-friendly lunch: Turkey, Spinach, and Pineapple Bowl with avocado and fresh dill

• 4 dinners: Mediterranean Turkey and Rice Bowl with tzatziki, Lemon Turkey Quinoa Skillet with olives and spinach, Spicy Shrimp and Edamame Rice, and Cold Spicy Shrimp and Chickpea Salad

The ingredient overlap is intentional. Ground turkey, spinach, quinoa, rice, lemon, and cilantro weave through the week so your grocery list stays short and your fridge does double duty.

Why this week works

The 3-anchor prep that makes this week work

Anchor 1: Brown all the ground turkey at once.

You’re using it in three different meals this week: the Turkey, Spinach, and Pineapple Bowl for lunch, Monday’s Mediterranean Turkey and Rice Bowl, and Tuesday’s Lemon Turkey Quinoa Skillet. That’s about 1 3/4 pounds total (for 2 servings per meal → don’t forget to change the serving sizes if you need it for more servings!)

Cook it all plain in one session, portion it into three containers, and season each one differently when it’s time to cook.

• Monday gets Greek seasoning and diced tomatoes.

• Tuesday gets oregano, olives, and lemon.

• The lunch bowl stays unseasoned because it’s topped with avocado and dill instead.

One skillet session, three meals handled.

Anchor 2: Cook both grains at once.

You’ve got two grains running through four meals this week.

→ Quinoa shows up in the breakfast salad and Tuesday’s Lemon Turkey Quinoa Skillet.

→ Basmati rice shows up in Monday’s Mediterranean bowl and Wednesday’s Spicy Shrimp and Edamame Rice.

Two pots on the stove at the same time, both done in under 20 minutes, four meals covered. And the resistant starch bonus applies here too (read more about that in these past newsletters 👇):

Anchor 3: Chop all your veg and prep the pineapple.

• Spinach crosses three meals (breakfast salad, lunch bowl, Tuesday skillet).

• Cucumber crosses three (Monday bowl, Wednesday rice, Thursday salad).

• Pineapple shows up twice (smoothie and lunch bowl), so dice it all at once and split it into two containers.

• Then handle the rest: garlic, onion, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, mini peppers, red onion, and dill.

One cutting board session covers the whole week.

One more built-in shortcut worth noting: both shrimp meals this week (Wednesday and Thursday) use pre-cooked shrimp. No cooking required.

You’re literally assembling bowls and drizzling sauce. On a Wednesday night in August, that’s the kind of dinner that keeps you from defaulting to takeout.

When those three anchors are done, every meal this week becomes quick stovetop cooking or pure assembly. That’s the system.

A taste of this week

One dinner from this week is the Lemon Turkey Quinoa Skillet. The turkey cooks with garlic, oregano, and a little sea salt, then gets tossed with chopped black olives and spinach before the quinoa goes in.

Right before serving, you stir in fresh lemon, and it brightens the entire dish in a way that makes it taste like it took way longer than it did. The timing detail that keeps the quinoa from getting mushy in the skillet is in the plan below.

How to use this week’s plan

Three ways, depending on your week:

• Use the full plan + prep guide if you want everything mapped and your week simplified.

• Use the bulk-prep strategy: cook your proteins once and assemble different meals through the week. The pesto chicken and Cuban beef are both designed to be made once and eaten multiple times.

• Use the recipes à la carte: every recipe stands alone, so just pull what sounds good that day.

What’s inside

Below, for ✨Alchemy members, you’ll get the whole thing:

• full-color printable recipe cards for all eight meals (including the cilantro lime rice that pairs with two dinners)

• a shopping list sorted by store section

• the full prep guide plus a quick-prep guide, so your week’s prep happens in one short session instead of seven separate scrambles

The full plan is one step away. If you want the week already mapped out for you, unlock it below.

Upgrade to ✨Alchemy for the Meal Plans

Hit reply and tell me what your favorite meal is from this week. I always want to know.

Read more

After working with nutrition clients for more than 13 years, I can tell you that one of the biggest roadblocks to sticking with anti-inflammatory eating has very little to do with knowing which foods are healthy.

It’s getting those healthy meals on the table. Over and over and over again.

That can be really freaking hard.

I get it. I have four kids, my own business, and a husband who travels about 75% of the time. A lot of the time, I’m operating like a single working mom. I understand the need for simplicity in food planning on a very deep, possibly cellular level.

And this is exactly where I think traditional meal planning can go sideways.

We assume that if we could just find the perfect meal plan, or collect enough healthy recipes, eventually eating well would become easy.

So we save recipes. We print meal plans. We screenshot dinners. We create Pinterest boards. We buy cookbooks.

And somehow we’re still standing in front of the refrigerator at 5:47 p.m. wondering what on earth we’re going to eat.

The problem isn’t necessarily a lack of recipes.

You need a system that can survive your actual life.

What actually makes a menu “easy”?

Easy means different things to different people.

For one person, easy means cooking from scratch every night because she genuinely enjoys it and has the time.

For someone else, easy means cooking two proteins on Sunday and barely turning on the stove again until Thursday.

For another, the physical cooking isn’t the problem at all. It’s the mental exhaustion of figuring out what to make every single night.

In general, though, easier menus tend to have a few things in common: simple ingredients, repeatable formulas, fewer special steps, overlapping ingredients, and a combination of familiar meals with low-effort options.

Easy does not have to mean boring.

What we’re really trying to reduce is unnecessary friction.

Fewer decisions make a plan easier to follow.

Repetition builds skill and speed.

Structure means you don’t have to rely on motivation every afternoon to make the healthy choice.

And that is the goal here.

The perfect meal plan is probably not the answer

I think a lot of people come into Alchemy assuming the meal plans themselves are the solution.

If they collect enough of them, they’ll eventually have this massive library of healthy recipes and complete weekly plans they can reuse forever.

Except there’s a problem.

Someone else’s perfectly planned week may have absolutely nothing to do with yours.

Maybe you don’t like two of the recipes.

Maybe one kid has practice until 8:00 on Tuesday.

Maybe you’re traveling Thursday.

Maybe you love the salmon recipe but your family refuses to eat salmon.

Maybe the plan technically takes an hour to prep, but this is the week when an hour of meal prep feels approximately as realistic as learning conversational Italian before Friday.

That’s when people start getting frustrated.

The plan feels rigid. They fall behind. Food gets wasted. And eventually the entire meal-planning system gets abandoned.

Some people genuinely love following a complete meal plan exactly as written. If that works beautifully for you, keep doing it.

But if it doesn’t, I want you to start looking at the weekly meal plans differently.

Instead of thinking:

“This is the plan I’m supposed to follow.”

Start thinking:

“This is helping me build my own system.”

That’s a very different relationship with meal planning.

And yes, you also need a backup plan.

We’ll get to that, because everyone needs one.

One of the first things I hear from clients is some version of:

“I have about 10 or 20 things we always make. We’re bored with them, and half of them probably aren’t that healthy.”

So naturally, they think the answer is a gigantic collection of new recipes.

It isn’t.

Imagine opening a folder containing an entire year’s worth of meal plans and hundreds of recipes.

Technically, you now have plenty of ideas.

Practically?

You’ve just created another decision problem.

What I’d much rather have you build is a smaller, curated collection of meals that you actually use.

Think seasonally instead of trying to build one enormous master library all at once.

You probably already have family staples that stay in rotation year-round.

Keep them.

If they need healthier modifications to fit your anti-inflammatory goals, make those modifications. Or find a version of the same basic meal that already fits.

Your family does not need to forget every dinner they’ve enjoyed for the last ten years because you’ve decided to eat differently.

Your staples are valuable because you already know how to make them.

Remember:

Repetition creates skill and speed.

Then, each season, add a handful of new recipes that fit naturally into the way you eat that time of year.

Summer may mean grilled proteins, salads, bowls and fresh produce.

Fall may bring sheet-pan meals, soups and roasted vegetables back into rotation.

Winter might lean more heavily into slow cooker meals, stews and warm breakfasts.

Spring can shift back toward lighter meals and fresh seasonal produce.

You gradually build four useful seasonal collections instead of one enormous recipe warehouse.

Some meals will repeat across seasons. Others become seasonal favorites.

And every time you try something from an Alchemy meal plan that your household loves?

It graduates into your personal collection.

That’s how the collection grows.

Slowly. Intentionally. With recipes you’ve already proven you’ll actually eat.

Your collection also needs a home

Having 60 fantastic recipes isn’t especially helpful if 12 are bookmarked in Safari, 17 are on Pinterest, nine are screenshots on your phone, six are printed in a kitchen drawer, and the rest are living wherever saved Instagram posts go to die.

Pick a system for storing them.

If you’re a paper person, print them. Put them in a binder. Organize them by season, protein, meal type, or whatever makes sense to your brain.

If you’re digital, keep them digital.

I personally use Samsung Food as my recipe collection and meal-planning tool because I like having my recipes, planning and shopping process together in one place.

The specific tool isn’t the important part.

The important part is being able to find the meals you already decided you like.

Because once you have that collection, we can stop reinventing dinner every Sunday.

This is where meal planning gets much more personal.

There isn’t one “best” menu system.

There is a best system for the amount and type of bandwidth you have right now.

And bandwidth isn’t just time.

You can have plenty of time and absolutely no desire to make six food decisions.

You can have very little time but enjoy cooking enough that you’d rather cook quickly each evening than spend two hours meal prepping on Sunday.

You may love leftovers.

Your husband may consider leftovers a personal insult.

You may have kids who thrive on knowing Tuesday is taco night.

You may hate that much predictability.

This is why I want you to look at the following options and pay attention to the one that makes you think:

“Oh. That would actually work in my house.”

System 1: Choose Whatever Recipes You Want

This is the highest-bandwidth option.

You choose the recipes you want for the week and make them as you go.

Maybe you have five completely different dinners planned. The ingredients don’t necessarily overlap. There’s little or no advance prep.

If you enjoy cooking and you have the time for it, there’s nothing wrong with this.

You do not receive bonus health points for bulk-prepping chicken breasts on Sunday if you’d genuinely rather cook dinner fresh every night.

The purpose of a system is to reduce friction for you.

System 2: Use Theme Nights

Theme nights are especially useful when mental bandwidth is your biggest problem.

Instead of deciding among hundreds of possible meals, you’ve already narrowed the category.

Tuesday is Mexican.

Wednesday is a sheet-pan dinner.

Thursday is bowls.

Friday is leftovers or eat-out night.

Your themes could be based on cuisine, cooking method, schedule, or family tradition.

Think Taco Tuesday, Italian night, seafood, stir-fry, slow cooker, grill night, freezer meal, bowls, leftovers, “use what we have,” or takeout.

This works particularly well for families because it adds predictability without requiring you to eat the exact same meal every week.

“Taco Tuesday” could mean chicken tacos one week, taco bowls the next, fish tacos after that.

You’ve removed one layer of decision-making while keeping plenty of variety.

System 3: Use Component Meals

This is one of my favorite flexible systems if you’re comfortable building a balanced meal without needing a formal recipe every time.

Instead of prepping complete meals, you prep components.

You might have shredded chicken, grilled shrimp, quinoa, lentils, roasted vegetables, boiled eggs, washed greens, frozen vegetables and a couple of sauces or dressings ready to go.

Then you assemble based on what sounds good.

A bowl.

A salad.

A skillet.

A snack plate.

Leftovers tossed together with a completely different flavor profile.

This system works best once you’re comfortable with the basic structure of a blood-sugar-balancing meal.

My repeatable formula is:

Protein + Fiber + Fat + Optional Complex Carbohydrate + Flavor

That last piece matters more than people give it credit for.

Herbs, spices, citrus, vinegar, pesto, salsa, dressings and sauces are often what allow essentially the same basic ingredients to become completely different meals.

Chicken, vegetables and quinoa can taste Mediterranean one night and completely different two nights later with a new seasoning profile and sauce.

This is how “simple” stops feeling like “same.”

System 4: Choose 3 to 6 Recipes and Prep the Friction Points

This is a great middle ground if you like actual recipes but have moderate time during the week.

Wash and chop the vegetables.

Make the marinade.

Cook the quinoa.

Wash the greens.

Mix the dressing.

You don’t necessarily need to cook Sunday’s dinner on Sunday afternoon.

You’re simply removing the steps most likely to make you decide that cereal suddenly sounds like a perfectly acceptable dinner.

Theme nights can fit beautifully into this system too.

System 5: Bulk Prep Two Proteins for Four or More Meals

This is the structure I use when I create the weekly Alchemy meal plans.

Instead of choosing four completely unrelated dinners, I pair the recipes strategically.

You might cook chicken once and use it for two different meals.

Then prepare salmon or ground turkey for another two.

A few vegetables, grains, greens or sauces can overlap too.

Now four meals do not require four completely separate cooking events.

This is where meal planning starts becoming extremely efficient.

And if you have a favorite family recipe that uses one of those proteins, plug it in.

You don’t have to follow my four recipes simply because I paired them together.

Use two.

Use three.

Take the chicken preparation and pair it with one of your staples.

The meal plan becomes a framework you can borrow from instead of a set of instructions you’re trying to obey.

System 6: One Protein, Three or More Meals

This is your very-low-bandwidth week.

And I want to normalize the heck out of it.

Choose one protein.

Cook enough for several meals.

Then change the format and flavor.

A chicken week might become sheet-pan chicken and vegetables one night, a chicken bowl with greens and quinoa another night, and a chicken skillet with a completely different seasoning profile later in the week.

Lunch may simply be leftover chicken thrown onto greens.

Breakfast doesn’t need to become elaborate either. Eggs, berries, chia pudding, Greek yogurt if you tolerate dairy, or whatever simple staples work within your plan can repeat.

You are intentionally trading some variety for less work.

There are seasons when this makes far more sense than trying to prove to yourself that you can cook five original dinners.

You can change systems from week to week

This part is important.

You aren’t choosing your menu-planning identity for life.

You’re choosing what works this week.

Maybe you normally use three to six recipes with light prep.

Then school starts and suddenly you need the two-protein system.

You have a huge work deadline? One protein and intentional leftovers.

You’re on vacation and actually want to wander through the farmers market and cook dinner every night? Pick whatever looks good.

Your system should flex when your life does.

That’s the whole point.

Use seasonal templates so you aren’t starting from zero

Eventually, I want you to get to a place where menu planning feels more like:

grab → shop → prep

instead of:

sit down → stare into space → search Pinterest → get distracted → somehow start reading about a woman renovating a villa in Tuscany → remember you were supposed to be planning dinner.

This is why I like seasonal templates.

Your meals naturally shift through the year anyway.

Seasonal produce is usually easier to find when it’s abundant and is often less expensive. Shopping locally when it’s practical can also mean produce spends less time traveling and may be harvested closer to ripeness.

But there’s another practical reason I like seasonal collections:

They give you novelty and repetition.

You’re not eating the exact same 15 meals for twelve months.

You’re bringing favorite summer meals back after nine months away.

That feels very different.

Over time, you may have a small set of summer menus, fall menus, winter menus and spring menus that you know work.

Now you’re no longer inventing a meal plan.

You’re choosing from proven templates.

Make convenience part of the system

Shortcuts count:

• Pre-chopped vegetables count.

• Frozen vegetables count.

• Frozen vegetable blends count.

• Seasoning blends count.

• Pre-cooked grains can count.

• Canned beans and lentils count.

• Freezer meals absolutely count.

A couple of times a year, it can be incredibly useful to prep freezer staples like cooked grains, marinated proteins or simple dump-and-go meals.

The question isn’t:

“Did I make every component from scratch?”

The better question is:

“Did this shortcut make it easier for me to put together the meal I wanted to eat?”

If yes, it did its job.

And everyone needs a Backup System

This is separate from your normal meal-planning style.

This is what you eat when the plan completely falls apart.

The meeting runs late.

Practice changes.

Somebody is sick.

You forgot to thaw the chicken.

You’re exhausted.

You simply do not want to cook.

Your backup system should be boringly dependable.

Think three-ingredient meals, freezer meals that reheat quickly, breakfast for dinner, “whatever is in the fridge” bowls, or quick foods such as ready-to-heat rice, canned tuna, canned beans and frozen vegetables.

These meals do not need to win awards.

They need to prevent the moment when you’re exhausted and hungry and the only available plan is whatever can arrive at your door in 24 minutes.

That is part of meal planning too.

In fact, I would argue that your backup plan tells me more about how sustainable your system is than the beautiful menu you create when everything goes according to plan.

Because everything will not always go according to plan.

And healthy eating gets much easier when your system already knows what to do when that happens.

Your meal plan should eventually belong to you

This is ultimately what I want you to take away from this Guide.

A good meal-planning system should make you less dependent on someone else telling you exactly what to eat every day.

The Alchemy meal plans are there to save you time, introduce you to new anti-inflammatory meals, and help you gradually build a collection that fits your household.

All of the recipes start with the TRUE-WELL anti-inflammatory foundation: gluten-free Mediterranean-style eating that is also flour-free and sugar-free, with meals structured to support better blood sugar balance.

But you don’t have to love every recipe.

Keep the ones that work.

Modify the ones that are close.

Plug in your family staples.

Choose the planning system that matches your bandwidth.

And when life changes, change the system.

That’s how you create something you can actually keep doing.

Now Build Your Own Easy Weekly Menu System

If you’re an Alchemy or VIP Alchemy subscriber, this is where we turn the idea into something you can actually use.

Use the printable Easy Weekly Menu tools below to first decide how many breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks you truly need to plan this week.

Then look at your schedule and choose the amount of structure that fits your available bandwidth.

You may need individual recipes.

Theme nights may be enough to eliminate the decisions that are wearing you out.

You may want component meals.

You may need two proteins to carry four dinners.

Or this may be a one-protein, leftovers-are-our-friend kind of week.

There is no gold star for choosing the most complicated option.

The best system is the one you will actually use.

✨ Why upgrade to Alchemy? ✨

• Every Friday: A done-for-you anti-inflammatory meal plan with shopping list and prep guide. No more Sunday decision fatigue.

• 2x/month: Deep dive essays that go further on inflammation, blood sugar, emotional eating, and real-life implementation than the free tier.

• Every season: A full Seasonal Reset Protocol and 90-Day Goal Session to help you recalibrate before each new season instead of scrambling to catch up.

• On arrival: The Anti-Inflammatory Starter Kit, yours the day you join.

For free subscribers, you already get:

• Educational essays on anti-inflammatory eating, blood sugar balance, and sustainable habits (2x/month)

• Personal essays from my client work and my own experience navigating inflammation, cravings, and a lifestyle that actually holds (1x/month)

• A free meal plan preview each month

For less than a dollar a day, you get the full system in the ✨Alchemist Lab: weekly plans, seasonal resets, and a growing library of tools built for women who are done guessing and ready to build something sustainable.

Join us in ✨Alchemy

Your Weekly Meal Planning Formula

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There comes a point every summer when cooking dinner starts to feel wildly unnecessary.

It’s hot. The produce is good enough to eat practically untouched. Nobody wants the oven heating up the kitchen, and even standing over the stove feels like more commitment than you’re willing to make at 6 p.m.

This is exactly when salads should shine.

Except there’s one problem.

A lot of salads are terrible meals.

A bowl of lettuce, cucumber, a few tomatoes and some dressing may technically qualify as a salad, but if you’re prowling through the pantry an hour later looking for something crunchy, sweet, salty, or preferably all three, dinner didn’t really do its job.

And if you’re trying to keep blood sugar steady, lower inflammation, or lose weight, that matters.

So rather than giving you another collection of salad recipes, I want to give you something much more useful:

a formula.

Once you understand what belongs in a satisfying meal-sized salad and why, you can make one from whatever is ripe, leftover, or sitting in your refrigerator right now.

No recipe required.

And for ✨ Alchemists, I made you a printable No-Cook Summer Salad Formula + 8 No-Cook Combos to Steal to keep on your phone or tuck into the kitchen.

Why “just have a salad” is terrible advice

When women tell me they’re eating really well but still feel hungry all afternoon, I want to know what “eating really well” actually looks like.

Sometimes lunch is something like:

Mixed greens. Cucumbers. Tomatoes. A little vinaigrette.

Healthy foods? Absolutely.

A complete meal?

Not even close.

There’s very little protein. Not much energy. Probably not enough fat. And depending on what went into the dressing, it may not be particularly satisfying.

So three o’clock rolls around and suddenly the almonds in the pantry are looking very interesting.

This is one of those places where eating anti-inflammatory foods and building an anti-inflammatory eating pattern are two different skills.

A salad can be packed with polyphenols, fiber, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. It can also be one of the easiest ways to pile several different plants onto one plate.

But if it’s going to replace a meal, it needs to be built like a meal.

That means we’re looking for:

protein + fiber-rich plants + healthy fat + enough food to actually satisfy you.

Then we make it taste really good.

Because that part matters, too.

The 6-part no-cook summer salad formula

Think of this less like a recipe and more like adult summer LEGO.

You have six basic building blocks:

1. Base
2. Protein
3. Summer produce
4. Healthy fat + creamy
5. Flavor bomb
6. Finale

You don’t need something from every single list every time. And you certainly don’t need twelve toppings competing for attention.

The formula simply gives you a framework so you can open the refrigerator and know what you’re looking for.

Your base gives the salad volume, texture, fiber and a substantial dose of plant nutrients.

Some of my favorites:

• Arugula

• Baby spinach

• Romaine

• Spring mix

• Cabbage or slaw mix

• Watercress

But here’s something I want to make very clear:

A salad does not require lettuce.

Some of the best summer salads are built around chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, slaw mix or another substantial vegetable.

This is also an easy opportunity to increase plant diversity without making dinner complicated. Mix arugula with spinach. Throw fresh herbs into your greens. Add slaw mix to romaine.

We’re already building a better meal before we’ve added anything else.

This is the step I’d argue matters most.

If your salad is dinner, adding a tablespoon of feta and calling it protein isn’t going to cut it.

Protein helps with satiety, supports lean mass, and when it’s part of a mixed meal containing carbohydrates, it can also help moderate the post-meal glucose response.

For a meal-sized salad, a practical target for many women is roughly 25–35 grams of protein, although individual needs vary.

And no-cook doesn’t mean you have to live on canned tuna all summer. (although it is convenient and quick)…

Try:

• Rotisserie chicken

• Leftover grilled chicken

• Cooked shrimp

• Canned salmon

• Tuna

• Sardines

• Smoked salmon

• Hard-boiled eggs

• Chickpeas or lentils

• Cottage cheese

• Greek-yogurt-based chicken or tuna salad

And yes, leftovers absolutely count as no-cook.

Yesterday-you cooked and today-you gets the credit.

This is where summer gets to show off.

Tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes. Peaches dripping down your hand. Cucumbers, berries, cherries, peppers, watermelon, herbs.

Use them.

For something juicy or sweet:

• Peaches

• Nectarines

• Strawberries

• Blueberries

• Blackberries

• Cherries

• Watermelon

• Grapes

• Mango

For crunch and savory flavor:

• Heirloom or cherry tomatoes

• Cucumbers

• Bell peppers

• Radishes

• Snap peas

• Corn

• Shaved zucchini

Pick two or three, combine different colors and textures, and don’t overthink it.

And yes, you can put fruit in your salad.

I sometimes see women trying to balance blood sugar become so concerned about sugar that they start treating a peach like it’s a cupcake.

Context matters.

Fruit brings carbohydrate, yes. It also brings water, fiber, vitamins and an enormous range of phytochemicals.

And we’re not eating the peach by itself (and definitely not just the juice!)

We’re building a mixed meal around protein, fibrous vegetables and healthy fats. Those components change how the meal is digested and absorbed.

That doesn’t mean blood sugar responses are identical for everyone. They’re not. Your personal tolerance, portions and metabolic health still matter.

But for most people, a handful of berries or some fresh peach in a properly constructed salad isn’t where I’d start looking for trouble.

Fat does several things beautifully in a salad.

It adds flavor and texture, makes the meal more satisfying, and helps us absorb fat-soluble nutrients and certain phytochemicals from all those vegetables we just piled into the bowl.

Try:

• Avocado

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Olives

• Feta

• Goat cheese

• Fresh mozzarella

• Parmesan

• Nuts

• Seeds

• Tahini

But this category comes with a small asterisk.

Healthy fats are still energy-dense foods.

It’s very easy to start with a reasonable salad and add avocado + walnuts + feta + olives + several enthusiastic glugs of olive oil.

Every ingredient is nutritious.

Collectively, they can turn into far more energy than you intended, particularly if fat loss is one of your goals.

You don’t need to fear fat. You just need to notice it.

Pick one or two stars rather than inviting the entire cast.

This might be my favorite part.

Because if your strategy for eating more vegetables is forcing yourself through boring food, I don’t particularly like your odds.

Fresh herbs are one of the easiest ways to make simple summer food taste intentional without adding sugar-heavy sauces or ultra-processed dressings.

Try:

• Basil

• Mint

• Cilantro

• Parsley

• Dill

• Chives

• Tarragon

And then add something punchy if the combination needs it:

• Capers

• Olives

• Pickled red onions

• Pepperoncini

• Jalapeño

• Sauerkraut

• Kimchi

• Sun-dried tomatoes

This is where you can completely change the personality of the same basic ingredients.

Chicken + cucumber + tomato can go Mediterranean with parsley, olives and feta.

Or take chicken + cabbage + cucumber toward Southeast Asian flavors with cilantro, lime and a little tahini or peanut dressing.

Same basic structure.

Completely different dinner.

Now we need acid, seasoning and possibly a little crunch.

For acid:

• Lemon

• Lime

• Red wine vinegar

• Balsamic vinegar

• Champagne vinegar

• Apple cider vinegar

For seasoning:

• Flaky sea salt

• Fresh black pepper

• Chili flakes

• Za’atar

• Sumac

• Everything seasoning

For crunch:

• Pumpkin seeds

• Sunflower seeds

• Pistachios

• Walnuts

• Almonds

• Pecans

• Hemp hearts

And please don’t underestimate the simplest dressing on earth:

good extra virgin olive oil + acid + Dijon + salt + pepper.

Add fresh herbs, garlic or spices when you want to change it up.

You don’t need seven bottles of dressing taking up half the refrigerator door.

This is where personalization matters.

A salad does not need to be as low-carb as humanly possible to support healthy blood sugar.

Depending on your goals, activity level and individual glucose response, you may want to add a whole-food carbohydrate such as:

• Quinoa

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Black beans

• Corn

• Fruit

• Leftover roasted sweet potato

The portion matters.

The rest of the meal matters.

Your response matters.

That’s a much more useful question than whether a particular carbohydrate is universally “good” or “bad.”

This is exactly the kind of thinking you learn to practice inside the BEAT Inflammation Framework: establish the fundamentals first, then pay attention to how your body responds.

Eight combinations to steal this summer

Once you understand the formula, you can create hundreds of combinations. But sometimes you don’t want hundreds of choices. You want somebody to tell you what tastes good together.

Here are eight places to start:

Peach + Chicken

Arugula + chicken + fresh peaches + goat cheese + basil + pistachios + balsamic + EVOO

Sweet, peppery, creamy, crunchy. This is peak summer.

Mediterranean Tuna

Romaine + tuna + tomatoes + cucumber + olives + feta + parsley + red wine vinegar + EVOO

The pantry-and-produce-drawer dinner.

Berry + Salmon

Spinach + salmon + strawberries + avocado + mint + pumpkin seeds + lemon + EVOO

If you’ve never paired berries with salmon, don’t dismiss it until you’ve tried it.

Watermelon + Shrimp

Arugula + cooked shrimp + watermelon + cucumber + feta + mint + lime + EVOO

Cold, salty, juicy and exactly what I want when it’s approximately seven thousand degrees outside.

Crunchy Chicken + Cabbage

Shredded cabbage (cole slaw mix works perfect) + chicken + bell pepper + cucumber + cilantro + peanuts + lime-tahini dressing

Cabbage also holds up beautifully if you’re making lunch ahead.

Italian Summer

Arugula + chicken + heirloom tomatoes + fresh mozzarella + basil + olives + balsamic + EVOO

If you have really good tomatoes, let them do most of the work.

No-Cook Taco Salad

Romaine + chicken + black beans + tomatoes + avocado + cilantro + pumpkin seeds + lime

Add fresh jalapeño or pickled onions if that’s your thing.

It is definitely my thing.

Greek Chickpea

Cucumber + tomatoes + chickpeas + feta + olives + parsley + red wine vinegar + EVOO

You don’t even need greens for this one.

Make the formula easier on Future You

There’s another reason I love this way of eating in summer:

You can prep ingredients without meal-prepping entire meals.

That distinction matters if eating the same container of chicken and arugula for four days makes you want to abandon meal prep altogether.

Instead, keep a few building blocks ready.

Wash your greens.

Wash and chop a few sturdy vegetables.

Have one or two proteins ready to grab.

Wash your herbs.

Mix a jar of dressing.

Keep a couple of flavor boosters around.

Now lunch or dinner becomes:

base + protein + produce + fat + flavor + finish.

Five minutes.

And because you’re assembling instead of following a recipe, Wednesday’s salad doesn’t have to look anything like Monday’s.

This is what I mean when I talk about building systems around healthy eating.

The goal isn’t becoming better at following instructions.

The goal is needing fewer instructions in the first place.

Your No-Cook Summer Salad Cheat Sheet

I’ve turned the whole formula into a printable reference for ✨ Alchemists:

The No-Cook Summer Salad Formula

Plus a second page with:

8 No-Cook Summer Salad Combos to Steal

Save it to your phone, print it for the refrigerator, or use it before your next grocery run when your brain has officially clocked out for summer.

DOWNLOAD THE NO-COOK SUMMER SALAD CHEAT SHEET BELOW 👇

And then experiment.

Swap peaches for berries.

Chicken for salmon.

Basil for mint.

Feta for avocado.

Lemon for balsamic.

You don’t need a new recipe every time you want something different.

You need to understand the structure well enough to make the food work for you.

That is a skill you get to keep long after summer is over.

And if you’d rather have the decisions made for you...

Knowing how to build a meal is one skill.

Wanting to decide what everyone is eating seven nights a week is another matter entirely.

That’s exactly why I create the weekly Alchemy meal plans.

Each week, ✨ Alchemists get seasonal, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-conscious meals planned out for them, so you can use frameworks like this when you want flexibility and let me do the planning when you don’t.

Because the goal here isn’t to become a person who spends more time thinking about food.

It’s to build a way of eating that requires less mental energy while supporting the health you’re working toward.

And in August?

I’ll take every ounce of mental energy I can get.

✨Alchemists, keep scrolling to get your No-Cook Summer Salad Formula + Cheat Sheet with recipe combinations 👇

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If you’re new here, Welcome to the anti-inflammatory weekly meal plans!

Every Friday, I share nourishing, seasonal, blood-sugar-balanced meals designed to support real energy and healing without the guesswork.

August arrives and suddenly everything is happening at once. Back-to-school prep, the last push of summer activities, and this weird pressure to squeeze every remaining drop out of the season before it ends. The schedule gets denser, the heat doesn’t let up, and the meals are the first thing to slide.

I know this because I’ve lived it. And I’ve coached enough women through it to see the pattern clearly: August is the month where the blood sugar chaos that’s been slowly building since June finally shows up as symptoms. The fatigue that caffeine can’t touch. The afternoon brain fog. The cravings that feel like they came out of nowhere (they didn’t; they’ve been brewing for weeks).

These weekly plans are the same approach I used on myself first.

This is the exact approach I used to:

• Reverse prediabetes (by keeping blood sugar balance all day)

• Reduce inflammation (so my knees can carry me through the day + workouts pain-free)

• Finally lose the hormonal weight (that stuck after the third kid + got worse at perimenopause)

• And regain steady energy without extreme dieting (because nourishing food + blood sugar balance are synergistic magic. Ok not magic … but it will make you finally feel like yourself again.)

Simple, seasonal, anti-inflammatory meals built to stabilize blood sugar and support your body daily.

This week we’re supporting

Anti-inflammatory protein rotation | Omega-3-rich meals for summer inflammation | Decision-free weeknight cooking

August’s “Sustain” theme is about keeping the rhythm going without burning out.

This week rotates between two anti-inflammatory proteins (pork chops and salmon) across four dinners, pairs them with summer produce that’s still at its peak, and front-loads the prep so weeknights require almost no thinking.

What’s in this week’s plan

The overall feel this week is bold, savory, and produce-heavy. We’re leaning into summer zucchini (it shows up four different ways this week, including one you might not expect), salmon’s omega-3 anti-inflammatory power across three meals, and two completely different pork chop preparations that make the same cut of meat feel like two different dinners.

This week’s plan includes:

• 1 protein-rich breakfast: Chocolate Zucchini Bread Smoothie with 28g protein per serving (yes, zucchini in a smoothie; trust me on this one)

• 1 savory snack: Zucchini Pizza Bites with mozzarella

• 1 lunch pairing: Cajun Spiced Salmon Skewers with a Fresh Tomato Spinach Salad

• 4 dinners: One Pan Olive Pesto Pork Chops, Dominican-Style Pork Chops, Mustardy Salmon with Spinach and Smashed Potatoes, and Air Fryer Cajun Salmon and Zucchini

The ingredient overlap is intentional. Zucchini, cherry tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, onion, and olive oil appear across almost every meal. Fewer specialty buys, more meals from what you already have in the fridge by midweek.

The 3-anchor prep that makes this week work

Instead of cooking every meal as its own project, the whole week runs on three prep anchors you can knock out in one session.

Anchor 1: Portion and prep all the salmon at once.

Salmon shows up three times this week: cubed for the Cajun Spiced Skewers at lunch, skin-on fillets for Wednesday’s Mustardy Salmon, and skinless cubes again for Thursday’s Air Fryer Cajun Salmon. That’s about 1 3/4 pounds total.

→ Portion it out when you get home from the store: cube what needs cubing, keep the fillets whole, and store each portion separately so it’s grab-and-go on the day you need it.

Anchor 2: Slice all the zucchini and chop all your vegetables.

You’ve got four zucchini this week, each used differently.

→ Chop and freeze one for the breakfast smoothie. Slice two into 1/4-inch rounds for the pizza bites. Slice the last one into half moons for the air fryer.

→ Then tackle the rest: bell peppers, onion, garlic, leeks, green beans, cucumber, celery, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and spinach. This is the biggest time-save of the week. Every dinner goes faster when the chopping is already done.

Anchor 3: Make the sauces and dressings.

Three separate flavor builders, one prep session.

→ Blend the olive pesto for Monday’s pork chops (black olives, garlic, olive oil, nutritional yeast in the food processor).

→ Whisk together the vinaigrette for the lunch salad (olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon, garlic).

→ And make the mustard-caper-lemon sauce for Wednesday’s salmon.

All three store beautifully for days, and having them ready means the difference between a 30-minute dinner and a 15-minute one.

When those three things are done, every meal this week becomes quick cooking or pure assembly. That’s the system.

Meal Plan Details

Here’s how to use this week’s plan

Whether you like structure or flexibility, this week is designed to reduce decision fatigue and make prep feel manageable.

Three different ways you can use these meal plans + recipes:

1️⃣ Use the full meal plan + prep guide
If you want everything mapped out and your week simplified.

2️⃣ Use the bulk prep strategy
Cook your chicken breast, cod, rice, and quinoa once → then assemble different meals throughout the week.

3️⃣ Use the recipes à la carte
Everything stands alone. Choose what feels good that day.

💎🌿Designed to save you time, money, and brainpower in the kitchen each day.

→ The Weekly Meal Plan + Shopping List contain recipes for 2 servings each. If this is perfect for you, download it as-is.

*Why it matters: Ingredients listed on all recipes (as-is) are for 2 servings on every recipe AND the generated shopping list.

📃→ Download your Weekly Meal Plan + Shopping List: Click HERE

⚡To change serving sizes and customize your meal plan with these recipes, watch the video below, then click the Meal Plan Customization link below 👇.

🥗→ Change serving sizes and customize the meal plan HERE.

Choose your prep type:

1. Quick Prep (chop produce and cook grains type of stuff)

2. Mega Prep (pre-cook meats, chop all produce, cook grains, etc)

3. Hybrid Prep (Pre-chop produce + store, then during the first night for each protein, cook BOTH days’ worth of that protein and use the second batch on the next night reheated and assembled into that recipe).

📃→ Download the Prep Guide HERE

I’d love feedback on this week’s meal plan + prep guide! 💖

Got questions for me? Ask here as a DM:

Or in the ✨Alchemist Chat:

If you’ve been looking for the meal plans, the starter kits, or the members-only tools and coming up empty … you’re not imagining it. The Substack app tucks a few things out of sight. So here’s the map, all in one place.

🔖Bookmark this post. It’s your shortcut to everything your subscription unlocks.

What’s inside:

✨Alchemy is where the weekly work gets done → seasonal meal plans with full recipes and shopping lists, the Anti-Inflammatory Starter Kit (85 recipes), seasonal resets, and the Chat.

The 💎VIP Vault goes deeper → everything in Alchemy, plus the full BEAT Inflammation Framework, the Seasonal Weight Loss Meal Plan Kit, and every workshop and tool I layer in over time.

A few words from women already in it:

That’s the whole map. Dive in wherever you are, and if you can’t find something, DM me here and I’ll point you straight to it.

August is a strange in-between.

It’s still hot. The tomatoes are still ridiculous. The pool is still open. But something shifts. You can feel the summer starting to close its tab. Calendars fill back up. Someone needs supplies. Practices start. The mornings get earlier again, whether or not anyone in the house agreed to it.

And somewhere in that shift, a very specific urge shows up: the reset.

August is when a lot of us decide we’re going to “get back on track.” New routine. New plan. New everything. Usually starting Monday. Usually involving a color-coded spreadsheet and a level of discipline no human maintains past Wednesday.

I used to do this every year. And every year, the dramatic reset lasted about as long as the school-supply enthusiasm … which is to say, not long.

So I don’t reset in chaos anymore. I reenter gently. Because the goal isn’t a brand-new life in August, It’s a rhythm I can still be doing in October.

This is exactly what I share inside the VIP Kitchen Journal.

Not a polished, perfect version of anti-inflammatory living. The actual version.

What I’m cooking. What I’m noticing. What I’m simplifying. What I’m testing. What’s working. What I’d do differently next time.

I’m walking you through this month’s full Kitchen Journal, including:

• what I’m paying attention to in my kitchen right now

• this month’s kitchen experiment

• the seasonal flavor pairings bridging summer and fall

• what’s actually in my refrigerator and why

• the better decisions I’m making as the schedule tightens

• what I’m letting go of this month

• reflection question to celebrate my progress while gently transitioning into the busy fall season

If you’re already an Alchemist, keep reading. If you’re not yet inside, this is where the real-life application lives.

Upgrade to Alchemy

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There’s a point in summer where you stop thinking about meals and start just… reacting. Whatever’s in the fridge. Whatever’s fastest. Whatever doesn’t require you to make one more decision. If that’s where you are, this week is built for you.

The problem with autopilot eating isn’t that the food is “bad.” It’s that it usually ends up unbalanced. A handful of crackers and cheese at 4pm. Something carb-heavy at dinner because it was the easiest option. Skipping lunch because you forgot. And then wondering why you’re exhausted by 7pm with a headache that showed up out of nowhere. That’s blood sugar doing exactly what it does when meals aren’t anchored with protein and structure. It’s predictable, and this week’s plan is designed to prevent it without requiring you to think hard about any of it.

If you’re new here, welcome! Every week I put together a full anti-inflammatory meal plan built to do one thing: take the daily “what’s for dinner” decision off your plate so you can actually stay consistent.

Consistency is what moves inflammation and blood sugar, not perfection, and these plans are designed to make consistency the easy option.

These weekly plans are the same approach I used on myself first.

• They’re how I reversed prediabetes by keeping my blood sugar steady all day instead of riding the spike-and-crash.

• They’re how I got my inflammation down far enough that my knees stopped negotiating with me before every workout.

• They’re how I finally lost the weight that stuck after my third kid and dug in harder once perimenopause showed up. I’m not teaching this from a textbook.

I built the system because I needed it to work in my own messy week first.

This week we’re supporting

Protein-forward blood sugar balance | Summer produce at peak season | Minimal weeknight decision-making

This is the bridge between July and August. Summer produce is still at its best, but the mental energy for cooking is at its lowest.

This week leans into that by using pre-cooked chicken as a shortcut across multiple meals and keeping dinners simple enough that “I don’t feel like cooking” doesn’t mean “I’m skipping a real meal.”

What’s on the menu this week

The overall feel this week is bright, Mediterranean-leaning, and high-protein without being heavy. Chickpeas anchor Monday’s breakfast and lunch for plant-based fiber and slow-burning carbs. Cod shows up twice for Wednesday and Thursday dinners, prepared two completely different ways so it doesn’t feel repetitive. And summer stone fruit (mango, nectarine, cherries) makes the snack something you’ll actually look forward to.

This week includes:

• 1 make-ahead breakfast: Chickpea and Salsa Egg Muffins

• 1 seasonal snack: Summer Stone Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese

• 1 protein-packed lunch: Chicken and Chickpea Quinoa Bowl

• 4 dinners: Za’atar Grilled Chicken Skewers with Mashed Chickpeas, Tropical Chicken Salad, Creamy Cod and Cherry Tomatoes with Quinoa, and Seared Cod and Lemon White Beans