Meal Planning | February 2014 (Part I)

What have I been up to the last month or so? I've been making a concerted effort to keep up on chores and started yoga again. And, spending more time with my husband <3. 

This week, I decided to go back on the Repairvite gut cleansing program for quick reboot for a few days. I should probably do it for at least five to seven days, but I just don't think I can commit. I don't even know how I survived the 30 day plan last year!

The reason for my detox revisitation is because I ate a non-gluten free sandwich on Saturday due to restaurant error. Plus, I overdosed on rice last week and, with all my baking, I've been eating lot of grains and sugar lately. I feel foggy; not as sharp. My neck & back muscles are sore. In general, I'm not feeling yippity skippity.

The Repairvite program that I do consists of the following:

Repairvite herbal & amino acid supplement (1 scoop powder, 2x/day) 

Strengthia probiotis (1 pill, 2x/day) 

GI-Synergy dietary supplements (3 pills, 2x/day)

You can buy these products on Amazon, but I highly encourage you to do the regimen & diet under the care of a healthcare professional such as a holistic doctor or nutritionist. The dose, frequency, and duration is different for each individual - typically determined by results of your blood work and symptoms. Refer to this brochure for details on the diet. 

Anyway, onto my very comprehensive meal plan. As you know I do CSA and Winder Farms. Last week, I gave Farm Fresh to You a shot. Suffice to say, I have a fully stocked fridge, so it's a must for me to stay on my meal plan over the next week or so.

South Coast Farms CSA Basket

1 bunch Red Chard
1 bunch Tatsoi 
1 head Cabbage
1 bunch Atomic Red Carrots 
1 bunch Cilantro
1 bunch Curly Parsley
2 bunch Beets
2 bunch Baby Turnips
2 Kohlrabi
2 Red Onion
1 Grapefruit
1 head Broccoli
3 Kiwi
2 Pears

Farm Fresh to You Box

1 bunch Amarosa Fingerling Potatoes  

1/3 bag Yukon Gold Potatoes 

2 extra large Sweet Potatoes

Meal Plan | Week of 12-29-13

This will be the last meal plan of 2013. Wow, I can't believe it!

Even with the holidays, I've been trying to stay on track with cooking at home. Since I have a couple days off this week, I'm going to go a little "all out," especially with the baking.

I bought my proteins from Sprouts. My CSA is still on break, so I'll be getting my produce from Winder Farms.

Organic Produce Box Items:
3 Apples
2 D'Anjou Pears
4 Kiwi
1 lb of French Fingerling Potatoes
1 Bulb of Fennel
1 Bunch of Carrots
Lettuce
1 Bunch of Broccoli I still have two heads of broccoli from last week, too. Any ideas aside from soup & roasting? Please comment below!

Meal Plan | Week of 12-15-13

South Coast Farms CSA | Fall Quarter Week 7

In this week's organic CSA box, I received the following:

• Baby turnips
• Radishes
• Fresh herbs including parsley, cilantro, and dill
• Oranges They are curiously yellow like lemons
• Grapefruits
• Fuyu persimmons
• Fuji apples 
• Spinach
• Arugula
• Rainbow Chard
• Spaghetti squash
• Potatoes I traded in a couple heads of lettuce to double my portion
• Onion
• Celery

Recipe Ideas

• Entrees
• Homemade Gnocchi
• Spaghetti Squash Lasagna with ground bison (instead of turkey)
• Flank steak I bought two (1.5-1.75 lb. steaks, each) from Costco
• Asian-style flank steak with sautéed rainbow chard
• Grilled flank steak with herb salsa verde
• Thai-style flank steak
• Flank steak with shallots and red wine sauce
• Sauces
• Herb salsa verde, or chimichurri
• Sides
• Brown butter baby turnips
• Rosemary & dill roasted carrots
• Spicy radishes
• Arugula salad with proscuitto and persimmons (see tweet below)
• Waldorf-ish salad (spinach, apples, walnuts)
• Breakfast
• Grapefruit brûlée
• Banana Orange Smoothie
• Desserts
• Orange Olive Oil Cake

Persimmons in your salad? Yes! Inspired by Bruno's (Brea). Fuyu, arugula, parm, prosciutto, lemon vinaigrette pic.twitter.com/S8I6QCOxLB
— Succulent Succotash (@asucculentblog) December 10, 2013

South Coast Farms CSA Week 1

Fall Week 1

This Week's Basket

This is the first basket of Fall quarter. Here is what I got in my 3rd CSA organic basket:

• 1 bunch Swisss Chard
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 1 head red leaf lettuce
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 winter squash AKA butternut squash
• 4 summer squash AKA green zucchinis
• 3 eggplants
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 grapefruit
• 3 pears
• 4 kiwis
• 4 Fuyu persimmons
• 2 Valencia oranges
• 2 Garnet yams
• 1 bunch black kale I traded in my bag of green beans for this

Stay tuned for my meal plan summary of how I will use all this amazing produce with main dishes.

Meal Planning ~ Week of 10-6-13 (Part 2)

Meal Plan

I never got around to posting this as I was dragging my heels on finding all the photos for these meals. I finally got around to it for some proper show-and-tell. This is for the latter half of the week. For the first part of the week, check out my earlier post. 

Wednesday CSA Pick Up Day

• Dinner
• Cauliflower soup (see photo above): Cauliflower and onions cooked in chicken stock, combined in blender, add seasoning to taste

Thursday

• Breakfast
• Extra large roasted yam - 400F for 1hr 15min (made night prior)
• Green Juice 
• Lunch
• Salad - Carrot top pesto chicken thighs, green leaf lettuce, red onion, cucumber, avocado, balsamic dressing
• Dinner
• Pan-friend pork belly (purchased from Hana Butcher Shop)
• Korean ssam with red leaf lettuce
• Roasted buttercup squash soup  
• Dessert
• Healthy Chocolate Mousse (see photo below): Avocado, milk of choice, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar (if desired)

Friday

• Lunch
• Thai Shrimp Salad at Tender Greens with co-workers
• Modifications: No Thai dressing (due to fish sauce), sub with lemon vinaigrette; no peantus; no crostini
• Dinner Lobster party at our friend's place! Our friend, Mike, caught these California lobsters (as opposed to Maine lobster) in Long Beach 
• Lobster was prepared by baking with butter & garlic, as well as breaded & deep-fried for my non-GF friends
• Organic Roasted Acorn Squash Salad - Roasted acorn squash, sliced persimmons, romaine lettuce, red onions in balsamic vinaigrette

Look at this HUGE tail! Doesn't it make your mouth just water? It was definitely a succulent meal.

Average vs. Extra Large Tail

Mini Me

Hope you enjoy these recipes!

South Coast Farms CSA Week 7

Summer Week 7 

Last Week's Basket

This is the last basket of Summer. Here is what I got in my 2nd CSA organic basket:

• Veggies
• 1 bunch of extra large rainbow chard
• 1 bunch celery
• 2 gold ball squash (round)
• 2 yellow zuccini
• 1 basket orange grape tomatoes So sweet, like candy. I loved these. 
• Fruits
• 1 bag of red grapes
• 4 pluots
• 1 pear
• 2 grapefruits (1 from trade in)
• 4 apples
• 4 persimmons (2 from trade in)
• Starches
• 4 russet potatoes
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 large yam 
• 2 small sweet potatoes

Note:  I traded 2 yellow squash and 2 pears.

Stay tuned for my meal plan summary of how I used all this amazing produce. 

Winder Farms Delivery 10-15-13

Winder Farms Organic Produce Box

Last week, we received our first delivery from Winder Farms. Since it was my "off week" for CSA, I ordered the organic produce box. It was on my doorstep first thing on Tuesday morning inside a cardboard box. 

Here's what our box included:

• Veggies
• 3 large zucchini
• 1 bunch broccolini
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 bunch radishes
• Fruits
• 3 pears
• 3 Fuji apples Small, but delicious
• 1 pomegranate Reminds me of childhood 
• Starches
• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 extra large golden beet
• Recipes for the beets & radishes

Winder Farms Farm Delivery

When my husband and I visited the Brea farmer's market a couple weeks ago,  we came across the Winder Farms booth for farm delivery service. I was very excited to see produce boxes in their brochure as I'd been thinking about how to supplement my CSA, since it is only offered in my area every other week. This sounded like a great way to supplement the "off" weeks. Note: There are online organic grocers that ship, but it's not the same as local products.

Community Supported Agriculture

Bon Appetit

When I used to live in South County, Gelson's and Sprouts were only a few minutes away. Now that I live in North OC, I have to drive around 15-20 minutes to get to Sprouts, Mother's Market, or Trader Joe's. 

In order to prevent waste, I have become accustomed to shopping 2-3 times a week for fresh organic groceries. So, making the relatively longer drive to Brea has been inconvenient to say the least. I still shop at Albertsons, Vons, and Costco, but not as frequently.

On top of that, my husband and I have been going to the farmer's market in Brea every week to get fresh organic produce. 

Ever since I found out about my non-Celiac sensitivity and have been doing the Repairvite gut repair program, I have decided to consume more raw and organic foods. .

All of this gave me the push to finally sign up for CSA. My friend, Geno, told me about this program last year when he read it in Bon Appetit magazine. 

What is CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a program where you partner with a local farm. Every week, the farm compiles a box for you with items from its seasonal harvest. You usually pick it up at designated drop off locations or the farm stand. You pay upfront and commit for a minimum of a quarter (approximately 14 baskets). 

South Coast Farms CSA Week 6 & Meal Planning

CSA Summer Basket - Week 6

Last week, we got our first CSA box. How exciting! I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of organic produce we got in the bushel. We finished almost everything in less than a week! 

Here's what our basket included:

• Veggies
• 1 bag green beans
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 1 bunch basil
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard
• 1 bunch red leaf lettuce
• 1 bunch romaine lettuce
• 2 eggplants
• 4 small yellow squash
• Fruits
• 2 cucumbers
• 2 plums
• 1 grapefruit
• 2 persimmons
• 3 apples
• Starches
• 1 yam
• 1 acorn squash
• 2 caterpillars :)

Note: I was stuck at work, so my friend (thanks, Caroline) graciously picked up the basket for me. I gave her the tomatoes and eggplants since these nightshade items are not approved on my Repairvite detox program.