Holy crow. It’s the last day of September. I don’t even know where the summer went.

I’ve had a lot of changes going on over here and as I settle into (another) new normal, I’m starting to slowly get into a routine again.

Very slowly. Like, turtle pace slowly.

Since I head into the city twice a week now, meal prepping is becoming crucial. I leave so early and arrive home so late that what I’ve realized is, ‘If I don’t have something ready, I’m definitely not making anything!’ Who wants to cook at 8 o’clock at night??

Another thing I’ve been factoring in, which I think I’ve mentioned, is tips from my nutritionist. So meals are definitely heavier on the seasonal vegetables and healthy fats than I’ve posted previously. Obviously, that’s just my experience, though. Definitely check with your own nutritionist before making any changes in your diet. No one should be tacking advice from the internet about their health!

Breakfast: Quinoa Bowl with Maple Chipotle Brussel Sprouts and Smoky Butternut Squash

So one of things I’m working on is more veggies, less carbs. Not ‘no carbs’, just to be clear! Just a little less. One of the areas I’m working on that is breakfast. For days I work from home, I’m prepping grain bowls with veggies and healthy fats to hold me over. This Quinoa Bowl is not new. I’ve featured it on here before, most likely with an egg. This week, I swapped out the Butternut Squash for Sweet Potato as the squashes aren’t out yet at my co-op. I also did a mix of quinoa and rice because I had quinoa for lunch and I thought I had enough rice but, I did not. In fact, I had no other grains in my pantry so it was a quinoa heavy week. That’s what I get for not checking my pantry before shopping!

Lunch: Teriyaki Cauliflower Power Bowl

Without even realizing it, I picked two recipes this week from Dishing Out Health. That was not intentional. I had both recipes pinned separately on my Pinterest and I was aiming for more cruciferous vegetables and here we are- two bowls from the same blog. And guess what- they were both awesome! I’m not a huge cauliflower fan but roast anything and put some teriyaki sauce on it and suddenly, it becomes more bearable. This bowl was so good, I wasn’t even sick of it by the last day and was actually disappointed to not have more.

Dinner: Soba noodle salad

I picked up a ton of vegetables from the organic farm by my house and decided to attempt a cold soba salad. I don’t really have a recipe and it kind of came out a bit wonky because my pot wasn’t big enough for the noodles. BUT, I did try the dressing from this soba noodle salad. I swapped the peanut butter out for almond butter. I also used carrots, cucumbers, napa cabbage, edamame (I roasted them) and green onions. Then I tossed it with the almond butter dressing. Even with weird noodles, it came together quickly and was a filling, fast dinner throughout the week.

Snacks: In an attempt to get more healthy fats and brazil nuts in my diet, I made Sweet and Spicy mixed nuts, light on the spicy. These were AMAZING warm. Truly, I could not stop eating them. When the cooled though, they were pretty rich. I could only eat a bit before being satisfied.

And of course, Jessica Eats Real Food cookie dough bites, which I pretty much have in my fridge at all times. I was craving m&m cookies so I swapped out the chocolate chips for mini m&ms and used peanut butter for the nut butter. Always delicious!

Are you surprised that tomorrow is October first and I have no specific fall meals on here? Fear not! I predict some apple and/or pumpkin items for next week!