What I Ate Last Week + Book Review

I mentioned this on Instagram Stories last week and then again in Friday Finds #43, but I’ve been reading this book (and putting the principles into practice) over the last 10 days and I couldn’t wait to share more with you guys! I hate even having to say this, but this post is in no way sponsored. I bought the book (Body Love by Kelly Leveque) myself and I’ve never even talked to the author. I randomly found the book through some sort of Instagram Takeover on The Thirty… Kelly shared the foundation for her Fab 4 Smoothies and something struck a cord with me. I ordered her book on Amazon right away, but didn’t end up flipping it open for a few more weeks. But I’ve been hooked ever since!

Like I mentioned before, the book is broken down into a few parts… 1) The science behind blood sugar and how it affects your mood, hunger, etc. 2) How ‘The Fab 4’ work with your blood sugar to keep you full longer and curb cravings. 3) Lots of recipes! // I’m still making my way through the book, but I’ve made one of her infamous Fab 4 smoothies every day for the last 10 days and it’s honestly been pretty life changing!

Cliff notes version, just so we’re all on the same page here… The Fab 4: protein, greens, fat, and fiber. She breaks it down into much more detail in the book, but for this post, that’s really all you need to know. The foundation of all of her smoothies and recipes revolves around those four ingredients to keep you full longer, curb your hunger, and a whole lot of other good things. “We believe you should eat complete meals that elongate your blood sugar curve, avoid mindless snacking and ensure your body has the nutrients it needs to thrive. How do we do that? The Fab Four; the perfect mix of Protein, Fat, Fiber and Greens.” – Kelly Leveque

In the book, she says the easiest way to start changing your eating habits is simply by replacing breakfast with one of her Fab 4 Smoothies… That’s it. Easy enough, right? It didn’t feel overwhelming at all and I had most all of the necessary ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. What did I have to lose?! And honestly, after the first day, I was hooked. I was full for about 4.5 hours until lunch, even after a spin class. I didn’t really have any cravings for carbs or sugar, I didn’t have the urge to snack, nor did I have any feelings of hanger or crashing. (And if you know me, my days are usually centered around each of those things!) It truly felt like magic and it’s kind of at the point now where I don’t really even want to eat sugar because I don’t want to go back to being on the blood sugar roller coaster that I’ve lived on for the last 28 years. (Read this post on her blog or this post for a little bit of a download on the Fab 4 smoothies and how to make your own!)

Last Monday, I made note of my smoothie, simply so I could remember what I added, just in case it turned out to be good. And from there, I was so blown away that I decided to keep a food journal and ultimately share it with you! Other than what’s listed, I only drank lots of water. By total accident, I’ve majorly cut down on my coffee intake! I’ve only been having a cup in the morning if I didn’t get that much sleep.

• Monday
  • 1 cup of Nespresso + 1 tbsp Califia Farms almond milk creamer (pumpkin spice)
  • AM Workout: 45 minute spin class
  • Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie”
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • handful of spinach
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 2 tablespoons almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • I blend it all together in my Blendtec and run it for one ‘smoothie’ setting. I then add a handful of ice and run the ‘smoothie’ setting once more!
  • Lunch: Egg & Veggie Scramble
    • 3 eggs
    • 1/3 cup of black beans
    • 1 roma tomato
    • 1/2 avocado
    • 1 tbsp of salsa (only 1g of sugar; no added sugar)
  • Snack: Spoonful of Almond Butter while cooking dinner
  • Dinner: Chicken Meatballs + Zoodles
    • Chicken Meatballs (adapted from this recipe)
      • 1lb ground chicken, 1 egg, 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil
    • Zoodles: 1 pre-spiralized container at Whole Foods; sauteed in garlic-infused olive oil that I brought home from Croatia; mixed in 1 roma tomato
    • Ate half of the veggies + 4 chicken meatballs; saved the rest for later in the week
• Tuesday
  • Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie”
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • handful of spinach
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 tablespoon almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • I blend it all together in my Blendtec and run it for one ‘smoothie’ setting. I then add a handful of ice and run the ‘smoothie’ setting once more!
  • Lunch Break Workout: Lagree (50 minutes)
  • Lunch: A little bit of everything
    • 4-5 Lettuce Wraps: 1 pc of butter lettuce; smear of hummus; slice of deli turkey
    • 1/2 Avocado
    • 2 chicken meatballs
    • Handful of carrots with hummus
  • Snack
    • Almond milk matcha latte (this recipe, but only 1/2 packet of stevia)
    • Hummus & carrots
    • Big scoop of almond butter
  • Late Dinner
    • Rest of Zoodles
    • 1 Chicken Meatball
• Wednesday
  • Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie”
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • handful of spinach
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 tablespoon almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • 1/2 tsp chlorella
    • 1/2 tsp moringa
    • handful of ice
  • Mid-Day Workout: 60 Minutes Hot Yoga
  • Snack: I got an Iced Vanilla Almond Milk Latte at Petit Margeaux on the way home. The vanilla syrup definitely has sugar in it, hey — balance.
  • Lunch: Egg Scramble
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 roma tomato
    • green pepper
    • 1 whole avocado
    • small handful of spinach
    • 1/4 cup black beans
    • 1 tbsp salsa
  • Dinner: snacking
    • 1 mini Sweetgreen salad at an event
    • giant scoop of almond butter
    • 2 meatballs; dipped in Frank’s Buffalo Sauce (no sugar)

• Thursday
  • Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie”
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • handful of spinach
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 tablespoon almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • 1/2 tsp chlorella
    • 1/2 tsp moringa
    • handful of ice
    • Didn’t finish it…. Saved half in the fridge for after yoga
  • Mid-Day Workout: 60 Minutes Hot Yoga // I was going to do Sculpt, but my body felt sore and tired so I downgraded.
  • Lunch: Drank the rest of my smoothie
  • Dinner: Brussels Sprouts (entire net bag at Whole Foods; they were very small, haha!) & 1 chicken meatball
    • This is how I cook my brussels sprouts, fyi. Except no cheese or salt! Just a little bit of olive oil.
  • Dessert: 1 LaCroix and 1 Mera Bites Cookie (I’ll share more on these soon. SO SO SO GOOD. And not bad for you, at all!!)
• Friday
  • AM Workout: 45 Minute Spin Class
  • Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie” // Messed this up a little bit because I was out of spinach and only had “super greens” … the chard made it taste like I was drinking freshly cut grass so I had to add 1/4 cup of blueberries to balance it out!
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened almond milk (I was out of vanilla)
    • handful of Organic Girl super greens
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
    • 1 tablespoon almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp chlorella
    • 1/2 tsp moringa
    • handful of ice
  • Lunch: Warm Bowl… It was too cold for a salad, so I basically just put everything I’d put in a salad in a pan to warm it up!
    • Organic Girl Super Greens sauteed in olive oil
    • 2 roma tomatos
    • green pepper
    • small avocado
    • browned deli turkey (I just hand shredded a few slices)
  • Snack: Almond Milk Matcha Latte (1/2 stevia packet)
  • Dinner: Brodo Bone Broth with Garlic & Mushrooms
  • PM Tonic: warm this all in a saucepan and whisk!
    • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • big scoop of California Gold Dust
    • 1/2 tsp of coconut oil
    • 1/4 tsp cardamon
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • a few dashes of cinnamon
    • few drops of vanilla extract
• Saturday // Shit kind of hit the fan on Saturday. Cheat day, fo sho.
  • Early AM Breakfast: Fab 4 Smoothie; adapted from the “Almond Green Smoothie”
    • 2 cups Califia Farms unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • handful of spinach
    • 1.5 scoops Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 tablespoon almond butter
    • 1 tbsp Brain Octane (MCT)
    • 1/2 tsp mucuna pruriens
    • 1/2 tsp ashwagandha
    • 1/2 tsp chlorella
    • 1/2 tsp moringa
    • handful of ice
  • Coffee: 1 Nespresso + 1 tbsp of pumpkin spice creamer
  • Late AM Breakfast: scrambled eggs (more like a frittata with some cheese) + 1 piece of bacon + more coffee + mimosa
  • Tailgating: 1 can of Seven Daughters Pinot Noir
  • Post-Football Game: 1 beer, 1 hamburger (including bun, had some veggies on it), small handful of fries, 1 onion ring
  • Drive Home: Diet Coke, Large Iced Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Coffee with Almond Milk
  • Midnight Snack: Entire pint of Talenti Pumpkin Pie gelato. Yes, the entire thing from start to finish. FML. (I was exhausted from driving 6 hours, feeling like I had a cold from sitting in the freezing rain all day, I had pink eye, all of my friends were out for Halloween… AKA: I was eating my feelings, haha.)
• Sunday…. Slept in!
  • Late Brunch: Fab 4 Smoothie; Adapted from the “Pumpkin Pie Smoothie”
    • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
    • 1 scoop Vital Proteins Vanilla Collagen Peptides
    • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
    • small handful of spinach
    • ice
  • Dinner: Warm Bowl
    • Kale & Spinach sauteed in olive oil
    • Deli turkey browned in pan
    • roma tomato, green pepper, scallions, garlic
  • Evening Snack: 3 cups of ‘Throat Coat’ uncaffeinated tea (no milk)

There you have it! I didn’t feel like I was depriving myself at all. There was no counting calories or measuring anything besides my smoothie ingredients. (I only eyeballed measurements while cooking to be able to list them out here.) I honestly just ate when I was hungry, but each of my meals pretty much lasted me until the next one. Even after my sugar binge on Saturday, it wasn’t hard to get back on the wagon on Sunday! The only recipes I pulled from the book were my smoothies… I just made mindful decisions when cooking my other meals to include the Fab 4 (protein, fat, fiber, & greens). It was so easy!

There are a ton of lunch and dinner recipes in the book, too, but I know I have to start simple and not get overwhelmed by cooking. If cooking is more your thing, you’ll have lots to choose from! If you’re like me and just throw whatever is in your refrigerator into a pan or bowl, I mostly tried to stick to veggies and lean proteins. There are also a ton of smoothie recipes that look *so* delish. But again, I like to keep it simple and I tend to be a creature of habit… This smoothie tastes a little bit like my favorite smoothie in New York and I can now make it without referencing the cookbook! I’ll switch it up the smoothies one of these days and also try some of the recipes, too.

For me, I think the lack of snacking is huge. I work from home and some days it can get out of control with mindless trips to the kitchen! But I honestly felt satiated throughout the day and never even thought to snack. The other big part of this for me was making sure I was eating breakfast. There are so many days that I’d just end up having a coffee for breakfast and by 4pm, I’d realize I hadn’t eaten anything and would feel RAVENOUS. Making the smoothie each morning definitely helped me set a healthy tone for the day and ensured I didn’t get to a binge-y place later in the evening. I don’t weigh myself, but she claims you’ll lose a few pounds in your first week of simply replacing your breakfast with a smoothie. All I can say is I felt healthy and strong throughout the week! Minus the whole contracting pink eye thing. 🙄

Alright, what do you guys think? Have you read or heard of Kelly or this book? Was this interesting to read? Do you have any questions? It seems as if most of you have taken a liking to seeing health, fitness, and wellness content on the blog. Is this type of post something you’d like to see more of, less of? Let me know! I so appreciate any and all feedback. xoxo