Happy October, my pals! It was an insane month over here. I hurt my back out of nowhere and have been living in physical therapy, massage, and chiropractic offices working on healing my herniated discs. What a doozy! Not an easy situation with two little kiddos. Health is such a gift.

In more exciting news, this past Sunday I launched PREPPED, my signature meal planning guide that I'm so beyond excited about! I poured my heart into sharing my foolproof framework for taking the chaos out of meal planning and adding joy and presence back to mealtime.
In addition to my game-changing system, PREPPED is a whopping 42 pages, including 4 weeks of done-for-you meal plans with shopping lists, 12 incredible new recipes (that aren't on the blog!), loads of quick snack and meal ideas, and so much more.
PREPPED fan Emilie said, “I’ve bought other meal planning guides before and have even taken a cooking bootcamp course that was focused on meal planning/prep and this is just the most practical and helpful out of anything I’ve seen."
Lovely Meals: PREPPED addition
You can find all the below exclusive recipes in PREPPED!
Sheet pan veggie bean tacos with chipotle tahini and guac. I crave these!

Flourless blueberry banana almond butter muffin that are super low in added sugar and taste amazing. My 1 year old ate these for breakfast a week straight!

One of my favorite mains from the guide is this recipe for groovy chicken parm burgers with roasted broccoli. They're crazy easy and insanely flavorful!

I can't get over these cute little apple cinnamon oatmeal protein cookies. Such a good snack!

Speedy shrimp stir fry with peanut sauce for a fab, hella quick weeknight dinner. My mom couldn't get over this one!

Autumn arugula caprese is my go-to lunch right now.

Filling mango PB green smoothie for an afternoon snack. So purty.

Lovely Meals: regular programming
I've been mixing FAGE 2% Greek yogurt with pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and the texture and flavor combo is so good.

These stuffed peppers were insane! I doubled the filling and used half ground sausage half ground turkey, a bag of frozen rice for ease, no mushrooms, and a bit less cheese than it called for. I also added some whole canned tomatoes. We loved it so much!

BBQ tofu for quick lunches plus roasted red potatoes (toss in EVOO, lots of salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and parm, roast at 400F for 35 min).

Max and I made mandel bread, a traditional soft jewish cookie I had all the time when I was little. It was so nostalgic and delish! Thanks to my friend Rachel for the recipe.

We can't stop with these cottage cheese chocolate chip muffins!

I've been making this delish hot chocolate situation for when I want a nutrition boost but don't want a cold smoothie. In the Nutribullet I blend a cup of soy milk, a soaked medjool date (so it blends easily), 1 tbsp cacao, and half a scoop of my new fave chocolate collagen (use code HUMMUSAPIEN for 20% off!). Then I pour it in a mug, microwave till hot, give it a stir, and top with whipped cream. Divine!

Trader Joe's marinated pesto chicken, baked potatoes with butter and Greek yogurt, salad with the best balsamic.

Book club fare! Seven layer dip, enchilada-style chicken, tamales, vegan queso, homemade salsa, guac, and chips. Sooooo good.

Snack I'm loving lately: sliced cucumbers with everything bagel seasoning, Crunchmaster crackers, Good Culture cottage cheese. Protein, carbs, veggies, yummy, filling...checks all the boxes! You can find lots more snack combos like this in PREPPED 🙂

Chipotle honey salmon, leftover mushroom fried rice from our Hop Alley takeout, salad with Garlic Expressions.

Things I'm Loving Lately
- The jam "Boyhood" by Japanese House...really loving all their music right now. "Growing Up Raising You" is my go-to song I need a good cry and my children are driving me bonkers.
- I knew I had to get these adorable stretchy wide-leg pants because I'm all about not sacrificing comfort for style lately. They're only $39 from $128 originally! I have the smoke color.
- I ordered another walking pad (on sale for $99) and standing desk since sitting hurts my back right now. Love the added bonus of more steps while I work! Jeff has the same setup downstairs and I was always using it so I'm excited to have my own 🙂
- I am LIVING in these Oofos slides that you all recommended for a supportive shoe. I wear them around the house like slippers and they've done wonders for my feet since I'm standing so much lately.
- The face wash I was using before changed the formula, so I switched and I'm really loving this one. I've been using it for a couple weeks now.
- In an effort to find a mineral version of GlowScreen, I've been using this Essential Glow Moisturizer and I'm obsessed. It's a moisturizer with sunscreen but it makes your face so glowy. I'm using lots of Paula's Choice skincare now and loving everything I've tried.
- I got this waffle button down last year (open with this ribbed tank underneath) and it's another staple piece I live in come Fall. Cozy but not too warm, easy, and goes with so much. Size down!
- We've been bribing Max to stay in bed with these inexpensive Lego kits. It's not currently working LOL but the kits are a really great activity that he looks so forward to regardless.
- Love these sunglasses (shown in first pic!).
Have the best week pals! Thank you so much for your support with PREPPED 🙂 If you have any feedback, I would absolutely love to hear for you!
Kate says
Hi! Love those Spanx pants. Do you mind sharing your sizing? I am interested in ordering but the final sale always scares me a bit!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Hey yes I’m wearing a small! They run small per the reviews. I’d normally be an XS. They do stretch a bit as the day goes on.
Valerie says
Just have to tell you how much I LOVE PREPPED! I was in a bit of a phase where I lost my zest for meal planning - it just felt overwhelming and I wasn't really feeling inspired... The PREPPED framework totally reenergized me! I really love that it's not just a super helpful 4-week meal plan but that it actually taught me skills that I can continue to use well beyond 4 weeks. It makes it meal planning and prep feel SO doable - and I love how much it balances nutrition, flexibility, joy, and fun. The way cooking and health should be! 🙂
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
This totally made my day, Val! I love hearing this feedback on PREPPED...so helpful. Renergizing is what it's all about! You nailed it 🙂
Mina says
Hey! I know you're not plant based but just curious about how much of Prepped is? Or how easily adaptable? Thx!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Hey yes I actually chat about in the FAQ on the PREPPED page! There are tons of modification in the guide. While it isn't vegan-friendly, it is vegetarian friendly and lots of the recipes are plant-based, but also lots have yogurt, eggs, ect. Two of the recipes of the 12 new recipes do have meat--one is a buffalo chicken salad and one is a chicken burger. You could definitely use chickpeas in the salad but the burger isn't modifiable. Let me know if that helps!
Mina says
Def helps, thanks!
Alexis Joseph, MS, RD says
Awesome!