Skip Your Morning Coffee—This Trendy New Meal Plan is All You Need (InStyle)

Every year as summer comes to an end I feel the need to pay penance for all of my bad behavior—lobster rolls, sure, rose all day, why not, and who can pass up a soft-serve cone with a hard chocolate shell. These times call for something strict to reign in all of the reckless behavior. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and boom; I was stopped by an intriguing sponsored post. Provenance Meals promised healthy gluten-free, dairy-free meals free of refined sugars and designed by wellness experts and health-supportive chefs to nourish your body. The meals made-from-scratch with unprocessed, local ingredients using traditional cooking techniques are delivered fresh to your door. This sounded like the restart I needed. I opted for a three-week commit to clean cleanse and here’s what happened.

On the first morning, I unpacked my refrigerated tote to find two cashew milk sustain shakes and recycled cardboard packages containing the next two days of lunch and dinner. I’m not really a protein shake kind of girl. Two big slugs were all I could take. My husband gave it a try and was delightfully surprised. He loved it. A simple email to my consultant and the shakes were replaced with a variety of delicious other breakfast items. The portions were large enough for breakfast and a small afternoon snack.

Some of my favorites:

Puffed Millet Caramel Granola with Brazil Nut milk: I want this granola packaged and sold solo. It’s great with the nut milk but also yummy as a snack on its own.

Golden Milk Steel Cut Oats: This turmeric-laced oatmeal peppered with fresh figs and shaved coconut was delicious and incredibly filling. I was barely hungry for lunch. I plan to make this for my kids, minus the figs.  

And of course any of the paleo muffins, berry, carrot cake, etc. And my all-time favorite: hard-boiled eggs with sunflower truffle crumble, primarily truffle salt with sunflower seeds.

I found the lunches and dinners interchangeable and went for whatever I was in the mood for. Both had cold and warm options. I’m not really a fan of reheating fish so those I ate at room temperature which was equally satisfying.

Some of My Favorites:

Sweet potato Gnocchi with Roasted Chicken: Fluffy guilt-free gnocchi, yes, please.

Curried Coconut Sauce with Squash noodles: Sweet delicate curry flavor with a little kick.

Shrimp Melon and Cucumber Salad with shishito aioli: Definitely need the recipe for this slightly smoky aioli, it paired well with the sweet chunks of watermelon.

Market Vegetable Frittata: Totally plan on trying to replicate.

So in a nutshell, yes there were many nuts, whether sprinkled on top or as part of a sauce or actual nut milk. But seriously, this is a highly filling, energy inspiring meal plan. I wouldn’t say it’s a weight-loss plan as I only dropped a few pounds, but I felt great. As someone who claims to eat a lot of vegetables, this program also doubled my intake and varieties. Dare I say kohlrabi! I look forward to a provenance cookbook, hint, hint, and vow to find ways to work this kind of thinking into my everyday cooking.

By Rina Stone originally published on InStyle.com