Sunday Meal Prep | Week of March 9th

Black sleeping, french fries, and a shrimp + quinoa salad you need to add to your rotation.

Mar 09, 2025

∙ Paid

Let’s talk about snacks. I went to the Natural Foods Expo this week. There were some great brand discoveries (I loved being introduced to Felicia Pasta’s spirulina spaghetti) and I ran into a few of industry friends, but really it was a lot of random “high protein” things and snacks.

There was a time when I was really excited about the latest “healthy” chip or chocolate. I would buy them weekly, often adding another $30+ to my grocery bill. But one day I realized that it does nothing for me. Perhaps it had better ingredients than the generic brand, but there’s no meal time it’s meant for—just a carb bomb in a flashy bag screaming at you with all the buzz words you want to hear: gluten free! non-gmo! avocado oil! no added sugar!

My mom recently pointed out that we have no snack foods in the house. Okay, I do have some popcorn bags for the kiddos, but we don’t have any full-sized bags of chips, pretzels, or treats in the house. And this isn’t because I’m opposed to eating them, it’s because I don’t really want them. I want to eat with intention. I’ll buy crackers for an afternoon snack with cottage cheese and avocado or hummus and crudités, and I do love some beef jerky (Lineage is my current favorite) but other than that, my pantry is filled with food meant to be eaten with actual meals.

In my client work, anxiety about indulgences in life—dinners out, holidays, vacations—is a common theme. The way I see it, I want those indulgences. Sharing a dessert on a date night with my husband is a ritual I’m unwilling to part with, but some overpriced, healthy-but-still-full-of-carbs chips that ruin my dinner while I’m making it? Pass. And not having those chips means I’m often snacking on snap peas or cucumbers instead. That, I’m into.

Summer is now within striking reach. It’s my favorite time of year—I love backyard pizza nights with friends, beach holidays, salty hair, all the warm weather things. I have big plans this summer and want to go into it feeling my very best (hot mom summer, is that a thing?). If you want to join me, sign up for the spring edition of my group coaching program: Beyond the Plate. I’ll be doing the program right alongside you—it will be informative, actionable, and fun (yes, fun). And, it’s $100 off for a few more days, so join us!

on the menu this week: shrimp & quinoa salad

When it comes to real food, I’m so excited about the shrimp and quinoa bowl on the menu this week. I was craving a bright and zesty shrimp salad and this just hit the spot. And it’s so so easy to make too. This recipe is definitely sticking around for my hot mom summer. ❤️‍🔥

Alright friends, let’s cook.

Here are a few meal prep-adjacent things I’m loving these days:

I’ll have fries with that
I tried Sweetgreen’s much-hyped air-fried, seed oil-free fries and I have to say I liked them. They were cold when they arrived, so I need to go in to get the full experience, but it thrills me beyond measure to see a restaurant prioritizing products like this—and all the buzz shows there is demand for it.

Sleeping on my back
I have a bad neck and very tight shoulders, in part because I hunch my shoulders while I sleep—my chiropractor (and my facialist, tbh) recommended that I sleep on my back. I’m really working on this, but gosh it’s hard. First I got a new memory foam pillow, which has helped, but on Friday I added this weighted sleep mask and it is perhaps the single best thing I’ve ever bought in my life. I’ve had a Lunya sleep mask for years. I am absolutely addicted to it and legitimately cannot sleep without it. After 4 years, it was time for a new one and I impulse splurged on the $90 (I know!) weighted one. Worth every penny. It is actually more comfortable to wear while sleeping on your back because of the weight, but if you’re happy with your side sleeping, I might suggest starting with the non-weighted one at about half the price.

I actually didn’t realize that I had a discount code for Lunya until I started writing this, so I hate to say I paid full price, but lucky for you, it’s 15% off with the code miarigden. This sleep shirt is also pretty cute and looks cozy. I wonder if that will help me sleep on my back?

If anyone else is on a back sleeping journey and has tips, please fire up the comments! I’m sure I’m not the only one who needs help with this.

Sunday Meal Prep | Week of March 9th

Black sleeping, french fries, and a shrimp + quinoa salad you need to add to your rotation.

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