We don't know about you but we just love to hear about what's on other people's plates, what their routine looks like and how they nourish themselves. These tips and tricks help us find better, more efficient and more satisfying ways to carry out our days and weeks. Today we take a sneak peak into the life (and the plate) of Shannon from My Food Religion.
o Tell us a bit about yourself.
Mum, coffee lover, bacon addict and health and wellness coach. I am the face behind My Food Religion, a website for food, health and wellness, real food cooking workshops and a YouTube channel. I have a passion for pure unadulterated food, food that’s good for the body and the soul. Food that makes you feel good from the inside out.
o Do you have a morning ritual or habit? What does that look like?
Coffee. My tiny dictator (Grace, 4 years old) usually wakes me up around 5 or 5:30am so coffee is taken back to bed while she plays hairdresser/entertainer/dog trainer in front of me. This is my regular ritual before we kick off the day.
o What do you eat on an average day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks? What else does your day include?
I am a strong believer that there is no such thing as ‘breakfast, lunch or dinner’ food. There’s just food. You can eat salad for breakfast and paleo muesli for dinner. No problem. When you are following a ‘whole food’ lifestyle full of nutrient dense food, it doesn’t matter if it’s ‘breakfast’ food.
About 5 days a week I practice intermittent fasting (unless I train in the morning then I will exercise fasted but eat straight after) and have done so for about a year now because that feels good for me right now. I generally wake up around 5am and have a coffee with either coconut cream or a bulletproof coffee then get Grace fed and ready before we get on with our day, whatever that involves. I generally start to feel hungry around 11am so will eat my first meal then. This usually involves leftover dinner (veggies or salad and meat, chicken or fish) and sometimes eggs with avocado. If there aren't any dinner leftovers to be had it is most often eggs and vegetables or tinned sardines and salad. I always have plenty of olive or hemp seed oil dressing and avocado with my brekky. If I get hungrier earlier or later I just go with that, I am not rigid in my timings of food. If my body says ‘eat’ I listen. If I wake up hungry some days, I eat breakfast then.
I generally get my workouts in while the Grace sleeps around lunchtime or in the early afternoon. Usually two boxing sessions, a weights session and 1-2 PrimalThenics sessions would be a good week of training for me. Some weeks I’ll be lucky to get in one of those. I do try and move my body every day even if that is just walking the dog or running around at the park with Grace. This is more for my sanity and mood than for any great feats of athleticism.
Dinner is usually around 6:30/7pm and will be generally some form of slow cooked organic meat and veggies or salad. Today was lamb shoulder and cauliflower fried rice with sweet potato chips and guacamole. I try and have fish at least once a week but would quite happily eat seafood every day. I try and incorporate some starchy carbohydrates like potato, sweet potato with my evening meals which I find helps my sleep and recovery from training. Some nights we will include quinoa or cooked and cooled rice.
I try and do a guided meditation before bed (I use the Smiling Mind app for Grace and myself - they have a great kids sleep program) and hit the hay around 9pm.
o What are your favourite Paleo Hero products?
The Primal Muesli which I love making Carrot Cake Bircher with and the Pizza Base Mix which is perfect for family pizza night.
o Where can people find you?