Hey there! It’s Thursday again, which means it’s time for an update.

I’m heading out to Los Angeles, California this weekend to meet up with Dr. Lara Briden and some other “Period Revolutionaries” out on the west coast. The whole trip was a bit of an impromptu decision and somehow has ended up with me cohosting a women’s health workshop on Saturday!

Lara Briden is one of my women’s health idols and I’m really pumped not only to be meeting her this weekend, but also to be helping her teach this two hour workshop on Saturday. It’s going to be great and if you’re in the area you should definitely join us.

If you don’t know Lara, she was our interviewee for our most popular podcast episode EVER. Over 10,000 people downloaded this podcast episode where we interviewed Lara about women’s hormonal health. Our workshop on Saturday will go into even deeper detail on these topics so it’s going to be amazing!

By the way, any suggestions for what to do or where to eat when in LA? I am staying in Culver City which is a few miles west of Venice Beach, and I’ve never been so I need some suggestions on how to best enjoy my work-cation.

Let me know if you have any hot tips for that area!

Now here’s the #FedForReal recipe of the week! 🙂

Fed For Real
Recipe of the week:

MEDITERRANEAN MEZZE Plate

The Mediterranean diet is ranked as one of the healthiest in the world. It’s naturally rich in disease-preventing nutrients known to promote vitality and longevity. It’s a whole foods diet with a strong plant base, moderate amounts of quality animal proteins and full fat dairy, properly-prepared whole grains, and anti-inflammatory fats.

A mezze plate is a quick and healthy dinner for one, or you can bump up the portion sizes for a party appetizer. You can experiment with this plate, substituting in different vegetables, fruits and proteins to suit your own tastes and what’s seasonally available.

For pre-made ingredients such as hummus or other dips, look for those made with healthy fats (e.g. olive oil, avocado oil) rather than polyunsaturated seed oils (e.g. soybean or canola oil)

Get more great macro balanced recipes like this – along with shopping guides and meal planning tips – in our 14 Day Calorie Challenge!

Mediterranean Mezze Plate

Prep time: 20 min / Cook time: 20 min / Total time: 40 minutes

SERVES 2

1 serving =   711 calories, 29g fat, 39g protein, 76g carbs, 18g fiber

Ingredients

• 2 cups Organic Chickpeas, canned, drained and rinsed
  • You can also soak dry chickpeas overnight like in this recipe
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 TB mint
• ½ cup baby spinach
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 TB olive oil
• 8 slices organic Prosciutto or ham
• 4 Pickle spears
• 2 slices of Gluten free bread, pita, or wraps (e.g. Siete) – toasted
• ¼ Cup Hummus – made with olive oil
  • Or try this recipe from my friend Steph!
• 1 cup Grapes or 2 large fresh figs
• 1 Cup Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Cups mixed leafy greens
• 1 Lemon, quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
2. Blitz the chickpeas, shallot, garlic, coconut flour, sesame seeds, baking powder, mint, lemon juice, cumin and sea salt in a high speed blender or food processor until smooth. You can add 1-2 TB of water if mixture is too think.
3. Spoon out chickpea mixture and form small balls. Coat or brush falafel balls with olive oil. Place on a baking tray lined with unbleached parchment paper. Use the back of a fork to slightly flatten each ball down. Place in the oven and baked for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toast your gluten-free bread or pita of choice. Arrange half of the remaining ingredients on a large plate. Add half the falafel balls once removed from the oven. Serve with two wedges of lemon.