Flare Free Isn't What You Think

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What do you think of when you hear me say I make gluten/dairy/sugar/corn/soy free anti-inflammatory food?

You probably think...well what the heck do you eat?!

Today I'm here to debunk what you may think it looks like to eat Flare Free!

I got the idea for this podcast episode from a recent conversation I had with a fellow autoimmune warrior.

She started to tell me that she was worried some of her lupus symptoms may be creeping back into her life and is considering changing her diet to prevent that.

So of course we started talking about food and the first thing she said was, "I like broccoli and Brussels sprouts and ----" 

And I had to cut her off right there because while broccoli and Brussels sprouts are amazing (and you'll find both of those in my recipes), you don't have to ONLY eat what is traditionally deemed "healthy" to lessen the symptoms of your autoimmune condition.

Let me explain.

The basic tenet of eating Flare Free is to increase your intake of anti-inflammatory foods and decrease your intake of inflammatory foods. I can sit here and list off what those are but that would bore you to death so I'm going to suggest you take my FREE Masterclass that goes over all of this and more instead.

What I want to go into detail about today is the types of meals you can eat. 

Take what's on the November Meal Plan for example:

For the month of November we're making:

Pot Roast

Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken

Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Brown Butter Fish with Squash Grits

Mashed Potato Stuffed Meatloaf 

Just to name a few.

AND the November Meal Plan includes a bonus Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipe Packet that includes recipes for:

Stuffing

Sweet Potatoes

Cranberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

Cornbread

And more. 

Let me tell you some of my member's favorites from the October Meal Plan just to really drive the point home here:

Beef + Barley Soup

Sausage + Peppers Sheet Tray Meal

Blackened Fish Tacos 

Chicken Piccata

And my personal favorite - the Bacon Burger Salad with Cucumber Ranch Dressing

I mean...does any of that sound "healthy" to you?

Probably not. It sounds like the food you grew up knowing and loving. The food you crave. And there's a reason I serve this type of food.

Because in order for you to want to use food as medicine long enough to notice a difference, you have to eat food that you actually crave. Food that you know. Food that you love. 

So that's why I include these kinds of recipes into my meal plans. Because I want you to find joy in eating and cooking. 

I don't want you to think food, your body, or your immune system is going to betray you for a lifetime. 

Whatever you're going through right now that's driving you to want to learn how to use food as medicine doesn't have to be forever.

I've reversed debilitating joint pain, migraines, eczema, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, insulin resistance and gut dysbiosis so I'm speaking from experience when I say - I know how it feels to suffer. To feel like nothing you try works. Like this is your fate.

But I'm here to tell you today - that if you can order groceries on Instacart, and you can follow a recipe...

You can eat Flare Free.

And there's a lot that goes into the onset of conditions like the ones I just mentioned and there's no one-size-fits all solution to reversing them through diet and lifestyle alone. Or through medication for that matter. That's why doctors often have to prescribe their patients new medications, right?

That's why I offer 1:1 consultations with my Pro and VIP Memberships inside the Flare Free Cooking Academy. Because while I'm not a doctor, nurse, dietician or nutritionist, I have tons of research from some of the top functional medical professionals that prescribe food as medicine to share with you. I'm here to listen to you, support you, and point you in the right direction so you can get help from the right professionals. 

And that's just one perk of being a Flare Free Cooking Academy Member!

The other perks (and my favorites) are:

-Not having to think about what to make for dinner tonight. 

I just had one of my Personal Holistic Chef Clients text me last night telling me she's in a rut. She took a couple months off from having me come cook for her while her daughter was finishing her volleyball season so she's been cooking for the family and she's already burnt out on recipe generation. Because when your kid has an autoimmune disease, you literally can't just make whatever you want to eat for dinner. So you have to Google paleo recipes, AIP recipes, etc. and that is exhausting!

-Another perk of being a member is not having to write grocery lists (literally all you do is flip to the back of the packet and pull out your phone and start ordering whatever you don't already have on hand for each recipe you want to make)

-Another great membership perk is learning how to cook once and eat for days so you can stock your fridge with ready-to-reheat meals or have lunch ready to take to work with you or leave for the babysitter for when you're out, etc.

All of my meal plans come with detailed instructions for the best way to batch cook (which foods in what order) so that you can stock your fridge with meals for the whole week if you'd like to (something I charge my Personal Holistic Chef Clients a pretty penny for me to come do - and you can learn to do this for less than $1/day!)

-The last perk my members report experiencing is knowing the meals you're making your family are healthy. Anti-inflammatory. Good for your blood sugar and your gut health. Good for longevity.

So yes. "Flare Free" isn't all about broccoli and Brussels sprouts. 

I could easily write meal plans that are comprised of dishes like "Grilled Chicken with Steamed Broccoli and Brown Rice". Like...wow! How easy would my life be?!

But I know no one is going to want to eat that kind of food forever.

And I am in the business of changing lives. And food only works as medicine if you use it. 

So instead, I write recipes like "Cheesy" Chicken and Broccoli Rice Casserole instead. 

Because...hello! Who doesn't love a casserole? Am I right?!

So if anti-inflammatory comfort food sounds like something you need in your life. 

If not spending hours on the internet searching for healthy but delicious recipes you can actually execute sounds nice.

If never writing another grocery list...

Never going to the grocery store without a plan and impulse shopping ever again..

Never experimenting with ingredients you're not sure are going to taste good...

Sounds like something you want in your life...

Check out the Flare Free Cooking Academy - my monthly membership subscription program that helps you embrace your love of food, get off the rollercoaster ride of food-driven autoimmune flare-ups, stock your fridge with anti-inflammatory comfort food to eat throughout the week and work towards lessening the symptoms of your autoimmune condition all by simply following a recipe. 

Doors for enrollment for the month of November are open until the 15th and the meal plan drops on the 1st!

xo,

Laura