cleanse.

Hey, Tribe. As you may have noticed, I have been on a mild hiatus here – so sorry, friends! The good news is I’ve learned tons of new wellness info to share with you! So I do hope you’ll forgive my absence. 🙂

Here’s the rundown: I’ve had some mild breathing issues and other random, minor but literally weird things going on lately. Earlier this month, it escalated to the point where I could no longer keep the breathing problems at bay with essential oils and other natural remedies, so I decided it was time to go see a health professional! Thankfully, there is an integrative doctor in my area who specializes in asthma. If you’ve never heard of integrative medicine, it basically incorporates conventional (allopathic) medicine with various natural and nutritional medicine, seeking to get to the root of the issue and heal it, instead of just “managing” illness & symptoms. So I was very excited to get to the root of what’s been going on. I tend to be very in tune with what’s going on in my body, and I was ready to find out what was causing the ailments I knew to be connected.

Among other things, he suggested I likely have candida overgrowth and need to do a cleanse (I will be sharing more on that, but for starters, you can read more about candida here). Well, I was already on that page – I had just started a great, supplement-based cleanse & reset with dōTERRA. (more on that, soon!) However, the candida issue wasn’t something I particularly had focused on – in fact, the thought didn’t even occur to me that could be the issue, since the two biggest indicators, in my mind, are skin issues & digestive issues – which I don’t happen to have.

Which brings me to the reason why I’ve been briefly MIA. I’ve been doing lots of research on candida & what foods to eat & what foods to avoid. And quite frankly, there is so much I must avoid – so I’ve been having to shop and prepare lots of food from scratch! No grains (literally, none), no sugar (not even fruit), no dairy. Thankfully, though, there is a decent variety of foods I can eat on this cleanse – avocados, chicken, quinoa (it’s not a true grain), eggs, oatmeal, lots of veggies – to name a few. I can bake with almond flour and coconut flour. In fact, I made the most incredible pancakes with coconut flour and eggs! I made a whole chicken for the first time AND made bone broth. So, I most definitely will be catching you up on my kitchen adventures over the next few weeks.

And, as always, one of my aims is to help you make healthy living easier, so I will be sharing my recipes and refining my technique a bit – so if you decide a candida cleanse is right for you, you’ll have some tools to get you started in the right direction. Stay tuned!

fast food.

This is what “fast food” looks like in the Matykiewicz household.

Wild-caught mahi mahi fillets that I bought in the frozen section at Costco, brushed with olive oil and seasoned – and baked according to package directions. I buy plain ones and add my own seasonings so I know what’s in it – plus, it makes life more interesting, since I can switch it up! These have sea salt, coriander, turmeric, garlic & onion powder, and black pepper sprinkled on top. I dropped a little lime essential oil on them, too, just before serving!

Quinoa – sooo easy and full of protein!

Fresh grape tomatoes – no-prep veggie! Wash & serve.

Quick & easy whole food dinner! Prep time was 10 minutes tops, ready to eat in 20-30 minutes.

five minute spaghetti sauce

You heard me right.

Five minute spaghetti sauce.

Homemade… from scratch… using the finest ingredients. In five minutes.

What had happened was… I was going to make spaghetti. I had ground beef (grass-fed goodness!) already made in the fridge from earlier in the week, and we were in a time crunch, and I knew I could quickly and easily whip this up.

I started the pasta (my favorite, super tasty DeBole’s Ancient Grain rice, quinoa, and amaranth pasta. 💕💕💕 See, none of the grocery stores I shop at carried it anymore… and I found it a few days ago. Best day ever. I digress.) … only to realize I didn’t have any spaghetti sauce on hand.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned well, it’s improv cooking.

Not a moment to lose.. Grab the diced tomatoes & the tomato paste in the fridge from last week. Need to add some water… oh, I can use essential oils to flavor this one! I actually don’t often use essential oils when I cook because I love the colors and textures of ground spices. But in this case, essential oils would instantly permeate the sauce with savory notes, which was perfect since I didn’t have time to let spices simmer out their full flavor.

I find there are two secrets to improv cooking. One, don’t be afraid. You can always find a way to fix it if you mess up – Google is your friend. Two, cook with your nose. If it smells good, it will taste good. And with that, I chose oregano, marjoram, rosemary, and basil for my sauce. A drop of each goes in. We’re a garlic family, so now a generous portion of garlic powder and a sprinkle of onion powder into the saucepan. A dash of sea salt to bring out the flavor.. and in goes the ground beef.

You guys. This is heavenly.

I’ll do my best to reiterate the ingredients as a recipe for you here. (I’ll fine tune measurements and make an update to this recipe in due time.) But for now, here is the rough recipe so you can whip up your own five minute pasta sauce. Feel free to sauté a couple minced cloves of garlic & half a chopped onion in place of the powdered versions – if you have more than five minutes!

Five Minute Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

1 jar diced tomatoes (about 18 oz)

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup water

1/2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Essential oils

(be sure to use only dōTERRA or other high-quality essential oil suitable for internal use)

1 drop oregano

1 drop marjoram

1 drop rosemary

1 drop basil

Directions

Combine ingredients (except water) in saucepan over medium heat. Add water to desired consistency, starting with roughly 1/4 cup. Add cooked ground beef, ground turkey, or other meat if desired. Once sauce is heated throughout, stir in essential oils and serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

simple substitution: quinoa

s i m p l e  s u b s t i t u t i o n s –

I’m so excited to start this new feature with you guys! I’ll show you easy “swap outs” to incorporate into what you’re already eating & increase your nutrition!

quinoa is full of key nutrients, including all 9 essential amino acids (making it a complete protein), heart-healthy fats, b vitamins, iron, and other minerals. while not a true grain, quinoa is prepared in much the same way as rice – though with more fiber, it is better for digestion and does not cause blood sugar to spike as rice can. new research indicates quinoa may also have anti-inflammatory properties! swap out this nutrient-rich “grain” in any dish that calls for white or brown rice.

what are your favorite quinoa recipes?

Thrive Thursday Live: Setting Goals

Statistics show that quarter of people never manage to succeed in their New Year’s resolutions, and half succeed sometimes. (If you’re in that boat with me, don’t worry – you’re not alone!)

I want to live healthier this year – and I know you do too. In the video below, I’m going to be sharing some tips and tricks to help you successfully set – and reach – your goals this year.

As we head into the new year, I want to help you set yourself up for success – to thrive!

I would love to hear your SMART goals!

new year’s res- I mean, goals ;)

Happy New Year! 🎉🎉🎉

What are your resolutions?

Okay, real talk here: I know I can feel like making resolutions is useless.. because no matter how I try, I feel like it’s inevitable I’ll break them. But there are a lot of things I’ve learned over the past few years about setting goals. Hear me out here. No matter where you’re at in life, goals can be a valuable tool in achieving your dreams. They keep your perspective up when life knocks you down. They remind you of what you really want, and help you figure out how to get there. Setting goals well is a skill you can learn. I’m still learning!

As we head into the new year, I would love to have you join me as we talk about how to set good, realistic and achievable goals. (Hint: you don’t have to throw your resolutions out the window, either!) Join me for the first ever Thrive Thursday Live at 2pm (central), live on The Thrive Tribe Facebook page.

Let’s thrive together this year!

Leave me a comment with your resolutions and/or goals!