What This Lawyer, Business Owner, and Mom of Two Eats to Stay Energized

With a newborn, a toddler, a wellness business, and a legal practice, Genevieve Jaffe had a full plate before COVID-19 came along and turned life upside down—upended schedules, added tantrums and all.

Like countless other parents, the past few months have presented a heap of unexpected challenges for Jaffe and her family. Fortunately, Jaffe has a support system that starts at home (with her wife, Jordana) and extends all around the world thanks to the vibrant online community she’s built through her Instagram and blog. “I love sharing my fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and mental health journeys with other mamas to help them feel less alone,” she says, adding that her strong online connections with other parents have given her space to air frustrations, manage expectations, and share solutions about quarantined family life.

Despite the turbulence, nutrition has remained a priority for this family—in part because Jaffe has known the importance of food quality since she was young. “I was an athlete my whole life,” she explains. “I learned young that what I put in my body was fuel that would allow me to perform my best.” Fortunately, this nutrition intuition is rubbing off on her kids, just as she’d hoped it would. “Veggies are just part of what we eat—my son asks for broccoli for breakfast!” she laughs. Jaffe adds that by splitting the cooking duties with Jordana (“She’s more of the cook and I’m the baker,” she says), meal prepping on weekends, and relying on easy sheet pan recipes, she’s able to feed her family nourishing meals even with her packed schedule.

And when all else fails? Two words: paint foam. “Just grab an old muffin tin, spray a little shaving cream in each hole, then add food dye and mix it up,” she says, adding that when it gets too cold to “paint” outside, this is an activity that can be done in the tub for some good, clean fun.

Read on for a look at the foods that sustain Jaffe’s busy schedule, including some of her favorite family-nourishing recipes.

What Genavieve Jaffe Eats in a Day

I wake up with my kiddos (whenever that is—it changes daily). First things first, I drink a glass of water before my two cups of coffee. I get the kids set up with breakfast and activities before I eat as I’m not a big morning eater. After I’m up for a few hours, I tend to eat eggs with cheese and avocado. Sometimes I’ll add some roasted veggies on the side for added goodness!

I’m usually hungry for lunch around 1 or 2 p.m. My current obsession is a baked sweet potato with cheese, avocado and crumbled chicken. It’s delish and so easy to make. Some days I’ll just have a turkey and cheese sandwich with avocado on top if I’m really busy and need something quickly.

I get such a sweet tooth in the afternoon and I don’t like eating a big lunch, so I top it off with a delicious superfood shake! I add some dark chocolate chips for a touch of sweetness.

Dinner time varies but now that school is back, it provides a bit more structure. We always have a few veggies; green beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts (I love to make them super crispy) and red beets are our favorites. Chicken, salmon, or ground turkey provide a boost of protein to round out the meal.

For dessert I’ve been trying to make healthier options for our son, and dairy-free paleo pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with greens and cauliflower are a surprising new favorite. Ice cream is also a staple here!

Genavieve Jaffe’s Superfood Shake

Yield: 1 serving
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
1 scoop of wellmade Organic Plant Protein, Vanilla
12oz Thrive Market Almond Milk
½ cup of frozen wild blueberries
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 tbsp Thrive Market Dark Chocolate Chips
1 scoop of Thrive Market Collagen

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend to your desired consistency.

Dairy-free + Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Greens and Cauliflower

Yield: 12 muffins
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 cup of super greens (or spinach)
1/3 cup Thrive Market Riced Cauliflower
1/3 cup Thrive Market Pumpkin Puree
1/3 cup Thrive Market Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Thrive Market Coconut Oil, melted
3 eggs (or egg substitute to make the recipe vegan)
1/2 tbsp Thrive Market Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Thrive Market Coconut Flour
1/2 tsp Thrive Market Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Thrive Market Nutmeg
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp Thrive Market Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Thrive Market Baking Soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup Dark Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup Regeneratively Grown Organic Cacao Nibs

Pinch of salt

Instructions
Set oven to 350°F and spray muffin tin with coconut spray. Place all of the wet ingredients and greens in a blender and mix. Add all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix in the cacao nibs and dark chocolate chips. Scoop the batter into the muffin tins (they don’t rise, so you can fill the tins up to the top) and place in the oven for 35-40 min.