This Burrito Bowl Casserole with layers of cilantro cauliflower rice and fresh veggies is the perfect Paleo solution to busy weeknights! Just add guacamole and you’re done!

Wanna know what’s crazy? It’s October. Which means Thanksgiving is next month. How am I supposed to be ready for that? I’m still wrapping up summer cooking over here — I am not ready to stuff a turkey. I’m super excited to make Thanksgiving dinner, but I need  six months to plan my menu. Last year I cooked my first turkey and ate the entire thing myself. Granted, I froze a bunch and it lasted for a few weeks. When you can’t live with your family anymore, at least you get personal turkeys. Being an adult has weird trade-offs.

Ok – lets talk about consistency. Another adult moment for you.

The days have been flying by for me with the pace I’m moving between blogging, working, and growing other side projects. I’m trying to keep reminders around the house about my healing goals so that I don’t stress myself too hard and hurt my gut progress. I’m keeping lists of helpful foods on the fridge, storing bone broth in easy to grab places, stacking helpful books on the table, and listening to podcasts about gut health. Still, I’m falling off the wagon in terms of truly healing.

I’m in the Reinoculate phase of the 4R Protocol (I highly recommend Diane Sanfilippo’s Practical Paleo for learning more about this) , but I’ve done a horrible job of eating the “extras” that help your body heal in this phase. I should be drinking bone broth every single day, but I’m not. I should be taking L-glutamine, but I’m not. I should be eating fatty fish 2-4 times a week, but I’m not. So… I have really hardly “participated” in this phase at all.

Consistency is the key to results, and I know this fact far to well to be ignoring it. Our health should truly be our top priority if we want to be able to effectively love and serve the people in our lives, not to mention do the things we enjoy. I know I need to buckle down the next 8 weeks and get through this phase, and then complete the last two phases with an equal amount of dedication and effort if I’m going to heal.

If you’re on the struggle bus with your own health goals these days, just remember how important it is. And — you’re not crazy for struggling! If you can only do one thing in your day, do the thing you need to do to be healthy, no matter what that looks like for you. There’s no guilt or shame in allowing your body to rest. I think we tend to view rest in a negative light in our culture of achievement, but some times rest IS the thing you need to achieve. Don’t forget that.

Ok, time for less serious things — like burrito bowls.

I know my burrito bowls well. My friends and I used to hit up Moe’s (similar to Chipotle, but with free chips, if you’re not familiar) alll the time in high school and when I started college. I felt horrible after every bowl, and yet it was my favorite. I was usually ok if I got a salad, paid my extra for my guac, and avoided the chips (now, this makes perfect sense to me) but that didn’t happen every time. If I’m being honest, it probably happened twice.

The good news is that I’m older and wiser (in a few ways, at least) and this casserole is the delicious proof.

Plus, now I know I didn’t peak in high school.

Get your ingredients here! Because stores are hard.