Speed-bump

Superbowl Sunday I experienced a slight speed-bump in the clean eating road. What I’m trying to say is that I didn’t eat a 100% clean meal on Sunday.  It just didn’t happen.  However, instead of thinking that this whole thing is ruined and the plan is doomed, I’m making an exception for the greater good of my heath (and Type A mental stability).  I was, however, pretty close with my Chipotle burrito bowl (a pretty clean option as far as eating in a restaurant goes), so I’m calling it “good” and moving on.

What am I not going to do?  I’m not going to say- oh well, I broke my new years resolution and because I didn’t have a 100% clean meal on one day, I might as well not do it.  Nope, I’m not going there.  I’m putting on my big girl panties, and learning the lesson I should have learned a long time ago – Pareto’s Principle – what you do 80% of the time matters more than what you do 20% of the time.

What I ate: Chipotle burrito bowl with black and pinto beans, all four kinds of salsa, brown rice, fajita peppers and onions, guacamole, sour cream and cheese (the not clean part) and corn tortillas.

No picture of my Chipotle deliciousness though, sorry!

2.3.13

Techie

I got all techie on Saturday and upgraded to the iphone 5.  After two HOURS at the Verizon store and paying $30.00 for the “privilege” of upgrading (wtf?), plus the phone obviously, aaaannnnndddd having everything changed over to my new phone- I realized that I had no easy way to get the picture of my Saturday morning clean meal onto the blog.  Womp womp.  I’ll figure it out soon though because my meal was really pretty!

What I ate: Ezekiel bread with peanut butter, sliced bananas and strawberries.  A sunny side up egg and a huge glass of water.  Perfect weekend breakfast.

2.2.13

Clean Chocolate Covered Strawberry Banana Sundae

Today I hit the jackpot.  I’ve been craving sugary snacks lately and today I think I found the ultimate clean craving killer.  Freaking good stuff!

It basically tastes like a chocolate fudge sundae topped with strawberries and banana, except not as cold.  I may try to freeze the yogurt mixture next time, but it’s too cold for ice cream around here right now. 

Getting to the best part…

What I ate: Nonfat plain Greek yogurt (2/3 cup) with 2 tablespoons Cacao powder and about 10 drops of liquid Stevia, topped with 1/2 sliced banana and 5-6 chopped strawberries.  In the picture, the yogurt/Cacao/Stevia isn’t mixed yet- sorry!  

Stir-fry-ish

So I’m not sure if it’s just a phase because there are so many delicious looking recipes I want to try or if I’m just becoming someone who actually cooks on a regular basis, but for several days in a row I’ve done more than just combining a few packaged ingredients. I’m not going to be the next Ina Garten  anytime soon, but it’s definitely an improvement. Low standards…whaaat?

Anyways, last night I created my own stir-fry-ish creation AND re-discovered the genius that is planned leftovers. This is sort of major, people. Planned leftovers will probably become my new go-to.

Best dinner (last night) and lunch (today) I’ve made in a while. Yum!

However,  be warned – it’s not a very pretty meal. 🙂
 
What I ate: Shelled edamame (protein), broccoli, carrots, celery, and onion over quinoa (more protein), topped with a mixture of low sodiom soy sauce, peanut butter and sriracha. I’ve seen both the low sodium soy and sriracha used in other clean recipes from  legitimate sources, so while they may have minuscule amounts of “unclean” ingredients, I’m still okay with including them in this clean meal.

Very Pinterest-ing

Lately there have been a lot of clean or nearly clean foods turning up in my Pinterest feed.  I decided I should actually make some of the recipes I’ve been pinning, rather than just wasting my time pinning them for “sometime in the future.”  Obviously, I don’t think I’ll ever make even half of the stuff I’ve pinned- or I’d spend the rest of my life in the kitchen- but at least I’m making an effort! 🙂

Today I tried a recipe that someone pinned from the Glamour website.  Apparently it’s celebrity fitness guru Harley Pasternak’s creation, and he seems to know his stuff, if you can judge from his client’s nice bods!

Honestly, I had high hopes for this smoothie, but it was just “meh” in my opinion.  It was lacking in flavor a bit, but it did make a lot and was filling.  Maybe I was expecting too much, who knows.  Give it a shot if you want, maybe you’ll love it!

What I ate: Harley Pasternak’s Breakfast Smoothie

Mediterranean Quinoa

Continuing on my trend of exploring alternate (non-meat) protein sources, I made quinoa. I’ve had it before, and liked it, but mostly in the context of a boxed mix. Tasty, but not very clean.

Sidenote- the more I actually read the ingredients panel before I buy something, the more concerned I am about our food supply.

I try not to be a grocery store judger, but the woman in the check-out line behind me last night was not buying a single item of fresh food. Not a fruit, vegetable, or even a bagged salad in sight. Maybe she shops around and buys her produce somewhere else, but still. The standard American diet is pretty sad!

Anyways! Sorry for the tangent there. My quinoa concoction was pretty tasty, and even the hubs was asking for some (after he ate his own favorite soup). I think he’s realizing how good this stuff really can be, which is nice for both of us because I plan to stick with these dietary changes & make more meals like this one.

What I ate: Quinoa with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onion, garlic powder, lemon juice, olive oil, lemon pepper, parsley, salt, pepper, and some low fat feta cheese.

1.29.13

Mixing it Up

Finally breaking out of my rut and eating something totally new!

I hit up the salad bar for some beans and veggies and then came home and doctored them up with spices, lemon and olive oil. Oh yeah, and some crumbled fat free feta cheese. I LOVE this salad and will definitely be making it again soon. Yum!

I’ve seen limited amounts of cheese used in clean recipes from (seemingly) legitimate sources, and specifically low fat feta, so I’m still calling this clean.

What I ate: Garbanzo beans (a/k/a chickpeas), artichoke hearts, celery, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, lemon pepper, parsley, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

One for the Road

I was on the road again today,  and successfully avoided buying much of anything beyond some coffee and a healthy-ish breakfast sandwich. I packed almond milk and protein powder separately because, as I learned earlier this year, the shake does NOT taste right if you don’t drink it immediately after combining the powder and milk.

What I ate: Jay Robb Vanilla protein powder with almond milk and blueberries. An easy to prep and eat clean meal for a roadtrip.

Motivation

I’m not going to lie. Seeing the numbers on the scale go down is definitely a good source of motivation for me. But more and more (especially in light of yesterday’s post) I’m finding that just knowing that I’m making better choices for my health is really motivating for me. I figure even when the scale stalls, something good is going on inside with the extra nutrition I’ve been getting.  It’s also easier to be motivated when I actually like and begin to crave healthy/clean foods over junk food. Slowly but surely, positive changes are happening.

What I ate: Ezekiel bread with 2 tablespoons peanut butter and 1/2 a grapefruit. The clean taste of the grapefruit was a good compliment to the heavy/sticky pb.

Perspective

Some life events really put everything into perspective.  When precious lives are cut short by horrible diseases, and everything else seems so insignificant by comparison, I have to remember that this quest for health is significant for that very reason.  The scary part is that no matter how healthy a lifestyle you live, diseases/illness/viruses can still happen to anyone.  But, hopefully by eating healthier and exercising more we can either avoid disease altogether, or at the very least prolong the good/healthy times. I only wish this were a foolproof method, because there would be a lot less pain and suffering in this world.

What I ate:  One Mango, one clementine, one hard boiled egg, half an avocado.  There are two eggs in the picture, but I couldn’t eat both.  Not really in the mood to eat today.