Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Shopping Clean

Rules of shopping Clean

1. Shop the perimeter

2.  Be weary of food item that have more than 5 ingredients. 

3. If you can't state the name of a particular ingredient in the food you're about to dine on, then consider passing. 

4.  Avoid items that say bleached or enriched.

5.  Make a list and stick to it.

6.  Eat before you go grocery shopping.  


Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store. Every store is different, but as a general rule, the outside edge is the natural habitat of the fresh vegetable, meat market, whole-grain baked goods, and the nuts and dried fruits in the bulk bin. Get comfortable here; it is now your territory.  The produce is the one place that I allow myself to deviate from my grocery list.  I buy what I will need for recipes, but I also buy the specials.  My kids love it when I come home with a bag of grapes or a carton of strawberries, they eat them up even faster than a donut.  


You'll probably have to venture into the interior for some staples like olive oil, but keep your blinders on. You're entering a museum of extravagant packaging and manipulative slogans. Few of the items you see in the store's interior promote good health; it's a stretch to call most of it "food." 
More than likely foods that contain more than 5 ingredients are not a "clean" food. Apples, bananas, oats, nuts, eggs, honey are all 1 ingredient foods. Pretty cool, right. There's no guess work there.  Twinkies and cheetos, not so much.  Of course there are exceptions, but this is a pretty good general rule.  

Don't Eat Foods with Ingredients You Can't Pronounce. Look at the label of a box of cookies, a children's lunch pack, or even a bottle of "natural" juice. You'd need a chemistry degree to read it, and even then, you couldn't say what those substances are doing to you in the long run. I have even noticed that different brands of the same canned good will have different ingredients, so be weary.  Compare labels and get the most nutritious one possible.  First, I look at the ingredients and then I compare the sugar and salt content and choose the one with the least amount of additives. 


Avoid any flours that are “enriched” or bleached these grains have been stripped and are filled will additive replace nutrients lost in the manufacturing process.  Even bread products that say "whole wheat" may have enriched or bleached flours, so check the ingredient list first, then look at fiber content.  I have been buying Harper's Homemade bread.  It is made locally and has all natural ingredients.  Of course, homemade is always best! So if you have the time, make your own bread. 

Meals: Ideas, planning and prepping

Planning, prepping, 
shopping,
 

It may seem like a lot of work, but I have found that I am more successful at weight loss, maintenance and sticking to clean eating when I do them.  Here are some suggestions and ideas of what works for me.

These are 2 YouTube videos that I made:

Meal Planning

Meal Prepping



BREAKFAST
Oatmeal, chopped apple, cinnamon/ 4 egg whites
Oatmeal with 1/2 banana, walnuts/ 4 egg whites
smoothies
Shakeology with berries & spinach
Quinoa, almond milk, berries
Teff, almond milk, berries
Greek yogurt, berries, Fiber One cereal
Cottage Cheese, berries, Fiber One cereal
4 Egg whites or whole 2 eggs with peppers/onions/mushrooms
Pumpkin Pancakes


SNACKS
nuts (almonds, cashews, almonds, etc), fruit (apple, orange, pear, etc)
Shakeology/smoothie
2 eggs, berries or veggies
1/2 chicken breast, steamed green beans
canned tuna, apple
chopped veggies (celery, carrots, peppers), Avocado hummus
Almond butter or peanut butter, apple
quinoa, 1/2 banana


LUNCH
Turkey Meatloaf Muffins and Vegetables
leftovers
salad: greens, chopped veggies of choice/ quinoa or beans/ ground turkey, turkey breast, chicken/ dressing
Rice and Black Beans





DINNER
Turbo Fire Chili
Chicken Fajitas
Everyday Marinara Sauce with baked chicken or pork roast
Chicken and Vegetable Bake
Salmon baked on a bed of spinach, baked potato
Roasted turkey breast, steamed broccoli, rice
Tenderloin, roasted carrots, beets, leeks & sweet potato
Baked tilipia, steamed spinach, tomatoes


What is Clean Eating


What is Clean Eating?

Clean Eating is a choice, lifestyle, way of life.

Clean Eating is not a diet, fad, or short term change.



There are a multitude of jokes out there about the "clean" part of clean eating.  I have heard it all!  "Oh, so you don't eat dirty food?"  "Clean eating is when I clean my plate."  "Clean Eating is eating while I clean."


Actually, clean does mean clean.  It means eating whole foods that have not been "dirtied" with preservatives, additives, and processing.  Such as an apple is an apple, oats are oats, eggs are eggs.



Side note: Now we could take this a bit farther to the chemicals and pesticides that are used on fruits and vegetables  and hormones in livestock, but I am choosing not to go there in this 2 week program.  Just keep the thought in the back of your head to buy organic when possible and do your research.


The whole point of clean eating is to get back to what our ancestors ate.  I never met my great-grandma, but I'm just going to assume that she cooked all of her meals from scratch.  She grew her own fruits and vegetables.  She made her own bread, pasta, cereal.  I'm guessing that she never went to McDonald's.  That she didn't buy Twinkies and I'm sure that she never had a Red Bull.

I get that we live in a very busy world.  I feel like I am constantly being pulled between family, work, and church obligations.  I also have many hobbies that take time.  I love my crazy busy life, but sometimes my nutrition suffers because I let life get too out to control.

I love when I have a pantry, freezer, and fridge full of healthy choices.  It makes meals so much easier.  Right now I have boiled eggs, cooked chicken, chopped up fruits and vegetables, and cooked rice and quinoa ready to be thrown together for a variety of meals.


One of my dear friends has often said that she gets tired of chicken and spinach when she is eating clean.  I eat a lot more than just chicken and spinach.  I do put spinach in my salads and sometimes my Shakeology if I still need to get in another vegetable for the day.

I prefer to get every color possible in fruits and vegetables in during the day.  I love apples, avocados, bananas, pears, peaches, berries, asparagus, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and on and on.

I do eat chicken about 4 times a week, but I also eat beef, turkey, pork, and fish.  If you look around my blog and facebook page, you will find recipes that I have posted that are family favorites.



How to Shop Clean on a Budget

Flex your ... WALLET!!! 

Clean eating can save you money. 

  • My grocery budget has decreased since my husband and I started Shakeology because we don't have the cravings for junk food, pop, and fast food. 
  • Also, we eat out A TON less!!! 
  • We are saving at least $50 a week on groceries and not eating out.
  • One of the misconceptions people have about making healthy food choices is that it somehow "costs too much" to eat right. 
  • People often forget to factor in the sick days, prescriptions, doctor visits, and the price of a reduced quality of life that comes from eating an unhealthy diet.
  • Eating for optimal nutrition health is actually a valuable investment in your quality of life. 


8 TIPS for SHOPPING CLEAN ON A BUDGET 




1. Buy Carbs In Bulk. Buy oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, and beans in bulk. 

2. Always buy the larger economy sized containers when they are on sale.




3. Never pay full price for MEAT. Meat can be frozen for several months so you should only buy it when it is on sale. Watch newspaper circulars for "teaser" sales of meats designed to bring customers in the store.

Look for "reduced for quick sale" or other daily specials and stock up when the price is right.



4.  Always purchase produce in season. When you start buying off-season produce, the price is MUCH higher and generally you will get the best prices from a farmers/produce market.

5.  Frozen fruits and veggies are a great price effective alternative if you can’t get your hands on fresh!

6.  Buy Generic. Let go of your brand & store loyalties. Shop by best value, not brand name.



7. Don't Throw Anything Away. 
Freezing leftovers like extra rice, sauces, or chicken in 1/2 c "snack" baggies will money and time. 
Save for fast meals or lunches instead of eating out.




8.  Shop Using A Grocery List!!!  Stick to your list, don't impulse buy. 
Every item you buy that you don't need adds to your perceived cost of eating healthier!



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Food Journal

I know that I lost most of you with the title here.  The dreaded food journal.  I even fight this one- and then I regret it because I end up overeating and gaining weight. I forget what I ate earlier in the day.

Sometimes I'll think, I can eat that because I haven't eaten that much today.  Then when I sit down and figure it out, I realize that I really did eat a great deal more than I thought that I had.

Have you ever had a dish of candy on your desk or counter?  Did you walk by every time and just grab a
few.  Then before you know it you had eaten 500 calories or more. Did that handful of M&M's turn into 6 handfuls?

How about a bowl of cashews?  They are healthy, right?  Yes, they are a great source of protein and healthy fats, but there are about 180 calories in one handful!!!  That is A TON OF CALORIES if you are grabbing a handful every time that you walk by the bowl.

WEIGH, MEASURE, AND LOG your food for the very best results.

What I have found that works the best is to write out my plan for the day, either the night before or the morning of. I don't always specify exactly what I will eat for each food group, for example protein- I may put chicken, ground turkey or eggs on my salad or with rice or quinoa and a side salad or peppers, etc. I may feel like an apple instead of a bananas.

Since I have lots of food already cooked and chopped in my fridge/freezer I can just choose what I feel like when it's time to put together my meal.

This is where the containers from the 21 Day Fix have been so useful.  Today, for example, I felt like eating a banana and an orange AND some pineapple.  I just followed the guidelines and filled my purple container with a little of each fruit.  The containers take all of the stress out of counting calories or worrying that I missed a food group.












Monday, February 17, 2014

Why I do all of this.

Many people think that I eat clean and exercise because I want to lose weight.  I certainly do not want to GAIN weight and I always think in the back of my mind that I want to lose 10 pounds, but I don't eat or workout for this reason.   I eat clean and I workout because I want to be healthy.

When I am 60 I want to still be able to run, do burpees, star jumps, pullups, pushups, swing a 30 pound kettlebell, and climb a hill on my road bike.

When I started eating clean, I figured out pretty quickly that if I kept eating what I was eating and working out how I was working out, I would never change.  I would just stay the same, age would kick in and I would gain weight and overtime lose fitness that I had worked so hard to acquire.

I started eating clean and I stopped running as my only form of exercise.  Now I like to change up my exercise often. The body needs to be shocked if you want to change it.  When I was running everyday, I never saw my body change.

When I started to add weights, I quickly began to see definition that I had never seen before.  I used to hate lunges and squats, but now that I do them 3-5 days a week.  I have a thigh muscle that, to be honest, I am very proud of.  No amount of running or walking would have ever given me that type of definition.

I started drinking Shakeology because I was at the end of my rope.  I had made all the changes with my diet that I needed to, I was no longer drinking pop but I still had major stomach issues.  I had worked as an RN for Gastroenterologists for 9 years and still no one could figure out why I had these problems.

 I decided that I might as well just see what Shakeology could do for me.  I jumped into it without doing much research because I was just going to try it.  Within 2 days I was finally able to sleep through the night without waking up with stomach cramps.  By 7 days, I noticed that I didn't feel like a wet rag by 3:00 pm.  By 10 days, I no longer had a "food baby belly" in the evening.  Within a month almost all of my stomach issues were eliminated.

I don't know if it's because my diet was missing some vital nutrient that Shakeology replaced.  It might just be that I'm not trying to fit super foods, pre-biotics, pro-biotics, antioxidants, and digestive enzymes that are important to good health into my meals each day.  Instead, I'm eating a well balanced diet and drinking Shakeology to make up for the rest.

One serving of Shakology contains the nutrition of 3 cups romaine lettuce, 4 cups raw mushrooms, 1 shot wheat grass, 1 bowl of exotic fruit, 3 raw onions, 7 raw carrots, 4 cups nonfat yogurt, 4 cups red radishes, 4 cups raw broccoli, 1 cup peas, and 10 cups raw cauliflower.   I would never eat all of that in one day.  Many people say that they eat healthy, but in reality they are just eating the same foods over and over.  Maybe they eat the right number of fruits and vegetables, but they most likely aren't getting all the nutrients that they need.

Whatever your reasons for improving your health may be, it's the journey getting there that is important.  Setting goals and gaining the knowledge will guide you on your path.  I have learned so much and I have made even more mistakes.

I have had to pick myself up from a sugar coma that lasted several months and made my pants become way too tight, brush myself off and start over again.  I learn more about myself everyday and I still have a long way to go before I figure this whole thing out.

I just want to be the healthiest,  happiest, most fit version of myself that I can possibly be so that I can have the kind of future that I desire.  



Thursday, February 13, 2014

Everyday Marinara Sauce

My family loves pasta, especially marinara sauce. I adapted this recipe from The Best of Clean Eating 2 Cookbook. I use it for spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and homemade pizza. My family has no idea how much vegetables are in it.

Everyday Marinara Sauce
5 cups jarred diced tomatoes
1 TBSP olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 medium white onion
2 cups carrots, grated
2 cups celery, diced
1 TBSP tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh oregano
8 basil leaves
1 TBSP honey
sea salt and pepper to taste.

You can add just about any vegetables-mushrooms, pumpkin, zucchini, or peppers to spice it up. I use the above recipe as my base and then add in other vegetables that I have on hand. 

Put all the ingredients in slow cooker and simmer for 4-6 hours. Puree mixture with hand blender or in a food processor until smooth. Makes about 6 cups.

Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf muffins 

Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
3 egg whites
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dry yellow mustard
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 celery stalks (finely chopped)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.
Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.
Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.

Serving Size:
Women: 2 muffins
Men: 4 muffins

Quinoa Protein Bars

I love the convenience of granola bars, but I have had a hard time finding ones to buy that aren't really expensive and full of additives. Today I made these and they are delicious. These are great for pre or post workout, kids, or grab and go snack. I'm going to have to freeze them or give them away so I don't eat the whole pan. 

Quinoa protein bars

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
3 TBSP honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup oats
1 banana mashed
1 egg
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix and bake at 350 for 20 min

Makes 12 servings
Calories 150
Protein 5
Fat 8.5
Sugars 5
Carbs 16

Pumpkin Pancakes

I'm in love with these Pumpkin Pancakes. My 10 year old says they taste like french toast. I topped mine with blueberries and 1/2 TBSP of pure maple syrup. Delicious!!! They are great for snacks too.

Pumpkin Pancakes
6 egg whites
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole rolled oats
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon)

Mix together and make pancakes!

Black Beans and Rice

What's for dinner? 
I made this recipe as a side dish for dinner last night and I had the leftovers with some steamed veggies for lunch today. 

Black beans and rice

1 cup brown rice (cook per instructions)
1 can low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp Bragg liquid aminos or low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup corn
1/4 cup pico de gallo

Mix ingredients together and top with guacamole.
Makes 2 main dish servings

Our family version of guacamole is mashed up avocado with a pinch of sea salt and garlic powder. My daughter is the one that makes it for us and we all love it!

TurboFire Chili

t's noon, which means it's time to think about what to make for dinner. Since today is a cold day, I'm thinking TurboFire Chili!!! YUMMY!

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup whole kernel corn
1/2 diced onion
2 cloves garlic
8 oz black beans
8 oz pinto, chili, or kidney beans
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 pkg chili seasoning

Brown turkey, drain and discard any fat. Drain and rinse beans. Place everything in the slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high.

Avocado Hummus

Avocado Hummus-super easy and delicious. My kids loved it! 

16 oz can of chickpeas
1 avocado
fresh cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp chili powder

Use a food processor to blend ingredients into desired consistency. Serve with veggies or whole grain crackers. Next time I want to try adding some salsa to make it more like guacamole.

Chicken and Vegetable Bake

I have seen a bunch of recipes on Pinterest with chicken breasts, potatoes and green beans or broccoli, topped with butter and italian seasoning baked in one dish. I used the general idea, but I omitted the butter and did fresh seasoning instead of packaged. I used a recipe from Beachbody for the marinade. I always love it when an experiment comes together and the whole family likes it.

Chicken and Vegetable Bake

Marinade
Chopped fresh oregano, basil, thyme, Italian parsley (about 1 tbsp each)
fresh squeezed lemon (about 2 tbsp)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

Combine ingredients and pour over 4 chicken breasts. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Place in the middle of a glass baking dish and line one side with quartered potatoes (I used Yukon gold, but red or fingerlings would be good too) and the other side with broccoli, green beans, or asparagus. Pour the remainder of the marinade over the dish, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Start Small

This is a SECRET!!! DO NOT TELL MY FAMILY!!! I substitute cream soups and mayo with greek yogurt in my casseroles and soups. Yep, no one has noticed! 

I also started using ground turkey in soups, spaghetti, tacos several years ago. We still have to use ground beef for our hamburgers, but my brother raises his own beef so it's as organic as you can get. 

The other day I was pulling out whole grain noodles to cook and my teenage son said "Gross, don't use the brown noodles." I told him that I had been using "brown noodles" for the past 5 years. He said "Oh." I'm so sneaky!!!\

Start small. Change one thing every week: Start replacing your white, processed foods with whole grains. 


Then quit buying sugar loaded beverages. 

Take the candy and cookie jars off the counter and replace them with fruits. 

Leave a plate of veggies on the kitchen counter in the afternoon for when the kids come home from school and for when you get the munchies. 

Make your food from scratch to limit additives and preservatives.

Chicken Fajitas

If you were to look through your favorite cookbook, you would fine several recipes that are clean or just need a little bit of tweaking to make them clean. This is a recipe that I got from my sister, Amy, several years ago. It is so yummy and easy. 
It's a great meal for a lazy Sunday, everyone will think that you slaved over it when in reality you just threw the ingredients into the slowcooker.

Chicken Fajitas
3 lbs chicken
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice
2-4oz cans chopped green chilies
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 cup white cooking wine
2 tsp lemon juice

combine everything but lemon juice and put in crock pot. Simmer all day. Add lemon juice 20 minutes before serving. Serve over brown rice or with whole wheat tortillas.

Clean protein balls

When I did the Las Vegas Ragnar I packed all of my own clean foods to eat.  One of the things that I took was what became known as "clean balls."  There were several jokes about my clean balls, but since there were six girls in our van it didn't get too crude.  This made me think of my favorite SNL skit of all time.  So today I am sharing my clean ball recipe and the SNL Schweedy Balls skit

1/2 cup nut butter
2 TBSP coconut oil
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 TBSP honey
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup dried fruit (I used 1/2 c raisins and 1/2 c dates)
1 cup quick oats

Pulse ingredients in food processor.  I added a little more cocoa powder, honey and nut butter to get it the right consistency.  Roll into 1 inch balls.  I freeze them and then when frozen I put them in a zip lock baggie or container to pull out when I need a quick snack.  

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Carbohydrates


I instructed my challenge group to eat 5-6 small meals daily, pairing a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate.  I soon realized after several questions, that I had been very vague by saying this.  What I should have said it to include a fruit or vegetable with each meal, pairing it with a lean protein, and to limit starchy carbohydrates to 2-4 servings daily.  Eat at least 4 vegetables with a low Glycemic Index each day.  For more info on Glycemic Index, check out What is the Glycemic Index? 

So what are carbohydrates?  
Carbohydrates come in two forms: simple and complex.  Simple carbohydrates (SC) include processed starches, fructose and refined sugar. SC are digested quickly into glucose causing spikes in blood sugar. Most SC are empty calories because they contain few nutrients.  Complex carbohydrates (CC) include whole grains, legumes, vegetables. CC are nutrient dense and when paired with a lean protein help to keep you fuller longer while rebuilding muscle.  CC are digested more slowly, causing glucose to enter you blood stream more slowly and help to maintain a more even blood sugar level.  

Fruit and Other Natural Sugars
Fruit, honey and milk products are SC.   However, these are whole foods and are considered clean.  I
recommend eating 2 servings of  fruit per day.  Not only are they delicious and satisfying, they are nutrient dense.  I do use honey, pure maple syrup and other natural sugars in small amounts nearly everyday.  There are many recipes for breads and even clean sweets that you can replace processed sugar with honey (add 1/2 the amount called for).  Honey is still high in calories, but it is a far better choice.  I drizzle about 1/2 Tbsp of pure maple sugar on my Pumpkin Protein Pancakes.  

Starchy Carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates include bananas, potatoes, rice and grains, pasta, and breads.  These carbohydrates are all full of nutrients such as fiber, calcium, iron and B vitamins.  Many people try to avoid starchy carbs when dieting.  However, since clean eating isn't a diet, I recommend eating them in moderation.  Keep the proper portion sizes and keep it to 2-4 servings of starchy carbs per day.  If trying to lose weight, aim for only 2 servings.
  
Oats:  I buy oats in the bulk section.  I use them in my meatloaf, meatballs, for cereal, granola bars and I grind it to make oat flour.  Usually oats are the only grain that I eat in a day.  This is due to my own preference.  I would rather get my starch carbs in the form of fruits and vegetables.

Brown Rice and whole wheat pasta are other great clean starchy carb option.  I switched over to brown rice
and whole wheat pasta several years ago.  The other day I was putting pasta in a pot to boil and my son said "Gross, why are you using brown pasta?"  I told him that I had been using it for years and that I hadn't bought "white" pasta for a very long time.  He had never noticed.
  
Flour:  Replacing processed white flour for wheat may seem daunting, but overtime you and your family will adjust to it.  I have white flour in my food storage, but I haven't used it for several months.  I have even been putting all wheat flour in my cookies lately.


Bread:  Not all breads are created equal.  Once again, it is important to read the labels.  Just because the packaging says whole wheat, doesn't mean it isn't processed.  The best bread I have been able to find is Harper's Homemade Honey Wheat.  The very best option is to make your own (which I don't do because I would eat the entire loaf).