Eating Cleaner Diet: Week 2

 WOW... What a week

Fertility Procedures, A.C. Unit broke, $140 parking violation fine and a yellow boot put on our car until we paid the $$, Swarming ants attacking our house and possible termite infestation.

How was your week?!

To say the least, this week has not been IDEAL. A few quotes sum up my diet success this week

  

I get in a funk where I don't like PLANNING my meals. I just fly by the seat of my pants and decide what I am going to eat 5 minutes before I eat it.

NOT A GOOD IDEA WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO EAT WELL!

Also LOTS of stressful things and emotional things happened this week and I found myself resorting to FOOD as a comfort. REWARDING myself with food because "I deserved" a break.

For example:

Emotional Fertility Procedure = Going out to eat w/ my husband

AC Unit broken & 5 hours of teaching toddlers dance = Yogurtland

$140 Parking Ticket when leaving my sisters house after a nice dinner = going back inside and accepting a rootbeer float while we waited 2 hours for the company to come take the boot off.

SO!

Trying not to beat myself up over it as I did refuse homemade chocolate chip cookies brought over from my Visiting Teachers and rootbeer floats and chocolate cake at Sunday dinner at my in-laws.

GOALS for this week are:

PREPARE MEALS & SNACKS and set up a HEALTHY reward system for stressful/emotional situations. New cute gym clothes? Pedicure? Shopping Spree?

I'll let you know how it goes :) Here is what I ate this week. My breakfasts are pretty much the same every morning so I probably won't be posting these anymore unless I have something new. Lots of repeats this week as I was unprepared and just ate what I could find!

Monday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie & 1 c. dark cherries
Snack - 2 Breakfast Cookies
Lunch - Tilapia Fish Tacos
Dinner - BBQ Chicken Salad

Tuesday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie & 1 c. dark cherries
Lunch - "Habit Burger" Hamburger w/ Sweet Potato Fries
Snack - Trader Joes Almond & Cashew Trailmix













Dinner - 9 Rice Thin Crackers topped w/ homemade chicken salad, side of cucumber and steamed    broccoli

 Wednesday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie & 1/2 c. blueberries
Snack - sliced cucumber, trail mix, TJ's Veggie Chips
Lunch - 3 eggs scrambled & Hashbrowns
Snack - 2 Breakfast Cookies

 










Dinner - Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas w/ Homemade Guacamole

Thursday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie
Lunch - Chicken Salad over Greens
Dinner - Roasted ranch red potatoes w/ Cauliflower Rice 

Friday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie
Lunch - Tilapia Fish Tacos 
Dinner - Costa Vida Sweet Pork Salad
Treat - YogurtLand 

Saturday:
Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie
Lunch - Homemade Cobb Salad, baby carrots w/ ranch
Dinner - Homemade Hamburgers & Fries, Side of Caesar Salad
Treat - Small Rootbeer Float

Sunday:
Breakfast - Apple Slices and 1/2 banana, 2.5 Scrambled Eggs 

Lunch - Chicken Caesar Salad
Snack - "KIND" granola bar: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, TJ's Veggie Chips
Dinner - Ground Turkey Tacos

Hope you all have a great week! Be strong and always try to eat better today than you did yesterday!

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto Chicken

Recently I have seen pasta recipes that use ZUCCHINI in place of the noodles.

But you need this fancy tool called a "spiralizer"

which makes your zucchini turn into pretty noodles like this!

 

 that tool is currently in my amazon cart and will be my new best friend :)

But in the meantime, this is how I made my...

 

Ingredients:

* 1 small zucchini cut into long thin slices

* 1/2 c. marinara sauce (Trader Joes sells a no sugar added kind)

* 2 organic chicken tenders

* 2-3 T. pesto (found at Trader Joes)

Directions:

1. Season both sides of the chicken tenders with salt & pepper and place in a glass baking dish.

2. Top tenders w/ desired amount of pesto

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 or until inside temp. is around 180 degrees

4. While chicken is baking, boil zucchini noodles for 5-7 minutes until softened but not mushy.

5. Top noodles with marinara sauce and sliced chicken. Enjoy!

Tilapia Fish Tacos

Tilapia Fish Tacos

Prep Time: 20 min. Yield: 4 tacos Serving Size: 2 tacos

 Ingredients:

* 3 basil pesto tilapia fillets (found in the freezer section at Costco)

* 4 corn tortillas

* 1/2 an avocado, sliced

* 1/2 c. sauteed onion & shredded zucchini (optional but delicious!)

* 8 T. Mango Salsa (found at Costco. The brand is Santa Barbara)

* Shredded lettuce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven according to box instructions and place tilapia fillets in a glass or metal baking dish. Bake for 10-13 min.

2. While tilapia is cooking, heat 2 tsp. oil or butter over medium heat in a skillet. Add 1/4 c. chopped onion and 1/4 c. shredded zucchini to the pan and saute until softened (4-5 min)

3. Warm tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds, then layer them with avocado slices and sauteed veggies

4. Divide the 3 tilapia fillets among the 4 tortillas, then top with 2 T. mango salsa each.

5. Add shredded lettuce to top it off!

 

Eating Cleaner Diet Restart: Week 1

...I love a good challenge...

 ...And I LOVE succeeding when I fear failure...

Back in October I did an 8 week diet that consisted of eating gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. I was VERY strict on my diet and even avoided high sugar fruits and any type of sweetener besides Stevia. That diet was HARD and slightly unrealistic for a LONG TERM way of eating.

So I am now on a mission to find a more REALISTIC way of eating healthy

and an attainable Healthy Eating Lifestyle.

In order for ME to be successful in a diet change, I have to write down the

WHY'S & WHAT's

WHY do I want to change my diet, WHY am I putting in the effort

& WHAT are my goals, WHAT would my ideal diet look like?

Here are my WHY'S and WHAT's for the next 12 weeks.

WHY:

~ To help with my health issues (ezcema, PCOS)

~ To easily maintain my ideal body weight & actually SEE the results of working out

~ To break my sugar cravings

~ To try new recipes, new foods, new cooking methods

~ To be in CONTROL of my life and feel HAPPY & HEALTHY

WHAT:

~ Eliminate Gluten

~ Eliminate Refined Sugar

~ Small amounts of dairy (maybe 2x a week)

~ Small amounts of natural sugar (raw honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar)

~ Eat a low GI diet to help keep blood sugar low

~ Watch fruit consumption and stick to lower sugar fruits

~ Eat as many veggies as possible!

~ Try new foods

~ Try to follow the rules of food combining (amazing concept that WORKS)

And lastly, don't forget that when changing your diet you WILL have bad days and WILL sometimes give into cravings. FORGIVE YOURSELF and do BETTER tomorrow. No small slip is worth stressing over.

HERE IS WHAT I ATE THIS WEEK:

Monday:

Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie, 2 c. watermelon

Snack - 1 whole, peeled cucumber, a handful of almonds, cashews & sunflower seeds

Lunch - 8 Rice Thin Crackers topped w/ homemade chicken salad

Dinner - Roasted ranch red potatoes, steamed cauliflower & broccoli

Post Workout - Protein Smoothie

Tuesday:

Breakfast - 2 eggs + 1 egg white scrambled w/ onion & ham, 1 c. watermelon

Lunch - Tilapia Tostada w/ side of steamed broccoli

Snack - 1 oatmeal breakfast cookie

Dinner - 1.5 c. taco soup topped with avocado & tortilla strips

Wednesday:

Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie 10 small strawberries, 15 small grapes

Snack - 2 oatmeal breakfast cookies

Lunch - 2 c. leftover taco soup topped with avocado & tortilla strips

Snack - handful of almonds, cashews, chocolate , white cheddar popcorn 

Dinner - Homemade Sloppy Joes topped w/ lettuce eaten with tortilla chips

Snack - 4 apple slices

Thursday:

Breakfast - Homemade gluten free waffles w/ strawberries & a little 100% pure maple syrup

Lunch - Chipotle Chicken Salad

Post workout - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie

Dinner - Zucchini Pasta w/ Pesto Chicken

Snacks - Fruit, ThinkThin mixed nuts bar

Friday:

Breakfast - Protein Banana Flax Smoothie , 6 apple slices

Snack - ThinkThin mixed nuts bar

Lunch -  1.25 c. leftover taco soup topped with avocado & tortilla strips

Dinner - Texas Roadhouse w/ our friends! Can you believe I didn't eat a ROLL???!!!!! AHHH! It was SO HARD! I got: 6 oz steak, fries, house salad and had a couple bites of jess's bacon cheeseburger. I was proud of myself for not STRESSING over the small amount of gluten in the croutons and the hamburger bites. I made the choice NOT to each 4 ROLLS and that was quite the accomplishment. I'm going for a LIFESTYLE change, not a crazy strict diet with no exceptions.

Saturday:

Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs, 2 c. watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew

Lunch - Tilapia fish tacos with avocado, mango salsa, sauteed onion & zucchini , lettuce

Snacks - Fruit, Trail Mix

Dinner - Haven't had it yet and it's 9:00pm! Oops got to stop blogging :)

Please comment with any questions or let me know what healthy goals you have!

Best Gluten Free Waffles

...Gluten Free is a scary phrase...

 

Even if a recipe looks and sounds delicious, if it is gluten free, you never quite know what you are in for.

 

I've experimented with MANY gluten free recipes and have rarely found any of them worthy of sharing.

 

...But these waffles...

photo and recipe via janssushibar

 

were FANTASTIC!

I love that the recipe didn't call for 20 different types of gluten free flours and starches.

 

Best Gluten Free Waffles

servings: 4-5 waffles

Ingredients

 



1 cup almond flour (I buy slivered almonds at TJ's & blend them up in my blender, no need to buy EXPENSIVE pre-made almond flour)

1/2 cup tapioca flour (can be bought in ANY gluten free section at the store, I used Bob's Red Mill brand)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

3 large eggs, separated

3 tablespoons coconut milk (If you are not worried about making this dairy free, you can substitute buttermilk for the coconut milk, water, and vinegar)

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee, melted (can use any oil or butter)

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Instructions:

1. Heat the waffle iron per manufacturer instructions.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk, water and vinegar. Set aside.
3. Combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks with the coconut oil or ghee, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut milk mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in three separate additions, stirring well and scraping the bowl between each addition. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
4. Using a ladle or large spoon, spread the batter into the waffle iron, taking care not to overfill. Close and bake the waffle until there is no longer steam escaping and the waffle is crisp and golden brown. Remove the waffle and keep warm. Repeat until all of the batter has been used.
5. Serve with fruit or butter and maple syrup, if desired.



Candida Diet: Week 3,4, & 5

What in the world? How did 3 weeks just go by?

 

All day today I was thinking it was my ONE MONTH mark of being on my candida cleanse diet.

Then I looked at the calendar closely and realized,

 

HOLY COW! IT'S BEEN 5 WEEKS?!

 

You might think I'm a pro now and nothing fazes me, well that's the furthest from the truth.

This diet is still HARD HARD HARD and it got even harder when things quickly went downhill.

 

When I first started the diet I instantly began seeing changes.  Changes in my acne, my ezcema, my mood, my digestion, everything.

I thought, "Wow! It can only get better from here!"

 

Well I forgot that things usually get worse before they get better.  I've studied and read all about candida "die-off" and detox symptoms and they all say your symptoms will get worse before they get better. 

 

So for the past few weeks I've been back at square 1: ezcema came back full force, cystic acne painfully came back, and naturally, my attitude wasn't so great these past few weeks because I need to see positive changes to stay motivated.  When I see myself still at square 1 after 5 weeks of hard work and resisting delicious feed and always feeling hungry, I get very discouraged and constantly battle with myself about giving up or giving in.

 

I've shed a few tears, I've gone hungry because eating NOTHING sounded better than eating STEAMED VEGGIES again, and I've doubted if all my hard work is doing ANYTHING.

 

But I know it takes time, and I need to be diligent and patient.  I will continue my diet for another 3 weeks and re-evaluate at the 8 week mark.

 

 

I've been slacking at "planning" my meals which doesn't make my life any easier  :)  But here is what I've been snacking on these past few weeks:

 

Breakfast:

Eggs  (yes I am getting tired of eating these)

Protein Smoothie (Seriously my favorite thing on the planet and I shouldn't eat it because of the small amount of sugar but some mornings I say to heck with it)

Handful of raspberries

Tried making coconut flour pancakes: jess like them but since i couldn't have syrup I wasn't the biggest fan.

 

Lunch & Dinner:

My weekly staples: sloppy joes over cabbage, roasted red potatoes with veggies or side salad,

lemon tilapia w/ veggies, trader joes frozen beef tamales, etc

New recipes I tried:

Lentil & Sweet Potato Chili {LOVED THIS}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pan Seared Turkey Cutlets w/ roasted butternut squash



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This next week I am going to try and cut out corn & coconut as I'm wondering if those are causing allergy symptoms  :(  I'm also going to try and exercise more and get more sleep.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING THIS WEEK!  Enjoy your mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie  :(  Eat for me and enjoy every bite!

 

I am going to ATTEMPT some "candida friendly" Thanksgiving recipes so I will report how that goes:

 

I'm excited for THIS recipe

 

 

and really hope it turns out ok without all the sugar it calls for

why does sugar make EVERYTHING TASTE DELICIOUS!!!!



Candida Diet: Week 2

 

Today is Day 17 of my diet, and I must say things are going better than I thought!

 

I started my CANDIDA CLEANSE this last week

 

The product I am using is the "Feel Good Foods" Candida Treatment.

First I had to do a day of "cleansing".  I had to drink the Exodus GI cleanser 5 times in one day.

...It is STRAIGHT UP fiber...

...It tasted like apple...

...I HATE apple flavored crap...

...It was like swallowing apple flavored sand...

...I gagged everytime...

 

So after that traumatic cleansing day I started taking the Yeast Beaters Pills (anti-fungals that kill the yeast) followed by glutamine which helps repair the intestinal lining.  They say that once the candida starts to die, you experience uncomfortable die-off side effects.

 

To help minimize the side effects and help with my hormones I have also been taking:

Iron

B-Complex

Fermented Cod Liver Oil

D3

Probiotics

 

For the first few days I felt pretty good, then on Tuesday morning I woke up and my lower back was stiff and achy.  I also felt like I had cramps. A few hours went by and my back and stomach cramps were getting worse.

...I figured maybe it was the candida die-off symptoms...

But then I realized it was just a miracle happening

 

{     I started my period     }

 

!!!!!!!!!!HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

For most girls this is not an exciting time of the month but guess what folks,

I cried

Out of SHEER joy

that I FINALLY got my body to work on its own

WITHOUT medication

WITHOUT drugs

WITHOUT doctors

Just by cutting out CRAPPY food

 

I was so excited in fact that I didn't want to take medicine to help relieve the cramping pain.

I worked HARD for those cramps, gosh darn it!

Dumb idea because i was miserable all day and didn't sleep until 2:00am when i finally got up and took aleve  :)

 

I guess medicine is good for something.

 

So on that happy note, here is an overview of what I ate this week:

 

Breakfasts: Not much Variation with this meal  :(

- Scrambled Eggs & Turkey Bacon or Hashbrowns

- Protein Flax Smoothie

 

Lunch & Dinners:

- Beef Tamale from Trader Joes w/ sliced cucumber & steamed broccoli

- Avocado Chicken Parmesan minus the cheese & made w/ gluten free breadcrumbs

- Turkey Taco Salad w/ vegan ranch dressing

- Lemon Tilapia Fillet w/ steamed zucchini

- Vegetarian Quinoa Chili  (new recipe I tried, not the greatest)

- Sloppy Joes over shredded cabbage

 

Snacks:

- Sliced cucumber (I eat one everyday)

- Raw Almonds

- Guacamole/Salsa and Chips

- Coconut Milk Shake (ice, unsweetened coconut milk, cinnamon, vanilla stevia liquid drops)

 

Physical & Mental Changes I Noticed This Week:

- Ezcema started itching a little more this week.  Not sure what triggered it, could be cleansing symptoms.

- Broke out with a little hormonal acne, could also be cleansing symptom or "time of the month" related.

- "time of the month" actually came!

- VERY FEW sugar cravings, I am very surprised how easy it is for me to pass up sugar and bready things.

- the BIGGEST change that I have noticed this week is my MENTAL state.  I feel WAY more happy, patient, calm, alert, clear, confident, etc.  I do have my ups and downs of feeling frustrated with the diet but overall I am really surprised how happy I am all the time.  I am very used to being semi-depressed and always seeing the negative side of everything.  It feels SO good to not have those ups and downs throughout the day.  Don't know if it is diet related but I don't know what else it could be!

 

Thanks for reading and hopefully I will have time to try out some NEW recipes this week. 

 

Be back next week!