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.



Tilapia Fillet w/ Smoked Sea Salt & Lemon

 

 

Ingredients:

- Trader Joe's Frozen Tilapia Fillet

- Trader Joes's Naturally Smoked Sea Salt

- Black Pepper

- Any Gluten Free Flour (I used Sorghum)

- Fresh Lemon Juice

 

Directions:

On a paper plate, mix 1/4 c. gluten free flour and a few shakes of salt and pepper.  Mix to incorporate and then pat the tilapia in the mixture until all sides are covered.

Heat coconut oil in skillet on medium heat and cook fillet for 3-4 minutes on each side.

After removing from the skillet, add fresh squeezed lemon on top... DIVINE.

Eat w/ steamed veggies or a side salad.

 



 



Ground Turkey Norwegian Stew

 Jess's parents recently returned home from their mission in Norway, and his mom occasionally makes NORWEGIAN STEW

for Sunday Dinners.

Jess is not a fan of soups and I wouldn't say they are my favorite but THIS soup for some reason always hits the spot.  Eilene says in Norway they usually make this soup with ground beef but she always uses ground turkey.

So today I begged her to finally give me the recipe so I could make it for dinner,

she gladly shared,

and I happily devoured.

This soup is both hearty and healthy and has a VERY beneficial ingredient that is not commonly consumed.. at least not by me anyway! Here is an actual picture of what the soup looks like before it was cooked, gotta love crappy iPhone pictures!

Ground Turkey Norwegian Stew
Yield: ~ 6 adult servings
Calories per servings: ~ 250,  5g. fat, 18g protein


Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 c. chopped onion
4 medium carrots
4 stalks celery
4 medium red or gold potatoes
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3-4 cups of chicken broth (can also use broth powder + water)


Directions:
Cook ground turkey and chopped onion together in a large pot over med/high heat.  Chop carrots, celery, potatoes, and cabbage and add to pot.  Pour in chicken broth and add all seasonings. Mix well and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce head to low, let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking!

Enjoy with a fresh green salad and some whole wheat dinner rolls! Or just eat it plain like me :)

Kim's Notes:
-Use 93/7 ground turkey instead of EXTRA LEAN 99/1 turkey to get more flavor 
-You can buy pre-shredded cabbage at the store, I bought an 8 oz bag at Fresh & Easy
- If using a BROTH POWDER, use McKay's brand from Sprouts or buy chicken broth WITH NO MSG!
-BENEFITS OF CABBAGE!
More Vitamin C than Oranges: Powerful Antioxidant and Immune Booster
Rich in Fiber: Good for your digestion
Rich in Sulphur: Fights Infection
Great detoxer: Purifies the blood and removes toxins
Rich in Iodine: Good for the brain
Also contains vitamin E, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, etc!

Sante Fe Chicken {Crock-pot}

This recipe come from 

www.skinnytaste.com

which is a great website that has so many clean recipes

One of my personal favorites is the Sante Fe Chicken

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken 

• 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice.

{For the rice I usually cook 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cups of chicken broth and a dash of lime juice}

Amazing & Easy Taco Soup

I forget sometimes how much I love soup...

It's a cheap, healthy, quick meal that always provides leftovers.

My soup of choice this week was:

via

Taco Soup
I used grass fed beef and all organic beans for this soup and the
total cost for this meal was $12 for 10 servings

Ingredients:

3 cans of beans (I used kidney, black, and pinto)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can corn kernels

1 can of water

1 small can diced green chilies

1/2 diced onion

1 lb. ground beef  (I used 1/2 lb and it was plenty!!!)

1 pkg reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 pkg ranch dressing mix 

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef and the diced onions in a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2. Open all 3 cans of beans and drain the liquid.  Rinse beans in a colander with water. Add beans to pot.
 ***Canned beans are LOADED with sodium, mostly contained in the liquid.  By draining and rinsing canned beans you DRASTICALLY lower the sodium content of your meal.


3. Add corn, water, and diced green chilies to the pot.  Before adding the stewed tomatoes, I drain the liquid in the pot and then dump the tomatoes on a large cutting board and dice them very small, then add them to the pot. I hate chunky tomatoes in my soup :)

4. Add taco and ranch seasoning packets and stir to combine.  Add extra water to create your desired soup consistency.

5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to lowest setting and let simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Enjoy with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips!

Shredded Chicken Tacos

The easiest way to add stress to your day is to

NOT

make a weekly dinner plan.

...I know this...

and somehow I ALWAYS fail to plan.

So I took inventory of what was in my fridge and tried to figure out what I could make for dinner tonight.

Here's what I had:

2 very ripe avocados

1 red onion

1 yellow onion

2 Trader Joe's flour tortillas

Some hard shell corn tortilla shells

A garden full of greens

3 frozen chicken breast tenders that I had set out in hopes of finding a recipe to use!

I hate cooking Chicken unless it is in a crock pot recipe. It always seems dry and bland.

But when looking on FOOD GAWKER I found a great recipe for Shredded Chicken Tacos

that called for POACHED chicken.

Poaching chicken is something I had never attempted before and I feel like I've been missing out on life. 

Poached Chicken Breasts (serves 2 or yields about 3-4 cups shredded chicken, depending on size)

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

5 cups water

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Bring water, onion, garlic and salt to a bowl. Add chicken breasts and oregano.

Turn down the heat and simmer, partially covered for 35-40 minutes.

When finished cooking, remove chicken with a slotted spoon, if using in another dish shred with two forks, if not, serve. Strain liquid and reserve for stock.

...So here is my recipe review...

It was 

FANTASTIC

Jess gave it 5 stars :)

We made mini tacos using the flour tortillas and also used the hard shells

I made my Favorite Guacamole and also homemade salsa to top it all off.

So fun just going in my backyard and harvesting the cilantro and jalapeño for the salsa!

Shredded Chicken Tacos (makes enough for 12-15 tacos)

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped or grated
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups shredded POACHED chicken
1/2 cup crushed tomato
1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions

In skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking for another minute.

Add chili powder, cumin, sweet paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, oregano and cayenne pepper. Cook for another minute or until fragrant.

Turn down heat to low and add the chicken. Stir so that the chicken is covered in spices. It may take a few times to get chicken fully coated.

Add crushed tomato and chicken broth. Cook for a minute or until only a little liquid remains.

I will definitely be making these again and am so glad I discovered the process of POACHING!

**Recipes and Photos from http://www.livinglou.com