Tuesday, July 28, 2015

6 Easy Steps to Get Started Eating Clean


Getting started eating clean can be a little daunting if you've never done it before.  In the past, I really, I mean REALLY wanted to eat clean, but it seemed so hard!  What I did without realizing it was, over the years, I gradually added more and more clean foods to what I was eating.  Now looking back, that was much more manageable than making huge changes all at once.

If you think it might help you to take some "baby steps" toward clean eating, here are some tips for you.  Do each one for a week or two, then move on to the next one.



1. Start with something easy, like bread.  Simply switch your white bread with 100% whole wheat bread.  Make sure it says "100% Whole Wheat" on the package, or it may actually be white bread in disguise. 

2. Replace sugar and/or artificial sweeteners with something natural and low-calorie.  I like using stevia and monkfruit sweetener.  They are both calorie-free and natural.

3. Instead of eating your sugary cereal for breakfast, try oatmeal.  Use stevia or a little honey to sweeten it.  You can add raisins to it, or even baking cocoa or bananas.  If you don't like oatmeal, try making your own granola or healthy breakfast cookies

4. Try herbal tea or fruit-infused water instead of soda.  There are so many different varieties of herbal tea, you're sure to find one that you love.  You can sweeten it with stevia and even add ice for a refreshing drink with zero calories.  You can easily make a pitcher of fruit-infused water and drink as much as you want throughout the day.

5. Replace your afternoon packaged snack with a healthier option.  Instead of heading to the snack machine or reaching for cookies, make your own No-Bake Snack Balls.  These are really delicious, and much lower in calories and high in nutrients, unlike what you'll find in the snack machine.

6. Cook one healthy, clean meal a week.  Try one new meal that you think you and your family will like, then maybe next week add another one. You can gradually increase how many clean dinners you make, and eventually you will be mostly eating clean.

This is by no means a complete list of how to eat clean, but it is sure to get you started.  I plan on future posts that will give you even more tips

Let me know how your efforts go, and if this list helped in the comments section below.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Absolutely Delicious Clean Vegetarian Burritos

I recently made the decision to cut back on factory-produced meat and animal products.  I'm not really going vegetarian, because I'm still occasionally eating meat and eggs and fish, but I'm taking steps toward mostly eating animal products that are "cruelty-free."  So when my family has, say, tacos and burritos, I make my own animal-friendly version.  But don't be fooled by it being labeled "vegetarian"--this burrito is every bit as flavorful as its ground-beef counterpart!  I'll bet even die-hard meat eaters would fall in love with this one!


Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 cup frozen mixture of chopped onions and bell peppers (or you can use fresh)
1 cup home-cooked black beans (or you can use canned)
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup already-cooked brown rice
1 Tbsp cumin (adjust to taste; I personally LOVE cumin, so I add more!)
2 tsp dried cilantro (or 4 tsp fresh)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a skillet (I prefer an iron skillet) with the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and pepper mixture and saute until soft.  Add the rest of the ingredients and and cook until heated through.

Wrap it up in either a low-carb or whole wheat tortilla or a large lettuce leaf and enjoy!

Tips:

If after adding the spices the mixture seems too dry, try adding a little water.

After wrapping it up in the tortilla, I like to put it back in the skillet and toast each side for a few seconds.  Talk about YUM!!


Do you have any clean and delicious vegetarian recipes?  If so, share them below, or let me know what you think of the one above!




Thursday, July 2, 2015

Clean and Easy Coconut Snack Balls


Y'all, I came up with this recipe yesterday because I was hungry for a snack and wanted something sweet but wholesome.  So I threw a few ingredients together that I had in my pantry, and let me tell you, they are DELICOUS!!  

1/2 cup ground oats (I make my own by grounding old-fashioned oats in a blender)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I found some that is organic at Aldi!)
2 TBSP unrefined, cold press coconut oil (I also found this in organic at Aldi)
2 TBSP chopped nuts of your choice (I used pecans)
2 TBSP honey

Mix all ingredients together and then form them into about 7 or 8 balls, then store them in a baggie in the fridge.  

Tip: If the mixture is too dry, try adding a little more coconut oil or honey.  If it's too moist, add a little more ground oats.

I'm thinking of adding either some semisweet chocolate chips, or breaking up a really dark chocolate bar for even less sugar.  

If you try this recipe, come back and let me know what you think in the comments below!