Update on Clean Eating

     So for the past month and a half, I've been trying to eat EXTRA clean. I've cut out ALL white flour and artificial sweeteners and have limited my intake on processed foods. The hardest part for me was removing Splenda from my diet since I had it EVERYDAY in my coffee, cereal/oatmeal and it was the major ingredient in all of my sugar free grocery items! I decided to cut remove Splenda from my diet after reading article upon article of the harmfulness of it. My decision was reassured after I reread Tosca Reno's The Eat-Clean Diet book and read her useful information on artificial sweeteners. Basically what I realized after re-reading her book is if we eat white flour, sugar and artificial sweeteners, our body will never truly reach the potential it can be. When we feed our body good, nutrient rich foods, it has the energy it needs and eats all the "fat". The more muscle you have and the cleaner you eat, the more fat you burn just standing still. Cool right? It's definitely a struggle cutting out foods that have ingredients you can't pronounce, but the pay off it totally worth it! I feel better now in my body than ever!
        My new rule of thumb while grocery shopping is to look at the INGREDIENT LIST first, not the nutrition list. If the item has ingredients that I can't pronounce, or contains white flour or potato starch, I stay away from it. I found that a lot of items I was purchasing at the grocery store contained many chemicals and artificial sweeteners that our bodies can't metabolize. So again, if we eat clean natural food that our body can digest and metabolize, we will look and feel better than ever! I will add my new clean eating grocery list (under mylifestylechange), but will keep my old one as well if you don't feel ready to cut out artificial sweeteners and white flour.
     My new rule of thumb for eating: Whole grain carbs such as whole grain breads, whole grain waffles, whole grain pasta, whole grain wraps, oatmeal and sweet potatoes, Lean protein such as turkey (NOT COLD CUTS CONTAINS A TON OF NITRATES), chicken breast, filet Mignon, shrimp and fish. Other: Plain Greek yogurt, almond milk, egg whites, kind bars, kashi bars, kashi cereal.

Blackened Shrimp Tacos

    Tonight I made blackened shrimp tacos for dinner. They were so good! I didn't have a lot of time to cook tonight so I threw this together in under 10 minutes! I skipped making rice and just ate a serving of Special K Chips with them. I incorporated a super food into this dinner by adding avocado to my taco. The avocado truly complimented the shrimp, sour cream and salsa! If you like shrimp tacos give this simple, quick recipe a try!

Recipe

 (Serves 2, 1 taco each)

.50 pound of Cooked Shrimp

4 tbsp Light Sour Cream (or plain Greek yogurt!)

1 cup salsa

1 1/2 cup Fat Free Re-fried Beans

1/2 medium Avocado 

2 Mission Small Carb Balance Tortillas

Approx. 7 Late July Multigrain Tortilla chips

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

 

 

Directions 

• Toss shrimp in a medium bowl with paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Light grill pan and spay with non stick spray.
• Place tortillas on top of toaster to warm.
• Place shrimp on grill pan once hot. Flip shrimp after about a minute and a half
• Microwave 1 1/2 cup Fat Free Re-fried Beans in microwave for 1 minute. Stir and place back in the microwave for an additional minute.
• Slice the 1/2 avocado.
• Once shrimp are warmed through take off the skillet and create your taco.
• Enjoy your "love at first bite".

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

        I LOVE Pumpkin Ice Cream but it is hard to find a version that is low in sugar and fat. So today I decided to create my own Pumpkin Ice Cream. Publix had a buy one get one free sale on Breyer's Ice Cream so I grabbed their Vanilla Carb Smart.  I went ahead and added some of Libby's Pumpkin puree, some dark chocolate chips and some pumpkin pie spice to the Vanilla Carb Smart and sure enough, delicious Pumpkin Ice Cream in less than five minutes! This was so simple yet delicious! If you love pumpkin ice cream but want to watch your figure, be sure to give this recipe a try! I promise it will not disappoint you! I will include the recipe and directions below for you to give it a try!

Recipe

(Serves four, but if you have a sweet tooth like me, it serves two.)

• 2 cups Breyer's Vanilla Carb Smart (softened)
• 1/3 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree
• 1 Tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

 Directions

• Scoop 2 cups of SOFTENED Breyer's Vanilla Carb Smart in a bowl.
•  Add 1/3 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree
• Add 1 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips
• Add 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• Mix all ingredients together with a spatula.
• Eat right away or put Ice Cream in a freezer safe container and place in the freezer.
• Enjoy your "love at first bite".

 

  Nutritional Information

(1/2 cup)

Calories: 116

Fat: 7

Carbs: 17

Fiber: 5

Sugars: 7

Protein: 2.5

Dark Chocolate Chip Chocolate Muffins

      I found this recipe on Pinterest. It's amazing! This is a copycat recipe of Vita-muffins. These muffins are delicious, nutritious and satisfy my sweet tooth! These are my go to muffins because they can be eaten for breakfast as a snack and for dessert. They're amazing warm with a scoop of vanilla no sugar added ice cream on top for dessert! If eating these muffins as a snack or breakfast I think they taste best at room temperature. These muffins contain 4 super foods! I will include the recipe below for you to try! Enjoy!

 *Super-foods in this recipe: Oats, eggs, yogurt, dark chocolate.

     Recipe

• 1 3/4 cup of old fashioned oats.
• 3 egg whites 
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I use Chobani)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (could use white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Line 1 (12-cup) or 2 (6-cup) muffin pans with silicone or foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a blender (or food processor) mix all ingredients besides chocolate chips together.
• Blend until the oats are ground and the mixture is smooth.
• Place mixture in a bowl and stir 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (set the other 1/4 cup of chocolate chips aside).
• Scoop mixture into the prepared muffin pans.
• Place muffin tins in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove muffins from oven and distribute the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to the tops of the muffins.
• Place muffins back into the oven and bake for another 2-5 minutes.
• Cool muffins before removing from pan.
• Enjoy your "love at first bite".

Nutritional Information

Calories: 116
Fat: 4
Carbs: 18
Fiber: 4.5
Sugar: 6
Protein: 6

Recipe modified from http://healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com/post/6583755120/lessthan300kcal-triple-chocolate-chunk-muffin.

 

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

      I decided to create a healthy "Pumpkin Pie Smoothie" to satisfy my Fall/Pumpkin obsession. It took a couple times to get the recipe to my liking. I've had this smoothie for breakfast the past three mornings! It's great to just grab and sip on the way out the door. I am obsessed with it and can't get enough! I promise you will love it too! This shake is completely healthy and contains two super-foods! I am so happy with this recipe as it allows me to indulge in one of my favorite foods without feeling guilty. I have included the recipe below for you to try!

*Super foods: Oats and yogurt.

 

Recipe

1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree

1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I use Chobani)

1 tbsp sugar free maple syrup

 Cinnamon to taste

Pumpkin pie spice to taste

Splenda stevia to taste 

Crushed ice

*Super foods: Oats and yogurt.

Directions

• Put 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats and 1/2 cup of water in a small microwave safe bowl.
• Microwave on high for one minute.
• Place cooked oats in hand held blender or regular blender.
• Place 1/4 cup Libby's Pumpkin Puree in blender.
• Place 1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt in blender.
• Place 1 tbsp sugar free maple syrup in blender.
• Place cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and splenda  stevia sweetner to taste in blender.
• For a hot smoothie do not add ice. For a warm smoothie add 1/4 cup crushed ice. For a cold/icey smoothie add 1/2 cup crushed ice with about 1/2 cup water.
• Blend all ingredients until you get desired consistency.
• Pour into cup.
• Dash some cinnamon on top.
• Enjoy your "love at first bite" (or sip)!

 

Nutrition

Calories: 144

Fat: 2

Carbs: 24

Protein:9

Fiber:5

Sugar: 4

Apple Walnut Oatmeal with Cinnamon

    This is one of my favorite Fall breakfast recipes! Actually it's one of my favorite breakfast recipes period. I am guilty of eating like it is Fall all year long. The aroma of the apples, cinnamon and maple syrup just put me in the best mood and start my day off right! McDonald's sells a similar version but adds sugar which gives this healthy breakfast a not so healthy kick. Want to get in the mood for Fall? Try this for breakfast! I will include the recipe below for you to try.

Recipe

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup of water

1/2 small apple

1 tbsp sugar free maple syrup

5 walnuts

Dash of cinnamon

Splenda or sugar alternative to taste (*You may use regular sugar but the nutritional information below will not be accurate for you since it does not include sugar.)

*Super foods: Oats and apple.

Directions

• Place 1/2 cup old fashioned oats in a microwave safe bowl with 1 cup of water and Splenda stevia to taste.
• Microwave on high for 1 minute.
•  Take out and stir.
• Microwave on high for 1 minute.
• Take out and add 1/2 apple and 1 tbsp sugar free maple syrup.
• Microwave for another 30 seconds.
• Add walnuts and cinnamon.
• Enjoy your "love at first bite".

*Caution: Oatmeal will be hot when out of the microwave so let it cool down before eating!

Nutrition

Calories:  285

Fat: 12

Carbs: 40

Protein: 7

Fiber: 7

Sugars: 7

Turkey Avocado Wrap

        This is one of my favorite lunch recipes! It is a Light Italian Flatout Wrap with Boar's Head Maple Turkey, 1/4 medium avocado and one slice of Butterball Turkey bacon. To spice it up a little I add 1 tbsp Fat Free mayo and Frank's Buffalo Sauce. Just wanted to give an example of how eating delicious can also be nutritious!
*Note: The super-food in this wrap is the avocado!