On vacation~

The last week of work before vacation is here (finally!)  We're headed to Traverse City and then to my parents' cottage for the fourth of July week.  I'm going to take a blogging break until we return.  Have a great few weeks and I will see you soon!

Summer time is here~

The weather is just too beautiful here in the Mitten to spend much time online lately but we are holding steady to our clean-eating commitment and enjoying the fresh produce and outside grilling that summertime offers.  The weekend was not so clean, Father's Day and three birthdays brought with it lots of cake and ice cream and good stuff like that.  Such is life! 
We are in vacation count down, heading Up North next weekend where I will continue to do a lot of the cooking for both budget and health reasons.  But seriously, cooking breakfast in a cabin in the woods?  What could be better?
What is your vacation diet?  Do you eat out?  Cook in?  Throw caution to the wind or eat clean?

Jay in the kitchen at my parents' cottage

Happy Father's Day!



My dad!

 Thank you Lord, for this meal before us and family around us.  We thank you for those generations who came before us, who toiled to bring food to our tables and who brought spiritual food to our hearts.  Bless them today, and bless this food as we partake in  your provision.
Amen

Essential oils, not the kind you cook with!

At the request of my girl Margie, today I'm sharing a little bit of information about my recent interest in using essential oils so for you food bloggers, no kitchen stuff this time.
I have had sleeping difficulty for my entire life, my infant non-sleep habits are legendary.  As I've gotten older and taken on a very stressful job, things have progressed to the point where I've gone 48 hours without sleep and actually been sent home from work because I was exhausted.  I've been to a physician and tried to "reset" my sleep with prescription meds after the failure of the herbal remedies that a lot of people use.  The next idea is that I need to see a neurologist because there is something not working right.  Let me explain what I mean by not working, I have taken the highest dose of prescription sleep medication without falling asleep and 50 mg of Benadryl every four hours (do NOT try this at home,) doesn't touch me.  It isn't like I'm a high energy person, would that I were!  Nope, I simply don't sleep. 
So a sisterfriend, Mrs. Mac, is our own personal pioneer woman and is a constant encouragement for back to basics life, not just cooking.  She has recommended essential oils for sleep, specifically lavender, since she became aware of my problem.  WOMAN ISSUES ALERT-I also have the worse periods of anyone I know.  It's during that time of the month that I go for days without sleeping.  Mrs. Mac recommended Clary sage for that issue.  Like most people (at least I keep telling myself this,) once I hear something it takes a while to take action.  And honestly, I was just so discouraged that I had little faith in anything helping me and decided to just look forward to colonoscopies for the general anesthesia. 
A few weeks ago, with my cycle heading back into the the no sleep zone, I decided to prepare by ordering Clary sage and Lavender essential oil online.  While I was looking through the many essential oils (my goodness, this could become an obsession!)  I ordered sweet orange as well.  Essential oils are added to a carrier oil for direct application to one's skin so I ordered sweet almond for that because it sounded delicious even though one doesn't actually drink it.  If I can't eat it, I at least want to smell like baked goods.
So here's my experiment and now new routine:

At night, a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cotton swab which I place next to my bed while I do my nightly reading.  When I'm ready to go to sleep, I place the oil inside my pillow case. 
At the start of my period, I add a few drops of Clary sage to my lavender and do the same routine.
Every night during my shower, I put a mixture of sweet almond oil and orange essential oil into a small glass bowl which I warm on a cup warmer.  When I get out of the shower, I use the warm oil instead of perfumed body lotions and sprays.  I use this on my entire body including on my face instead of moisturizer.  I've even rubbed it on the ends of my hair that were giving me some fly-away issues.

Results!
No, the essential oil routine does not have the general anesthesia effect one enjoys during a colonoscopy.  But, it works better and better every day as my mind starts to recognize the scent as calming and sleep inducing.  I have not stayed awake past 10:00 p.m. since I've started using the lavender.  I still awaken a few times a night but I fall back asleep quickly.  When I wake up in the morning, I feel more energized. 
The Clary sage did not replace my need for Motrin for cramps but it reduced the amount I need.  I have needed 600 mg every 4-6 hours to make it through work and then to sleep at night.  With the Clary sage added to my lavender at bed, the hormonal insomnia was history.  In the mornings, I applied a few drops directly to my wrists and was able to take Motrin only first thing in the mornings.  AND, I usually have a 24-48 hour migraine during my cycle.  This month?  No headache whatsoever.  AND, the mood swings?  Nonexistent.
The orange oil has made my skin ammmahzing!  Super soft and my facial pores have never been smaller.  I need much less concealer around my eyes.  My forehead which is usually oily is not shiny halfway through the day.  Even my feet are staying soft despite summer time bare footing in the evenings.  Be careful with the feet, don't apply oil and then try to tap dance or anything.  Very slippery!

So there's my results so far.  I have paid lots of money for facials, which I maintain are a wonderful pampering experience.  However, the end results of exfoliating with baking soda once a week (which I started several months ago) and sweet orange/almond oil nightly has had better results than the professional facial ever did. 

Mrs. Mac has assured me that there is a cumulative effect to using essential oils.  In other words, you don't sniff lavender for the first time and becoming sleeping beauty.  Your mind starts to respond as your body detoxes and it all works together over time in a much gentler way than the instant fix pharmacology we are used to.  And she is the expert on brands and types to use so I'll defer to her wisdom (maybe she'll share a course for "dummies" on her blog) for specifics like that. 

At the end of the day, the point is, three weeks with the use of essential oils has improved my quality of life.  I have actually experience nights of 10-12 hours of sleep, I don't recall ever sleeping that long in my life.  It's not a terribly expensive thing to try and if you are interested, I'd say order one kind and give yourself several weeks to decide if it works for you.

Click!

Clean Eating for Dummies

Use 'em up!

Mac did a week's juice fast for which he over-bought.  Add that to our overflowing (aren't we blessed?) fruit and veggie stock, things were getting a little overwhelming around here!  When Saturday came around, the Mr. didn't need to buy quite as much but I certainly needed to figure out a way to use some items that weren't going to make it for another week.  I hate hate hate throwing away food!
So I took a handful of left-over basil and oregano, threw in some olive oil and garlic and made pesto.
Peeled some maters, added leftover cilantro, garlic (of course!) sea salt, cumin and blended it into the bit of left over salsa from last week.
Pureed the bananas that were browning.
All three were put into Ziploc freezer bags and into the freezer they went for future use!  And I went happily on my way without throwing away a single item.  The pesto and salsa can be used for dipping, topping or souping.  The banana puree will come in handy for baking, smoothies, milkshakes or stirring into oatmeal.  I didn't have large amounts of anything but they will still all go to good use down the road and will be dollars not spent nor wasted in the long run. 
How do you repurpose your food items?  I dare you to figure out a way to throw nothing away next week!

Mama Sara's $3 Sandwich

I told you that I used my leftovers to make pesto, right?  Well, it wasn't much pesto, maybe a quarter of a cup so I used it to make "Italian grilled cheese" sandwiches.  Dean declared I could make a fortune selling them, Mac felt that was an exaggeration but that I could "get $3 each for sure."  Here I offer you the opportunity to take advantage of the secret recipe before the copyright becomes official,  she said sarcastically.

Ingredients

• Whole grain bread
• Butter
• Feta Cheese
• Mozzarella
• Tomato
• Pesto (basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic-blend or puree together)

Technique

• Butter ONE side (the Mr. butters both, oy!) of bread and lay in skillet, butter side down, to begin browning over medium heat
• Carefully spread mozzarella on bread
• Add tomato slice
• Add a tablespoon or so of pesto, spread
• Sprinkle on feta to cover
• Butter ONE side of second piece of bread and lay it on top, butter side up
• When first slice of bread is browned and mozzarella is melted, carefully flip and brown second side until feta is melted
• Serve with a bit of pesto on the side for dipping if you have enough!

I should've take a picture but I had no idea it would be such a hit!  I was just using up the stuff in the fridge!  If you believe him, Dean claims this grilled cheese has replaced his lifelong favorite of American cheese on Wonder bread (ugh!)  In fact, he has been know to make the processed nightmare for himself when I've made Colby grilled cheese on bakery bread. 

Be Our Guest

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,
May this food by thee be blest,
May our souls by thee be fed,
Ever on thy living Bread.

Amen.

Northern Beans +_____________=Soup

It's no secret, I am a big believer in soup.  As my gramma used to say, "I have a soup tooth."  Sometimes I buy ingredients for a specific soup and sometimes I take what's at hand and make soup out of it.  Clean food=clean soup!  So, using some left over vegetables that I didn't want to go bad and a big jar of Northern beans...here's some soup!

Ingredients

• Large jar Northern beans
• 3 stalks celery cut up
• 3 carrots cut up
• 3 potatoes cut up
• 1 yellow onion cut up
• Parsley (dry or fresh)
• Large can sodium free/preservative free chicken broth
• Seasonings to taste-salt, pepper, garlic for me (the usual.)

Technique

• Place all cut veggies into pot, cover in broth & bring to boil
• Reduce to low/simmer and cook until veggies are soft
• Add Northern beans, parsley & seasoning
• Cover with additional broth or water
• Simmer about 1/2 hour
• Enjoy!

Tips

• Tastes better after a day or two
• I divided it into Rubbermaid bowls for lunch at work
• The veggies choices aren't strict, use whatever you need to get rid of
• If you have celery "tops," use 'em in soup!
• You can serve this for dinner with crusty bread and a salad

Remember the goal for meals?  Complex carb + protein?  This soup does the trick in once bowl...

Carrots, celery, beans = complex carb  & beans=protein.

Staying the course~

Can you believe it's been about two months since we started this journey?  Two easy months at that.  The only thing that interferes with good choices for us is convenience, you know those days everyone works late and nobody wants to cook.  In fact, we had a little mini meeting about it last week.  Every Wednesday we go out to eat and last week the Mr. brought home Mexican from a local family restaurant.  It's all very fresh and I wasn't too concerned that we were too far off track.  But on Thursday we had planned to grill chicken, I got stuck at work and he was feeling worn out from ten hours in a hot factory.  He picked up take out ribs.  Could be worse, certainly, but still not a good trend for the week. 
We talked about remembering when we are grilling chicken, to grill  ALOT for the freezer for those worn out nights.  The salad supplies are all cleaned and prepped, ready for assembly.  Had we prepared our chicken ahead, we could've had grilled chicken salads with about ten minutes of work.  The ribs may not have been the worst thing ever, but grilled chicken salad would've been miles better. 
I'm happy to report that when I got home last Friday evening, Dean had dinner waiting (he's off on Fridays.)  Grilled chicken, fresh corn on the cob and salad.  And it was wonderful. 
My parents blessed us with a freezer for the basement as they were getting a new one and just in time for our clean-eating!  That will make the plan and prep ahead so much easier for us.  I am thinking we'll store the bulk of our supplies in the basement and lots of "ready to use" stuff in the kitchen freezer; like pre-grilled chicken, frozen fresh sauces and vegetables, frozen fruit, etc.  It's actually a lot of fun (really it is!) to discover another method to utilize our resources even better.  It has me thinking of future plans, like taking a week off in the Autumn to can.  I won't be able to do it this year, I took a medical leave in January that chewed up a lot of vacation time.  But I can still look forward and just think how much more we'll know in a year's time. 
I'm also so so so happy and thankful because I feel that more than anything, the Lord is giving us wise hearts.  And by us, I mean all of use, daboyz included.  I am getting absolutely no arguments or push-back.  At the start, I asked that we honor clean-eating principles in our home and any "cheats" should happen outside the house, every man for himself.  I expected lots of drive-through moments for the Mr.  But that doesn't seem to be happening!  We took the no fast food step a month ago and since then, he hasn't indulged in what was his favorite guilty pleasure.  AND, he is regularly talking about taking things we formerly ate and making them clean and whole.  He looks up recipes and reads labels and is starting to approach this as a way of life.  This week he was figuring out how to make tater salad without Miracle Whip!  Glory be!  Yes, I know that it isn't really the most difficult thing to accomplish but it means he is taking this seriously. 
We go on vacation in a month and after we return, I believe we'll take the next important step of really cutting back for the sake of healthy weight loss.  And I believe that when it's time to take that step, we'll be ready.

Repurposing veggies in a broken omelette

I heart brown eggs!

On Saturday morning we usually have a substantial breakfast before starting our day.  This Saturday, I decided to finish off a few lingering vegetables and make broken omelets.  A broken omelet, by the way, is simply pouring eggs over the omelet ingredients instead of that pain in the egg omelet creating procedure. 




Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• Milk
• Fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 1/2 tomatoes chopped (because that's what I had on hand)
• 1 cup or so diced boiled potatoes (also on hand)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• Feta cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Butter

Technique

• Melt butter in pan, add potatoes, onions and green peppers.  Cook until soft & taters are a bit crispy.
• In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with about a cup or so of milk
• Spread potato mixture in bottom of pan, turn heat to medium
• Beat eggs & milk together (like scrambled eggs,) pour over entire veggie & tater mixture, top with spinach & tomatoes
• Allow to cook for a few minutes
• Using a spatula, finish cooking the broken omelet like you would scrambled eggs.
• When cooked through, spread in pan again, cover with feta cheese.
• Turn heat off and allow feta to melt for a few minutes.  Stir into egg mixture.  Salt & pepper to taste.

Tips

• Broken omelette's are a great way to use up any leftovers, the ingredients I used were only what I had on hand. 
• Even leftover taco meat can be repurposed, add cheddar and top with salsa. 
• Although the Mr. doesn't like it, I also think these are a great dinner item. 
• Did you know that kielbasa is great in eggs?  Well, it is.  You're welcome.
• This may seem like a lot of detail for a fairly easy "recipe,"  but there are folks who are trying to eat from scratch for the first time.  Hopefully these kind of ideas will make it less intimidating!

Cookware



Does anyone have the Paula Deen cookware?  I have two pieces, the larger sauce pan and the large covered skillet.  I didn't buy the whole set, in fact, I didn't buy any of it.  The Mr., however, did.  I'm not a Paula Deen fan so that's how I roll.  Anyway, I have to say that I really love the skillet!  It's large and very deep so things I might make in a sauce pan can be made in the skillet and I find I can heat things (and therefore cook them) more quickly.  I've even made soup in it!  The other day, I made pintos and put them in a ziploc.  To rewarm them, I put them in the skillet and put the heat on low for about fifteen minutes.  Perfect!  Cleans up quick and easy and doesn't take as much room in the dishwasher as a stock pot or large sauce pan takes.  I have the red, as pictured.  I will say, I think the color is fading pretty fast and they aren't cheap. 
I like the sauce pan too except that it sort of curves around the rim so you can't stack other pots inside of it.  Being that it's my biggest sauce pan, it takes up a lot of valuable real estate in my cabinet. 
The lids are heavy glass and fit nice and snug on the pots.
This isn't necessarily a recommendation to go buy the entire set which starts at $89.99 at Target.
I made an entire meal of chicken florentine in the pan last week.  That's one box of pasta, 3 chicken breasts and veggies.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Pineapple Orange "Julius"

If you've never had an Orange Julius, this may not be all that exciting.  If you have, it still may not be all that exciting.  As for me, I am excited!  100% clean & fresh & delicious. 
P.S., if the Orange Julius people are upset that I used their name in vain, I apologize.



Ingredients

• Fruit from 1 whole pineapple
• 1 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed is best)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (the real stuff!)
• 4 cups (give or take) ice

Technique

• Throw it all in the blender
• Turn the blender on
• Turn the blender off
• Pour it in your cup
• Drink it
• Yields a whole pitcher

Giving thanks

Father of us all,
This meal is a sign of Your love for us:
Bless us and bless our food,
And help us to give you glory each day
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

The week~

I'm not sure what order the meals will fall in, but here is what we'll be enjoying this week!

Menus

• Spaghetti & green salad
• Grilled burgers, potato salad, pintos
• Pork chops, mushroom & brown rice casserole, broccoli
• Chicken fajitas, black beans, brown rice
• Flat iron steaks, rosemary red potatoes, green salad
• Grilled flat bread pizzas (sauce premade & frozen), green salad

Weekend prep ahead

• Brown rice
• Spaghetti sauce
• Pintos
• Potato salad
• Salsa for fajitas
• The usual cleaning and prepping of fresh produce

Shopping list (Fresh produce from Farmer's Market)

• Whole wheat spaghetti
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Ground beef (for spaghetti and grilled burgers)
• Flat iron steaks
• Crushed tomatoes, tomato paste for spaghetti sauce
• Whole tomatoes, Rotel for salsa
• Dried seasoning: oregano, basil, bay leaves
• Fresh Parmesan (for spaghetti)
• Cheddar cheese (for fajitas)
• Sour cream
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Black beans (dry)
• Pinto beans (dry)
• Bell peppers (for pizza, spaghetti and fajitas)
• Garlic
• Parsley (fresh)
• Dill (fresh)
• Basil (fresh if available)
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes (Yukon Gold for potato salad)
• Red skin potatoes
• Mushrooms (for casserole & pizza)
• Lettuce-romaine
• Fresh fruit

The Mr. does the grocery shopping after we've worked on menus and made a master list. The way I've written it here is basically the way he gets it from me except I may specify amounts instead of "for..."   I make the list with the menu on one side and the items I need on the other and (OCD alert,)  I also make it in the order in which the store is laid out.  The reason I include the menu is so that Dean knows why I need what I do and if he sees something I didn't think of or can't find something I listed, he can improvise.
I spared you the specific amounts but if you'd like any of those details leave a comment and I'll post the recipes and shopping lists for them. 

Mushrooms & Onions

Google Image

The classic steakhouse topping is easy peasy!

Ingredients

• Mushrooms (sliced or whole)
• White or yellow onion, sliced medium thickness
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
• Small pat of butter
• Dry parsley
• Worcestershire
• Coarse sea salt 

Technique

• Melt butter over medium heat
• Saute garlic for a minute or two
• Drizzle olive oil into pan
• Add onion and cook over medium heat until caramelized
• Add mushrooms
• Drizzle with olive oil
• Coarse sea salt to taste
• Lightly drizzle wit Worcestershire
• Dry parsley to taste
• Saute over medium to desired doneness

Tips

• Amounts depend upon how many you're serving and how much topping you like
• We like lots of topping so, 2 cartons of mushrooms & large onion
• All amounts, not just veggies & 'shrooms are your call
• Olive oil is just to prevent burning, don't over do it
• Have leftover veggies that are going soft?  Throw 'em in, the more the better!  Tomato (quartered,) bell peppers (thick sliced,) zucchini (thick sliced...
• Good on steak, burgers, meatloaf, chicken...
• Grilling your steaks?  Do the above in a cast iron skillet on the grill!
• If you have the veggies and need to use them, this can be prepared and frozen in a ziploc for future use.
• We had just a few spoonfulls of 'shrooms & onions left, I warmed up brown rice (which I prepare on Sunday for the week,) drizzled in some olive oil and chopped a bell pepper, mixed it all together to go with our pork chops.

Clean (& quick) Spinach Dip



Google Image-I really need to start taking pics of my food!

 Ingredients

• 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
• 16 ounce container of cottage cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 green onions
• 1 (or 2) 5 ounce cans of water chestnuts
• (Optional) salt to taste

Technique

• Puree cottage cheese in blender until smooth
• Drain and add spinach to cottage cheese,  pulse to desired consistency
• Fine chop garlic, pulse to blend or blend by hand
• Fine chop green onion & mix in by hand
• Fine chop water chestnuts & mix in by hand

Tips

• I pulsed all the ingredients together after blending the cottage cheese and spinach, too smooth in my opinion.  I prefer adding the last three by hand to maintain a little texture & crunch.
• Low fat cottage cheese works fine.
• You can throw in some fine grated Parmesan as well.
• Garlic powder, dehydrated onions or onion powder are acceptable.
• Serve with wheat crackers, corn chips or fresh veggies for dipping.

Quieting yourself to feel the change~

I had high hopes that this clean-eating deal would be miraculous.  By that, I mean I was hoping a week in I'd be over my lifelong insomnia, losing weight, never hungry, headache free, dewy skin, thick and luxurious hair and perhaps even win the lottery! 
Alas, uh, nope.
What I've learned is that the change to clean eating yields results that I have to pay careful attention to recognize.  The most significant for me is that I truly do believe that processed and refined foods are addictive.  Never enough, never satisfied.  Eating clean, I am satisfied with my meals.  This doesn't mean I don't still consume too many calories, one step at a time!  I don't daydream about food between meals.  I'm embarrassed to tell you,  I used to.  The best way I can explain it is that eating this way the food seems to do what it's supposed to do in the first place.  It nourishes me, fuels my body and I get on with my day. 
Every meal is no longer a challenge of needing to have the most amazing thing I can think of.  Slowly slowly slowly, I hope that my mind is being renewed to understand my relationship with food in a healthy manner.  I suppose I am a recovering addict.  Correction, I know I am.
Case in point, when there is something special at work-someone has brought in cookies perhaps, I don't have to have one or three or ten.  I am slowed down and purposeful.  Sometimes I say yes and have a cookie (but not ten.)  But usually, I can hesitate for long enough to realize, I don't feel the need.  A few months ago, if I passed on the treat, it would've been jaws clenched and white knuckles.
Something that I find really amazing?  Most evenings, I would be too exhausted and cranky to deal with making dinner.  Now I look forward to assembling our meal and I have the energy and motivation to do it.  I think it's because my body is just working better.  The clean lunch, the mid afternoon snack, the lack of sugary drinks, the decreased caffeine (!) enable me to calmly make dinner without feeling like I'm going to gnaw my own leg off before it's ready.  And that daydreaming about food is gone, so now whatever is on the plan is good with me.  It's food, not my friend and comforter.
All of this said, I want to reiterate, I am not concentrating on weight loss at this point. I still take in too many calories.  I still have a lot of work to do.  But when I quiet myself and pay attention, truly, I feel better.  The road ahead is still long, but with all sincerity, I encourage anyone who is curious to give clean eating a month and then quiet down and consider...can you feel a change?

Hijacked Chicken Florentine

I ain't gonna lie, the above beautiful Chicken Florentine is an ever so slightly modified Pioneer Woman Recipe which you can find by following this link
My only adjustments were that the Mr. grilled chicken one evening in a double batch and that's what I used in this dish instead of preparing it the way PW did.  The pasta is whole wheat linguine instead of penne and I caramelized half of an onion in the olive oil and garlic. With the pre-grilled chicken, the entire dinner took less than half an hour to make.

I served it with a tossed salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing which I highly recommend.

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 clove minced garlic
• Salt & pepper to taste.

I quadrupled (x4) my recipe since the family really loves this dressing so I don't have to make it every evening. Dump it all into a Mason jar and shake it up, better if it sits for about an hour!

Brown Rice Puddin'

I always feel the need to include the disclaimer, if you are looking for old fashioned rice pudding, this is not exactly it!  It's a clean option and an easy dessert (and a great way to use left over brown rice.)  With the stomach bug going around this house lately, this was another comfort food that I recreated.  The texture is not as creamy as traditional white rice and there's a nutty  flavor to it.  However, it got applause from the men folk so I'm going to call it a keeper.  Recipe my own after surfing the net and not finding anything that suited my purposes and ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

• 3 cups prepared brown rice
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tea spoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1 tea spoon lemon peel (I used dried, didn't feel like zesting)
• 3Table spoons brown sugar OR for clean-eating pure maple syrup, molasses, honey, Agave or natural sweetener of your choice.
• 1 Table spoon cinnamon

Technique

• Bring 3 cups of milk gently to just boiling
• Add prepared brown rice and stir to combine
• Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients
• Cook on low for approximately 45 minutes, keep an eye on it an stir often
• Remove from heat & enjoy!

Tips

• Add whatever sweetening ingredient in small increments until it suits you.
• If you want to avoid added sugars, add apples or applesauce
• Try a dash of pumpkin pie spice
• Serve warm or cold
• Top with (homemade) whipped cream or ice cream

Giving thanks~

For food that stays our hunger,
For rest that brings us ease,
For homes where memories linger,
We give our thanks for these.

--Traditional

Products that I love

Clean eating is about back to basics simplicity so let me start with a disclaimer, you don't need anything you don't already have in your home to eat clean and whole.  That said, these are the items I find myself using every week when I do my weekend prep.  I didn't actually go out and purchase these products for our clean eating project.  As you read the information below each item, you'll see a running theme of birthday gifts or Christmas gifts. I'm one of those weird people that asks for home appliances for holidays.  If I had to go out and actually spend the money, I probably wouldn't have any of these except for wooden spoons and my grandmother's old skillet.  If you're just getting started, give a lot of thought to spending a lot of money on this kind of stuff.  Our food bills are actually lower with clean eating so you won't go into debt that way but it would be kind of crummy if you dropped $200 on a standing mixer that you used once and never again.  Before you spend money on big ticket items, think about sticking with the lifestyle for about a month to be sure it works for your family.  Once you've done that, adding these "toys" to your kitchen will just make the process all the easier and more enjoyable. 
Finally, I've pictured & linked the actual models of each item I own and use.  There are cheaper or more expensive as well as just different options.  I only chose the ones below because I can vouch for these specific products. 





http://www.target.com/p/kitchenaid-classic-plus-stand-mixer-empire-red-4-5-quart/-/A-14264291?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C14264291&CPNG=Appliances&kpid=14264291&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=14264291
At Target, $229.99-4.5 qts.
This is a workhorse!  I didn't have one until a few years ago, a Christmas gift from the Mr. that he doubted I'd use.  Well, this sucker sits permanently on my counter top and I use it every single week.  If you are seriously clean eating and making lots of stuff from scratch, save your money and invest in a standing mixer.  You can buy attachments as you need them and do everything from making bread with the bread hook to making sausage with the sausage attachment.  I've had mine for a few years but I understand this is likely to be a once in a lifetime purchase.  And if you are making meringue, it will make your life easier and your meringues higher! 



http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17609181
Bed, Bath & Beyond.  $99.99-72 ounces
I've had less expensive blenders, you can get them as low as $15 or so.  They were fine for very basic smoothies & milk shakes but burned out quickly with frozen ingredients or hard vegetables.  I have a food processor but I don't have enough counter space for every gadget to be kept at my finger tips.  I've found the Ninja can do a lot of what my food processor does in addition to the traditional blender functions so it's almost a 2 for 1 appliance.  I use it to puree vegetables to add to gravy and it's the perfect size to whip up salsa.  The Ninja isn't cheap but it's tough, I can throw frozen fruit in for smoothies or milk shakes and the motor doesn't burn out. 

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_011W111325110001P?sid=KDx01192011x000001&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=31-148480465-2
$9.99-12 jars (16 oz)
First things first, who doesn't love the look look of a Mason jar?   They're just so sweet, I use them as vases, glasses and candle holders.  I also use them to keep fresh vegetables and herbs fresh in my fridge.  Fill them with water and after you've cleaned and trimmed your herbs, set them into the Mason jar in the fridge and snip off what you need as you need it.  Also great for mixing and storing salad dress and I keep a jar of coffee concentrate for iced coffee.  Oh, and they work really well for canning too ;)



http://www.target.com/p/6qt-cast-iron-covered-casserole-pot/-/A-10514667#prodSlot=medium_1_3&term=dutch+oven
$53.99 at Target-6.5 quart.
The Mr. got this for me as a birthday gift a few years ago at my own request but even I am amazed at how often I use this baby.  In fact, it stays on my stove top.  It's perfect for soups and stove-top items but it's really wonderful for those things you want to start on the range top and finish in the oven.  I like to braise my roast in this dutch oven and then into the oven to finish.  It is recommended not to wash cast iron in the dish washer but this cleans up so easily, you won't care. 




 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=207214
$29.00-keep an eye out for their 20% off coupons or get one online
I've just about beat this horse to death but here it is one more time!  This infusion pitcher, which is the one I have, has a tea/coffee basket and freezer thing to keep it cold in addition to the fruit infuser.  Do you need this?  Nope.  Will you like it?  I think you will. 



http://www.target.com/p/lodge-cast-iron-pre-seasoned-skillet-12-inch/-/A-10291923?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=%7C10291923&CPNG=Kitchen&kpid=10291923&LID=PA&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=10291923
$17.99 at Target (12 in.)
Full disclosure, I didn't purchase my cast iron skillet, I claimed on I found in my grandmother's basement when she passed.  No one else wanted it because it was grody and rusty, but you can't destroy these babies!  I scoured and seasoned it and it's good as new.  You can probably find one in your dad's camping gear and if not, I'm told they are often in thrift shops for less than a buck.  I use my skillet all of the time, for everything from eggs to sauteed vegetables to corn bread.  Like the Dutch oven, don't use the dishwasher.  If you keep it seasoned, your skillet will easily wipe clean with each use.



http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=13835831
$7..99 (6 pice set) on Amazon
It might seem strange to include such a kitchen basic in my list of products but I believe the wooden spoon is under appreciated!  I don't like the idea of metal utensils with nonstick pans because I worry about scraping the Teflon into my food.  Also, when you are cooking fresh vegetables, the wooden spoons are less damaging than the metal ones would be to the veggies themselves.  Plus, you can't beat the price! 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=18054400&RN=939&
$29.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond for 4-1 salad spinner.
I got this from Santa in 2012 but didn't even open the box until about a month ago.  Since then, I can't imagine how I lived without a salad spinner!  It's especially useful since I do all of my produce clean and prep on the weekends, it makes everything move more quickly through the process by drying it in the spinner.  I have the one pictured so I can only speak for its usefulness but I've never used the mandolin/grater attachment.  You can get one without the fancy extras for $16.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  If I use the mandolin, I'll let you know if it's worth the extra money.  If you clean your veggies a week in advance, like I do, using the spinner will get rid of extra moisture that will shorten the shelf life of your produce. 

So there it is, a quick tour through my kitchen helpers.  Again, you DO NOT NEED any of these items to start clean eating today.  One of the best things I've done is to take 15 minutes to sharpen my knives-zero dollars!  If you have a product that makes everything easier and that you would recommend, please share it in comments. 
On my to-do list is to go through my cabinets and get rid of the items I don't use since I find myself going back to my favorite items day after day, but that's a blog for another time!

Chicken & Rice

The Mr. had a belly ache for a few days (that he then shared with me) so I was trying to think of comfort food that I could also make clean for him.  What's more comforting than chicken & rice?

Ingredients

• Boneless skinless chicken breast (4-6)
• 3 cups brown rice prepared
• 2 carrots
• Celery ends (see tips below)
• Fresh parsley
• Chicken broth (low sodium, organic preferably)
• Season to taste:  I used garlic salt, pepper, poultry seasoning

Method

• Clean and dry chicken breasts, place into pot (I used a cast iron dutch oven)
• Add chopped carrots, celery, parsley & seasoning
• Cover with broth
• Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through
• Remove chicken to a plate, cut or shred as desired and set aside
• Using a slotted spoon, remove vegetables and put into blender, set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• When veggies are cool, puree & return to broth
• Thicken broth with corn starch
• Add prepared rice & heat through
• Add chicken, stir to combine
• Enjoy!

Tips

• Celery tips that is!  So, as I cleaned and prepped veggies for the week, I chopped the tips from the celery and used those in the broth.  They aren't pretty but they are going to end up pureed anyway.  And  yes, they were cleaned first :)  Those leafy ends on the celery are soooo flavorful, don't waste them!
• Same with carrots.  I used two whole but as I cleaned the rest of them, I used the non-stem ends that I cut away in the broth. 
• The longer the chicken simmers, the more flavorful it will be.  This is one of those dishes that can simmer all day and make your house smell wonderful while you're waiting for dinner. 
• I served with green beans and a green salad made with lettuce,fresh parsley,  cucumbers and a light lemon vinaigrette. 
• I had leftover mashed potatoes a few weeks ago, not enough for another meal.  I froze them and used them to thicken the gravy for this dish. 

Guests

Do you have dinner guests often?  Do you eat clean or walk on the wild side? 
We strike a balance, more clean items than not.  That's the beauty of whole food eating, you can live a bit in both worlds.  However, if you don't want to live in both worlds, you really can serve a clean and whole meal without forcing your guests to eat items foraged in your back yard (grin.)
Clean eating is about simplicity.  One of my favorite things is that it slows me down.  It doesn't require culinary skills honed at the knee of Julia Child.  You can put aside the complicated methods from The Food Network or various specialty diets and think about the way your grandma cooked.  A good knife to cut produce, a regular old stove and pots and pans.  Put your gadgets away and pull out your wooden spoon. 
Some ideas for hosting guests and serving whole foods?

Appetizers

• Cheese & wheat crackers
• Whole wheat pita or pita chips & hummus
• Fresh fruit
• Fresh veggies
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Corn tortilla chips and salsa

Entrees

• Soup or chili with whole grain bread (purchased at the bakery)
• Grilled chicken, brown rice and brocolli
• Flat iron steaks, rosemary redskin potatoes, green salad
• Omelets, whole grain toast or muffins, fresh fruit
• Steak, baked potato and asparagus
• Salmon, brown rice, slaw
• Meatloaf, baked potato, green beans
• Potroast, mashed potato, corn on the cob, gravy

Desserts

• Fresh fruit with whipped cream
• Smoothies or milk shakes
• Ice cream sundaes

Beverages

• Sparkling water with fruit infusion
• Iced tea or lemonade sweetened with raw sugar, honey or Agave
• Infused water
• Sparkling water dressed with lemon, lime and a sprig of fresh mint
• Coffee
• Hot tea
• Wine (buy local, look for organic and avoid sulfates)
• Cider
• Sparkling fruit juices or non alcoholic wine (read labels!)
• No sugar added juice

Tips

• Most items can be changed up even if they start off with processed foods.
• Processed and refined items are usually the second generation of items that started off from scratch and were rethought for convenience.  Think about what the first generation was and recreate it.
• Dips are notoriously full of extra "stuff" but are easily reclaimed.  Spinach dip, salsa, Beau Monde, dill dip, cheese dip can all easily be prepared clean with a little prep and extra thought.
• Olive oil brushed on meat, sautee'ing or braising before baking and marinades make all the difference.
• Use the Internet! Goodness, there's an answer or substitute for everything!
• Read labels!  If you're using ice cream, you can find acceptable brands with a bit of time in the store.
• Once you have identified brands that meet your needs, keep a list on hand for easy shopping.
• Ditto recipes.
• Make a notebook with quick ideas.
• Keep your pantry stocked with the basics.
• Experiment.  Make small portions of new ideas and if you don't like it, it's ok.  Throw it away and move on.
• Play with fresh herbs.  They are beautiful, aromatic and give a fresh taste that can't compare to dried. 
• Go to local fruit and veggie markets for your produce
• Plant an herb garden, container herbs or even a few pots on  your kitchen counter. 
• If you're hosting someone with dietary or medical restrictions, honor them by serving their needs.  Don't preach to the diabetic about the low glycemic index of Agave.  If they deal with their challenges by using Sweet & Low, have a box of Sweet & Low on hand for them. 
• Be honest!  None of this serving venison and presenting it as beef, then surprising everyone when they've finished eating.  Everyone hates that, it's obnoxious.  Stop it.
• Let your guests know beforehand that you want to take good care of them and if you're not sure, you want to know about dietary preferences, allergies, etc.

Salads



Google Image

 Really?  Salads?  Apparently so!  A few people have asked for salad advice.  We had salads every evening and at every holiday as I was growing up so they feel like just part of the routine for us.  My Armenian grandmother raised us on a Mediterranean palate before it was cool!
The beauty of salad is that you don't really need a recipe.  You can't mess it up.  If you like each ingredient individually, you'll like your salad.  My favorite meals are a casserole type entree that covers the complex carb and the protein portion with just a salad as the side dish.  So, if you're really interested (really?)  below is the basic Smith dinner salad recipe

Ingredients

• Lettuce-ice berg only in an emergency.  Go to the farmer's market and find something beautiful, I love Boston Bib and fresh Romain.  Mixed greens are awesome. And check this out, I've even added dandelion greens from my yard!
• Onion-green onion or red onion,  white or yellow in a pinch.
• Tomato-Here's the trick, if you buy cherry or grape tomatoes you still need to at least slice them in half. 
• Cucumber-I like the peel left on but my family doesn't, so I peel them, cut in half and then slice thin.
• Feta cheese

Thems the basics.  But you can always do an add-on to change it up, especially if you eat salad daily like we do.  So in no particular order...

• Beets
• Fresh Parmesan cheese
• Chickpeas aka garbanzo beans
• Croutons (whole grain if you're clean-eating)
• Bacon (real bacon bits, not them plastic things! Cook extra when you're making breakfast and crumble)
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Basil leaves
• Chives
• Bell peppers
• Dill
• Boiled egg

Dressing-to paraphrase Winston Churchill...Nevah nevah nevah bottled salad dressing!

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Vinegar-balsamic, apple cider, red wine  OR
• Squeeze 2-3 large lemons, juice them babies, zest 1 of them and add a few shakes of dry oregano
• Coarse sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Dry parsley & dill if there's no fresh already in the salad
• Granulated garlic (don't ask me for measurements!)

Method

• Clean them veggies
• Fine chop that lettuce
• Slice them cukes and maters
• Fine chop yer dang onions
• Add whatsoever add-ons you got lyin' 'round
• Dressing:  I frankly just pour & sprinkle right on the salad and mix in.  If you're fancy, you can put the ingredients into a mason jar and shake it up before pouring on.
• No, we don't offer the option of individual dressings.  What do you think this is?  A restaurant?

If you're looking for something a bit different, try my Grandma Trent's Armenian Bean Salad

Ingredients

• White Northern beans (large jar)
• Fresh parsley or dill
• Finely chopped green onion or white onion
• Olive oil
• White vinegar

Method

• Lightly drain beans, add parsley or dill and onions and mix well.  Lightly drizzle olive oil and about a quarter cup of vinegar

*This goes great with ham by the way!  Also fantastic for summer time with anything off the grill. 

I think this is more than enough salad information.  Stay tuned, I might just share my potato salad recipe!

Flatbread pizza on the grill

The finished product hot off the grill

This friends, is one of my favorite things.  We made these for the first time last Autumn when my mom and I spent what seemed like 700 hours canning green beans.  Everybody came over with toppings and we made an assembly line creating individual flatbread pizzas.  Then we lined up & the Mr. grilled them, and man oh man oh man!  The idea lends itself easily to clean eating and whole foods.  We decided it was a great idea for Mother's Day.  Relatively easy and everyone ends up with their personal favorite.  Make a big green salad on the side and you're in for a treat!

Ingredients

• Flatbread pizza crusts (you can make your own or buy them.  It's not too hard to find whole grain if that's important to you.  And if you're clean-eating, it is)
• Pizza sauce (recipe below or you can buy your own.  As always read the ingredients!)
• Olive oil
• Toppings of your choice (veggies, pepperoni, grilled chicken, smoked salmon, pineapple, mushrooms...)
• Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (basil, oregano, granulated garlic, Italian blend, parsley...)
• Cheese

Pizza sauce ingredients

• 28 ounce can tomato puree
• 12 ounce can tomato paste
• Garlic (I use one whole clove)
• Basil (I use 3-4 leaves)
• Oregano (I use 2 stems)
• Coarse salt & pepper to taste

Pizza sauce method

• Put tomato puree and tomato paste into blender, pulse until combined & smooth
• Rough chop garlic, basil and oregano, add to tomato mixture and pulse again
• Add salt and pepper and blend on medium until completely combined

Flatbread pizza method

• Brush flatbreads with olive oil
• Spoon on pizza sauce
• Add toppings of your choice
• Top with cheese
• Sprinkle with herbs if desired
• Place on grill (low fire) and allow to brown and cheese to melt.  If you have a gas grill, you can move them to the upper shelf when they are almost done to cook through to center.  This takes a little practice to get just right so don't get overwhelmed!
• With a large grill spatula, carefully remove to plate
• Enjoy!

Tips

• Set up your flatbreads and toppings in a buffet or around a table allowing people to move through the line and build their pizzas.
• Put plates at the front of the line so people don't have to hold their pizzas on their hands.
• Don't get carried away with all of those delicious toppings!  When it gets top heavy, it's harder to balance and to grill.  Also harder to warm through.
• Consider precookiing items in a cast iron skillet on your grill to add as the pizzas cook if you want your veggies softer.  They will be relatively crunchy if not precooked.
• Pesto is a great topping in place of traditional pizza sauce and soooooo easy to make!  Fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and if you like, pine nuts-that's it.
• Plan for 1 1/2 crusts per person.  These babies are very filling but people tend to go back for seconds.  If you have left over crusts, they freeze great in gallon size zip locks.

My mom!

Planning for the week~

Around here, preparation is KEY to success.  I even post menus on the refrigerator (which daboyz then rate, although no one ever asked their opinion.)  A person has to be flexible, so the plans don't always happen exactly as...planned.  When that happens, I try very hard to rethink any perishables that weren't used as planned and make sure they get re purposed before they go bad-I hate it when food and money are wasted.  That's why almost every weekend there's a pot of soup on the stove, a great way to use veggies and left overs that might otherwise end up in the trash bin. 

My prep for this week

• Clean all fresh produce in a mixture of water/vinegar/baking soda & air dry on counter top
• Cut, chop and prep veggies for use throughout the week.
• Clean & prep fresh herbs, put those in Mason jars of water in fridge for easy use.
• Clean & trim green onions, into Mason jars of water and into the fridge with those too.
• Boil about a half dozen eggs, into the fridge for the week.
• Freshen pitchers of infused water, tea, lemonade, iced coffee, etc.
• Clean out fridge, wash Mason jars from prior week, toss or freeze items not used.
• Create menu & then shopping list from menu
• Keep a running list on fridge for shopping items
• Make salsa
• Make decaf coffee concentrate cold brewed in French press for use as base for iced coffee or coffee milkshakes.

Dinner Menu  (Our menu starts on Saturday)

• Saturday-Chicken & brown rice with gravy, green beans, green salad, coffee milkshakes for dessert
• Sunday-Pot roast with roasted vegetables & gravy, green salad
• Monday-Grilled chicken (make double for Thursday), baked potato, green beans, Armenian bean salad.  Changed of plans-ate the Tuesday meal on Monday because it was too HOT to grill!
• Tuesday-Baked Tilapia, steak fries, slaw.  Ate grilled chicken from Monday's meal.  Changed out the potato for veggie stir fried brown rice because we had potato on Sunday and Monday.  Changed out the bean salad for a greek salad, just felt the need for veggies and complex carb, wandered a little off track Sunday and Monday but easily remedied.
• Wednesday-Out to dinner (late work night)
• Thursday-Chicken Florentine over wheat fettuccine, salad
• Friday-Take out from clean eating restaurant (Moo Cluck Moo, La Pita, Mati's Deli)

Snack Options

• Chips & salsa
• Pita chips or vegetables and hummus
• Smoothies
• Fresh fruit

I come to the garden alone~

Strawberries from our berry patch

We live in my grandparents' house.  Well, it was their house for about forty years, now it's ours.  When my gramma passed away, I told the Mr. we needed to buy her house.  Since we were going to move, the Mr. wanted to house shop for a bit before we decided.  It made me nuts.  I didn't want a new house.  I wanted to live in my grandparents' house.  So, can you guess what my reaction was to every other house we looked at?  I'll give you a hint.  We live in my grandparent's house. 

Bob and Eleanor (my grandparents) had a great influence on the way I see the world.  They had a farm when I was small where they raised what I remember to be a huge garden every year.  Was it really huge or was I very small?  I don't know.  What I do know is that I can remember precisely what sun warmed dirt hardened into clumps feels like under bare feet.  I find nothing distasteful about the taste of a little bit of dirt clinging to a strawberry and eaten right from the vine.  I can tell by eating a raw green bean if it'll be good cooked with bacon and onions.  And I think gnarly imperfect apples pulled from a fruit laden tree are beautiful.

Bob and Eleanor taught me all of this.  They were utterly enthralled by nature and as far as I could tell, until their respective deaths, they never lost their awe of God's bounty.  They loved the work of it, the look and smell and taste of it.  They never got caught up in being impressed with fine dining or the convenience of fast food.  They seemed to sense the direct connection between God and his provision of sustenance.  I haven't done as well as they did in living this philosophy but I'm so very thankful that I understand it. 

I can remember my Grampa coming in after working in the yard, sweaty and dirty.  He'd say the same thing every time, "I'm all done in."  Then he'd shower and sit down in shorts and a tank top and Gramma would shortly have dinner on the table.  She'd give him a glass of water to have with his meal and if there were fresh green beans or apples baked into a pie, he seemed to be the richest man on earth.  Being tired and dirty didn't seem a bad thing.  It just meant there was something to work for and something to be grateful for.

There is much to be said for a healthy and lean body, for avoiding ingesting things that will make us sick in the long run.  But I think there is more to be said for hanging on to that connection of God to earth to us.  I have found that I love the feel of the vegetables in my hands, the beauty of the colors and the fragrance they release as I cut them into pieces or simmer them.  I rub mint between my fingers and inhale it and feel God walking next to me.  In the cool of the evening, He is there still waiting.

Find a garden and meet your Creator this week.

A month to new habits~

We have successfully done the "5 weeks to clean eating," plan from Pinterest:  add fruit/veggies to all meals, no fast food, eliminate refined/white sugars and grains,  make fruit/veggies the base of all snacks, no more sugar drinks.  We also, now, build our meals very intentionally:  complex carb/protein/vegetable or fruit.  The folks who live in this house all have weight challenges but we decided to focus on eating healthy before we focused on eating for weight loss.  The Mr. is losing anyway, me, not so much.  But I'm not concentrating on that right now.  We are going on vacation the first week of July and when we return, we'll take our diet to the weight loss step. 
Some lessons learned?  After much thought about eating clean and knowing in my heart that this was something important for me, I informed the Mr. that this was what I wanted to do.  I didn't insist that anyone else come along for the ride, I just explained how I intended to eat and asked that as far as items that were exceptionally tempting for me, those no longer show up in the kitchen.  Oh, and those weekly eating out and carry in dinners?  I couldn't do that any longer. The Mr. and Daboyz are "allowed" to eat however they want.  I'm happy to say, they've come on board.  Daboyz are fully engaged in the philosophy and the Mr., well, he's playing nice.
They say that it takes about one month to change a habit and if that's true, I guess we can say we've officially changed our ways.  They also say that after about a month of clean-eating, the craving for junk will subside.  This, I doubted.  And this, I'm very happy to report, has happened.  Don't misunderstand, the desire to overeat, that bad habit, is what it is.  But the potato chip, saltine crackers, refined and processed stuff really doesn't call my name any longer.  In fact, the Mr. bought a big bag of potato chips last week for a family get together which never got opened.  Friday evening I decided to treat myself (yeah, old habits do die hard.)  I opened up that bag of chips, which is my favorite snack, and ate literally two hand fulls.  This was the second time I've decided to cheat and found that after a few bites, I didn't really want the chips.  That is amazing to me and if it's the only progress I make, I'm calling it miraculous!  I have been that person who opens a bag of chips and doesn't stop until there's nothing left. 
I have also discovered that the protein/complex carb rule really does work in terms of staying with a person and providing that efficient fuel for the body that we hear about.  This is a discovery I sort of noticed accidentally in that I didn't notice I was hungry all day long as I have been in the past.  My rough cut oatmeal with diced apples in the morning holds me for several hours, I'm not chomping at the bit mid morning and white knuckling my way to lunch time.  As a nonbreakfast eater for my entire life, I've developed the habit of eyes open-must eat.  I've always had something small, like a yogurt, mid morning.  Now I'm eating breakfast before I leave for work and eating a piece of fruit mid morning.  The importance of this is that it's not the former experience of starving and waiting until I was allowed to eat a few hundred calories.  It's a calmer sort of approach to food.  I'm not distracted by hunger and cravings.
My coffee intake is lower as well, which was not a goal in the first place.  I usually had 2 cups at home and 2 more at work every morning.  Now, a cup before work and maybe one at work and I'm satisfied.  I'm guessing the better fuel I'm putting into my body is minimizing the desire for more caffeine.  Many mornings I have my cup here at home and then make my own large cup of infused water ingredients to take to work, I add the water there and sip on it for the rest of the day.  Often, this is fresh mint from our yard and thinly sliced cucumbers. 
Would I recommend clean eating to you?  Absolutely.  It can be done as much or as minimally as works for you individually.  Eating a slice of birthday cake isn't "cheating."  It's a momentary deviation from one's standard diet and it isn't going to do the harm of daily refined sugar and flour.  It seems (based on nothing scientific) to me, that a slice of cake doesn't trigger the old habits for me.  In fact, although I enjoy it, I'm very much aware of the way I feel after a "dirty" snack.  It makes me anxious to get back to healthier choices.  The debloating mint and cucumber water does wonders to counteract the refined food hangover :)
This is the first time in my life that I have not experienced either hunger or shame.  That's sad, isn't it?  I'm still a good 50 pounds over weight but I don't feel that internal humiliation I've had in the past as I've eaten food that I knew was harmful to my body.  When my weight was under control, I didn't have the shame but I was hungry almost all of the time.  The Lord is offering me the opportunity for wisdom and I'm working hard to submit myself to his ways, which are always better than my own.  The Holy Spirit is gently showing me that God isn't concerned with the physical appearance of my body or the size in my clothing.  He is, however, completely concerned about my health and strength.  I will admit, I am not there yet, but I know that he will help me to accept my body in whatever form it takes as long as it is a body that is well and able to enjoy all of the joys he has in store for me in this life.  The goals, is slowly slowly slowly shifting from a size 10 and the WW target weight to smaller than I am, leaner and healthier.  But if that means I settle at a size 16 and several pounds above WW's recommendation; that will be ok. 
I'm seeking to be at peace with my body, for the first time ever.  I need Jesus to give me more sensitivity to the way I feel under his influence and to bring the emotional self condemnation and the opinions of society under submission.  This might seem like a highly spiritualized theory to eating.  But really, I think we cannot separate the earth that God created for our sustenance from the plans he has for us as whole men and women.  My body is peaceful, does that make sense?

 

Infused water

<---See this?  I have this very pitcher!  Jay picked it up for me at Bed, Bath and Beyond with their handy dandy 20% off coupon.  I lurv it.  I started making infused water a few weeks ago among my clean eating experiments.  I love infused water and I wonder how I've lived without it! 
You don't need an infusion pitcher, by the way.  But it sure is fun!  Any pitcher with a strainer top will do or you can just fish the fruit out with a slotted spoon.  It ain't rocket surgery.
I like to keep fresh ginger root on hand and put a few thinly sliced "coins" into my infusion mix.  Ginger is a pretty strong flavor so skip that if you aren't a fan and don't over do it either way or you'll get a very spicy tone to your water.  Ginger is great for digestion so for me, it's been awesome.  I have been off my ulcer meds for two weeks! 
You can infuse your water for as long as you like, I leave it in the water through 2 or 3 refills of the pitcher.  We finish one pitcher every day or so.  I wouldn't reuse the fruit for longer than 5 days or so or it might get a little funky. 
Some combinations we've used?  Cucumber/cantaloupe.  Blueberry/orange/grapefruit. Apple/orange Lemon/lime/grapefruit.  I'll keep this short by saying any and all citrus combinations.  Obviously sweeter fruit-sweeter water.  More lemony and lime-more sour. 
And now, let us have a TMI (too much information) moment.  One of my sons has always poo-pooed (hahahaha) the idea of detox diets.  He reports that when he drinks the infused water, he is definitely..."detoxing" and when he drinks the ginger infused water he "detoxes" 15 times a day. 
I have found that the water needs to infuse for at least four hours and it is best over night.  After that, it just gets more flavorful.  Daboyz and I have replaced fruit juice with it.
I found a web site I really like and it's very pretty as a bonus!
http://infusedwaters.com/
Around here, folks aren't big fans of cucumber water so I make that in a mason jar just for me. 
This is an idea that you really don't have to invest much in to see if it will work for you.  If it does, you might eliminate artificial sweeteners or refined sugar from your beverages. 
Try it and if you do, share your recipes and your opinions!

Unstuffed Peppers

This is the recipe I shared in a previous post with a little more detail~

Ingredients

• 6 bell peppers
• 1 lb ground beef (if you recall, I tried ground turkey-EPIC FAIL)
• 2 cups prepared brown rice
• 1/2 diced onion
• Sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can/jar fire roasted peppers
• Parmesan or mozzarella cheese to top (optional)
• Spices (adjust to your own palate) garlic, salt, pepper, dash of cumin

Method

• Cut tops from bell peppers, remove seeds & pulp, rinse & dry
• Boil peppers until soft
• Use "tops" from bell peppers, remove stems and dice remaining pepper
• Brown ground beef with onion, bell pepper and mushrooms, drain
• Puree fire roasted peppers in blender or food processor and add tomato sauce-combine & add spices
• Pour sauce mixture over ground beef and mix
• **This is the unstuffed part**
• Slice peppers in half and line bottom of 9x11 pan
• Add brown rice layer
• Add meat mixture layer
• Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes
• Top with cheese (optional) bake or broil until melted and bubbly. 

Tips

• To make life easier, I prepared the peppers earlier in the week as well as cooked the rice. 
• You can certainly use all of the ingredients to make traditional stuffed peppers, this was just a quick oven to table method for after work. 
• Serve with salad and you have a complete clean meal of complex carb (brown rice)/protein (beef)/veggies.  No need to add a side dish unless you want to.  Think twice about adding another starch!
• This was an hour total from when we got home to sitting down to eat.  I put together the meat mixture, assembled and into the oven. If you made the meat ahead, even less.  The Mr. made the salad while I put the unstuffed peppers together. 

Fried Rice



Photo from Google Images, not my recipe

 People have been asking me for recipes as we've changed our eating style over the last month.  I'm really not much of a recipe kinda girl, I just know what ingredients I can use to build my meals.  I'll try to pay a bit more attention to what I'm making and post recipes here that I think are worth sharing. 

Last week, I made fried rice as a side dish.  I've never made this before as it's one of those items we eat when we're eating take out Chinese.  The Mr. went nuts, much to my surprise!  In fact, he requested a repeat and in a bigger portion so he'd have left overs for lunch. 

Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Brown rice (I used 3 cups prepared)
• 2 eggs (we now use organic)
• Olive oil
• Add-ins-whatever veggies or meat you'd like to include. I made veggie as a side dish and used fresh cauliflower, sprouts, green onions, garlic chives, green peppers and peas.  This is a great dish to make if you want to use up fresh veggies that are going a little soft. 

Method:

• Drizzle olive oil into pan and heat over medium heat.  Add cooked rice to pan and brown, stirring and using as high heat as possible without burning. 
• Push rice to sides to create a well in center of pan and add veggies.  Stir fry until they are as crisp or soft as you like.
• Mix vegetables and rice together and continue to stir fry to combine.  Push to sides again to create well in center.
• Beat 2 eggs lightly and pour into center of pan.  Scramble and mix into rice and vegetables to combine.
• Season to your taste with soy sauce (low sodium is better,) salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, chili powder or basically whatever flavors you like.

Tips:

• The brown rice works better if it is cold so I like to make my brown rice in large batches at once, refrigerate and use it as I need it.  Also a great time saver for after work meals. 
• I also used a deep frying pan with a lid, don't have a wok.
• If you're adding meat, stir fry in pan or pre cook. 
• Other than brown rice and eggs, the rest is up to your tastes and what's on hand.  Don't get caught up in making traditional restaurant style Chinese fried rice, unless that's specifically what you're looking for.  This is one of those can't-go-wrong recipes

For those of you trying to clean eat, this is a complete meal.  Complex carb (brown rice)/protein (egg)/veggies.  That's why it's a great option to make in larger batches and use as lunch the next day.

Fruit & Veggie Wash

We're all friends here, right?  So I guess I can admit just how stupid and lazy I am.  That should make you come back for more information tomorrow!
Cleaning one's fruit and vegetables properly.  I know it's important.  But I admit, until very recently, I used warm water and elbow grease and that was it.  As in, I ran the individual item under warm water and rubbed it clean with my fingers.  Some of you are gasping in horror.  The rest of you are wondering what the problem is. 
I have read in more than once place that one should delay washing produce until you're ready to eat it because getting it wet promotes mildew and the food will go bad more quickly.  Now I'm a bit mortified.
I've started doing some research and blog hopping to get some insight on clean-eating and to find easy fixes that I might miss otherwise and what I've seen has made me change my ways.  Evidently, if you properly wash your fresh produce immediately, it will last longer.  Some of the chemicals and pesticides on food are meant to promote quick ripening.  Faster from seed to store, faster money.  It makes sense, then, that these items would continue to ripen over quick on the counter top if the chemicals are not removed.
And the affect of those chemicals sitting on that food for longer?  Greater concentration in the fruit or vegetable when we finally do eat it.
I'm sure I don't need to list the potential effects of pesticides and chemicals on our bodies over time and if that's something you want to know more about, it's at your fingertips through the Internet.  I'm just here to share my dirty little secret and how I've fixed it.
I was concerned about how clean my fruit was when I started infusing it into my water.  I don't know why that was my wake up call but I suddenly envisioned residual crud leaching from the fruit into the water.  Like that's different than just flat out eating it?  Anyway...
I now clean my produce immediately.  And I'm both grossed out and pleased at the change in the feel of the fruit after I've done my due diligence.  Ditto the scum in the sink.  My fruit and vegetables are now literally squeaky clean! 
P.S. this system will not work with lettuce.  You will need to clean lettuce by scrubbing and using a salad spinner or it will get soggy and gross before you can use it.

Fruit & Vegetable Wash

Ingredients

• Water
• White or apple cider vinegar
• Baking soda

Method

• Fill clean sink or big bowl with water, mix in about one cup of vinegar and one tablespoon baking soda. 
• Place produce into sink, don't overfill.  Leave room between the items and be sure the water covers everything.
• Soak for 10 minutes
• Scrub with brush or clean cloth
• Rinse
• Dry on counter top before putting items away. 

Tips

• Change water between each batch.
• Use shorter soak time for soft berries, drain into colander.
• How do you know it worked?  The texture of the produce will become literally squeaky clean instead of tacky or waxy and you'll see the reside in the sink. 
• Do this immediately when you get home from the market and you'll be good to go for the week. 

The Mr. has occasionally had a little bit of tickling in his throat after eating fresh produce that he felt was some kind of allergic reaction but he could never pin down what the item was. It was never the same thing twice.  Sometimes a salad in a restaurant, sometimes an apple at work, sometimes strawberries at home.  Since I started this process he has not had this reaction with anything he eats from home. 

As I said, I'm mortified, horrified and grossed out that I didn't catch on to this a long time ago but if there's anybody out there in the same naive position, now you know too.