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. 

Iced tea~

One of the hurdles of clean eating is our tendency to want something for nothing.  In other words, we hope for a substitute for the unhealthy stuff we love that will be exactly like it's more fattening or sugary sister. 
Ain't. Gonna.  Happen.
Now that we've gotten that straightened out, this is the iced tea I make.  If you're looking for traditional Southern house wine (sweet tea,) this will not satisfy your craving.  I haven't found a way to make Southern sweet tea that doesn't require white table sugar and Lipton tea bags!  Yes, I love it too.  But I can't drink it every day. 
So this is iced tea, not a sweet tea substitute

Ingredients

• 3 green tea bags (I like Bigelow green tea with lemon)
• 1/4 cup Agave (I tried honey, family prefers Agave.)
• Fresh fruit to suit your palate

Method

• Bring water to boil in tea kettle
• Add 3/4 cups of the boiling water to the 1/4 cup Agave, set aside
• Clean & slice fruit and put it in your pitcher (I like apple, orange and lemon)
• Pour remainder of hot water over fruit, pour in Agave/water mixture
• Put in your tea bags and stir gently.
• Cover and allow to steep to desired strength
• Uncover, remove fruit & tea bags with slotted spoon
• Top off pitcher with cold water & refrigerate

Tips

• For sweeter tea, add only sweet fruit for the steeping step and use lemon by the glass
• For more concentrated flavor, steep over night.
• If you steep in lemon or lime overnight, you'll have more of an Arnold Palmer (lemonade/tea) flavor.
• Be careful adding and removing tea bags so you don't puncture them and get loose leaves in your tea!
• You can skip the step of mixing the hot water with the Agave but the Agave is thick and I think it mixes better this way.
• If you like flavored teas, add whatever fruit you usually like.  I bet peach would be delicious!
• If you just can't manage with your white sugar or sweeteners, try this and you might find you can reduce the white sugar/artificial sweetener you need because of the fruit.
• CAUTION!  I mentioned this isn't traditional sweet tea?  It also isn't zero calorie tea.  Agave has a much lower glycemic index than refined sugar and you need much less to flavor more tea.  Still, it's not a "free" beverage.

Hosting guests in a clean-eating home~Mother's Day

I hadn't intended to post today but a thought occurred to me & if you're out there, I'm curious.  If you're clean eating, do you carry that philosophy through when you're entertaining?  Do you "make" others eat the same way when they are in your home?

Many years ago, my parents were invited to the home of friends for dinner.  The husband of the household had some cardiac health concerns and his dutiful wife had him on a strict cardiac diet.  No fat, no salt, no sugar.  And good on her for her efforts!  But when the dinner guests arrived, they were served the same strict cardiac menu, there was no salt in the house. 

Which side of the healthy eating line do you fall on?  Do you say that people in your home will eat the way you eat or do you relax a bit?

I'm thinking about this on Mother's Day because we're having the family over for lunch, flat bread pizzas.  I won't keep you in suspenders (as my grampa would say,)  I don't make my guests eat clean.  When I can easily trade out fresh and whole for processed, I do so.  For instance, I made the pizza sauce instead of buying prepackaged.  This creates a fresh and more delicious version of pizza sauce.  But I won't be serving whole wheat molasses cake.  Unless everyone was on the clean eating program with us, I wouldn't expect them to forgo something they enjoy (and so do I!) because they are guests in my home.  Same with beverages.  We drink infused water, plain water or iced green tea with agave. Today I'm serving old fashioned southern sweet tea or lemonade with Splenda. We also have a few 2 liters of pop.  My dad's diabetic and drinks diet beverages and the Agave sweetened tea is not the same as its refined sugar sister for those who use refined sugar.  I'll offer everything and if, at the end of the day, the clean stuff is enjoyed and the "dirty" stuff isn't used, maybe I'll change my menu next time.  But I won't force my diet on others, nor preach at them. 

So what do you think?
Is it a matter of your guests eating the way you eat in your house?
Perhaps you feel it's your responsibility to maintain healthful standards when others eat at your table?

Or do you plan your menu with your guests in mind and offer goodies that normally wouldn't be found in your kitchen?

And if you do offer those refined or processed treats, do you indulge yourself?

Shopping list~

They say the best way to switch to clean eating is to do a sweep of your pantry and throw away everything that isn't "clean."  Well, I honestly couldn't bring myself to do that.  Yes, I know that it isn't wasted money; it's an investment in my health.  In my mind, it's still wasted money.  I think that's really an individual decision.  And there are items that will always require use of those refined/white items like baking.  So we have minimized our use of the processed and refined items and as we've used them up, we are not buying more of the same.  I thought today I'd post some clean eating basics with which I'm stocking my cabinets and refrigerator as we clear out the items that we want to use less often.

1.  Dried beans/legumes
2.  Fresh fruit and veggies
3.  Whole grain bread
4.  Whole grain crackers
5.  Green tea bags
6.  Agave, honey, molasses, raw sugar, pure maple syrup, organic syrups (like Boysenberry)
7.  Whole wheat flour
8.  Organic eggs
9.  Steal cut oats
10.  Plain Greek yogurt
11.  Whole grain pasta
12.  Brown rice
13.  Real butter
14.  Olive oil
15.  Low/no sodium broth (read label for added ingredients!)
16.  Nothing added stewed/sauce/pureed tomatoes
17.  Fresh herbs:  parsley, dill, cilantro, mint, rosemary, basil, oregano...  They are relatively inexpensive at farmer's markets so try them in small batches in salads, warm dishes and soups.  Experiment!


Canned veggies or frozen ones are fine, just read the label and be sure you're not inadvertently eating something you'd rather not.  As always, the nutrition content is higher the closer to nature you get.   

One day at a time!

Ain't that the way it goes?  Just when ya start a blog about eating clean...you have a dang dinner to attend for work and you're tired down to your ankle bones and yes, let's just say it, you have PMS.
Lord have mercy!
So Tuesday night I went to the work dinner, ate the raw veggies and fruit because I didn't know what was in the hot entrees and no one could seem to tell me.  I came home and the Mr. had picked up burgers but thankfully, there's a great new organic burger joint down the street!  So we were able to indulge without getting dirty ;)
Wednesday night is my late night at work and we indulged dirty.  Insert sad face.  Not really, it's ok.  It's a goal, a lifestyle but not a means by which to find myself failing.  We got take out ribs which is ok but the place uses BBQ sauce that contains preservatives.  But I did get up on Wednesday morning to make steel cut oats with diced apples for breakfast. So good for me I say!
Today I've got the Thursday night tireds.  We had some meals planned for Tuesday and Wednesday that didn't get done so I took the perishables intended for other dishes and added them to our menu for tonight.  It's in the oven now and smelling purty good! 

Today's news:

• Breakfast:  Greek yogurt with blueberries and granola, coffee
• Lunch:  Campbell's soup (not whole, just convenient for a lazy nurse) 
• Snack:  Nectarine & apple.
• Dinner: Unstuffed green peppers.  I prepped the peppers on Monday and they are too floppy by now to really stuff so I cut them open and lined the bottom of a 9x11 dish with the peppers.  Next, I layered the brown rice I had cooked in bulk on Monday.  Then I combined equal portions ground sirloin and ground turkey, diced green pepper (remnants of prepped bell peppers,) onion, garlic, salt, pepper & oregano and onion.  When that was cooked and soft, I dumped in fresh mushrooms intended for another dish I didn't make yesterday.  Once that was all done, I drained it and added tomato sauce and canned fire roasted red peppers.  I took a second can of the peppers and puree'd them to add to the sauce.  After simmering for 15 minutes, that was added as the final layer to my unstuffed bell peppers and into the oven covered with foil.  For the last few minutes, I'll take off the foil and sprinkle Parmesan cheese.  The Mr. is making the salad.  Perfectly balanced dinner-protein/complex carb/veggie!  Update:  If you don't like ground turkey, substitute all ground beef.  I tried the turkey (which I usually hate) and I hated it, literally threw it down the garbage disposal.  Otherwise, it would've been good!
• Snack:  *Maybe* fresh fruit smoothies. 

Hello? Anybody still here?

Traditional Nicoise Salad

Wow, I forgot this was here!  I started this (second) blog a while back as a place to record my thoughts on spiritual things.  Then I guess I wandered back to my "home" blog and stopped using this one!
So, hi!
What brings me back here to Better Things, is that my family is currently in pursuit of...better things.  We are starting week four of clean eating.  I found myself doing a good amount of posting about this topic at Seasons of Grace but thought, that's probably not all that interesting and perhaps even a bit preachy.  So I'll record food type stuff over here, assuming I don't forget this is here again.  I'm not going to say this is an advice blog so please, don't take anything you see here and make life changes based on my input.  I think of it as sort of a diary for myself.  If you find anything useful, mores the better. 
For my part, consider this sort of the latest generation of the food diary, the WW points tracker, what have you.  I check my e mail, work e mail, FB and blogs daily so this might just work into that routine in a way that's beneficial. 
What I'm saying is, you don't need to visit to cheer me on but if you would like to, I'm here.  Until I'm not, which probably mean I forget about here again.
So!
Week four.  We have, one week at a time, done the following...

1.  Add fruit/veggies to every meal.
2.  No more fast food.
3.  Replace white/refined foods and flours with whole grain.
4.  Make fruit/veggies the basis of every snack.
5. (The next step) Eliminate sugary drinks.  (P.S. I've already done this, working on the Mr.)

And this, is what you call clean eating.  Of course, it can go much farther with organic, preservative free, etc.  We're doing that as well, but I appreciated the 5 weeks to cleaning up your diet pin I found on Pinterest.  It made it rather clear and easy to ease into this lifestyle change.  I wrote the weekly steps on a small white board on the fridge along with a couple additional pointers:  every meal should be protein+complex carb+veggie or fruit;  no food with ingredients you can't pronounce; beware of grocery store items with more than 5 ingredients.  These are the basics we now live, shop and eat by.  You'll notice there's nothing about portion or calorie control?  Yeah, believe it or not, we're not focusing there at this point.  We're focusing on eating whole and healthy and paying close attention to fueling our body in appropriate ways.  Once we've mastered this, we'll look at the calorie concerns.  On a side note, the Mr. has started low intensity work outs a few days a week and clean eating, he's lost 5 pounds this week.  So, yay.

Today's news:

• Greek yogurt with half a banana, blueberries and granola for breakfast.  Ice water with cucumber & mint.  1 1/2 cups of coffee and I'm satisfied, down from about 4-5 cups.
• Lunch: Quasi Nicoise salad:  Green beans (canned last year), shredded chicken breast (left over from Sunday instead of the traditional tuna,) green onion, tomato, boiled egg,  fresh dill, light olive oil with a splash of cider vinegar.  Mini whole wheat pita. 
• Dinner menu:  Grilled tandoori chicken, brown rice stir fried with sprouts & peas, green salad with vinegar and oil. 
• *All meals meat the protein/complex carb/fruit or veggie requirement.
• Beverages in the house:  NO soda or artificially sweetened anything, only prepackaged beverage-bottled water.  Fruit infused water (currently apple & orange,)  iced green tea sweetened with 1/4 cup honey and steeped with apple, orange, lemon and lime slices, no preservative/no sugar added "naked" orange juice, milk.  I made the cucumber mint water in a mason jar for myself this morning.
• Snacks in the house: Fresh fruit, yogurt, wheat crackers, veggies, fresh salsa, tortilla chips, cheese, granola, whole wheat mini pita, hummus.