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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Hamburger Chef Jamie Oliver Proves McDonald’s Burgers “Unfit for human consumption”

Hamburger Chef Jamie Oliver Proves McDonald’s Burgers “Unfit for human consumption”

Clean Chicken Nuggets




















I always loved chicken nuggets as a kid and an adult. But store brought, fast food or restaurant chicken nuggets aren't good for you. That breading and deep frying can do a number to your stomach and, let's face it, your weight line. I have been on a oat bran kick lately, just experimenting with different types of ways to bread things besides using whole wheat flour all the time. Oat bran I found was a great sub.

I used oat bran, ground golden flax seeds (4 to 2 ratio oat bran to flax), cumin, ground mustard and mixed it up to make a breading. I dipped chicken pieces in almond flour then in egg whites mixed with a little water, then in the breading. Place breaded chicken pieces on a foil lined cookie sheet and put in the oven. Take spicy mustard and mix with honey to make the dip for the nuggets while they are in the oven. I served these with slaw and sweet potato fries. This was really delicious and so healthy I hope you guys try this recipe.




Friday, August 2, 2013

Clean Pop Tarts




















If you were a kid in the 80s then you know about Pop Tarts. My brothers loved these things, me not so much, but when I found this recipe online I had to try it because it sounded interesting. Instead of making the traditional square shape I folded it like a pastelillo because I felt that it left more room for the raspberry jam in the middle. And I sprinkled it with cinnamon and put it in the oven. OK so here it is.....

This recipe makes 4 pastelillos. Filling: First, take 4oz (a nice hand full) of fresh raspberries and smash them in a small bowl. Once all smashed add 1/2 tsp of ground flax seed. Mix that together really well and then add your sweetener (agave or stevia to your tasting). Set aside while you make your dough it well turn into a jam.



Dough: Take one cup of oats and place in a food processor, grind into flour. Pour into a medium bowl and measure out 1/4 cup of coconut butter. Mix these two ingredients until crumby and well combined. Add 6 Tbsp of ice cold water. Mix with hands (it will be sticky just keep mixing with hands) until you form a ball. Let it sit while you get ready to roll out the dough. You will need a rolling pin, two pieces of parchment paper, a glass of ice cold water, a fork, a cutting board and a parchment lined cookie sheet.

     


Rolling and forming the dough: Take the dough and form 4 equal balls. Take one and press down to form a small disc. Take your parchment paper and place one on the cutting board, dough disc, then parchment paper and roll into a circle. Make sure dough does not get stuck on the paper (takes practice but it works). Once rolled to your liking, added raspberry jam in the middle and use the paper to help you fold the dough over to form a pastelillo. Have a glass of ice water and a fork handy to seal it up. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and repeat 3 more times. Once all four are done, sprinkle with cinnamon and place in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 mins or until light brown and crispy edges. Let it cool before moving them because they will fall apart.




Enjoy!






Thursday, August 1, 2013

My Story

If you want to lose weight or just be healthier it is so easy to do so. I started eating better and exercising and I never felt better. I eat really good whole some foods. I don't diet or starve myself. I simply don't eat garbage/fake foods.

I started this in January of this year. I started with a 21 day detox. I always start my "wanting to eat healthy again" routines with a detox. It was really hard but I have done it before but it had been a while and the first and second week in was killer. I kept thinking about greasy burgers and fries. Sometimes I would have to sneak a potato chip here and there but as the days went by my taste for foods began to change. It was in February when I noticed that a lot more people were into the detox diet, more then when I first discovered the book at Borders in 2007. I would do this diet twice a year just to rid my body of toxins. I liked this diet because I always felt so good and energetic. Basically this diet is vegan protein shakes for breakfast, steamed veggies and brown rice OR vegan lentil soup for lunch and for dinner 4 oz fish, brown rice and 2 cups of steamed veggies plus a bunch of supplements in between meals. And there is a list of seasonings you can use for example different herbs and lemon juice. 21 days is the max amount of days that you can eat this way after the detox you can re-introduce foods hopefully good ones. I can go on and on but what I found out this time around that people that did detox diets also eat clean. So, I was like what is clean eating? I read everything I could on it like a sponge trying to soak up all this great information all leading to the same thing DO NOT EAT PROCESSED FOODS! READ INGREDIENTS CAREFULLY! If I did this and exercised I could be healthy instead of working out hours at the gym and eating fat free processed crap and other things my body cannot process. It was the light at the tunnel. It all made sense now. Well let me tell you, I have never felt better I wish I knew this years ago. It is NOT ABOUT DIETING it is about EATING REAL FOODS and making it a LIFESTYLE CHANGE.

This is how I did my workouts. At first I got discourage because I was trying to workout hard like I used to but I couldn't keep up with Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred level 1. I said to myself not to be discouraged, that I will work up to it. I was overweight and I had just stopped smoking cigarettes. So I had to start from the bottom and work my way up. I walked around the neighborhood 2 miles every day in 20 degree weather. I mixed this up with kundalini yoga 3 times a week. And I did work my way up to the third level of Jillian's exercise video. Now, my exercise routine is walking thru the trails at the park here and then sprinting on the fields after and weight training at night. I am so proud of myself. That is dedication right there. I am also proud of my workout partner and trainer.

I am not a nutritionist, I/m just someone who does a lot of research and loves reading about new things.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Clean Garden Vegetable Sauce with Chicken Parm

 So as promised this is the recipe to my yummy pasta sauce and chicken parm dinner. I have video tutorial clips of me making this meal up on our Twitter, if you have Twitter you can check out how I did this delicious meal. This was really good and filling but you do not feel sluggish after eating this clean pasta meal!!

This meal is for two but you will have leftover sauce to freeze for another meal or use throughout the week. First you need: one can of whole peeled tomatoes -- no sugar no salt added or DIY --, one green pepper chopped, one medium/large onion chopped, one whole clove of garlic chopped, parsley, basil, oregano, course black pepper -- with the herbs I put 1 tsp of each and 1/4 tsp of black pepper but you can add more to your taste and can use dry or fresh or both --, and olive oil. Prep all your veggies, herbs and tomatoes. In a large pot, heat up 2 Tbsp of olive oil and add the garlic, when fragrant add peppers and onions and cook until translucent. Pour in the tomatoes and stir with veggies. With your wooden spoon, break up the whole tomatoes. Add herbs and black pepper and a pinch or red pepper flakes -- if you like it spicy --. Let the sauce simmer covered. Now time for the chicken.

I used one large chicken breast which I cut in half and sliced those 2 pieces in half sideways to get 4 pieces of chicken breast. I used 2 pieces and put away the other 2 for another meal. On a cutting board pound the chicken. Breading recipe: 1/4 c oat bran, 1/8 c ground flax seed, 1/8 c almond flour, one egg white -- beaten with a little water --, 2 heaping Tbsp of finley grated Bel Gioioso Parmesan cheese -- when you buy cheese make sure you buy block cheese and read the ingredients first --, 2 tsp of parsley, pinch of course black pepper. In a small bowl whisk oat bran, flax, cheese, parsley, pepper and sea salt -- a pinch. On a small plate spread out the almond flour and in another small bowl whisk egg white and water. So you should have 2 small bowls -- egg mix and breading -- and 2 small plates -- flour and chicken and a foiled lined cookie sheet. Take your chicken and dip into flour and cover, then dip into egg and then in the breading mix. Make should it is nicely coated and then place on the foil cookie sheet. Do the same with the other piece of chicken. Put in the oven at 400 for 15-mins. Boil your water for the pasta. I used Barilla whole grain pasta and their ingredients are whole grain durum wheat flour, semolina, durum wheat flour, and oat fiber.

















Now back to the sauce, stir and check it. I used a hand mixer to puree it but if you do not have one you can pour the sauce into your blender and puree it there. I served this meal with a great salad of Romaine lettuce, radish, wine vinegar, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, course black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. Mix the dressing in a separate bowl and pour over lettuce and radish and toss. I hope you guys try this recipe and enjoy it because I did!






Saturday, July 13, 2013

Morning Protein Shakes

Protein shakes are great for a quick breakfast before the start of your day. It is great for before or after a workout. You can make a high calorie shake to fill you up for a long day or an intense workout. Low calorie shakes are good for snacks between meals or a quick breakfast before work.

This is the protein shake recipe that I usually have mornings. Vanilla protein powder -- I bought this brand at Sam's for $20, it is not vegan and it does contain a little sweetener in it. I used to use NutriBiotic Rice Protein Powder but it was getting a little pricey. I just do not use the full amount of the Pure Protein because it tastes a little too sweet but it is fine to use --, 2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed -- it is cheaper to buy in bulk the seeds from a whole foods store and then grind them in a coffee grinder. Remember if you are using a coffee grinder to grind seeds make sure you are not grinding coffee and spices in it as well. Use separate grinders. Then put them in a Ziploc bag. I just recycled a bag --, 1 cup almond milk or filtered water -- 1 1/2 cups of almond milk if you are using a frozen banana --, 1 cup of frozen fruit -- any fruit you like -- 1 banana frozen or not -- the banana makes it a higher calorie shake. When you use a frozen banana you get a milk shake consistency and taste. I do not usually use banana in my shake but I had a crazy cardio workout this morning and I need this -- and, one good blender. Add all the ingredients in your blender and blend well. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Clean Chicken Broth

Chicken broth is pretty much clean, for the most part. Skim the fat once it cools and do not add a lot of salt. Canned low sodium or no salt chicken stock is fine (remember to check ingredients) but homemade is always better. I was making chicken tacos last night and I needed some chicken broth and I did not have any canned broth so I decided to make my own because I had all the ingredients here to make it and it is fun. We always get our meats and fish in bulk. We cut them cut into portions and freeze. We also freeze the chicken scraps from trimming and cutting the chicken because it is great for making stock. So I pulled out from my freezer some chicken scraps, grabbed one large carrot, medium onion, kale stalk (I did not have any celery so any green would do plus it changes the flavor and makes it interesting), couple bay leaves, course black pepper and sea salt. In a large pot I poured 5 cups of water and put it on the stove on high temp. I chopped the veggies roughly and put them side until the water was boiling rapidly. Then I dropped in the veggies, chicken scraps, bay leaves, lots of black pepper (because I like it) and a little bit of sea salt.




 

I just wanted a plain broth but if you wanted to make soup or wanted a more herb-y broth this is were to would add parsley, thyme, etc. This continued to boil until it reduced and the veggies are soft to the touch. I shut off the burner and poured the broth into a strainer. You can freezer this stock to use at a later time. Oh and if you want a veggie broth just add more veggies and leave out the chicken, obviously. Enjoy!



Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Crabbing at the Barnegat Bay

We just got back from an amazing time at the Shore. Though not fully recovered from Hurricane Sandy but there was definitely a lot of heart at this small beach town this summer. It was sad to see a lot of the attractions merely a pile of rumble but the workers were out there every day in the hot sun rebuilding the sidewalks and houses. The guy at Dock Outfitters told us the storm had destroyed the whole dock and they just finished rebuilding it the day before we got there and we were the 30th person to fish off the dock.

So, this was the first time I had ever fished anything from the sea so I was super excited to go crabbing. The store had everything we needed: bait, trap, bucket, ice and a ruler. The blue crabs have to be 4.5 inches to keep and you have to go crazy early (best time to catch and the place starts to get packed at 9am). The first time was practice. You get the fish at the store as bait and place it in the trap with the flexible metal wires at the bottom of the trap. Secure the bait and throw the trap in the water and wait. It seems like the little crabs are easy to catch in the trap as I threw so many back in the ocean. Out of 3 days of crabbing, the final day I caught 5 in 3 hours. I was not leaving Jersey without having my own crab fest and Mission accomplished! Shellfish are not considered a clean food so when I want to "cheat" this is my guilty pleasure (and the fudge off the boardwalk too). And what a treat it was to catch my own seafood from the ocean!! We took the crabs back to the motel and went to the beach to find giant clam shells so that we can put them on the bottom on the crab pot with water and old bay so that the crabs can be steamed cooked. The motel that we stayed at, The Colony, has a grill there for their guests to use. Sunny, the owner is great and very attentive to her guests. She even washed our crab pot for us in her sink after we were done. So if you are staying at the Shore and you need a place to stay, try out The Colony. And did I mention it's like a block away from the beach!!!!

 


I brought my own clean tartar sauce and ate these yummy crabs up!





Friday, June 28, 2013

Tips on how to eat clean on vacation


You're on vaca and you want to have a good time but you don't want to ruin all that good eating with bad food and be sick the whole time. What do you do? Planning ahead always helps. But you work a full time job and you are excited for vacation and you barely have time to pack. No one said that hard work and dedication was easy, right? Set a schedule for yourself a week before you leave. What day to pack and what day to pack food for your trip. Let me make it easier for you about the food packing, grab a piece of paper and across the top write the dates that you will be going. Set up a menu for yourself for each day -- it's not that complicated and doesn't take much time I promise. For example, breakfast: granola and almond milk at the hotel room daytime snacks: fresh fruit, almonds, walnuts by the pool lunch: tuna fish, hard boiled egg whites and salad dinner: local restaurant.

Dining at restaurants: it is hard just to stop going out to eat all together. It is not realistic but you can limit the number of times you go. We used to go out to eat ALL THE TIME but now not so much and it saves lots money and not to mention our stomachs. Let's face it, it can make you ill eating outside food all the time. When you do decide to go out to eat, look for restaurants that are of course not chain restaurants -- even when they say healthy menu it's not entirely clean or healthy -- but ones that have a cleaner menu. Check menus out before you go, some restaurants have their menus posted online. If everything on the menu is bad go with a salad. Check the ingredients of the salad and choose the one with the cleanest ingredients. And get the dressing on the side if it's freshly made if not, ask for oil and vinegar on the side. I ordered this delicious salad from a bar/restaurant and since the salad sounded fresh I thought that the raspberry vinaigrette would be too. Good thing I asked for it on the side because it was like raspberry syrup. I wasn't sure if I should pour it over my salad or over some ice cream. Asian restaurants are good too because there is always revolutionary diet options on the menu where brown rice is offered and steamed veggies. Stay away from the brown sauce and stick to low sodium soy sauce. I LOVE sushi but I can't eat it anymore. The white rice, sauces and fried things in the rolls, my body can not handle it anymore so I order the sashimi appetizer (6 pieces of raw fish) with brown rice with low sodium soy sauce and that satisfies my sushi cravings.

Snacks on a plane/train/bus/car: pack sunflower seeds, almonds, fruit, granola, protein bars and raw veggies for your trip. Water, iced green tea and fruit infused water is a must.

So, hope all this helps you guys out for VACATION SEASON. Have a fun summer!!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Mmmmm granola is cooking!

 
Granola! Who doesn't like granola? It's so great for you and there's so many different flavors of granola you can make. You can make high calorie granola that are great for mornings and snacks or you can make it a low calorie one for toppings etc. But which never you choose you can never go wrong with granola.
 
This particular kind of granola is my favorite. I make it every other morning and it's great to have for breakfast (when I don't have my protein shakes) with some almond milk or with fresh fruit and plain Greek yogurt or however you enjoy your granola. I made this granola with one super ripe banana (the riper the better), oats, almonds, honey, raisins (you can use any dried fruit you like), shredded coconut (not store brought), protein powder (I used vanilla), ground flax seed, a little cinnamon and vanilla extract. When it is in the oven it makes the whole place smell vanilla-y.
 
If you guys love my posts then you will love my surprise I have coming soon!!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Clean dinner ideas

Today I am making minestrone soup with all the veggies in my frig that look like they are about to go plus some of yesterday's leftovers. I used a 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (no sugar no salt added), zucchini, white beans (canned is fine I used dry beans that were cooked a month ago that I froze), carrots, leftover kale, onion (one large), garlic (I used a whole bulb), fresh parsley, basil, bay leaves. If you like it spicy, add some crushed red pepper and a little black pepper. Mmmm this is cooking right now.
 
 
First, chop all the veggies and herbs. Open your can of whole tomatoes and slice or chop them also save the juice. Sautee the onions and garlic until fragrant and see thru then add the herbs. Add the tomatoes, their juice, and 3 pint glasses of water into the pot. When you see a little simmer add the veggies and beans. Cook til the veggies are soft. Add sea salt to taste. This is good alone with a slice of wheat toast or make it a dinner by serving in a bowl over brown rice (today I am using leftover quinoa). You can also add chicken breast to this meal. You can cheat a little by topping your soup with a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy! 
 
Yesterday's dinner was really simple but tasty. This is sautéed kale with garlic and black pepper, roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa and steamed Pollock with a sprinkle of black pepper. 
 
 
 Fish and chips was one of my favorite comfort foods. Deep fried panko breaded pieces of cod with crispy salty fries and fatting tartar sauce. I loved it but I do not eat that way anymore. Hmmm what to do? Make a clean version. I took a large white potato and sliced it thin, placed it on a baking sheet the had a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkles sea salt and fresh dill over it and place it in the oven and cooked until they turned into chips. The clean tartar sauce recipe is on the tuna cake page. I used frozen cod that was thawed out. For the breading, almond flour and whole wheat bread crumbs were used both homemade. I used some clean WW bread that was stale to make breads crumbs. Cut the bread into slices and place on a cookie sheet and place in the oven until crispy. Take them out and place in a food processor to grind into bread crumbs. You can seasoned the bread crumbs now if you like but I did not for this recipe. Take 2 plates and one bowl. It the bowl, crack an egg and use the whites, discard the yolk. Whisk with a little water. Take one plate and scatter the bread crumbs on it and on the other plate scatter the almond flour on it. Dip the fish in the almond flour, then in the egg white mix and finally in the bread crumbs. Place the breaded fish on a foiled baking sheet and put in the oven. The slaw is cabbage, carrot, radish, red onion and apple use any clean dressing you like to coat the slaw. Serve with tartar, lemon wedge and sprinkle fresh dill on the plate.
 
Another cool dinner idea is slow cooked BBQ pulled chicken with sweet potato fries and clean corn bread. Use your favorite BBQ sauce recipe and sub bad ingredients for clean ones, pour into your slow cooker with chicken breast. Slice a large sweet potato into fries, put fries in a large Ziploc bag and pour a little olive oil and a little sea salt and pepper and shake. Empty bag and spread onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Serve with hot sauce and clean corn muffin. Enjoy!
 
 

Morning juices

 
 
Juicing fruits and veggies are so great for your body especially after a hard workout to replenish your body's nutrients after all that sweating. It is so refreshing and keeps you going throughout the day. Juicing is good because you are using parts of the vegetable/fruit that you sometimes would not eat. For example, you would not eat the stalks from kale but you can juice them. It is natural and best of all there is no high fructose corn syrup in here AKA poison. That stuff can make you ill.

My morning routine before I start my day, is a hard workout, juice, lots of water and then a protein shake; mostly everyday that's my breakfast. This morning I ran with the cicadas at Bowdoin (read my past post on that story lol) and then came home and made this juice that I would like to share with you guys. It doesn't have a cool name yet but it's for 2 servings: 5 large carrots, 2 apples, 2 oranges and 3 kale stalks. After it is juiced, I stir and then pour into frosted glasses. These are also surprisingly filling, I mean you are consuming 2.5 carrots, 1 apple and orange and 1.5 kale stalk for one in minutes.
 
Cleaning up the juicer after is a pain but after all, everything good for you doesn't come easy! 
 
 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Running with the cicadas

 So, I am sure by now everyone has heard about cicadas. They are the talk of the town right now. Chronogram wrote a great article about these interesting bugs, the cicada, that emerge every 13 or 17 years just to sing, mate and die. They are all out now singing for females to mate with. I can hear them as I write this.

The other day, we went to Bowdoin Park for the usual hike through the woods, when the singing of the cicadas became it's loudest the minute we turned on Sheafe Road. Sounded like an alien invasion and you can see them flying everywhere. I find these little guys interesting but I am also terrified of one landing on me or coming near me. Not a fan of bugs. We get to the park and seriously it was like Cicada land. So, we get out of the car and here I was running with the cicadas. We didn't run through the woods but we had a great workout on the soccer field and running up the hills. I did take the time and watch them and learn about them a little more. My niece liked to pet them. She pet this particular cicada and it made this high pitched noise as it flew away (maybe a male?) but the other ones let her pet them. Maybe these were the females? Lots of cicadas were up in the trees and some were hanging out in the grass. Watching the cicadas, I couldn't help but notice the birds, which were so intensely focused on catching and eating them. In the beginning of spring or so, I remember all the small holes in the ground in the woods were we ran. My husband and I, trying to figure out what insect did that. He said grubs I thought an animal digging for insects. Then a few days later, we saw this thick yellow bug crawling near one of these holes. It looked a grub. But now we know it was a cicada nymph that crawled out of the ground to crawl up a tree, shed its skin and grow some wings and become the cicada we see now flying around and singing in the trees. There is definitely a lot of "action" in the park right now and it's kinda cool and amazing.

Since this is a blog about clean eating, did you know that the cicada is protein rich, gluten-free and low in carbs? So if you need to wake up your healthy meals, read this National Geographic article about the cicada, a culinary delight. If anyone tries these, I would love to hear about it. Enjoy.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Experimenting in the lab

At the end of the week, I usually have to get creative with meals. My supplies of produce start to dwindle. So, I look at my pantry of things to experiment with. Today's ingredient: canned tuna fish. I used Chicken of the Sea solid Albacore in water. The ingredients listed are: solid white tuna, water, vegetable broth, salt and pyrophosphate --- I know a nasty chemical, right? But it's the last one listed meaning there's only a little of it this can of tuna. If more was listed it would not even be in my pantry. Hmmm, what can I make with this tuna. Not salad because I have no lettuce. What could I do with this tuna that would be so delicious. YES! Tuna cakes! It's like crab cakes but with tuna. My husband makes incredible crab cakes so, I used his recipe and just cleaned it up. Bread crumbs: I used oat bran in place of bread crumbs you can use a clean piece of bread, put it in the oven to toast and then pulse in a food processor or coffee grinder to make into crumbs. I used Old Bay, fresh parsley and dill, chopped red onion because this is tuna fish, one egg, mashed it all up in a bowl and formed little patties. I used my cast iron pan with a light coating of oil olive, dropped the patties into the pan to cook.

I also made some clean tartar sauce --- yum it was really tasty. Put it on the plate with a side of wild brown rice and this was lunch.

It might be dinner too I really liked these.