My Breakfast: Oatmeal, flax, frozen blueberries, protein drink, almond milk...this is my go to breakfast. It's so filling and easy to make and not boring at all.
Kids Breakfast: Smoothie and I'm not sure what else because I was at work and my husband is home with them today.
My Snack: The last enchilada. I will be making those again. They were SO good. I loved the veggie and chicken mix in the inside. That could be used in so many dishes.
I'm hoping to make the egg salad today and another dish. There's just always so much to do in a day!
One nice thing is since starting this diet, as of today I am able to fit into my pre-pregnancy (Josi) jeans! That was a nice accomplishment!
My Lunch: Romaine lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, olive oil based, no sugar dressing, natural turkey, egg and flax....and some strawberries
Alex had the same salad and Josi had some toast with turkey and cucumbers
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Husband is sick today...
So not sure if my husband will be cooking today since he's a little under the weather. We shall see!
My Breakfast: Organic nonfat plan yogurt, muesli, frozen blueberries, coffee
Kids Breakfast: Smoothie
My Snack: natural turkey salami, almonds
Kids: natural turkey salami, whole grain goldfish (darn leftovers from soccer! Kids have been asking for them all day!)
Kids Lunch: OK I swear the last of the lasagna! My husband is sick today and didn't cook a lunch meal so last leftovers it was.
My Lunch: I had a protein drink with almond milk and a piece of Ezekiel bread with natural sugar free jelly.
My husband made protein bars but they didn't come out very well. We didn't have dark chocolate pieces as it called for so he used cocoa powder and it made them too dry. Next time we're out of chocolate I'd use frozen blueberries. Oh well hopefully I can freeze them in a couple bags and I'll eat them randomly as small snacks.
OK so Alex liked the protein bars. I told them they had chocolate and he liked it. Josi, not so much. She actually gagged. HAHA. She's my picky one! So they snacked on that and a banana and some other random stuff. Alex had a protein oatmeal pancake. It was a hectic night.
I snacked on some apple crisp I made. It was SO good. I had a huge bag of apples that I had to use so I made this recipe. I doubled it and froze half.
CLEAN APPLE CRISP
Apple Mix:
5 or 6 medium apples peeled and cut in small pieces
1/4 - 1/3 cup Agave Nectar
1/4 cup Brown rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 packets Stevia - plant based sweetener
Dash sea salt
Topping:
1/3 - 1/2 cup Coconut oil/butter
1/4 cup Evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup Brown rice flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup Sucanat
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Peel, core, and cut apples. Place in large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients to the apple mix and stir completely. The mix is most sweet if refrigerated over night.
Make the topping just prior to baking. (If freezing for later use, add the topping before freezing.)
Topping: Place coconut oil/butter in mixing bowl. It should be in solid form, so if it is an oil, refrigerate to solidify first. Add cane juice, cinnamon, sucanat, and brown rice flour to the butter. Mix with handheld mixer until it is homogenous and sandy in texture. Finally, add the oats and stir well.
Place apple mix in baking dish and add topping. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 35 minutes. When topping starts to brown and juice from apples starts to bubble, the crisp is done. Let cool slightly, and serve.
My Breakfast: Organic nonfat plan yogurt, muesli, frozen blueberries, coffee
Kids Breakfast: Smoothie
My Snack: natural turkey salami, almonds
Kids: natural turkey salami, whole grain goldfish (darn leftovers from soccer! Kids have been asking for them all day!)
Kids Lunch: OK I swear the last of the lasagna! My husband is sick today and didn't cook a lunch meal so last leftovers it was.
My Lunch: I had a protein drink with almond milk and a piece of Ezekiel bread with natural sugar free jelly.
My husband made protein bars but they didn't come out very well. We didn't have dark chocolate pieces as it called for so he used cocoa powder and it made them too dry. Next time we're out of chocolate I'd use frozen blueberries. Oh well hopefully I can freeze them in a couple bags and I'll eat them randomly as small snacks.
OK so Alex liked the protein bars. I told them they had chocolate and he liked it. Josi, not so much. She actually gagged. HAHA. She's my picky one! So they snacked on that and a banana and some other random stuff. Alex had a protein oatmeal pancake. It was a hectic night.
I snacked on some apple crisp I made. It was SO good. I had a huge bag of apples that I had to use so I made this recipe. I doubled it and froze half.
CLEAN APPLE CRISP
Apple Mix:
5 or 6 medium apples peeled and cut in small pieces
1/4 - 1/3 cup Agave Nectar
1/4 cup Brown rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 packets Stevia - plant based sweetener
Dash sea salt
Topping:
1/3 - 1/2 cup Coconut oil/butter
1/4 cup Evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup Brown rice flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup Sucanat
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Peel, core, and cut apples. Place in large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients to the apple mix and stir completely. The mix is most sweet if refrigerated over night.
Make the topping just prior to baking. (If freezing for later use, add the topping before freezing.)
Topping: Place coconut oil/butter in mixing bowl. It should be in solid form, so if it is an oil, refrigerate to solidify first. Add cane juice, cinnamon, sucanat, and brown rice flour to the butter. Mix with handheld mixer until it is homogenous and sandy in texture. Finally, add the oats and stir well.
Place apple mix in baking dish and add topping. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 35 minutes. When topping starts to brown and juice from apples starts to bubble, the crisp is done. Let cool slightly, and serve.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Will be cooking tomorrow...
I think today is the last day of leftovers! Usually I will make a dish and then freeze half but we got so busy last week that I forgot to freeze so we had a lot of leftovers. The kids didn't really mind because there were a few different ways to eat them, but I'll be glad to cook something new tomorrow!
Breakfast Me: Oatmeal pancake, protein drink with almond milk, coffee
Breakfast Kids: Organic plain nonfat yogurt, high fiber cereal, banana
Kids Snack: Smoothie, natural turkey salami lunch meat (did I mention how much I LOVE this?!), low fat cheese stick
My Snack: natural turkey salami, strawberries
Kids Lunch: Last of the enchiladas! Josi had more pasta roll ups because she asked for mine when I was making my lunch.
My Lunch: Pasta roll ups leftovers...it was good but I'm done with it!
Kids Snack: Organic plain nonfat yogurt
Kids Dinner: Baked asparagus, natural fish sticks (whole wheat breading)
My Dinner: Baked asparagus, protein shake (natural protein powder, almond milk, tablespoon almond butter, banana, ice). This shake was amazing! So filling and tasty. Baby Alex liked it a lot too.
Kids Snack: whole grain goldfish, natural apple juice....they were at soccer practice and it was our turn to bring snacks so this is what we brought!
Breakfast Me: Oatmeal pancake, protein drink with almond milk, coffee
Breakfast Kids: Organic plain nonfat yogurt, high fiber cereal, banana
Kids Snack: Smoothie, natural turkey salami lunch meat (did I mention how much I LOVE this?!), low fat cheese stick
My Snack: natural turkey salami, strawberries
Kids Lunch: Last of the enchiladas! Josi had more pasta roll ups because she asked for mine when I was making my lunch.
My Lunch: Pasta roll ups leftovers...it was good but I'm done with it!
Kids Snack: Organic plain nonfat yogurt
Kids Dinner: Baked asparagus, natural fish sticks (whole wheat breading)
My Dinner: Baked asparagus, protein shake (natural protein powder, almond milk, tablespoon almond butter, banana, ice). This shake was amazing! So filling and tasty. Baby Alex liked it a lot too.
Kids Snack: whole grain goldfish, natural apple juice....they were at soccer practice and it was our turn to bring snacks so this is what we brought!
Monday, September 13, 2010
The scale is going down!
I'm seeing awesome results from Eating Clean and the food I'm eating is SO good! The thing that's really helping is the kitchen is closed 3 hours before bed (for me, the kids can of course eat whenever they want!) As long as I'm eating the 5-6 small meals per day at every 2-3 hours, I'm not hungry that 3 hours before bed. Another thing is to make sure you eat right when you wake up or at least within 30 minutes. This will keep your metabolism going since you haven't eaten before bed or while sleeping.
It's hard to blog on the weekends as weekends are so busy. We ate mostly leftovers and didn't eat out at all.
Today:
Breakfast for all: oatmeal with flax and frozen blueberries....I had a protein drink with almond milk and the kids had their typical smoothies!
My Snack: Leftover pasta roll ups (we made so much I'm trying to eat it so we don't toss anything!)
Kids Snack: Banana and Josi asked for some pasta roll up too! She loves it. And she's getting so much fresh spinach from it!
Kids Lunch: Chicken and peas
My Lunch: Leftover enchilada mix in a whole wheat tortilla
All of us Dinner: Leftover Enchiladas and strawberries
The kids could live on strawberries, I swear. We buy the large container and if I let them they'd just keep eating and eating them! At least they love fruit!
All of us Snack: Quinoa Health Bar
Still finishing up the leftovers!
It's hard to blog on the weekends as weekends are so busy. We ate mostly leftovers and didn't eat out at all.
Today:
Breakfast for all: oatmeal with flax and frozen blueberries....I had a protein drink with almond milk and the kids had their typical smoothies!
My Snack: Leftover pasta roll ups (we made so much I'm trying to eat it so we don't toss anything!)
Kids Snack: Banana and Josi asked for some pasta roll up too! She loves it. And she's getting so much fresh spinach from it!
Kids Lunch: Chicken and peas
My Lunch: Leftover enchilada mix in a whole wheat tortilla
All of us Dinner: Leftover Enchiladas and strawberries
The kids could live on strawberries, I swear. We buy the large container and if I let them they'd just keep eating and eating them! At least they love fruit!
All of us Snack: Quinoa Health Bar
Still finishing up the leftovers!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday Finally!
I hope this day goes fast as I am ready for the weekend! I can't wait to spend time with the kids. We are going to a Hawaiian Festival tomorrow so that should be fun.
My Breakfast: Ezekiel toast with natural sugar free jelly, protein drink with almond milk, coffee
Kids Breakfast: Ezekiel toast with cream cheese (yes again, trying to use the cream cheese before it expires!), and the usual smoothie
Kids Snack: low fat cheese stick, fruit
My Snack: Small bowl of the veggie and chicken mixture leftover from the Clean Chicken Enchiladas
Kids Lunch: burger patty leftovers with red bell pepper and onion mixed in, natural chicken sausage, green beans, fruit
My Lunch: same burger patty (YUM! grass fed beef taste SO much better, really, try it and you will see), romaine lettuce salad with red onion, baby tomatoes, 1/2 avocado and olive oil no sugar dressing...that was a great and really filling lunch (though with clean eating I think I should have had a fruit in there somewhere)
I just went grocery shopping at Whole Foods. I usually go every Friday and try to buy the least of my stuff there...only the things I can't get at regular grocery stores or Sam's Club. So since starting this diet, I'm starting to see our grocery budget go down! I didn't need much today. Cooking with whole foods and from scratch really does save money. And doubling recipes and freezing for later I think cuts it down too. My bill would have been even less today but I had to stock up on like 6 different flours for a recipe I'm making next week. And I even bought vitamins for us and the kids.
My Breakfast: Ezekiel toast with natural sugar free jelly, protein drink with almond milk, coffee
Kids Breakfast: Ezekiel toast with cream cheese (yes again, trying to use the cream cheese before it expires!), and the usual smoothie
Kids Snack: low fat cheese stick, fruit
My Snack: Small bowl of the veggie and chicken mixture leftover from the Clean Chicken Enchiladas
Kids Lunch: burger patty leftovers with red bell pepper and onion mixed in, natural chicken sausage, green beans, fruit
My Lunch: same burger patty (YUM! grass fed beef taste SO much better, really, try it and you will see), romaine lettuce salad with red onion, baby tomatoes, 1/2 avocado and olive oil no sugar dressing...that was a great and really filling lunch (though with clean eating I think I should have had a fruit in there somewhere)
I just went grocery shopping at Whole Foods. I usually go every Friday and try to buy the least of my stuff there...only the things I can't get at regular grocery stores or Sam's Club. So since starting this diet, I'm starting to see our grocery budget go down! I didn't need much today. Cooking with whole foods and from scratch really does save money. And doubling recipes and freezing for later I think cuts it down too. My bill would have been even less today but I had to stock up on like 6 different flours for a recipe I'm making next week. And I even bought vitamins for us and the kids.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Is it Friday yet?
I've been really tired this week and can't wait to get back to the gym next week. The kids have been sick and I think I have their little bug too. I'm ready for everyone to be well again!
Breakfast (me): Protein powder with almond milk, fat free organic plain yogurt, ezekiel cereal, frozen blueberries, coffee
Breakfast (kids): Smoothie with banana, yogurt, strawberries, almond milk and spinach, ezekiel toast with natural cream cheese
On the menu for lunch today is Lasagna Roll Ups that my husband is making. Another meal I think the kids are going to love! Josi is my picky eater so anytime veggies are chopped very small and put into a sauce or mixed in with something she loves like chicken, she'll eat them well. Alex is my great eater and will eat his veggies sometimes before anything else on his plate, especially broccoli!
My Snack: Clean Chicken Enchilada from yesterday
Kids Snack: Alex is in preschool today so I'm not sure what he's having. I need to pick up their snack calender so I can have an idea of what he eats at school. Josi is snacking on some hummus and veggies with Big Alex.
Lunch: The Lasagna Roll Ups weren't ready yet so we all ate plain non fat organic yogurt with muesli and frozen blueberries. Big Alex was cooking in the kitchen and I was working, so little Alex fed Josi the yogurt. It was just too cute.
Dinner for All: Lasagna Roll Ups...Josi LOVED these. Alex liked it but had a friend over so was not eating much. They were pretty good but I'm not a huge fan of ricotta cheese so I might substitute something else next time. But great family meal and we doubled the recipe so we could freeze half for another time.
Kids Snack: Banana, pear
My Snack: Beanitos...these are great chips that are 100% black beans and a healthy oil
Lasagna Roll Ups
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna
• 1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 15-oz container non-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse and allow to cool in a colander.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir until combined.
4. Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9" x 10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
5. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until the rollups are browned and bubbly.
NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
• Calories: 234
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Sat. Fat: 0 g
• Carbs: 27 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Sugars: 7 g
• Protein: 28 g
• Sodium: 508 mg
• Cholesterol: 76 mg
Breakfast (me): Protein powder with almond milk, fat free organic plain yogurt, ezekiel cereal, frozen blueberries, coffee
Breakfast (kids): Smoothie with banana, yogurt, strawberries, almond milk and spinach, ezekiel toast with natural cream cheese
On the menu for lunch today is Lasagna Roll Ups that my husband is making. Another meal I think the kids are going to love! Josi is my picky eater so anytime veggies are chopped very small and put into a sauce or mixed in with something she loves like chicken, she'll eat them well. Alex is my great eater and will eat his veggies sometimes before anything else on his plate, especially broccoli!
My Snack: Clean Chicken Enchilada from yesterday
Kids Snack: Alex is in preschool today so I'm not sure what he's having. I need to pick up their snack calender so I can have an idea of what he eats at school. Josi is snacking on some hummus and veggies with Big Alex.
Lunch: The Lasagna Roll Ups weren't ready yet so we all ate plain non fat organic yogurt with muesli and frozen blueberries. Big Alex was cooking in the kitchen and I was working, so little Alex fed Josi the yogurt. It was just too cute.
Dinner for All: Lasagna Roll Ups...Josi LOVED these. Alex liked it but had a friend over so was not eating much. They were pretty good but I'm not a huge fan of ricotta cheese so I might substitute something else next time. But great family meal and we doubled the recipe so we could freeze half for another time.
Kids Snack: Banana, pear
My Snack: Beanitos...these are great chips that are 100% black beans and a healthy oil
Lasagna Roll Ups
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna
• 1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 15-oz container non-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Turn heat to medium-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up with a spatula until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally stirring and breaking up tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, rinse and allow to cool in a colander.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and a 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese to bowl. Stir until combined.
4. Spread 1 cup of cooked tomato sauce into bottom of a 9" x 10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up. Place the rolled pasta seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomato sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
5. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes or until the rollups are browned and bubbly.
NUTRIENTS PER SERVING:
• Calories: 234
• Total Fat: 3 g
• Sat. Fat: 0 g
• Carbs: 27 g
• Fiber: 5 g
• Sugars: 7 g
• Protein: 28 g
• Sodium: 508 mg
• Cholesterol: 76 mg
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Middle of the week meals
Wednesdays are sometimes my "cheat" days since my husband is off on Wednesday and Thursdays. We'll see if I actually "cheat" today! My husband usually cooks a clean meal on his days off for me and the kids. So nice! Today he's making clean chicken enchiladas.
Breakfast (me): Protein drink with almond milk, oatmeal with raspberries and flax, coffee
Breakfast (kids): Smoothie made in our Vitamix with banana, fresh raspberries, frozen mango, spinach, almond milk and fat free yogurt, with a side of natural turkey breakfast sausage.
One reason I LOVE our Vitamix is the kids don't even notice when we put spinach or other greens in their smoothies. The Vitamix juices the spinach and leaves no texture. Greens in smoothies are SO good for you. Lots of vitamins and gives you energy!
Snack (all of us): Turkey Wrap- Whole wheat tortilla, natural turkey salami, 1/4 avocado, spinach, mustard. YUM! This quick little snack incorporates all the foods in clean eating meals- complex carb starch, complex carb veggie, lean protein and healthy fat! Best of all the kids love it and split the wrap while I had a whole one.
With clean eating, the goal is to eat 5-6 small meals daily. This works out to eating every 2-3 hours. I love this because I am never too hungry to the point where I'll eat anything just to eat. As long as you plan a little bit ahead, it's not hard to get these healthy meals in.
Lunch (all of us): I'll have to post this recipe, it's great! Clean Chicken Enchiladas and some frozen blueberries. The kids are sick so they had some Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood with water with their lunch for some extra vitamins. http://www.amazinggrass.com/kidzsuperfood.html
Snack (me): Quinoa Health Bar
Dinner (kids): burger patty with red bell pepper and onion mixed in, natural chicken sausage, green beans, pear
Dinner (me): Blizzard from Dairy Queen! I told you it was cheat day. The sad thing is I wasn't going to cheat. I had a plan of making a yummy smoothie with a protein powder, yogurt, ice, banana and cocoa powder BUT my dear husband ran to the grocery store and came back with a "surprise"! He knew I liked to have Blizzards on Wednesdays but didn't know I was trying hard not to! Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day!
Clean Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Breakfast (me): Protein drink with almond milk, oatmeal with raspberries and flax, coffee
Breakfast (kids): Smoothie made in our Vitamix with banana, fresh raspberries, frozen mango, spinach, almond milk and fat free yogurt, with a side of natural turkey breakfast sausage.
One reason I LOVE our Vitamix is the kids don't even notice when we put spinach or other greens in their smoothies. The Vitamix juices the spinach and leaves no texture. Greens in smoothies are SO good for you. Lots of vitamins and gives you energy!
Snack (all of us): Turkey Wrap- Whole wheat tortilla, natural turkey salami, 1/4 avocado, spinach, mustard. YUM! This quick little snack incorporates all the foods in clean eating meals- complex carb starch, complex carb veggie, lean protein and healthy fat! Best of all the kids love it and split the wrap while I had a whole one.
With clean eating, the goal is to eat 5-6 small meals daily. This works out to eating every 2-3 hours. I love this because I am never too hungry to the point where I'll eat anything just to eat. As long as you plan a little bit ahead, it's not hard to get these healthy meals in.
Lunch (all of us): I'll have to post this recipe, it's great! Clean Chicken Enchiladas and some frozen blueberries. The kids are sick so they had some Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood with water with their lunch for some extra vitamins. http://www.amazinggrass.com/kidzsuperfood.html
Snack (me): Quinoa Health Bar
Dinner (kids): burger patty with red bell pepper and onion mixed in, natural chicken sausage, green beans, pear
Dinner (me): Blizzard from Dairy Queen! I told you it was cheat day. The sad thing is I wasn't going to cheat. I had a plan of making a yummy smoothie with a protein powder, yogurt, ice, banana and cocoa powder BUT my dear husband ran to the grocery store and came back with a "surprise"! He knew I liked to have Blizzards on Wednesdays but didn't know I was trying hard not to! Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day!
Clean Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
- Chicken breast, cooked
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and pressed through a garlic press
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 1 red pepper, de-veined and seeded, chopped
- 1 handful pitted olives, chopped
- 2 ears-worth of fresh corn (you could use 1 c. frozen or canned)
- 3/4 cup button mushrooms, chopped
- 3 cups spinach, chopped
- 10 corn or whole-grain tortillas
- 2 cups enchilada sauce (see notes)
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- sea salt (to taste) and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Use chicken breast that is already cooked (I like to use the leftovers from a roasted chicken I made the night before). Shred with fork so it is in small pieces.
Chop the vegetables. Using 3/4 of the olive oil on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic until aromatic. Add the cumin, chili powder, and oregano. Add the zucchini, pepper, olives and corn and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are all soft. Add the mushrooms, then when they have softened and stir in the spinach. Once the spinach has wilted, remove from heat.
In a bowl, mix 1/3 of the veggie mixture with the cooked and shredded chicken. Pour 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce to the mixture and stir until combined.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the remaining 1/4 of the olive oil to grease a 9x13 inch Pyrex baking pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce and use a spatula to make sure it coats. Spoon the mixture into the center of the tortillas and roll, then place in the pan; repeat until you've used all the tortillas. Cover with the remaining 1 cup of enchilada sauce. Wrap the pan in tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. For the last 3 minutes, take the tin foil off and allow the tops of the enchiladas to become slightly crispy.
If you're craving something creamy, you could use a tablespoon of greek yogurt on top of each baked enchilada. Serve with a big salad and you won't even miss the cheesy gooeyness of enchiladas!
Tips & Bonus Information
Save the extra vegetable mixture to fill wraps, make egg white scrambles, or freeze it to make enchiladas at a later date. [*My Clean enchilada sauce: 2 c. water/ 8 oz. tomato sauce (low sodium)/ Juice of 2 limes/ Cumin, chili powder, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste/ Scant teaspoon-full of corn starch or tapioca starch or arrowroot powder (for consistency) mixed with water into a roux.... Bring the water, tomato sauce, lime juice and spices to a boil and reduce the heat to allow to simmer. Add the starch while whisking. ]
Yield: 10 enchiladas, 1 enchilada per serving.Preparation Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Start of a new week
Eating Clean today looks like:
Breakfast (me)- Protein drink with almond milk, oatmeal, flax, frozen blueberries
Breakfast (kids)- yogurt, high fiber cereal, raspberries
Snack (me)- half a cucumber, drizzle of olive oil dressing (no sugar) and 4 oz turkey salami lunch meat from Whole Foods (no nitrates and no sugar)
Snack (kids): Quinoa Health Bar (recipe below)
Lunch (me): grilled chicken, squash and an apple
Lunch (kids): grilled chicken, tater tots, squash, banana
Kids Snack: Apple, low fat cheese stick
My Snack: Quinoa Health Bar
Dinner: Whole wheat tortilla, refried beans, shredded zucchini, shredded cheese (small amount)...the kids LOVED these little burritos and didn't even notice the shredded zucchini in them.
Snack (me): baby carrots and hummus
Snack (kids): pear, almond butter and natural sugar free jelly on ezekiel whole sprouted wheat bread and Josi same bread with natural cream cheese
Breakfast (me)- Protein drink with almond milk, oatmeal, flax, frozen blueberries
Breakfast (kids)- yogurt, high fiber cereal, raspberries
Snack (me)- half a cucumber, drizzle of olive oil dressing (no sugar) and 4 oz turkey salami lunch meat from Whole Foods (no nitrates and no sugar)
Snack (kids): Quinoa Health Bar (recipe below)
Lunch (me): grilled chicken, squash and an apple
Lunch (kids): grilled chicken, tater tots, squash, banana
Kids Snack: Apple, low fat cheese stick
My Snack: Quinoa Health Bar
Dinner: Whole wheat tortilla, refried beans, shredded zucchini, shredded cheese (small amount)...the kids LOVED these little burritos and didn't even notice the shredded zucchini in them.
Snack (me): baby carrots and hummus
Snack (kids): pear, almond butter and natural sugar free jelly on ezekiel whole sprouted wheat bread and Josi same bread with natural cream cheese
Quinoa Health Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 c quinoa flakes
- 1/2 c ground flaxseed
- 1tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1/2 c agave nectar or honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 mashed bananas
- 1 c dark carob chips
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a food processor until blended, pour into baking dish
Bake: 15 TO 20 MINUTES AT 375
Cut into snack sized bars
Monday, September 6, 2010
Labor Day!
So in my last post I didn't describe what clean eating really is. Basically it's only eating natural foods. The food doesn't have to be organic, but it's obviously better if it is. You eat 5-6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism going. You eat a lean protein, complex carb and healthy fat at every meal or almost every meal. You eat nothing processed or artificial and most of all you cut out simple white sugar completely. The sugar you get comes from fruit.
Overall our day of clean eating looked like this:
Breakfast: Buffet of egg whites, veggies, fruit
Lunch: Organic whole wheat (no sugar) tortilla, organic refried beans, shredded cheddar cheese and shredded zucchini (all wrapped like a burrito)....the kids LOVED this one! With fresh rasberries on the side.
Dinner (for the kids): Eating clean turkey chili
I was so full from lunch and then was out getting a pedicure and running errands that I didn't really eat dinner. This is NOT what you're supposed to do with eating clean, but the labor day weekend was kind of an off eating weekend. I had 2 small eating clean muffins before bed. I'll have to post the recipe for those because they are SO good.
Our family's start to clean eating...
So just a couple of weeks ago I discovered what is called Eating Clean. I picked up an Oxygen magazine at Whole Foods and discovered an interesting "diet" they kept referencing. I've always been interested in healthy eating and especially after having kids, wanted to incorporate eating well into our family.
With our first child, it was easy to make sure he ate healthy, whole foods almost all of the time. After the birth of our second child only 23 months later, everything was survival mode. We still tried to eat well but conveinence trumped everything. It seemed there wasn't enough time in the day to think about making meals from scratch. After our first child we also ate mostly organic, then once again, after our second, that changed. Eating organic can be expensive and we were really trying to save money.
Now that I've discovered Eating Clean, I realize this is exactly the direction I've always been trying to go, I just never had a name for it or any guidence. So I'm starting this blog because I've discovered I have a passion for learning about nutrition and passing that along to my children and other people in my family. I get joy from seeing my son choose an apple over french fries (this just happened the other night!). I'm going to write about some of our fun, eating clean meals as well as my husband and my weight loss journey with this new lifestyle. So far, it's me, the kids and my mom who have changed our eating habits to eating clean. My husband is not far behind as he's always been a healthy eater, but like most, has changed after having two kids and a busy life!
With our first child, it was easy to make sure he ate healthy, whole foods almost all of the time. After the birth of our second child only 23 months later, everything was survival mode. We still tried to eat well but conveinence trumped everything. It seemed there wasn't enough time in the day to think about making meals from scratch. After our first child we also ate mostly organic, then once again, after our second, that changed. Eating organic can be expensive and we were really trying to save money.
Now that I've discovered Eating Clean, I realize this is exactly the direction I've always been trying to go, I just never had a name for it or any guidence. So I'm starting this blog because I've discovered I have a passion for learning about nutrition and passing that along to my children and other people in my family. I get joy from seeing my son choose an apple over french fries (this just happened the other night!). I'm going to write about some of our fun, eating clean meals as well as my husband and my weight loss journey with this new lifestyle. So far, it's me, the kids and my mom who have changed our eating habits to eating clean. My husband is not far behind as he's always been a healthy eater, but like most, has changed after having two kids and a busy life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)