The Basics of Eating Clean (in a nutshell)

Eat small meals, five to six times a day. This will help satisfy hunger, plus leave room for another small meal in two to three hours. Your metabolism will be on high all day! As a tip, try to keep each meal between 300 and 400 calories and read nutrition labels to give you a hand.

Combine right. Eat lean protein (e.g., fish, chicken, turkey and flank steak) and complex carbohydrates (e.g., whole grains, fruits, vegetables) together at every meal. This super-charged combination keeps metabolism balanced and insulin levels in check.

Portion control. The golden rule: Getting clean food is just part of the full clean eating picture – you have to apply the basic principles of serving sizes, too. Although all food servings are not created equal, Tosca Reno, author of the Eat-Clean Diet states in her book that following these simple rules can help you navigate the right portion sizes for your needs: A protein serving should be the size of your palm; complex carbs from whole grains and starches is the amount you can hold in a cupped hand; and complex carbohydrates from fruits and veggies is the amount you can hold in two hands cupped together.

Progress

Eating Clean has been a life-saver for me. I finally feel like I am in control of my diet and my health. The best part is that I am definitely losing weight, although I don't have a scale, so I can't say how much I've lost. I am just so excited to be seeing results and feeling so healthy.

My birthday is coming up, but we celebrated it over the weekend because Nate is in Vegas all week for work. He got me these 2 books and I am so excited about them.

"Clean" Meals

I just thought I'd share a few of the things I've been eating lately. At first I really thought that Eating Clean would not be very pleasant because typically, foods that are super healthy are not as tasty. But I have discovered a lot of really healthy foods that are also delicious.

BREAKFAST:

Option #1: Oatmeal

Not the instant kind. I make it with cinnamon, vanilla, flaxseed, a little bit of honey, and frozen berries from Costco. It is really good! And a serving of plain oatmeal is 150 calories for a large bowl.

Option #2: Oatmeal Pancakes

These are really good and healthy. I put applesauce and berries on top instead of syrup. It really is good. I promise. I made some changes to the original recipe, so here is my version. I think its better. :)

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk mixed with about 1 TB lemon juice (equivalent to buttermilk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Place everything in a food processor and pulse until pretty smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/3 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot. (With applesauce on top.) I also did some with bananas and blueberries in the mix! Yum!

LUNCH:

Option #1: Whole Wheat Pita with Tuna Salad

I make a tuna salad with Albacore tuna, chopped celery, a couple sliced grapes, dried cranberries, nuts, and a little bit of Miracle Whip.

Option :2: Light Egg Salad with Whole Wheat Pita or Bread

Here is the Egg Salad recipe.

DINNER:

Option #1: Stir Fry with Chicken, brown rice, and veggies from Costco

Self explanatory

Option #2: Salmon with brown rice and veggies

Costco has pretty good prices on Salmon. We make it with Johnny's seasoning, lemon juice, dill, etc. There are lots of good recipes out there.

Deep Thoughts, by Ashley

I have been slowly implementing the Eat Clean way of life, which I think is good because trying to change everything all at once is overwhelming. I really believe that "Eating Clean" is the best way you can eat. When you read the book, it just makes sense. Its all about eating as natural and non-processed as you can. And also about eating the right portions. I know that Heavenly Father wants us all to take care of our bodies the best we can. And I believe that this way of eating is the best way I have ever heard of. I know everyone says this, but its really not a diet at all. Its just a more healthy way of eating.

Just think about the way this country is heading with obesity, heart disease, etc. Its really scary. And more than that, I think it is immoral. That sounds a little harsh, but I'm directing this at myself also. It is easy to judge people in the world who abuse drugs or alcohol. We might think, Wow, that's messed up. I would never do that. But what about those who abuse food? It is just another dependency... a method of coping with life, or handling stress. But it happens to be more socially acceptable than drugs or alcohol. I'm not saying that being overweight means you are a bad person or something, because I am just as guilty as anyone else of "abusing food" to some degree. But I just think we should all try harder to take care of ourselves. And for many people, that means getting educated about how to eat healthy, and how to exercise. It is worth taking the time to learn.

It is so frustrating to me when people just accept that they are overweight and stop trying to improve. That is not the way we should live our lives. I completely understand that losing weight is difficult. It takes a lot of discipline and sacrifice. But we should always be trying to be healthy. To just give up and eat crap all the time is not what Heavenly Father would want for us.

I suck

I'm so bummed that I haven't been doing well with this. My motivation goes up and down constantly. Right now, I'm feeling very motivated because I'm sick to death of all of my clothes being tight. Is that the worst feeling or what? Aaahhh!