Need new recipes! STAT!

I do not feel like I have been very eat clean. Ugh! I NEVER eat greasy mexican food. Well Thursday night that is exactly what I did. I thought I was getting a reg corn tortilla with chicken and pico de gallo (I even ordered veggies on the side). Unforts the corn tortilla was fried, the chicken was pureed, cheese everwhere, veggies bathed in butter. Sigh. I was so hungry that I ate most of it and in turn I felt AWFUL! I am still paying for it today. So back on track we go. I am tired of eating out, tired of junky food, I want some good high quality meals. Tomorrow for dinner I am going to whip up an eat clean fritatta with some spinach that I need to get rid of! The recipe uses quinoa which should be super fun and yummy! I will report back on how it tastes!

Tofu update and date night menu

Fun fact. I never buy firm tofu. I know that it is better for stir-frying but I just never buy it. Well upon Dustin's request I purchased firm tofu, win for Dustin! I whipped some up last night and it is definitely better for stir-frying...totally delsih!

Tofu stir fry (EASY)

1/5 package of firm tofu (for one serving) sliced into chunks
2 tsp sesame seed oil
ground ginger
curry spice
low sodium soy sauce
garlic to taste
1/2 cup rice
1 cup frozen mixed veggies

This really doesn't need a recipe ha! But I heated the oil on medium, don't let it get too hot (been there done that). Add the tofu chunks, sprinkle with ground ginger, curry spice, soy sauce and add a little garlic to taste. Let this cook for a few mins and mix tofu around to coat with spices and to give the tofu some crispiness. Add in 1/2 cup rice, veggies (I usually nuke them first or just let them sit out for a few mins to defrost). I like to add another tsp of sesame seed oil right before I serve to give it some extra flavor.

Alright...now onto my date night menu. I want to make engagement chicken as a joke (considering we are already engaged!). I have been infatuated with this recipe for years. It's humerous to me that people really do take this seriously and it really does "work". I just think it looks good and I have been adding in chicken once or twice a week into my diet. The recipe is taken from Glamour magazine. I am going to make quinoa/spinach/tomato salad. Add in some delicious wine and I have a wonderful date night dinner for my future hubby! :)


Engagement Chicken

1 whole chicken (approx. 3 lb.)
2 medium lemons
Fresh lemon juice (1/2 cup)
Kosher or sea salt
Ground black pepper
Place rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Wash chicken inside and out with cold water, remove the giblets, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander until it reaches room temp (about 15 minutes). Pat dry with paper towels. Pour lemon juice all over the chicken (inside and outside). Season with salt and pepper. Prick the whole lemons three times with a fork and place deep inside the cavity. (Tip: If lemons are hard, roll on countertop with your palm to get juices flowing.) Place the bird breast-side down on a rack in a roasting pan, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn it breast-side up (use wooden spoons!); return it to oven for 35 minutes more. Test for doneness—a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh should read 180 degrees, or juices should run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork. Continue baking if necessary. Let chicken cool for a few minutes before carving. Serve with juices.

Quinoa/spinach/tomato salad (from gluten free goddess)

Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• About 1/2 to 2/3 cup cooked quinoa per person
• 1 generous cup washed organic baby spinach leaves per person
• A handful of organic grape tomatoes per person, halved
• 1 scallion per person, washed, sliced
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Sprinkle of nutmeg
• Sprinkle of fresh or dried herbs- parsley, thyme, basil, or mint
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Gently heat a large pan . Pour in some extra virgin olive oil. Add the garlic; stir and warm the oil for a minute. Add the cooked quinoa and heat through. Add the baby spinach leaves, tomatoes and scallions. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sprinkle with nutmeg and herbs. Stir to mix. Sprinkle with lemon juice and stir. When the spinach begins to wilt remove from heat.

I'm back and back on track

Hawaii was wonderful! Beautiful weather, hiking, swimming, sun bathing! The wedding was lovely and...I GOT ENGAGED! So all in all it was a dream vacay! I must admit eating clean was not a priority. I feel like I needed to take a vacation from eating clean for the week. I did actually do pretty well, choosing healthier options whenever they were available. It felt nice to not be so strict though. I ate salads without the dressing on the SIDE, sushi to the max, veggie burgers on regular buns, fish tacos swimming in avocado and fresh pico de gallo, dessert, and drinks...fruity fruity drinks. One thing I did notice is that I was tired. So very tired! I felt sluggish and really hit an energy wall every morning around snack time. So I mean it was fun...but I am happy to be back to my clean eatin ways!

So as far as back on track goes... I need some motivation. I need some easy yummy recipes to spice up my lunches and dinners. I think I am going to experiment with tofu for tonight's stir fry! I also need to use up egg whites and eggs. So I think a frittata is in my near future!

Sunday Funday Football

My dad invited Dustin and I over for some bbq chicken and some football action yesterday. I volunteered to whip up an eat clean pasta salad to add to the mix! Pat (dad's wife) referred to the salad as clean out the fridge salad and that is pretty much exactly what it was! My dad marinated chicken breast in raspberry chipotle dressing. I am not sure of the cleanliness of this dressing but I imagine it can't be that bad as a marinade, most of it falls off anyway. Pat whipped up some potatoes and I rounded out the meal with a small glass of chardonay. YUM! I will post the pasta salad below!

Clean out the fridge pasta salad
(Base Pasta)
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
2 cans tuna (drained)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
generous sprinkling of fresh parm cheese

(Optional added goodies)
Really you can add anything and everything you would like to this pasta. This is just what I had hand in the fridge.
About 2 cups broccoli florets
A cup of sliced peppers
3/4 can of chopped olive I had leftover

Prepare the pasta per the instructions on the box. Drain pasta and add in tuna, peppers, broccoli, and chopped olive. Add in balsamic vinegar and drizzle with olive oil to taste. I added about 3 tbsp of olive oil to moisten everything up. Salt and pepper to taste and final step is to sprinkle with fresh parm cheese. YUM!

I also made some not so yummy cookies! I was planning on taking them to Sunday Funday Football but I nixed that idea after Dustin and I decided that they were more like biscuits. I did think it was odd that no sugar was added in the recipe so I added some agave...not enough ha. I also added raisins instead of chocolate chips.

Clean Cookie Recipe from Liftingrevolution.com

• 1/4 cup all natural peanut butter
  
• 1/2 cup canola oil (I used 1/4 cup oil)
  
• 1 egg white (1/2 cup of egg whites)
  
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla
• 3 T. water
• 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal Quaker oatmeal (large flakes)
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips (handful of raisins instead)
  

Mix all the wet ingredients in first… the first 5 ingredients above. Then incorporate the rest of the stuff in and mix until just blended (don’t mess up the oats). Oh yea, make sure you had the oven preheated at 350 degrees. Drop teaspoon mounds on a cookie sheet and bake for around 11-14 minutes.

October Challenege Update and helpful tips

Well the craziness of October has begun and this weekend I feel like I held my own! I know that I wasn't eatin' clean all the time, but the choices I made were healthy and I had fun! So one weekend down and much more fun stuff ahead! I feel like my choice of fresh salads with dressing on the side and some delicious sushi was a good choice for all the eating out I did this weekend. I had a few drinks but nothing crazy! I stuck with my 3 drinks tops rule and that was spread over about 6 hours so really I did well. Now the only thing I need to work on is getting enough SLEEP!

With my new job starting and my upcoming vacay I have been thinking a lot about eating clean on the night shift and eating clean on the road. I know that there are other people who have talked about this on the world wide web so I decided to do some research and find some helpful tips that might come in handy. First I will talk about shift work and see what helpful healthy tips there are out there.

On the subject of eating clean on the night shift...this is what Tosca has to say about it.

A: The great thing about The Eat-Clean Diet is that it can be easily adapted to any lifestyle. Plan to eat five or six meals a day at two- to three-hour intervals. This goes for every day, whether you are working or not, and whatever time you wake up and go to bed.

For example, if you are having your first meal of the day at 3pm, then your next meals would follow at approximately 6pm, 9pm, 12am, and 3am. Just try not to eat within about four hours of your bedtime, whenever that is.

Eat breakfast soon after you wake to start your day feeling energized and get your metabolism humming!

October Challenge...bein clean party and vacation style

I am still going to work on my restaurant copycat recipes, but in the meantime I have a much more pressing challenge at hand. That challenge is the WHOLE MONTH OF OCTOBER! Today is October first and starting today my whole month is completely packed and topsy turvey! Tonight I have happy hour for my farewell from the OR. Tomorrow I have a birthday party and a bachelorette party, Sunday I have brunch and eating out for dinner, Monday I start my new job and I work Monday-Wednesday NIGHTS! Then the next week I leave for Hawaii for a week. I have becky's reception the weekend after that and then it's halloween! Eeeeeek! So truly the holiday season is starting off with a BANG! :) So what I wanted to focus on is sticking to my eat clean ways as much as possible throughout this crazy time! I have already addressed sushi happy hours. One glass of red one and a sushi roll is not breakin the bank, but a bachelorette party might be a little overload. I am sticking to red wine for sure, no more than 3-4 drinks for the whole night, I am going to order something clean-ish from the menu and I am making some eat clean snacks to bring so I can avoid the chips and cupcakes.