10 day challenge

I know I have been MIA since September, but I'm back to pick up where I left off.

I have found a bunch of cool different blogs that have focused on clean eating. One of the best that I found lately is 100 days of real food. She makes doing this with kids so much easier! I think I will stick the kids on her meal plans but I'm still going to have to find something else for me. She incorporates a lot of meals with gluten in them, and I'm still struggling with some gluten intolerance. So going gluten free is best for me, but the kids don't seem to have the same sensitivities. What I really love about her site, is that she shows you how to eat well and on a BUDGET. I know eating organically on a budget, who would of thought you can do it. But she goes on a 100 day challenge and sticks to a budget and feeds her family of 4. Read her blog and see how she does it. It's very motivational, especially for those of us on a budget. (isn't that all of us these days?) And she has motivated me to get a bread maker and start making all of the kids bread.

So I think we are going to start a 10 day challenge on eating "real food". I'm going to wait until we get the bread machine in so that we can all do it together.


The other  super cool think I have found in my area is a cool fruit and veggie co-op. Bountiful Baskets gets you a big basket of 50% veggies and 50% fruit from USA or small mexican farmers for a super low price. The average contribution for a basket is $15 for a regular basket or $25 for an organic basket. They also have additional veggie packs, bread, tortillas, and seasonal items for an additional cost. This week we got a regular pack and a mexican theme veggie pack all for around $25 and we got a ton of stuff.

Isn't that so cool! We got some persimmons this week, so I have been researching what we can do with them. This is what I really like about the weekly baskets, you never know what you are going to get, so you get to try new things you wouldn't normally pick out.

My favorite recipe of the week is a cauliflower pizza It really tasted awesome! Now the crust does have cheese in it, so it probably isn't the best but it was gluten free so that was a win for me!

I'll try and keep you updated this week.

Vegan Carrot Cake

So I found this recipe for Sam's Famous Carrot Cake and decided I would try and make it a vegan version of this cake. We just watched Forks over Knives and have decided to embrace a more plant based diet. We are trying to stick to 80% veggies/20% meat.  I also watched Food Matters and they have a focus on more of a raw diet. They say to eat at least 51% of every meal raw. Watch the movie to get more info about that. They are both on Netflix in the streaming films. Netflix at least has a few things that are helpful on their streaming side! ;)

So I thought we would try and combine both of the plans and see if it works for us. We are still staying away from pretty much anything prepackaged. My mother in law Linda, who lives with us, is sticking to the very strict diet that they go over in Forks over Knives. That diet cuts out all milk products, oils and fats,  and is totally vegetarian/vegan.

Linda's birthday is today so I decided to make her a cake she could eat following her diet. So here is the recipe I came up with that is egg free and oil free. I did break the rules and added in coconut (coconut has high fat content, but I did use the reduced fat organic coconut). I also made it in a bundt cake pan and baked for 50 min. This recipe turned out a little too moist and sweet for my liking.It definitely does not need frosting of any kind.  So I'm thinking of reducing the sugar/sweetener even more. I read in another book to cut the moistness to add in some grapenuts, which may cut the sweet as well.

Vegetarian Carrot Cake:

Ingredients

• 3 T ground flax seed mixed with 9T water
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 T organic apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup organic apple sauce
• 1 cups brown sugar or agave nectar or honey (you can lessen the amount even more if you want)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup organic shredded reduced fat coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x12 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flax water combo, almond milk w/ apple cider vinegar mixed in, applesauce, sweetener and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well.
4. In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts, pineapple and raisins.
5. Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well.
6. Pour into prepared 8x12 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Check with toothpick.
7. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

12 servings- 233 calories/ 49 carbs/ 3g fat/ 4g protein

Ok, back on the wagon again

I fell off the blog wagon but I'm back. I've been trying to stick to the healthy eating diet, not always successfully but really good for the most part.

I finished my 60 day challenge for my yoga challenge. I finished 45 classes in 60 days. And now I am officially burnt out. I need to get back into the studio and see if I can find the yoga vibe again.

But in the mean time I have started training with a trainer. BJ is doing wonders for me. He is doing a combo of training, acupressure and resistance stretching. It is the hardest work I have done but I have never felt so good. The calm I have after working out with him lasts all day long. I have never felt this way after yoga. I mean I love my yoga and love the calm but it never lasts me as long as Bj's workout do. (If you are in the Dallas area and would like his info let me know and I'll get it to you. And he is super reasonably priced. )

I have also changed my eating up a bit as well. BJ gave me a new meal plan that I am trying out. We'll see if it makes a difference. And we'll see if I can stick to it.

I'll keep you updated!

Day 35

Meal 1- Protein shake

Meal 2- Whataburger jr/ 1 chicken strip (waiting a little too long before eating= bad food choices)

Meal 3- Chicken breast

meal 4- mediterranean chop salad/ small paciugo pistachio gelato

Day 34, 33, 32 & 31

Well shoot, I have totally gotten off task with this. But I have to say documenting everything for a month has made me very aware of what I put into my body.

This week I have been focusing on no wheat products. I have always had a sensitivity to wheat products but I am normally able to ignore the pain. Now that I have been so careful with what I eat the pain is much more obvious. So that makes it much easier to stay away from wheat products knowing that my stomach will hurt less.

So far so good this week. I'm going to pick back up today on food logging. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

day 30

60 min fire yoga class

meal 1- protein shake

meal 2- 2 eggs/ 2 pieces of bread/ strawberries

Meal 3 Fajitas

I totally forgot to update and also forgot what I ate. But I did pretty good all weekend. So we will start again today.

Day 29

feeling sick today. I don't think my hangover has lasted all week. And with 3 of the 7 family members all down with the stomach bug all in one day, I think that may answer my question. Going to have to go to yoga every day next week to catch up, but its better than spreading a bug or throwing up on someone. ;)

meal 1- south beach chocolate bar

meal 2- 2 eggs/ protein shake/ strawberries

meal 3- small orange

Meal 4- handful of almonds/cheese stick

Meal 5- 10 tortilla chips with beans and cheese and a little guacamole

Day 28

30 minute walk pushing two kids and walking a dog :)

meal 1- protein shake/ handful of almonds

meal 2- carrots and hummus

meal 3- protein balls


still not feeling 100% this week, and the pizza last night gave me the worst stomach ache. i think its the darn time change really getting me and making me tired. its hard to get up for 6am yoga when we have lost an hour. hopefully next week will be better.

Day 27

yoga- wood class 60 minutes

meal 1- protein shake

meal 2- protein balls

meal 3- chicken enchiladas

meal 4- 3 pieces of pizza

Day 26

No workout so far but may go on a nice jog around the block.

meal 1- 1/2 piece of french toast

meal 2- protein balls

meal 3- spaghetti with meatballs (totally thought it was whole wheat with artichoke flour pasta but it wasn't, it was regular flour with artichoke flour)

After this first 30 days is up I am going to try to go totally wheat free for the next 30 days. To try and stick to a true Paleo-diet. I've weaned myself slowly off of a lot so I don't think this will be too hard. I've done it in the past due to stomach issues and I really do feel a lot better with out it in my diet, it just tastes so darn good!

day 25

yoga- fire class 60 min

meal 1- 2 eggs/ 1 piece of bread

meal 2- beef fajitas and chips

meal 3- handful of almonds

meal 4- protein shake

still getting over the hangover. at least its motivated me to stick to no drinking.

day 24

workout- none

meal 1- protein shake (with regular ingredients)

meal 2- stacked chicken enchiladas

was totally hung over. nothing sounded good.

Day 23

Yoga- 60 minute fire class

Meal 1- protein shake

Meal 2- 2 eggs/ pineapple

Meal 3- carrots/ hummus

Meal 4- 4 cheese panini w/ avocado and bacon/ sweet potato fries/ 3 coke zeros with bulleit/ frozen rita

seriously need to cut the alcohol out. i know, but there have been so many social things lately. my goal this next week is to see the difference with only one day with drinks. i want to see more results and I am not yet. so frustrated.

Day 22

workout- 60 minute metal class (strength building) that was a crazy class but really good.

meal 1- protein shake (banana, strawberries, peach, mango, blueberries, flax, steel cut oats, protein powder)

meal 2- 2 eggs/ sweet potatoes/ 1 slice oat nut bread

meal 3- carrots/hummus/ 15 wheat thin crackers

meal 4- chicken/ mixed veggies/ a little bbq sauce/ 1/2 a piece of flat bread/ mashed potatoes

Day 21

No workout

meal 1- 8am- protein shake

meal 2- 2 eggs/ pineapple

meal 3- protein balls/ carrots/ hummus/ hot tamales

meal 4- mediterranean salad with chicken

meal 5- rita/ jack and coke/ apple crisp

Day 20

workout- 60 minute hot yoga- fire class

Meal 1- 7:30am- Protein shake (strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, banana, flax, steel cut oats, whey protein powder)

Meal 2- 9:30am- 2 eggs/ sweet potatoes

Meal 3- 11am- 1 cup pasta with meat sauce

Meal 4- 4pm- Chicken/ protein balls/ handful pistachios

Meal 5- 6pm- 1 slice pizza/ pineapple

Day 19

Workout- 60 min yoga fire class

Meal 1- 7:45am- Protein shake (peach, mango, strawberry, pineapple, banana, flax, steel cut oats, whey protein powder)

Meal 2- 8:30am- 2 eggs/ 2 servings sweet potatoes

Meal 3- 11:30am- Chicken/ green beans/ black beans/ sweet potato/ 1 roll

Meal 4- 3pm- 2 servings protein balls/ handful of pistachios

5 trefoil cookies

Day 18

A new beginning today. My body was so angry at me for this weekend. It really wanted to know why I was putting all this crap in it. So back to clean eating again.

Meal 1- 8am- South beach protien bar.

Meal 2- 11am- Protein shake- Strawberries, peaches, mango, pineapple, banana, flax, steel cut oats, whey protein powder/ 2 servings sweet potatoes

Meal 3- 2pm- turkey sandwich on multigrain bread with cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, oil and vinegar/ almond protein ball

Meal 4/snack- 4:30pm- 1/4c pistachios/sweet potatoes

Day 17

Lets not even talk about today, ok? Let me just say a brunch buffet (pancakes, bacon, rosemary potatoes, cupcake) was had along with drinks and a few more drinks and a panini with some sweet potato fries. So back on the train tomorrow.

Day 16

Work out - 60 minute fire class yoga

Meal 1- Protein shake (pineapple, strawberry, peaches, blueberries, flax, steel cut oat, protein powder)/ vanilla frappuccino

Meal 2- Cane Rosso pizza (all organic) mozzarella with arugula and prosciutto/ dessert vanilla bean marscapone with apples and caramel. Seriously yummy and worth the cheat. 

Meal 3- Baby shower- 4 slices of turkey rollup/ 3 triscuits/ 1T cheddar cheese spread/ 6 small crackers/ grapes/ 1 cupcake (should not of had the cupcake, not worth the cheat)/ 8 oz of punch

Meal 4-  spanish pork stew (pork, butternut squash, tomato, mushrooms)

Day 15

Workout- 6am- hot yoga Fire class 60 min. 30 minute brisk walk pushing babies.

Meal 1- 7:30am- Protein shake (rasberries, mango, blueberries, banana, flax, steel cut oats, protein powder) / 2 eggs

Meal 2- 10:30- 3 arrowroot cookies

Meal 3- 11:45am- 1/2 chipotle burrito bowl (chicken, black beans, corn salsa, tomatoes, little cheese, lettuce, little bit of guac) 3 small bites of chicken quesidilla

Meal 4- 2:30pm- 1 medium apple and protein dip/ sweet potatoes

snack- 5:30pm- Southbeach protein bar.

Meal 5- 1/2 of a cheese panini w/ avocado, bacon, and tomato/ 3 coke zeros w/ bulleit whiskey

Check out Deanna's new blog post on super foods! Its great. :)

Day 14

Wow its been 2 weeks already?

Workout- 6am- 60 min wood class yoga- isometrics and core building.

Meal 1- 8am- Protein shake (Strawberries, mango, banana, flax, steel cut oats, protein powder)/ 2 eggs

Meal 2- 10am- Protein balls

Meal 3- 11am- 1 pulled pork taco on corn tortilla/ 1 pulled beef taco on corn tortilla (both had lettuce, tomatoes, small amount of sauce) I didn't feel too bad about this meal. I know the corn tortillas weren't the best choice but since they were smaller I didn't eat as much as I normally would. :)

snack-2pm- 4 arrowroot cookies ( only 1g of sugar and 20 calories per cookie) but of course as soon as I ate them my stomach hurt.

Meal 4- 3pm- Stew with lean pork, butternut squash, tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms.

Meal 5- and then I blew it all! 2 margaritas/ nachos/ brownie with ice cream (but damn it was good)

Day 13

Workout 6am- Fire yoga 60 minutes.

Meal 1- 7:45am- Protein shake (strawberries, mango, banana, flax, steel cut oat, protein powder)

Meal 2- 9:30am- 2 eggs/ sweet potatoes

Meal 3- 11:45am- Spanish stew with lean pork, butternut squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, greek yogurt

Meal 4- 1:00pm- Protein balls

Meal 5- 6:00pm- 2 small slices of cheese pizza/ 1 thin mint/ 1 shortbread cookie

Ok so I did cheat at the end of the day but I have to admit that it just didn't taste all that good. I think it may of been good to do. It reminded me how much I don't need the junk.

Day 12

Workout- 60 minute Fire yoga class- totally did not want to go but very glad I did. Helped clear the sinuses.

Meal 1- 7:30am- Protein shake (strawberries, mangoes, banana, flax, steel cut oats, protein powder)

Meal 2- 9:30am- 2 eggs/ sweet potatoes/ pineapple

Meal 3- 10am- protein balls

Meal 4- 2pm- chicken/ sweet potatoes/ mashed cauliflower

Meal 5- 6pm- apple with protein dip

Okay so this has been day 2 of actually not eating any processed foods at all. My body is feeling better but my stomach isn't so sure. I figure its just part of the adjustment period. Right now I am giving myself daily goals of trying to stay on track. So far so good. :)

Day 11

Workout- 60 min vinyasa flow yoga Earth class- moved to new level on the crow pose!!! :)

meal 1- 7:45am- protein shake (strawberries, blueberries, banana, flax seed, steel cut oats, protein powder)/ eggs/ grapes

meal 2- 11am- roasted sweet potatoes/ protein balls/ mashed cauliflower

meal 3- 4pm- chicken/ sweet potatoes/ mashed cauliflower

meal 4- 1/2 serving protein dip with apple slices

I feel like I missed something on  my meals. This is what I get for forgetting to update this at the end of the day. But overall super proud of today. No cheats and felt full pretty much all day. Wonder if it has something to do with finally putting lemon in my water? No major sweet cravings. WIN!

Day 10

Totally forgot what to document today. It was my wedding anniversary so I went pretty much off the diet. But I was happy with the smarter choices I made.

Meal 1- Breakfast buffet- eggs, chicken, green beans, croissant, bacon, cupcake, cookie, mimosa, 2 alcoholic drinks

Meal 2- Ann. dinner- spinach dip with chips/ pork chop/ mashed potatoes/ 1 alcoholic drink (no dessert)

Day 9

Meal 1- 8am- Really bad for you oatmeal from McDonalds. That stuff had 30g of sugar in it. Should of read the label first. Total fail.

Meal 2- 10:30am- Think thin protein bar- I know it has too many ingredients in it, but it was handy and I was hungry/ 1 pancake.

Meal 3- 4:00pm- 2 eggs/1 piece of bread/ pineapple

Day 8

Workout- 6am- 60 min fire yoga class

Meal 1- 8am- 2 eggs/ 1 piece of bread

Meal 2- 11:30am- Pork carnitas/ 2 slices avocado/ 2 tortillas

Meal 3- 2:00pm- 3 samoas

Meal 4- protein balls/ more samoas

feeling under the weather today. allergies are killing me and all i want is chocolate.

Day 7

Workout- Yoga 60 minute wood class (focus on core and abs)


Meal 1 7:45am- Protein Shake (Mango, strawberry, banana, flax seed, protein powder)

Meal 2- 12:30pm- 2 eggs/ 1 piece of bread/ cantaloupe/ yellow squash

Meal 3- 4:45pm- Protein balls/ Cantaloupe

Meal 4- 8pm- Freebirds chicken burrito in a red bell pepper tortilla

Day 6

Totally slept through my alarm this morning and missed yoga. Kicking myself big time. Either have some super bad allergies or the start of a cold. So maybe rest was needed. Feeling much less bloated this week. Also taking some coconut oil daily (3-4 capsules). Gives me some extra energy and makes my skin feel great.

Meal 1- 8am- Protein balls/ pear

Meal 2- 11am- Grilled Chicken/ 1.5 c Quinoa

Meal 3-2:30pm- South Beach Protein Bar/ 2 Samoas

Meal 4- 4pm- 2 eggs/ 1 piece oatnut bread/ banana

Meal 5- 8pm- Fajita (3 strips of beef, 2T guac, 2 flour tortillas) 1cup chips and salsa

Day 5

Super hungry today for some reason. Hard to resist the sugar craving. Eating some extra fruit to try and get rid of the sugar cravings. Must resist the girl scout cookies!!!

Yoga was awesome today. I think taking the two days off was good for my back. I was able to hit some poses today that I haven't been able to do the last week bc of my back.

Workout- 6am- 60 minute Fire class yoga

Meal 1- 7:45am- Protein shake with strawberries, mango, banana, flax seed, oatmeal/ oatmeal w/drizzle of agave nectar and cinnamon and a pat of butter

Meal 2- 10:15am- Pears and apples with protein dip/ banana/ Somersault crunchy nugget snack w/sunflower seeds and toasted grains and cocoa (1/2 serving)

Meal 3- 12pm- Chicken/ Broccoli/ Cauliflower/ 1/4 c of mac and cheese Kraft

Meal 4- 3pm- Protein ball

Meal 5- 6:30- 1 c cooked quinoa/ cheese panini with avocado/ french fries

day 4

No workout. Giving my body a bit of a break, back on the yoga wagon tomorrow.

Meal 1- 8am- two eggs/1 lg pear/ 2 Tbsp Protein dip

Meal 2- 11:30am- Protein balls (3)

Meal 3- 1:00pm- Chicken and veggie soup/ 2 strips fajita beef/ 1 Tbsp guac/1 tortilla/ pineapple and grapes/ sm margarita (I know I have had a lots of drinks this weekend but now that the celebrating is over, I should be back on track)

Meal 4- 3:45pm- Grilled chicken/ Broccoli and Cauliflower/2 Tbsp no fat greek yogurt

Meal 5- 7pm- 5 cookies- Samoas

Go check this out

I was totally wrong. With the protein balls 1 ball = 1 serving. Deanna posted the recipe on her site with a little more detailed info than I gave out.

Thanks Deanna!

She also suggested that I just add in the healthy foods and slowly edit out the bad ones. I think that will make this transition a little easier. Also if you want to follow her on twitter here is her twitter acct.

This girl has it all going on. Love you!

Day 3

Total failure of a day. But tomorrow is the real beginning to our diet. I knew this weekend would be bad with family in town and the twins birthday. So please don't laugh at what I ate today.

Meal 1- 12pm- 1 beef fajita with guac no cheese/ 3 beef nachos with beans and cheese
Meal 2-  2pm- Banana/ 5 samoas girl scout cookies
Meal 3- 5:30pm- cauliflower / Protein balls
Meal 4- 7pm- Protein shake w/berries, bananas, flax seed, oatmeal

And no exercise today. Went to yoga but the studio was closed. Will try again tomorrow.

Recipes

These recipes are from Deanna and taste really good!:

Protein balls:

2 tbsp natural crunchy peanut butter
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1-2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, adjust to your taste
You can also add raisins, slivered almonds, pecans, coconut,

Mash together all ingredients with a fork then form into about 3 balls. These count as 1 serving of protein and also 1 serving of healthy fats. I use mine as a movie snack because it reminds me of a pb cup :)

Protein dip:

1/2 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt 

2 teaspoons natural peanut butter

1 tsp raw agave nectar

3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder 

cinnamon, to taste 

Day 2

Today was the twin's birthday party. So I can tell you right now I did not do so well but I don't think I did that poorly either. I really made sure I only ate small portions of all the "bad for you" stuff.

8:15am 1hr hot yoga
Meal 1-10:00am- protein balls
Meal 2- 12:30pm- 1 slice pizza/ 1small slice birthday cake/ Handful of tortilla chips
Meal 3- 3:00pm- 1slice of pizza/ 1/2 serving of protein dip/ 1 lg apple/ nibbles of leftover birthday cake
Meal 4- 8:00pm- 3 slices of steak/ 1 Diet Dr P w/ vodka
Meal 5- 11pm- Apple pie and a margarita

This day should seriously not count. But I told Deanna I would write it all down so I am. :)

First post- Day 1

So the time seriously has come. I am keeping this blog to document my entry into the world of clean eating.  I'm tired of not eating well and stuffing myself full of junk. I'm in my early thirties and my body is starting to rebel. So here goes my journey. My friend Deanna is helping me through it all. This blog is mainly for me to document my daily log on eating and exercise.

I'm working off a 4-5 meal a day plan. And planning on doing hot yoga 5 days a week. My diet will mainly consist of whole foods and clean eating. My goal is to avoid any processed foods on a daily basis. But I will allow myself a splurge from time to time. This food change has to be livable in order for it to be a permanent change. I know I will fail but I can always keep on going. So here we go.

Day 1- I didn't make it to the grocery store until after lunch time so todays meals will be off a little, just bear  with me.

6am hot yoga (1hr)- Fire

Meal 1(7:45am)- 2 eggs/ 2 pieces of toast/ triangle of toblerone chocolate

Meal 2(11am)- Handful of pistachios/ banana/ couple of bites of pb and honey sandwich- kids

Meal 3(3:00pm)- Chicken/ 2c broccoli/ banana

Meal 4(5:30pm)- protein balls (protein powder, crunchy pb, agave nectar, coco powder, coconut)

Meal 5- Margarita (does that count as a meal?) :)