Clean Eats on the Cheap

OK. We're broke this week. (But by choice, because I decided I really wanted to spend $150 on concert tickets to see Jewel... !!!!)

Luckily, my pantry & fridge are well stocked, so I've been making things stretch. But when it came to dinner time I was a little worried. My friend brought in a tv dinner for lunch that looked really yummy, but was full of sodium and preservatives. Eeek. So to the grocery I went. Her dinner had penne pasta, marinara sauce, broccoli, and grilled chicken. A couple of weeks ago I cooked up a bunch of chicken breasts, so I didn't need any of that.

At first I grabbed some tomatoes, carrots, and onions inspired by the Eating Clean mag's Chicken Pomodoro recipe, but it quickly added up to $10+, a little more than I wanted to spend being super-broke. So I headed to the pasta aisle in hopes of finding something that would be relatively clean. The first 6 jars I picked up had sugar in the ingredients, including the generic organic brand. Finally I found a brand that worked!

Culinary Circle

Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

I found this at our local discount grocer, Shop 'n Save. It's available at Jewel-Osco, Acme, Albertsons, Cub Foods, among other places.

For a 1/2cup serving there's only 90 calories, 6g fat (0 trans) and 2g fiber. The only downside is the 380mg of sodium, but for the price ($2.88 I think) it was well worth it. I ended up also buying their spicy Arrabiata sauce as well. I'm going to be cooking that up with some lean bison meat. Hopefully Dan doesn't get Pasta-ed out...

Weigh In: 199.9 Whoo-hoo! Goodbye 200lbs.

Traveling & Caffeine

I suck at travelling. I don't make good choices and I succumb to peer pressure. Pizza? Sure. Steak? Abso-freaking-lutely. Ice Cream from Braum's the best ice-cream store in the world. Why not? Thank god no one offered me a donut. I did make some decent breakfast choices. A piece of toast with St. Dalfour Conserves, and some scrambled egg whites. A breakfast power sandwich from Panera/St. Louis Bread Co. But I also skipped some meals... SHAME!

But I didn't skimp on my water intake. I just kept chuggin it. And I worked out a TON. I've been cleaning my grandmothers house, so for 3-5 hours a day I hauled, swept, threw, and carried pile after pile of junk to the truck and then to the dump. My obliques got quite the workout.

I've found that most essential to this diet, or any diet really, is a well-stocked kitchen. The very first thing I do when I arrive in Tulsa is go grocery shopping. I buy fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, my favorite peanut butter, and lean meats. I can't imagine being able to do this without a kitchen. But I'm sure it could be figured out.

Also, on the trip down to Tulsa, I was driving late at night and worried about falling asleep. So I got one 12oz glass bottle of full sugar, full caffeine Mt. Dew. Followed by a 12oz can. Followed by a 20oz plastic bottle. All in all it was 44 oz of syrupy craziness. When we arrived in Tulsa at 1:30am I was still buzzing and couldn't fall asleep until 4am! While the caffeine did keep me alert, it also kept me up super late and my whole sleep schedule was thrown off. I didn't wake up until 11am the next day, a big change from my usual rising time of 7am. And I still feel groggy and all out of whack.

Weigh in: 201.0 - despite travelling I managed to lose 3 pounds. I guess all the work paid off!

THIS is healthy!?!?!?!?

That's what my husband said to me last night. I served up a ground pork mixture with roasted red potatoes. It had zucchini, red pepper, corn, peas. onions, paprika and garlic of course. It took about forty minutes, with most of the time spent chopping because I suck at it. I got the pork, extra lean, from Whole Foods. It was the first time I'd ever cooked with ground pork and it was really really good, although I think this recipe could have just as easily been made with turkey. I over-cooked the potatoes a little, but that's ok really. I HATE tough skins on potatoes.

Needless to say, Dan loved it. His reaction was seriously "THIS is healthy!?!?!? We've been missing out!" It's nice to know that the food that I spend time and energy on keeps him so satisfied. Not only does it taste unbelievably good, it's also good for us and leading us to find our slimmer, healthier selves.

I got to try Goat Cheese for the first time. YUM. Fattening, so use sparingly. Also, this is the first time I've ever liked zucchini in anything. It makes me feel bolder, and more confident when it comes to cooking it.

Energy & Bee Pollen

I can't believe how much energy I have. It seems that no matter what task I have at hand, I always have the energy, both mental and physical, to complete it. I'm still a little sleepy in the morning, but I'm hoping that's just been because I am sick. Yesterday when I woke up though, I wasn't sleepy at all.

Yesterday I went grocery shopping for nearly six hours, from 11am to 5:30pm with an hour break for lunch with the hubs, Dan. I went to Sam's Club for a few of my bulk items. I scored some freshly frozen green beans and freshly frozen broccoli florets. I'll let you know how those taste. I also went to Whole Foods, and our local bargain grocery store Shop N Save.

Then I managed to squeeze in a car wash and stop in at work to pick up some dog food.

When I got home, I cooked cleaned out my fridge and threw out all my unclean/anti-food. Miracle Whip, Ketchup, barbeque sauces, ranch dip, tartar sauce... ice cream... It all had to go. Then I cooked dinner: Salmon. I was under the impression that salmon was difficult to cook. But it was actually REALLY easy. 12 min in the oven at 350degrees. On the side was a corn saute (made of roasted red peppers, corn, and onion) and a black bean salsa with tomatoes onion, garlic, cilantro and lemon juice. I took the recipe from this months Clean Eating magazine. YUM.

After dinner more cleaning commenced! This time I attacked my pantry. I boxed up half a dozen hamburger helpers, pasta that wasn't whole wheat, more ketchup, more dressing, Crystal Light (because I'm avoiding aspartame too), and those ready made soups and chilis that dominated my life not so long ago.

All the while I was multitasking! I was boiling eggs and grilling up a dozen chicken breasts for the week, washing dishes (GOD I NEED A DISHWASHER!), and jamming to my favorite music. But seriously, I just kept going. Sure I was tired, but it was more like the fatigue you get from a good workout. And whenever I thought surely I'd run out of energy soon, I just kept going. My brain was firing away too.


Favorite Product of the Week:
St. Dalfour Fruit Conserves (I like the strawberry)

This is exactly what I've been looking for! A little runnier than typical jams, jellies, and preserves, but with NO added sweeteners. It's 100% fruit. So it's a clean option for when I'm really craving a PB&J or toast
and jam.



Favorite New Food Ingredient:

YS Organic Bee Farms Fresh Bee Pollen

This is what I attribute my energy to. Collected from the bees before they enter the hive, this is actual pollen that's mixed with tiny bits of honey left on the bees legs. It tastes a little like honey, a little like flowers/pollen. But it's a complete protein, with a bit of a sweetening affect on your food. I mix it into my oatmeal, which I eat at least 5 times a week. Start off slowly, with about 1/4 teaspoon, and increase the amount up to a couple tablespoons if you want. It's also been known to increase libido in some.

Weigh in: 204.6

HYDRATION

Ok. I'll be honest. Disgustingly, shockingly honest, because that's how I roll. As recently as a few weeks ago I used to drink nothing but diet Pepsi. And I would drink 2-4 LITERS a day. I would bring a 2L to work and drain that then when I got home my husband and I would split one or two additional 2Ls for dinner. And I was always thirsty. And my lips and mouth were always dry. And I can't fathom how much money we spent on pop. (yeah I'm from OK and I say pop). It was very similar to a smokers pack-a-day habit. And I was always tired, so groggy, even after my 32oz cup was emptied.

When I went Clean I switched to water. I've been drinking somewhere around 3L of water a day and I'm loving it. I don't want pop. When I drink it I feel dried out crash pretty shortly after from the caffeine. So I'm a water baby now. I bought a groovy little water bottle from Target (photo to come later), and I take it with me everywhere.

Of course, it can get a little boring to only drink water for some. Not for me, really. I really like water. Always have. I don't even know why I stopped drinking it. But when I'm craving a little variety I drink the Sobe LifeWater drinks that have no sugar in them (the ones with the white label - the ones with the darker label have both Sugar AND Erythritol/PureVia). They are really tasty. And I also buy the Simply line of fruit juices. They come loaded with sugar so I usually dilute them a bit. I do about 2/3 juice 1/3 water and stir it up really well. I'm looking into making my own infused waters. We'll see.

The upsides though, to the water vs pop debate are that my skin is insanely soft. It's a wonder to me that all these people find topical creams and potions to treat the symptoms of dehydration instead of treating from the inside out. A friend of mine touched my arm the other day and actually commented on how soft my skin was. The first of many diet-related compliments, I hope. The other upside is one I really didn't expect. When I'm groggy in the morning, I perk up MUCH faster with a glass of water than I did with pop. As the ice-cold liquid hits my stomach I get a little burst of energy. I feel rejeuvenated. And everytime I take another sip I feel crisper, cleaner, and healthier. I know I'm doing the right thing for myself.

Weigh In: 206.1 (almost 4lbs lost in 2 weeks)