Jan. 5: A Little Cheese with My Whine

Today has really been a mixed bag. I have to whine a little. My 14 year old is staging a rebellion about the food and she really has me worried. She refuses to eat breakfast unless I buy commercial bagels and sugar-y cereal. Nope, not gonna happen. So then she starves until lunch and buys (with her own money) pizza and fries at school. I don't want to see her end up killing her metabolism out of spite!!!

Just so you know, when trying to change the kids over the course doesn't always flow smoothly. I'd hate for you guys to think that it's always sunshine and roses here. I'm sure things will even out shortly but it makes me feel so badly when she refuses to take suggestions from me.

This was also a stressful day at work. I did my financial statements and ew. Not quite what it needs to be! I have a few ideas to bring in some more money; it's just hard to see the numbers in black (red) and white!

To ice today's beautiful cake, I forgot to put the chili in the crockpot this morning!!! So dinner time rolled around with no dinner.

There's a bright side of this coin of a day though! I'm comparing this to what would have happened before Clean Eating took over my kitchen. I did not go through McDonald's drive thru, I did not order pizza, nor did I eat chips, dip, and ice cream for dinner. I went to the fridge and pulled out last nights leftover roast beef, some crusty bakery fresh dinner rolls and a container of freshly made fruit salad. We had roast beef and cheese sandwiches on dinner rolls (I just had one) and fruit salad for supper. It was great and I feel like a success.

Today's Eats:

M1: whole grain toast, natural pb, apple
M2: roast beef, brussel sprouts, 1/2 whole wheat dinner roll
M3: lasagna ( fairly clean except for the white pasta - homemade by someone else - everything is from scratch)
M4: trail mix
M5: roast beef and NZ cheddar sandwich, dinner roll, fruit salad
M6: brown bag popcorn

A bit high on the carbs today but all in all, not a weight gain day and fairly clean - and great for such a stressful day.

Jan. 5 - Toxin of the Day: Trisodium Phosphate

I'd like to introduce a new feature on my blog, The Toxin of the Day! Food companies are doing North America a huge disservice by legally introducing poisons into the food we feed our children and consume each day.

Consider preservatives for a moment. How do you think they preserve food? They preserve food by making it inhospitable to mold and bacteria. Basically, most of them are nothing but minute doses of pesticides. If they are toxic to bacteria, how do you think that they relate to our bodies? People walk around feeling sick and exhausted all of the time, and I firmly believe it is because of the constant influx of toxins we are voluntarily consuming.

Today's lucky winner is Trisodium Phosphate. Sodium phosphates are used as an emulsifier - that means they blend foods that would not normally stay blended. They are commonly found in processed cheeses, processed meats, and canned soups. It can also be used as a leavening agent in batter or commercial cakes.

Now the fun part: let's see what else Trisodium Phosphate is used for and decide whether or not we want to eat it!

The primary use for this chemical is in cleaning products. Particularly, it is the active ingredient in many toilet bowl cleaners. These cleaners carry the warning:

MAY DAMAGE GROUT AND CORRODE METAL. USE GLOVES WHILE HANDLING THIS PRODUCT.......

The Clean Water Act has taken steps to limit use of this product in cleaning supplies because of the damage it causes to the environment. They have great ecological concerns about this chemical being introduced into our water supply. The FDA, however, still deems this safe to eat.

I don't know about you, but I have no interest in feeding myself or my family any food that contains this product.

PLEASE READ YOUR LABELS!!! If you can't picture in your head the source of the ingredient, you probably don't want to eat it.

I'll be back later to talk about today's food.

Jan. 4 - And more food prep.....

Today was my grocery and food prep day. I thought I'd show you what $60 of Clean groceries looks like in my little part of the world.

I got whole grain bread and buns from the bakery, a sirloin roast, 2 packs of chicken breasts, sea salt, a pineapple, granny smith apples, some very green bananas, asparagus, baby carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, grape tomatoes, organic salad mix, clean pizza sauce, a can of white beans, and trail mix ingredients. The fruit salad that you see already prepared contains: One expensive slice of watermelon, a cantaloupe, blackberries and blueberries. Not pictured is a container of extra virgin olive oil and a 5 pound bag of yukon gold potatoes.

I am going to cook the roast and the chicken in oven bags at the same time today. I am also going to roast the Brussels sprouts and some potatoes, garlic, and carrots. I like oven bags for lean cuts of meat because they stay nice and juicy and there is very little clean up. I'm going to prep the other veggies into steamer bags for future use. We will have decadent leftovers this week!

People often ask me if it's more expensive to eat the way I do. I think $60-$80 is a reasonable grocery bill for a family of 3. We will have to get milk later in the week but we should be okay aside from that.

The expense is in getting started on the new way of eating. You find short cuts and ways to shop less expensively as you become accustomed to the way you are eating. The initial investment in condiments like clean sweeteners (sucanat, maple syrup, honey), whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat flour), natural nut butters and clean seasonings can be daunting but now I only replace these odds and ends once in a while. I also no longer eat out, so that is about $40-$50 a week that I was previously spending that no longer figures into the budget.

Today I bought myself a reward for finally breaking the 200 barrier. I was really getting tired of toting my food around in plastic grocery bags. Here's my new cooler bag! I think it's really cute and it's HUGE! I put my Eat-Clean Family and Kids Cookbook beside it for reference. I always photographed one of the 3 water bottles that goes everywhere with me - they will fit very nicely in my bag!

I've gotten a few questions about my trail mix. It varies what I put in it. The grocery photo above has this week's version. It contains:

4 parts raisins

1 part cashews

1 part almonds

1 part banana chips

Some people put some dark chocolate chips in their trail mix but the above is sufficiently sweet for us. The kids love it too (***added bonus***)

Today's food:

M1: whole wheat toast, natural pb, 1/2 pear

M2: Leftover stir fry containing broccoli, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and chicken

M3: Bean dip w/multi grain tortilla chips ( the chips have gotta go! too high in fat!)

M4: Roast beef, garlic roasted potatoes and carrots, roasted Brussels sprouts, asparagus

(the kids are going to have to try the Brussels sprouts but I'm making the asparagus as a backup veggie)

M5: fruit salad

Have a squeaky clean day!

Daisy

Jan. 3 - Clean "Junk"

I knew the day would come and today it did. We were out today and the plan was to go out to lunch. We were visiting a friend in the hospital and we were planning to stop near the hospital to grab a bite to eat. There was absolutely nothing around so we ended up heading home. During our drive home, the snowfall turned into a blizzard and there was no way I was driving anywhere but home. My oldest proceeded to get upset because I was "depriving" her from junk. She said, "I'm a kid!!! Kids eat junk!"

So I've put on my mom thinking hat and I'm coming up with some more clean food that will pass as junk. Here are some of the things I have come up with so fa:

PAPER BAG POPCORN

How about the ease of microwave popcorn without the chemistry project? All you need is a brown paper bag, 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, some sea salt and some olive oil. Put the kernels in your bag and roll the top over twice, leaving plenty of room for your kernels to pop. Put this in the microwave for 1.5 - 2 minutes. When it's done add a splash of olive oil and sea salt to taste, close the bag and shake it to mix it up. POOF! Truly healthy microwave popcorn.

^ this recipe is thanks to "Natmo", a wonderful member of the toscareno.com forum.^

MEATBALL SUBS

Clean meatballs

Clean marinara sauce

2 cloves of roasted garlic

olive oil

low fat mozzarella or Parmesan

Clean bun

Heat up meatballs of your choice in marinara sauce - careful not to use too much sauce or the sandwiches will be too messy to eat. Slice the buns in half and brush or spray with olive oil. Spread roasted garlic on the buns. Toast these in the oven, then top with meatballs, sauce and cheese. Return to the oven until cheese is melted. I eat these sandwiches open-faced with a knife and fork. (only 1/2 a bun that way). You can also top them with onions and peppers.

BEAN DIP

Can of low-fat refried beans (check ingredients to make sure they're clean - we use President's Choice brand)

Shredded low fat cheese

Clean taco sauce or salsa

(I make this dip in a loaf pan - it's the perfect size)

Spread the beans in the pan. Top with salsa, then cheese. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Serve with multigrain or other clean tortilla chips, or pita chips. Leftovers are great as burrito or pita filling.

I know these are not fancy cooking. They barely qualify as cooking - more as putting stuff together. I'm working on some other ideas that I will share with you after some experimentation. I want my kids to enjoy eating clean, not to feel deprived.

I felt a sense of urgency today, even though DD was just sulking because she wanted to eat out. The surest way to make this change fail is for the kids to feel like they are getting "ripped off." I feel so strongly about this way of life - I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it work for all of us.

Eats were a little weird today, what with being stuck in the car in a blizzard for 3 hours! Here they are:

M1: whole wheat toast w/ natural pb, apple

M2: Trail mix

M3: Bean dip and multigrain chips

M4: Open faced meatball sub

M5: Fruit

So, low on the fruits and veggies but nothing bad here!

Jan. 2 - Today's food

I'll tell ya, school cannot start soon enough for me! I have had so much trouble getting a workout in over the holidays! Thank goodness I can get back into a routine on Monday!

Another fact that makes me happy: Tosca Reno says in her books that success is 80% diet! At least that I can be in control of, if not my current workout schedule.

Here is what today's food looked like:

M1: whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter, apple, iced latte
M2: chicken breast w/ brown rice and salsa, cherry tomatoes
M3: Trail mix
M4: Stir fry with chicken breast, broccoli, cabbage, and carrot, homemade honey garlic stir fry sauce, brown rice
M5: Popcorn w/ olive oil and sea salt (the kids are eating the last of the chips and I am dying for salty bad food!)

Tomorrow is going to be kind of crazy. My dearest friend is in the hospital so we are going to travel to the US to see her. We'll eat after church and then go. I'm going to take some trail mix for in the car but we will definitely be having at least one meal out. I'm going to keep it as clean as possible but I don't know what is near the hospital, so I can't plan ahead. Wish me luck!

Jan. 2, 2010: Meal Planning

The key to eating clean is preparation. I find that most of us fall off the wagon when we aren't prepared. Hunger is a powerful motivator to grab something at Taco Bell's drive thru! I find that if I make a bunch of basics all at once then there is always something to grab quicker than you can say "Happy Meal"!

The best food prep site I know of is this one http://www.billandchelle.com/fitness/food_plan.html
Chelle has successfully maintained a large weight loss for over a year. She was featured in Women's Health magazine and I have modified her food prep plan for our family's use. Check it out - I know you will be impressed!

Once a week I do a big food prep and usually there is a little more cooking once or twice a week. I like to have certain basics on hand so that I can put a meal on the table (or in the cooler) in a snap.

I always have the following items prepared because I can change up the flavors and have many different types of meals according to how the day is going:

soup stock (recipe http://afuturesuccessstory.blogspot.com/2009/12/dec-27-flu.html )

baked brown rice (recipe below)

chicken breasts

veggie steamer bags (instructions below)

ground meat (usually turkey or chicken, sometimes beef) (recipe below)

These are a few staples I also have on hand:

Canned beans (rinse before using them to remove some salt)

clean salsa

all natural whole wheat pita bread

frozen corn

cilantro

jalapeno relish (recipe below)

plain yogurt

whole wheat pasta

clean spaghetti sauce

tomato juice and tomato paste

baby spinach

eggs

raisins

nuts

natural peanut butter

clean crackers

oatmeal

If you keep this stuff around you can have a lot of variety. As you work your way through this you will figure out what works best for the tastes of you and your family.

Steamer Bags of Veggies:

This is an invaluable suggestion from Chelle's website. My kitchen would not be complete without steamer bags full of veggies. As soon as I get home from the grocery store, all veggies that are to be cooked over the week get washed and prepped for cooking (cut up, peeled, etc.) Then the veggies are placed in steamer bags with a sprinkling of Mrs. Dash or other seasonings. I always have several in the fridge to choose from. Right now in my fridge I have bags of : cabbage, broccoli, broccoli and cauliflower, cauliflower and carrots, asparagus, and green beans and carrots. They get nuked for 4-6 minutes and then are all set.

If I am in a hurry ( which is most of the time) I steam the veggies before adding them to the stir fry skillet - it really speeds things along!

Ground meat:

1 pound of ground meat ( lean beef, chicken breast or turkey breast)

1/4 cup diced onion

2 cloves of minced garlic

chili powder to taste

1/2 can of tomato paste

Saute veggies in a bit of olive oil. Add meat and cook until browned. Add chili powder and stir in tomato paste. Thin with water if necessary. Cook for a couple of minutes until blended. This mixture is good for a quick taco filling, spaghetti sauce, or chili. It is also good stirred into rice and topped with salsa for an all in one dish.

Baked Brown Rice

(This recipe is a modified version of Alton Brown's Baked Brown Rice - you can check out Alton's version at this link http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html )

1 1/2 cups of brown/wild rice mixture

2 1/2 cups of homemade stock (you can use a clean canned chicken broth if you can find one)

1 cup of baby spinach

1/2 cup carrots

2 cloves garlic

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring stock to a boil on the stove. I use a pot that can go in the oven to make things easier. While boiling stock, put spinach, carrots and garlic into the food processor and pulse until it is coarsely ground. Add the veggie mixture and the rice to the pot and immediately put the lid on it to seal it tightly. Place this in the oven for exactly one hour and you will have a big pot of perfect fluffy rice.

I usually have my chicken breasts baking on the other rack in the oven at the same time.

With the rice you have a side that goes with any meal: Mexican, Chinese, Greek - it is very versatile. It's also delicious in a soup.

Jalapeno Relish

6 jalapeno peppers

1 tbs. white vinegar

pinch of organic cane sugar.

Yet another food processor recipe! Remove the stem from peppers. For a less spicy condiment remove seeds. I just take off the stem and cut each pepper into 3 pieces and place in the bowl of the food processor. Add other ingredients and pules until finely minced. This makes a delicious spicy condiment to add to your food. I love spicy food and the kids don't so this is one way I like to add some bite to my chili or tacos.

Here is a list of meals that can be quickly put together using the above foods:

Chicken and broccoli stir fry over rice

rice and chicken skillet with salsa

Pita sloppy joes with ground meat

spaghetti with meat sauce

mexican meat and rice

chicken soft tacos

ground meat soft tacos

chili

Chicken vegetable soup with rice or noodles

Chicken cacciatore with pasta

pita pizza with chicken and veggies

Chicken pita w/ tzatzki and veggies

I hope this gives you a few ideas for meal planning and food prep. This system is working really well for us. It's family friendly and best of all, there is constantly good food ready and available.

Have a squeaky clean day!

Daisy

Jan. 1 - My Pantry - Phase 1, GB&U

GB&U meaning Good, Bad and Ugly. Today I did Phase 1 of cleaning up the pantry. I am lucky enough to have a big bright walk-in pantry, but danger was lurking within. I got rid of the stuff that would tempt me, and left some items that I will just phase out as the kids eat them.

Top shelf: White sugar ( I decided to keep that bag for the occasions that we do bake-sale goodies for the school, etc.), aside from that the top shelf is storage for jars and containers, etc.
2nd shelf down: Some of this stuff is naughty. I had recently purchased a bunch of Nutrigrain stuff for the kids. I will dole it out in Lunchboxes until it is done. My steel-cut oats, box of sweetener for a diabetic friend, cornmeal, boxed potatoes (they will probably go during phase 2)8 boxes of whole grain, natural pasta
3rd shelf down: Green bin is baking items like, powder, soda, etc., box of granola bars (not clean),lentils, clean tomato sauce, water packed tuna, homemade spaghetti sauce canned last summer, whole wheat flour, pumpkin soup (not clean - kids will eat it one night when I work late) mixer, clean crackers
4th shelf down: natural pb (not opened yet), another bag of oats, can of chicken soup, (not clean)12 cans of beans, mixed grain oatmeal, canned pasta (not clean - for kids lunches), the last microwave popcorn we will ever buy, my beloved crockpot.
Bottom shelf is storage for baggies, foil, etc.

This is the stuff going to the food bank: 4 cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 jars of jelly, 3 cans of baked beans, white pasta lasagna noodles.

In analysis, I know this can still improve. Like I mentioned before, I'm not in a financial position to just toss everything. I know the un-Clean stuff that remains will not tempt me. I'm planning another Clean-up in one month, and anything remaining will be donated.

Little steps all the way to a healthy home and family!!!