Clean Eating No Processed Foods Challenge DAY 2

Today was TOUGH. As most people know, I work... A LOT. A lot a lot a lot. And both jobs I am surrounded by food ALL DAY. At the restaurant there is free bread, french fries, onion rings....and at the hospital there are bags and bags of chips and cookies and just UGH. Its hard. I was craving sugary iced coffee and chocolate chips cookies all day... But I stayed strong! I brought with me to work yogurt, fruit, sunflower seeds, homemade pumpkin bread, and leftovers from last night..

Then when I got home I made really great oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies which were sweetened with honey and raw sugar... and they were OUT OF THIS WORLD. So I am proud of myself. I said no to a lot of things today and I feel good. I think if I can get through tomorrow then I can definitely get through the rest fo the week!

Clean Eating Challenge Day 1: DINNER: Roasted chicken with roasted broccoli, cauliflower potato mash, abs homemade low fat gravy. Soooooooo good!

Day 1 Clean Eating Non - processed foods challenge :

LUNCH:

Cobb salad made with mixed greens cucumber, green peppers, tomato, , avocado, bacon, hard boiled eggs, and Mozzarella cheese.

All with a homemade creamy Greek yogurt Italian dressing.

It was Soooooo good! And I’m proud of that dressing I made. Tasted like it just came out of a bottle!

Day 1 of Clean Eating No Processed Foods Challenge:

BREAKFAST:

Plain greek yogurt with honey and strawberries

Homemade cranberry orange muffin with all natural teddy peanut butter.

+Cup of tea (not pictured)

7 DAY CLEAN EATING/MINIMAL PROCESSED FOODS CHALLENGE

Today is the day! Chris and I have decided to do a 1 week clean eating challenge with as little processed foods as possible. By processed foods we mean nothing that comes from a package, with some exceptions. We will be making our own bread and using flour (technically processed)... and a few other packaged things like oats, yogurt, milk, rice, beans, and bacon. Basically we can have something in a package if it has less than 2 or 3 ingredients in it. But for the most part our diet is going to consist of vegetables, fruit, meat, and whole grains.  This eating “challenge” is not about weight loss... its about getting back to cooking every day, incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our diets, and gaining back SELF CONTROL. My biggest problem is self control when it comes to eating a healthy diet. If we can avoid processed foods for a whole week, I will be very very VERY proud of myself. I have a 7 day meal plan set up for us. Here’s the dinner line up:

Monday: Roasted chicken with cauliflower potato mash and roasted vegetables

Tuesday: Vegetarian chili with homemade biscuits

Wednesday: Rice with collards and beans in peanut butter sauce

Thursday: Spicy chicken tostadas

Friday: Zucchini “noodles” in a light carbonara sauce

Saturday: Steak tips with rainbow veggie skewers

Sunday: Salmon with rice and vegetables

We are also making our own desserts and snacks. Things like zucchini chocolate cake sweetened with honey and stevia... homemade hummus... homemade granola and lara bars.

Lets just say I am excited and scared. I’m getting my period soon and when that time of the month comes I crave ooey gooey chocolate things, ice cream, and fried food. :P  I’m going to try and document everything here! All meals and snacks, etc. WISH ME LUCK! :D

Thinking about doing a 7 day “Clean Eating” Challenge

Meaning... eating almost entirely non-processed foods for an entire week. That means... pretty much nothing from a box or container. That means extreme meal prep.... Lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats/fish, beans, rice, whole wheat products... only raw/natural sugars... This IS NOT about/for weight loss...its about self control. That is my biggest problem.. I have trouble saying no to sweets and other processed foods. There is nothing wrong with sweets and some processed foods occasionally.. but I just can’t say no. :P  I just want to see if I can do it. Can I? Will I?  I’ll have to do lots of meal prep... find a recipe for some “clean” chocolate snacks... make some homemade granola/oatmeal for snacks... It will be hard but I really want to do it. I am also hoping it will help me with my sugar addiction. You know? What do you guys think?!

Didn't get a chance to post pictures of my delicious dinner from last night!

My professor made it in lab yesterday and I loved it so much I HAD to make it for dinner! Plus I thought Chris would love it!

It is brown rice with sauteed garlic, corn, carrots, wilted baby kale in a sesame soy sauce.

It was SUPER easy-- legit 30 minute meal. The thing that takes the longest is the rice!

And I added chicken for Chris... because he never stays full with a vegetarian meal. And as you can see... the portion size difference between our plates. My plate is the first one and his is the one at the bottom! I typically give him about double!

You can also top it with cheese or sunflower seeds! (I was GOING to put them both on there but I forgot I was so hungry and excited to eat it....!) Haha