Clean Eating Update and Smoothie Recipe

Hello all! The last time I updated you on my clean eating, I was having a few obstacles I was trying to overcome, and I wanted to give you a brief update on how everything’s going:

• Going out: Clean eating sure can be a struggle while going out. I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post that I attended my cousin’s wedding shower last weekend. This time of year is always crazy busy for me, but now, it’s gotten even busier – I have something going on every agile weekend until July. For the most part, I’ve been able to make healthy choices, but when someone puts a piece of cake in front of me (today, last weekend, and next weekend, we’re celebrating Easter dinner a week early because we’ll be in South Carolina for the holiday), I just can’t say no!

• The coffee dilemma: I think you all know that I LOVE my coffee. Well, I’ve been really trying to avoid putting sugar or weird creamer in my coffee, but I love my International Delight Almond Joy creamer a little to much to to give it up completely. Up until now, I was trying to use skim milk, almond or vanilla extract, and stevia to make my coffee experience more enjoyable. And since I can’t have cream (high cholesterol), I have moved back to enjoying my International Delight creamer.

• Swedish fish: My husband bought me these little guys the other night and I couldn’t help but devour them. What can I say, I don’t have the best willpower.

I understood when I decided to try clean eating that it would be difficult, but I don’t regret any of the foods that I’ve eaten. For the most part, I’m trying to stick to this lifestyle, and I do feel so much better because of it! Luckily, because JP is trying to eat healthy, too, it’s not as difficult as it would normally be.

Also, I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I made up my own smoothie recipe. If you love coconut and you like strawberries, you’ll LOVE this:

Lis’ Strawberry Coconut Super-food Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lite coconut milk (I used Thai Kitchen
1/2 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/2 cup chopped strawberries, fresh
1 banana
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 tablespoon sweetened coconut flakes
3 stevia packets, to taste
10 ice cubes
A splash of water to help break down ice cubes

Directions:
Put everything in the blender, and blend. Enjoy!

You can also substitute other ingredients (I want to try substituting the banana with watermelon and/or pineapple in the near future). Also, if you’re on a Paleo diet, just substitute the Greek yogurt with more coconut milk. There are so many different ways you can make this recipe!

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Six Things I Love Saturday

Hello all! I know I haven’t been posting much lately, and I apologize. This blog – that was supposed to be about running (and still is, I promise!) – has recently turned into a blog about food, clean eating, and all random factoids about me that somehow relate to different days of the week. I’m not sure how I feel about constantly relating my posts to different days of the week, but as long as the content is quality and you, my readers, enjoy it, I don’t mind. And since I always receive great feedback on my Saturday (and sometimes Friday) posts, without further ado, here are six things I love!

1. Springtime
Can anyone deny how awesome warmer weather is – especially after the crappy winter we’ve had? And the higher temps and longer days make me hopeful that I can start running again soon.

2. Smoothies
I’ve really been enjoying making smoothies for myself lately, and came up with one particular concoction that I can’t wait to share with you tomorrow. Now that it’s getting warmer out and the days are longer, I can’t help but crave superfoods like strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon. Mmm, watermelon!

3. Family
I’ve been blessed with a wonderful, loving family that I’m very close to. I’m literally close to them – my parents live 5 minutes away from me in one direction and my sister lives 5 minutes away in the other direction. Lately, I’ve been spending even more time with my family. Last Saturday, I enjoyed some quality time with my cousin, grandmother, mom, and sister at my cousin’s bridal shower. And tomorrow, I’ll be spending the day at my parents’ house, celebrating my grandmother’s and father’s birthdays.

Me with my sister, cousin, and grandmother at my cousin’s shower.

4. Game of Thrones
Aaaaargh, I’m so excited for Season 4 to start again tomorrow night!

5. The ocean.
I love, love, love the beach…and the ocean, in general, and am so excited that I’ll be going on vacation to South Carolina fairly soon to enjoy some time in the sun and on the beach!

Ahh, pure heaven!

By the way, I took this quiz today and found out that I belong on Cape Cod. Although I love the ocean, I can see myself more in Rhode Island or on the coast in Southern Maine.

But then I took this quiz, and was told that I belong in Massachusetts. I was hoping I’d get somewhere warm, but instead got my place of residence. Creepy! Maybe I should look into moving to the Cape…

6. New England
Yeah, I’ve had it with winter, but I have to admit, New England is pretty awesome, and although I kind of live in the sticks of Massachusetts (we don’t even have a grocery store in my town), I’m lucky enough to have pretty easy access to a lot of stuff. If I want to go to the beach, I can drive 45 minutes away and get there. If I want to go skiing (something I say I’m going to do every year and then don’t), the closest place to go is about a half hour away. We have the mountains in the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, and even Maine; part of the Appalachian trail; we abut the Atlantic Ocean; and there is so many food unique to New England. Hello, we’re home to Dunkin Donuts! So although I love visiting other states – and who knows, I may someday venture out beyond these six states and find somewhere new to live – a piece of my heart will always belong to New England.

What season do you prefer…and why?

Would you rather live near the ocean, near a lake, in the mountains, in the city, or somewhere else? If somewhere else, what would you prefer…and why?

Lightened Up Coconut Watermelon Salad

I found this recipe in the Food Network magazine a year ago, and have been dying to try it ever since then. I finally bought all the ingredients and made my own version of it today…and it was delicious!

Wicked Random Wednesday 3.26.14

Well, folks, another hump day has come and gone! I have to say this one has felt quite…strange to me. Usually I always have something BAD happen to me on Wednesdays. I guess I should say, something happens that really throws me for a loop, whether it’s at work or at home. But today was, in fact, totally random. So, without further ado, here are some random things to share with you for this week’s post.

Clean Eating, Days 1 and 2

Today’s Workout: Walked 2 miles with the dogs

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and although I vowed to practice clean eating this past weekend, starting yesterday, I forgot that I would have to overcome the hurdles and pressure of the rest of the world, especially when I would be attending my mom’s birthday party.

Hurdle #1: Find some “clean food” when going out to eat.
It’s really hard to find something that you consider to be “in it’s most natural state” when you go out to dinner. Half the time you have no idea what’s been added to it. Some people may call me a weirdo, but I’m not a huge fan of eating out for this reason. Ive always avoided most foods with “cream sauce” because they generally don’t help my cholesterol; and generally, most salads and salad dressings have hidden additives. Luckily, I found some chicken kabobs on the menu that were grilled, with no additives in them.

Hurdle #2: Re-defining good coffee.
I have always been a big fan of coffee, and my absolute favorite way to drink it had been in a huge honking mug with 4 tablespoons of International Delight Almond Joy coffee creamer in it. Well, considering the fact that this creamer can last for months in end without going bad, it’s not exactly “natural,” or even good for you. This morning, I replaced my regular creamer with some skim milk, a half teaspoon of vanilla extract, and two packets of stevia. It’s not Almond Joy, but not bad, either.

Hurdle #3: Going completely GF.
This one is going to take some time. When I’m baking, I do use GF flower when possible, but I’m not quite ready to give up my regular, non-GF bread just yet. Clean eating does not mean you have to go gluten free; this is just a personal decision that I’ve made because I’ve been having some GI problems. I’m seriously thinking about seeing an allergist to find out for sure if I’m allergic to gluten, but since I have some family members who are allergies to it, I’m thinking it’s likely that I am, too. Although I haven’t gone completely gluten free, the bread that I have been eating is freshly baked (no preservatives) and I’ve noticed that making this change has made me feel less tired than I usually am when finishing a meal.

Hurdle #4: Replacing my Crystal Light and other Splenda filled water additives with natural sweeteners.
This one I’m definitely still working on. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my water plain, but sometimes you need a change. When I go out to eat (like yesterday), it’s easy to order water with lemon (or lime), but if I’m going to do this at home, I need to make sure I buy fruit to flavor my water. Luckily, when I went to the store this evening, I purchased some yummy looking oranges…nom, nom, nom!

Hurdle #5: Giving up birthday cake.
OK, let’s be real. I am human. And I ate some cake at my mom’s birthday party. Although my plan is to use natural alternatives to sugar (my new go to sweetener is honey, because there’s nothing more natural than that), I know and accept that sugar will be found in plenty of foods which I won’t always be saying no to…like cake at my mother’s birthday party.

Was there ever anything you really enjoyed eating that you had to give up because of an allergy, new lifestyle, or diet? If so, what was it?

Do you follow a healthy eating regimen, such as clean eating, going GF, or paleo? If so, what type of healthy lifestyle did you choose (notice how I don’t use the word “diet”)?

Breakfast Food and Clean Eating

They say breakfast is the most important part of the day, so I always try to eat a good meal at the start of the day. During the week, my breakfast tends to be coffee and overnight oats, but on the weekend I kind of get “crazy” and make myself pancakes, muffins, or something of the sort. This post is for you, Marissa