Eating Clean!

I thought I'd share some of what I've been eating here on the blog.  You know, since I haven't posted a real recipe in ages. Lol! I plan to get back on track with some sort of posting schedule.  At the very least, I'd love to do 2 outfits posts, 1 beauty post and 1 recipe post a week. Just typing that is giving me anxiety. Lol! There aren't enough hours in the day.

But I digress.

Being honest: I do still indulge a bit - especially on the weekends {and especially this past weekend for my birthday!}. During the week, I have been sticking to whole, clean foods and drinking plenty of water.  Except for last night when I made buttery pancakes for dinner. YUM! :)

Here are some of my clean eats:

{Seasoned and grilled chicken breasts.  We normally grill a bunch of chicken breasts on Sunday for the week's dinners and lunches.  I like to season them well with olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and a pinch of oregano before grilling.  Most times, we grill whole breasts - bone in, skin on - but the boneless skinless ones work too. Whatever's on sale! I keep them wrapped tight in the fridge to easily grab and chop when needed.}

{Beans! I have been having a love affair with beans lately.  I used the canned ones {rinsed and drained to remove the sodium} of all varieties.  Cannellini beans are my fave.  I like to either make a bean stir fry in a little olive oil with onions, peppers, tomatoes, cumin, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder and serve it with brown rice. OR chill it and serve it on top of a salad for lunch. So flavorful and so good!}

{My "treat" lately has been having whole grain tortilla chips and fresh guacamole.  To make the guacamole, I smash 2 or 3 ripe avocados with a fresh squeezed lime. To the avocado mash, I add 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion, 1/4 cup finely chopped Roma tomato, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste and lots and lots of fresh cilantro. It's amazing!}

{When I am craving Mexican, specifically my Tacos, I whip up this dish using ground chicken {an absolute favorite ingredient}. I get the ground chicken and a small finely diced onion started in a pan with some olive oil and season it really well with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, red pepper flakes and a pinch of oregano. Once the mixture is done, I enjoy it on a whole grain tortilla with half of an avocado. YUM!}

{Eggs for dinner is a regular occurrence on the days where I just don't feel like cooking.  I get the carton of egg whites and cook about 1/2 cup in olive oil, simply seasoned with salt and pepper and steamed broccoli.}

{Salad on a tostada!  I made a dangerous discovery. Making tostadas at home - starting with a pan "fried" whole grain tortilla. I coat the tortilla in oil and brown it while it crisps in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  The texture is perfection!! On this night, I topped it with field greens, chopped grilled chicken breast, chopped red onion, rinsed and drained canned kidney beans, sliced avocado, salt, pepper, dried parsley and a homemade honey balsamic vinaigrette*.  Such a filling dinner.}

{Can you tell how addicted to avocados I am? I love them! I made my spin on BLTs for Sunday lunch a couple weeks ago. I used turkey bacon - the Goodshall's brand is the only one I'll eat, ripe and juicy tomatoes, ripe sliced avocado and plenty salt and fresh cracked pepper. Served open-faced style on top of a toasted slice of wheat toast.}

{I pretty much eat salads every day of the week at work for lunch. And this one was almost too pretty to eat. I love enjoying great looking {and tasting!} food.  I topped a bed of raw spinach with grilled chopped chicken breast {told you! we eat so much grilled chicken breast, LOL!}, shopped red onion, chopped red pepper and honey balsamic vinaigrette*}.

{My version of chopped salad.  Just random fresh ingredients on a plate, drizzled with *honey balsamic vinaigrette*. In this case: shredded rotisserie chicken, hard boiled egg, red onion, red pepper, avocado, spinach, sliced cucumber, and raw cashews.  I like to keep chopped veggies in baggies in a big bowl in the fridge to be able to easily grab.}

For the most part, I really enjoy this freshened up way of eating.  I love that I can still be creative with what I make.  I am not "dropping the pounds", but I am feeling good and looking less "puffy" which I love! Eating this way takes a lot of planning and of course buying fresh foods is always more expensive, but I've always splurged in the grocery store on fruit and veggies.  My kids are great fruit and veggie eaters so we are all loving it. We are doing a lot less snacking on crap and more snacking on natural sweet fruits.  It's been fun! :)

*Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 (5/8 ounce) package Good Seasonings Italian salad dressing mix

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 clove crushed garlic

fresh black pepper

Add all ingredients to a mason jar {or plastic container with a lid} and shake well to coombine.  Refrigerate leftover.  A little of this goes a long way - so flavorful! :)

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xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥