Day 3:

I am determined to drink more water today!!! I'll be cleaning the house, so I hope I can remember to continually drink more water.

Breakfast - Half a banana, wheat toast with strawberry jelly, and a little milk.

Snack - 2 wedges of cheese and crackers. Well, I apparently have been "milking" this 1 cup of water for 2 hours. :-/  HARDER than I thought!!

Lunch - PBJ

Snack - Grapes, water

Dinner - Eggs with cheese and bacon wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla; milk

Day 2:

Breakfast - Peanut butter and banana sandwich, banana, and a glass of milk.

Snack - Forgot.  I have an issue with remembering to eat!!!

Lunch - Left over chicken and rice with a cup of milk.

Snack - Cheese and crackers

Dinner - Pan-fried, in Olive oil, panko breaded chicken "schnitzel" with cheese tortellni tossed in olive oil and italian seasonings; a cup of milk.

Snack - 2 pieces of left-over chicken, a pickle wedge, and a cup of water.

Yeah.... Let's just say this first week is going to give me a good idea of what my eating habits are.  So far?   AWFUL! HAHA!

Day 1:

Breakfast:  Banana (I didn't eat much because I was in a hurry to go somewhere.  That is awful... I didn't even drink anything.. Boo!)

Snack - Watermelon pieces (Again, no water... Gonna have to get better at that!)

Snack - 2 wedges of Light Creamy Swiss by The Laughing Cow and a handful of Wheat Thins and a tall cup of water! (Finally!)

Lunch - Red beans, beef, and rice.  Mmmmm!  I must confess that the seasonings in the red beans/beef are not 100% clean.  I use Sofrito and Sazon and those have ingredients that are not 100% clean, so I have to research a recipe to make home-made.  I'll have to discuss this with mi abuela. Also had another cup of water.

Snack - Grapes, cheese and crackers again; no water.

Dinner - Chicken and rice with a couple drinks of fat-free milk and a little water.

Snack - Cheese and crackers, cheese stick, and a couple of pepperoni.  Really...

Tomorrow I will do better!!!

Maybe. ;)

About Me & My Desire to Feel Better

"You are only as old as you feel."

I'm 98.  Okay, not really, but my body thinks so.

A little bit of history: 
When I was 12 or 13, I started having problems. (What awkward pubescent girl doesn't?) My problems began by having hair thinning, weight gain, painful cramps and heavy PMS flow (sorry guys haha). I even had a hymanectomy at age 18 to see if that would help.  (It didn't.) I also started having pain in my joint areas and numbness in my left leg and arm.  I remember being in gym class and not being able to do a simple push-up without my wrists hurting.  I also couldn't eat a lot of heavy foods, or really it seemed like "anything," because my stomach would be upset.  It was so frustrating because all the doctors I went to over the years either gave me no answers, or answers that were incorrect, or simply told me it was in all in my head.  But, it can be difficult to diagnose something I guess. 

My family consists of my supportive husband, (Even if he is not a fan of a lot of the "green stuff."), my daughter "V" and myself.  We live on an acre property in the country and are fortunate enough to have poultry to lay us delicious, mostly free-range (due to predators), beautiful fresh eggs!  I haven't been able to butcher any yet...but that is something I hope to do down the road...  Then that would be at least some food items I could control. :)  I am all about self-sufficiency too.  I want to grow veggies, fruits, root plants, I want to hunt, and also proccess my own Tilapia, chicken, and goats or miniature cattle for meat one day.  (I think my next step would be goats; for their cheese, butter, milk, soap, meat...really a lot of benefits to goats!)  But this is a dream far in the future right now.  For now, I'm happy with my laying hen "girls."  :)

© EBouley Photography 2012

Recently, a friend of mine, Briony, suggested that I do some "Clean Eating" and see if that would help with my issues. She has her own blog "Freeze Your Way Fit" and has posted a lot of recipes and tips for eating and utilizing your freezer. :)

So I am starting this journey... I will be posting mainly recipes, but I will tell you how my journey is going.

As of right now, I am 32, mother of 1, married, 190 pounds, and unhappy with the discomfort I am dealing with on a daily basis. My goals? To no longer be in pain, to lose 20 pounds, and to set an example of a better lifestyle for my daughter. I do not wish what I, and her father, have gone through on her. I truly believe it starts at home. I want her to get excited about food! But I want her to be excited about HEALTHY food!

Today-July 2012:

So let's set a plan:

1. By one month, August 23rd, I want to be consistently eating clean.  Meaning - No fast food, no processed items, and as much fresh food as I can!  Also, because the temptation is there to fall off the wagon and get lazy, I will allow for this one month to "eat bad" once a week.  BABY STEPS!
2. Every month after the first month, I will be trying to lower that "once a week" to once every other week, then once a month.  I feel you can eat poorly every now and again, but to really limit it!
3. PORTION SIZES!!!  I will snack and eat portion sizes only!  I will not binge, I will not skip meals, I will not stuff myself!
4. After 6 months, I will do a weigh-in.  This may not be very significant in the numbers so I am ready for that.  (I won't be adding an exercise regimen, per se, other than some light exercises for my joints occasionally.)  After all, this is a lifestyle change that isn't a "diet fad," it is simply replacing processed, chemical-filled, highly sugared, unknown-named ingredient foods into food that you can read and know that if you could get it a thousand years ago, or it wasn't made in a lab, it is okay for you!  It is replacing the processed with the pure, the natural, the items your body can better digest.
5. At the 6 month mark, I will re-assess where I stand.  Have I been eating right?  Do I have any concerns?  Should I add a consistent exercise routine?  Things like that.

This is a lot to take into consideration.  I am sure there will be days that I will forget, or be lazy, or un-motivated, but it is these days that I must be strong.  I will look for your support!  So, starting tomorrow, I am going to start a daily food journal and I hope that everything goes well!

ADVENTURE!!!
~Ella~

Clean Eating - Grocery ADVENTURE!

Starting out can get expensive.... like $149.20 expensive.... for one week.

OH, let's be honest - this is for snacks, and sides, and stuff that will carry over to NEXT week...but this first trip out to find Clean foods was tiring!

Miss V enjoyed herself though. :)

She "helped" organize.

So!  What did I learn???

Marketing experts are SNEAKY BASTARDS.

Lesson 1:  Pure Evaporated Cane Juice (Instead of the regular, refined, white sugar.)  What's that you say?  OH!  This TOO is refined sugar??

Well crap.

Lesson 2:  I'm VERY glad to have planned out a week's worth of food menu and made a list AHEAD of time!  This is KEY to the future success of this lifestyle change!!!

I'm excited to be trying out these recipes, some new, some old and "cleaned up!"

Many recipe postings and my weekly menu coming soon!

RECIPE - Overnight Oatmeal (Freeze Your Way Fit)

SOURCE

Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats (Original recipe calls for steel cut oats or other whole grains)
1 cup of fat free milk (Or any type of milk you prefer)
1 tsp of almond extract (optional)
Cinnamon to taste (Or other seasoning optional)
Honey

Instructions:
In a small baking dish, add all ingredients except honey.  Cover and place in Crock-Pot in a water bath.  Cover Crock-Pot and cook overnight.  (About 8-9 hours)

In the morning, stir well, (Will have a "filmy" layer on top where it has cooled.)  Add Honey to taste or another sweetener replacement or fruit.

Makes 4 servings, about a cup each. 

So it was AWESOME to have breakfast ready and waiting for me in the morning!  I was disappointed in the lack of flavour, so I HIGHLY recommend adding some fruit or any other clean sweetener.  I added about a couple of Tbs of honey and stirred it in.  Miss V loved it! :)

RECIPE: Tuna Verde

Ingredients:

2 Handfuls of Fresh Baby Spinach

Celery Stalk; cut into chunks; add as much as you like

Dill Pickle; cut into chunks; add as much as you like

2 Cans of Albacore Tuna in Water; drained

2 Hard boiled Eggs

Greek Yogurt; added to moisten as needed (Like Mayo)

Spicy or Dijon Mustard to taste

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

*Sliced or Shredded Low fat Cheese (If desired.)

Whole Wheat or Whole Grain: Bread, Pita, Wrap, Crackers

Instructions:

Place in food processor: Veg, tuna, eggs

Blend until desired consistency; longer for smoother, shorter for chunkier (Or skip the processor completely and just chop by hand!)

Place in a bowl, add yogurt, mustard, and spices to "taste."

Enjoy as a sandwich, pita, dip; whatever you fancy!

Makes 4 sandwiches

Ok, so I did this and it seemed a little dry and bland.

I may do this again with Spicy Mustard instead of Dijon

and maybe add some low fat cheese.

But for following a recipe and "cleaning it up," I think it turned out pretty good!