EAT CLEAN RULES (Our interpretation- there seem to be many views on what is clean and what is not)
1- Eat whole foods whenever possible. Think- buy ingredients not meals.
2- No Soda, even diet
3- No preservatives, additives- If you look at the label of a food and there is something in there which you would not buy at the grocery store and use yourself put it back.
4- No refined sugars or flour. If it is white it has been processed. No soy. Ezekiel bread id one thing to try, or you can make your own stuff OR look for Whole Grain breads with few ingredients.
5- Oils- No Genetical modified oils or highly processed oils. Stay away from Soil, Canola, vegetable, corn, Palm or Hydroginized. I am focusing on Coconut and a high quality olive oil.
6- Dairy- Super confusing, there is a lot of debate about Dairy. Some say low fat plain dairy in moderation is good. Others say full fat and plain in moderation (Think of it like an oil not a protein). Other say none at all. I am planning to look in the dairy section and check out ingredients on products. Anything we use will be in moderation, and I am leaning toward plain yogurt in recipes. We will be switching to unsweetend Vanilla Almond Milk as our milk product (we currently use Sweetened Almond milk).
7- Eggs and meat- Combination of Whole and egg whites, Organic turkey or chicken (bought from farms if possible), lean grass fed beef, High quality pork, Bison, venison and most fish.
8- We are still using shakeology because we love it. There is a big debate about if any such shake could be clean. However, there is strong support for Shakeology because it is made of whole ingredient super foods. while the items are processed and prepared in a factory, there are not preservatives or additives in the mix.
MEAL PLAN
Monday: Pizza Night!! This is a make-up day for the pizza dinner night I was suppose to have a couple of weeks ago. It got postponed due to John's Pap passing away. Not going to include these groceries on the list because I have most if them and my friend is brings stuff too.
Tuesday: Frozen meal- Good old FAT Tuesday. While things are a little calmer these days than of Mardi Gras of past, we will be celebrating with an easy frozen crock pot meal, and rolls. AND SODA! Bye Bye you yummy sweet nectar of the Gods. Last night to enjoy our processed foods until He is risen!
Wednesday: Chickpea Stew (Eat Clean, Pg 146)- Looks like a hearty vegetarian stew. BUT BEWARE: This recipe requires you to soak beans overnight, and 60 minutes of standing time. It seems pretty involved so I am interested to see if it is worth the effort.
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| Chickpea Stew |
1 Cup dried Chickpeas- soak overnight
4 Tbsp Coconut or Avocado oil, divided
3 Tbsp Fresh chopped Rosemary
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 Carrots peeled and cut into chunks
2 large firm potatoes, cut into chunks
4 stalks of celery, cut into chunks leaves included
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup Raisins soak one hour in hot water them drained, reserve the liquid
Rice OR Quinoa
1- Soak Chickpeas overnight in large bowl on the counter. Cover with 6 inches of water. Cover Bowl with large plate
2- The next day, Drain the chickpeas and place them in a large stock pot with plenty of water. Cook until tender, about 1 HOUR. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 HOUR. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Rinse well. Repeat.
3- Combine soaking liquid from raisins with 2 cups of the cooking water from chickpeas in a large measuring cup, stir and set aside.
4- Place half the cooked chick peas in a blender and use half of the reserved liquid to blend the chickpeas to a uniform smoothness. Add 2 Tbsp Oil, Rosemary, turmeric, and curry powder. Blend again and set aside.
5- Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in Dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot. Add onion and cook for several minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook stirring all the while. If pan gets dry, add a bit more oil. Add remaining reserved liquid. Cover and let cook for several minutes.
6- Add remaining ingredients. and stir well. add chick pea mixture from blender and stir again. Cook, covered, for 20 Minutes
7- Serve over hot Quinoa or rice
Yields 8 one cup servings- We will probably have 4 and freeze the other half .
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| Roasted Bison Tenderloin |
Ingredients:
2 lbs Bison tenderloin
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Finely chopped shallots
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp Coconut oil
2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp Cracked peppercorns
1- Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2- Remove any silvery membranes from the meat. Shape Tenderloin by binding in several places with Kitchen Twine.
3- Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. with clean hands rub the seasoning over the meat. Make sure it is well covered.
4- Set the Bison in the oven and roast for 50 minutes. Check with meat thermometer. should be at 130 degrees for rare or 160 for medium rare.
5- Remove from oven and allow to sit, covered tightly in foil, for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.
Apple Butter recipe:
1.5 cups plain low fat yogurt
1/2 cup apple butter
juice of 1/2 fresh lime
Dash Tabasco Sauce (We are using Frank's red hot which surprisingly is clean.)
1 tsp Dried tarragon
1/2 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper
1- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.
2- Place in a small sauce pan. Heat gently over low to med heat. Then serve with roast.
Friday: Lentil Chili (Vegetarian, pg 144) with Super Simple Corn Muffins (Eat Clean pg 280) Nothing says Lent like Lentil Chili!
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| Lentil Chili |
Oil Water Spray (Small travel spray bottle: 1 part Coconut oil, 7 parts water)
2 Red Onions, chopped
1.5 tsp GRound Coriander
1.5 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 tsp crushed red-pepper
1 3/4 cup vegetable stock (Mine will be homemade- check out the recipe below)
4 cups cooked brown or green lentils (cook according to package takes 20-30 minutes- no soaking needing)
2 1/2 cups of diced fresh tomatoes and 1 cup of vegetable broth (Sub for 2 cans diced tomatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste.Plain low-fat yogurt
Quinoa or rice
1- Spray a sauce pan with Oil water spray, and cook the onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Add Coriander, Cumin, Paprika. Add Garlic, sun-dried Tomatoes, crushed red pepper and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Uncover and simmer until onions are very tender and almost all the liquid is gone.
2- Stir in Lentils, and diced tomato mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat.
3- ladle out 1/4 of the mixture and puree in a food processor. combine pureed and un-pureed portions
4- Serve over Quinoa or rice with yogurt.
Vegetable Stock recipe (You can really use a combination of leftover vegetables from your week for this, but here is what to buy if you don't have any left over things)
Ingredients
1 Large onion
3 Carrots
4 stalks of celery
1 Leek
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
small bunch of fresh parsley
1 Tbsp Peppercorns
1- Wash all ingredients, no need to skin them. Rough chop up ingredients, and put into a large pot.
3- Add water to cover veggies with about 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 hours
4- Allow to cool, strain with mesh strainer or cheese cloth. makes 8-10 cups. good for about a week, freeze what you will not be using in one week in 1-2 cup containers.
Super Simple Corn Muffins
Ingredients
Dry
1 1/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/3 cup Cornmeal
1/3 cup skim milk powder
2 Tbsp Honey
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
Wet
1/2 cup apple butter
2 cups almond milk, soured with 2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp coconut oil
4 egg whites, beaten
1- Preheat the oven to 425, prepare muffin pan- Spray baking cups with oil-water spray
2- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside
3- Place wet ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together will.
4- Add Wet mixture to Dry mixture, and mix until dry mixture is just moist.
5- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 35-45 Minutes.
Makes 12 Muffins
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| Beef and Walnut Stir Fry |
Ingredients:
2 tsp coconut oil or sesame oil
1 lbs Lean beef tenderloin chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 bunch asparagus, washed, trimmed and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsley chopped
1.5 cups green beans trimmed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 tsp sea salt
Ground black pepper
Juice of 1 freshly squeezed orange
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinger mixed with a pinch of salt and pinch of garlic powder
1- Heat Oil over med-high heat in skillet
2- Add beef and cook until well done on all sides. Add vegetables and garlic. Stir fry until tender
3- Add Walnuts and toss to heat through. Season with Salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings. Place serving on serving of rice.
4- Deglaze Pan (this means to add liquid to a pan that food has been cooked in, to dissolve the remains of roasted or sautéed food that sticks to the bottom) with juice. Add Balsamic mixture and stir well. cook over med-low until mixture is reduced by half. Pour over each plate and serve.
Sunday: This is an interesting day. we have planned my son's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. (YIKES!) Not very clean. Our plan is to eat a small plain salad there with oil and vinegar there, and then have leftovers from Stir-fry or Roasted Bison when we get home. I am also making special Clean Red Velvet Cup cakes with Cream cheese frosting in addition to the regular cupcakes I am making for the kids. After looking at the cost of the ingredients, and the time I would have to invest, I have decided to order the cupcakes from Etsy. I found this listing, and asked the seller to make them gluten and soy free too.
Also Making this week for snacks and as a condiment Homemade Hummus. I am making it because it is easy and yummy and a great way to soften the blow of this big diet change. Still a new recipe for me because I have made it with canned peas or beans, but wanted to try it with dried chickpeas instead.
Hummus Recipe
Serves: 4-6 cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry chick peas
- 2 tsp salt
- water
- juice of half of a lemon (I am either using the other half of my lime or the lemon juice from the bottle)
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup water (or more if needed)
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
Instructions
- Place the dry chick peas in a large bowl or pot and fill with water so that the water is at least an inch or two above the peas. Let them soak overnight in the fridge.
- Drain the chick peas. Place them in a pot and fill with new water and salt.
- Bring the chick peas to a boil. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat so that it is a low boil. Cook the chick peas for an hour. They should soften so they can easily be smushed with your fingers.
- Drain the chick peas and let them cool until they come to room temperature.
- Using a food processor, pulse the chick peas, lemon, garlic cloves and tahini. While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the water. Check the texture and thickness of the hummus. If needed, add more water to desired consistency.
- When serving, scoop into a bowl and drizzle olive oil and sprinkle cumin on top of the hummus.
Check your kitchen
SPICES: If you want to "Eat Clean" You should check your spices too, I found a few of mine had some additives that don't work into the Eat Clean Lifestyle.
Curry Powder
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Coriander
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Crushed red-pepper
Turmeric
Tarragon
Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper Corns
GRound Black pepper
4 cloves of garlic
Balsamic Vinger
lemon juice
High Quality Extra Virgin Olive oil
Tabasco Sauce or Franks Red hot
Whole Wheat Flour
Cornmeal
baking powder
Small travel spray bottle
Grocery List
3/4 cup Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Parsley
1 yellow onion
2 Red Onions
1 Large Onion
shallot
Lime
orange
6 Carrots
1 bunch asparagus
2 large firm potatoes
8 stalks of celery
Broccoli
1 Leek
2 Tomatoes
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Red Bell pepper
1.5 Cup Green Beans
1/4 cup Raisins
2 Sun Dried Tomatoes
dijon mustard (Not sure if this will be hard to find clean or not)
Apple butter
walnuts
3 cups dried Chickpeas
4 cups brown or green lentils
Tahini
Quinoa
Coconut oil
2 lbs Bison tenderloin
1 lbs Lean beef tenderloin
2 cups plain low fat yogurt
almond milk
3 Eggs
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