Cleaning it Up

I think it's time to shake up the blog a bit. My posts have been pretty heavy lately. Life isn't so serious. I make time for fun and yummies, too. In fact laughter and clean healthy whole foods are great for healing processes. But you already knew that, right? 

Last Sunday I took inventory of my freezer and pantry then sat down with my Clean Eating, Oxygen and Eating Well magazines and came up with a plan. I need quick dishes that are rich in protein and veggies because life is wonderfully full but I still want to eat healthy. I like lots of nutritional bang from the time I put into the kitchen.

I made the following 3 recipes in about 2 hours. Seriously, just 2 little hours. You have 2 hours to devote to eating healthier, don't you? 

Burger Mix (from Oxygen's Collector's Issue Summer 2005) (I quad'ed the org recipe for the week)

 16oz extra lean ground beef (I use grass fed)

2 cups brown rice (already had it cooked and frozen so it was super easy)

1 c chopped onion

15 oz can of no salt added diced tomatoes

I added a little big of Greek seasoning and ketchip too. Yum! 

My mom wanted me to try replicate a Garbanzo bean Salad she had at catered event last week.

2 cans organic Garbanzo beans

1/4 c unsweetened dried cherries

1 big can of artichoke hearts

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped

1 clove of garlic 

4 oz goat cheese

1/3 c chopped walnuts

Then I whisked together organic oilive oil and organic apple cider vinegar to hold it together. Mom said I nailed it! Woot!! 

The last thing I 'cooked' today came from Eating Well's June 2010 issue:

Broccoli, Ham and Pasta Salad

6 ounces of dry whole wheat noodles

4 cups broccoli (I steamed a bag of frozen, because raw brocc doesn't work well at my house)

6 ounces nitrate free ham and turkey lunch meat (instead of diced ham)

large red pepper, diced

1/3 c red onion, finely diced

1/3 c raisins

Creamy Herb Dressing

1/2 c low fat mayo

1/3 c nonfat plain yogurt (I used Greek, and therefore could have easily halved or eliminated the mayo)

1/4 c lowfat sour cream

3 T rice vinegar (could sub white wine vin)

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T honey

1/2 T dried chives (or fresh)

1.5 tsp tarragon or dillweed

1/2 tsp onion and/or celery salt (I just used onion powder)

white pepper to taste

Mix it all up! 

I've got a little of the Burger Mix and Garbanzo Bean salad left to get me through the weekend. Which reminds me, I'll need to make a plan for next week soon. 

What's your clean eating plan for next week?

I finished Cathe Friedrich's STS (Shock Training System) yesterday. I'm so proud of myself! I made fantastic strength gains on a few different levels, but that's the next post. 

Don't miss it!