Clean Eating, Healthy Living

With pregnancy comes the pregnancy chub, we all know that. We are told that when you breastfeed you lose weight faster. 

Well I decided to help move that along a little quicker.

I see a lot of pins on pinterest that relate to losing weight and eating healthy.

So why I decided to click on this particular pin, I'm not sure, but I'm glad I did.

It took me to a 20 minute video about losing weight a healthy way and eating clean.

The program is called Fat Loss Factor.

I never fall for these kinds of things but this one was different I guess so I decided to buy the program.

It was 50 dollars and I got 3 months of recipes, daily workouts, an ebook and much more.

I have been doing this program for 2 weeks and I've already lost 8 pounds.

Makes me proud.

A few key points to live by and lose the pounds:

-Sugar turns to fat, stay away from it. If I want to sweeten something I use a little honey or agave nectar.

-You don't have to kill yourself working out. I do the exercises for 30 minutes 3 times a week as directed.

-If it's man made I don't eat it. (i.e. packaged foods and snacks)

-I eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 large ones.

-Snacking is important, just make sure they are healthy snacks. My favorite is apples with almond butter.

-100% Whole Wheat is a good friend. Stay away from white flour and make sure the label says 100% Whole wheat, not just whole wheat.

-Milk has hormones in it. Hormones are terrible for you so I drink almond milk. (even soy milk isn't very good for you, they spray the soy with harsh pesticides)

-Do not eat 2 hours before you go to bed. Otherwise it will just sit in your gut while you sleep.

-We eat because we need energy so breakfast is very important and should be the largest meal you eat.

-Smoothies are a great snack because you can pack them full of healthy things like fruit, veggies, oats, protein powder, flax seeds, etc. And smoothies also keep you full for a long time.

-Meat also has hormones and other substances that aren't good for your body and make it difficult to lose weight so when eating meat chose organic and hormone free meats and limit red meat intake. I stick with chicken and turkey.

-Water, water, water. Is the only think I've been drinking the past 2 weeks and I drink a lot of it. It makes you feel full and keeps your body healthy and hydrated.

-Eating a raw vegetable or a handful of raw almonds followed by a glass of water right before a meal will help you eat less. The veggies expand in your stomach and keep you from overeating because you feel full.

I've never really stuck with a diet plan because I never saw results fast enough but this seems to be working great. 

And the thing about this program is you aren't really dieting, I'm trading the out the bad foods with good clean food. 

Here are some of my favorite clean eating recipes:

Cannellini Bean and Spinach Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 shallot, finely diced
3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 - 14 1/2 ounce can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 - 14 1/2 ounce can no salt added cannellini beans or other white beans
1/2 cup whole grain or brown rice pasta shells
1 teaspoon rosemary
3 cups baby spinach, cleaned and trimmed
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
In a large sauce pan, sauté the shallots & garlic in the olive oil.
Add broth, tomatoes, beans and rosemary to pot. Season with black and red pepper. Bring to boil.
Add pasta and cook 12 minutes. If the soup seems too thick for your liking add a bit more broth.
Add spinach and cook until wilted.


Almond Honey Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter or almond butter
1 tsp. honey
Instructions:
Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan.
Turn to low and cook for 5 minutes.


Black Bean Cakes
1 - 16 ounce can black beans, drained and well rinsed
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
1 egg *
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Lightly oil a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 375° F.
In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork. Add finely chopped bell pepper, onion, and garlic and
stir into mashed beans.
In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce.
Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds
together. Divide mixture into four patties and chill for about an hour. Place patties on baking sheet, and
bake about 10 minutes or until crispy on each side.


Lemon Herb Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and lemon pepper to taste
1 generous pinch dried oregano
2 sprigs fresh parsley, for garnish
Cooking Oil Spray
Cut lemon in half, and squeeze juice from 1/2 lemon on chicken. Season with salt to taste. Let sit while
you a small skillet sprayed with cooking oil spray over medium low heat.
When skillet is hot, put chicken in skillet. As you sauté chicken, add juice from other 1/2 lemon, oregano,
lemon pepper and salt to taste. Sauté for 5 to 10 minutes each side, or until juices run clear. Serve with
parsley for garnish.


Ultimate Power Smoothie
Ingredients:
½ cup nonfat organic almond, rice, hemp, oat milk
1 tablespoons vanilla organic yogurt
1/3 cup of rolled oats
1 teaspoons organic peanut or almond butter
1 teaspoons natural chocolate protein powder
3 ice cubes

Clean eating Coconut Lime Freezer Cookies
Clean eating No Bake Cookies