30 Day Clean eating challenge - Day 1

I'm challenging myself to eat "clean" for 30 days.  What does eating clean mean?  Well, that depends on who you ask!  There are lots of different versions of clean eating but for myself, I've chosen to follow these rules:

1. No processed foods.  Everything will be made from scratch.  With ingredients that are not processed either (ie, no white flour, no margarine, no etc)  All natural whole ingredients.

2.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  LOTS! 

3.  Lean protein.  I'm using chicken and shrimp and ground turkey as my meat.  I'm mostly vegetarian so I'm also using eggs, beans, tofu (yes, it's processed but I"m allowing it), nuts.

4. No added refined sugar.  I'm using small amounts of honey but very, very small amounts. That means no pop, candy, baked goods, etc.  I'm also not doing any artificial sweeteners either - no Diet Dr. Pepper - sob!!

5.  Only whole grains.  I'm going gluten free for the first week.  After that I'll allow small amounts of 100% whole wheat.

6. No dairy for the first week.  After that, only lowfat and limit amounts.


So for today, this is what I ate:

Overnight Oatmeal

1/2 c. whole grain rolled oats
1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 c. unsweetened greek yogurt
1 TBS chia seeds
1 tsp honey
1/2 c unsweetened fruit (I used frozen cherries, the recipe called for blueberries)

Mix all together and refrigerate over night



For lunch I made the most AMAZING lunch.  I could seriously eat this every day.

I took two quinoa patties that I had made the night before (I'll post the recipe tomorrow), heated them up and put them on a plate.  On top of that I put a couple of cups of greens (spinach, lettuce, cabbage) tossed with a small amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On top of that, I put some roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted mushrooms and kale.   I topped it all with a fried egg.

I ate it and I swooned.  

It was very, very good.


For dinner I had a giant stir fry on brown rice.  It was full o veggies. 

For a snack I had a rice cake topped with avocado.

I also cheated and had a dark chocolate Lindor truffle.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Weekly Menu September 15 - 21

We are starting an austerity program around here to get rid of some debt (Hello Europe! We loved you but you killed our bank account!)  So the food choices around here are going to be frugal, frugal, frugal.

• French toast made with homemade bread, hashbrowns, fruit
• Lasagna from the freezer, homemade bread
• Pasta salad with veggies from the garden
• Lentil Rice Casserole with biscuits

• Taco Quinoa Salad with chips, fruit

These recipes can be made with pretty much all pantry and/or garden items.  This will free up my grocery budget for this week to stock up on some other staples we are out of.

Shopping list for this week (with the budgeted prices after):

• Canola oil (3.00)
• plastic wrap (3.00)
• Almond milk (5.00?)
• protein powder (8.00)
• dog treats (3.00)
• straws (2.00)
• spinach (2.00)
• spaghetti sauce x3 (6.00)
• salad stuff (ie, lettuce, green onion, etc) 5.00
• cocoa powder (1.50)
• eggs (3 doz) 5.00
• bagels (2.00)
• fruit (10.00)
• olive oil (3.00)
• 10 lbs potatoes 2.50
• milk 2.50
• cheddar cheese, 2 lb brick  5.50

 If I have done my math right, and I don't remember something else that I'm out of, this should be about $75.  Below my budget of $100.  The other $25 will be saved and combined with whatever I am under next week, and used to go to Costco.

I'll let you know how I've done.