Day 23 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 23 Taco Tuesday! Here is a recipe for tacos that is clean and filling!



Rondas Chicken Tacos.docx (239 kb)

Marinade recipes

Over the years I've compiled marinade recipes all in one spot. Marinades are a great way to change up simple meals like meat and veggies add a side of rice, quinoa, pasta, or a salad and you have a clean eating meal!

Day 19 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 19 it's BBQ Season! When in doubt make a kabob! A kabob can be customized with any meat, veggie and fruit. Line up your ingredients and let everyone make their own combinations. Pair it with a salad and you have a perfect clean eating meal. Kabobs are also perfect for camping!

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/thai-chicken-skewers/#_=1400819804161&count=horizontal&counturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleaneatingmag.com%2Frecipes%2Fthai-chicken-skewers%2F&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleaneatingmag.com%2Frecipes%2Fthai-chicken-skewers%2F%232&size=m&text=Thai%20Chicken%20Skewers%20-%20Clean%20Eating%20-%20Clean%20Eating%3A&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleaneatingmag.com%2Frecipes%2Fthai-chicken-skewers%2F%23.U37QQPh9wi4.twitter&via=cleaneatingmag

Day 17 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 17 Eating Clean on a budget. You can eat clean for probably less than you're currently spending on groceries. A couple years ago I gave myself a budget of $125 a week ($500 a month) for my family of 4. I remember when we were on this strict budget we even had a BBQ with family and stayed within the budget! My current budget is $550 a month (2 teenage boys and a Mt Rainier training husband forced an increase). I don't clip coupons. 95% of what I buy is organic. I simply buy only what's needed and I plan my meals so that if I have to buy a bundle of say, basil, it's used in other meals too so nothing goes to waste. I typically spend $150 at Costco for the month and then the rest is for grocery store and the farmers market. We started eating an actual portion size instead of an 8 oz steak, we had 4 oz steak with lots of veggies on the side. To stretch taco meat I would cook 1lb of ground beef with 16 oz of black beans, it doubles the amount of taco filling for only a few cents more! Something else that has saved alot of money is making my own yogurt! I was tired of spending .50 (if I was lucky enough to find it on mark down) to $1.00 per container. Buying 14-20 containers a week really adds up! I know I could buy the big containers of yogurt and save money but when you're family doesn't eat them it turns into a big waste of money. They like they're individual containers. I'm not telling you to make your own yogurt that was something I tried and it was easy and it was good so I kept doing it.

Here are some tips to stick to a budget:
1. Set a specific budget - make it realistic
2. Plan out your meals for the week - reuse foods that will not be used in one meal, repeat breakfasts, snacks, and lunches, eliminate or substitute an ingredient
3. Know what you have on hand and use it - inventory your fridge and freezer
4. Buy produce that's in season - it will usually be cheaper
5. Only buy what you need to avoid waste
6. Make foods from scratch - if you buy it in a box you are likely spending too much. Dried beans are so cheap. If you have a meal plan you know the night before that you will need beans, throw them in a bowl of water so they're ready to cook the next night.

Day 16 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 16 Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread! I remember when I mom first started hiding zucchini inside of a delicious chocolate "cake". It was sooooo good! And I still crave it. So I leave you with this recipe that you too can hide some zucchini in.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-zucchini-bread-10000001809024/

Day 15 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 15 you can make your S'moreffle and eat it too. Don't feel like everything you eat has to be 100% clean. You have to give yourself wiggle room or you will fail. We made S'morrfles last night. The graham cracker waffle was homemade and I knew exactly what was in it. But the marshmallow and Hershey's...not clean. But that's ok because I know I ate good for the last week and so I took the time to enjoy my S'moreffle.

Day 14 Clean Eating Challenge Group

Day 14 Meal Planning. Sorry it's been a couple of days since posting. After traveling for work during the week then turning around and heading to the ocean for a long weekend my brain needed a break! It's Sunday which is a great time to think about your meals for the up coming week. Don't just think about dinners though plan out your breakfast, lunch and snacks too so you're prepared. Here's a yummy dinner meal plan from Cooking Light Magazine. I think this is what I'll do for my dinners this week. Now that was easy!