Spirooli and More

Spirooli:


On Gena's recommendation (Gena from Choosing Raw - Thanks for e-mailing me so quickly, it helped me from buying the Joyce Chen one too), I ordered the Spirooli today. Two of my bosses at work gave me an Amazon (My favorite most used online store ever - LOVE MY KINDLE) gift card for my Birthday, so I had a hole burning in my pocket!





I'm so excited to make some "angelhair" veggies. I have a ton of zuchinni coming up in my garden and I'm so excited to try some new recipes. One thing I'm really excited to try is a pesto sauce mixed with some angelhair veggie pasta!

Now that I've got my Vitamix and my Spirooli will be coming in a few days - my want's list now includes an Excaliber Dehydrator, Juicer (still trying to figure out what brand), and a mandoline (again - not sure what brand). I think I'd also like an ice cream maker - but that is far down the line.

I think once I get a juicer - This will fix the nasty taste of green smoothies. I think green juices are much more tasty.

We are going camping tomorrow night and Saturday night in the Pocono's. Working on a food list. I'd like to not eat all the junk that is typical on a camping trip, although resisting is going to be hard - but I can do it!

Yuck and Yumminess!

Yucky Green Smoothie:

Today for breakast I fully intended to make a smoothie, but with the greens I still had in my fridge I decided for a green smoothie. It was yuck and I think I definately need to stop putting celery in them because I think that is what is making me grossed out. Some of my green smoothies are ok, and this one was vile. I can usually stomach it -but I threw 1/3 of it out. I did eat 2/3 though, so I got some vital nutrients.


Dark Chocolate Yumminess:

Today is my birthday and some nice person at work gave me a small bag of Asher's dark chocolate covered pretzels. Not healthy at all, but oh man are they good. I had to hide the bag so I wouldn't eat them all.




Lunch:

Lunch was a salad from Chipoltle Grill.

Lettuce, carnitas shredded pork, guacamole, 2 servings mild salsa (chunky tomatoes) and 1 serving medium salsa (clears my sinus').

Dinner:

Bill has pork and saurkraut in the crockpot. I'll most likely have something healthier since I had pork already once today. Plus he didn't get organic saurkraut.

Lip Smacking Good - My favorite lip balm

Burt's Bee's Beeswax Lip Balm


I don't know about anyone else, but I have to keep my lips hydrated and moisturized. My favorite lip balm is Burt's Bee's Beeswax Lip Balm (just the plain kind). The only thing I would change is maybe if they had a version that had sunscreen for day use. I love the smell, the slight hint of peppermint. The ingredients are clean too!

It's a 2 in the Cosmetic Safety Database (would love a 0- but I think some people are allergic to some of the products, and that is why it's a 2). For now until I find something that rates a 0, it's my "balm" of choice.



Ingredients:
Tube: beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, tocopheryl acetate, lanolin, symphytum officinale (comfrey) root extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, tocopherol, Tin: beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, prunus amydalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, tocopheryl acetate, lanolin, symphytum officinale (comfrey) root extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, tocopherol


What is your favorite lip balm? I think I'm going to make it my mission to search out a 0 on the Cosmetic Safety Database list.

Check this link for some 0 lip balm options. Let me know if you have tried any.

Juicy Pineapples

Hey everyone - I've been experimenting with a lot of raw dishes lately. I love experimenting with all the fresh veggies and fruit. The kids and I cut open a beautiful yummy pineapple. It was so yummy and fresh. We are definately going to make sure we get another one really soon.





Check out the Fitnessista's blog for a chance to win Sarma Melngailis' new book Living Raw Food - Get the Glow!

Great family vacation

We've been so busy now that school is out. We took a drive to Missouri and Kansas. We had a College visit for Taryn and got to see my Dad and two of my Great Aunts on Father's day in Kansas. It was a great trip. We even got to see the St. Louis Arch on our return trip home. I have some great pictures I will post soon.

I've been experimenting by adding more raw into my diet. I'm really loving the extra greens. Tonight for dinner I had a spinach dip (spinach, avocado, lemon juice and salt) that I put in the food processor and then I put it on a sprouted grain Ezekiel 4:9 tortilla. It was a little mushier than it should have been. I think I put too much lemon juice on and left it processing too long.

Check out Justine's blog - she has a great contest going for her 100th post for Artisana Coconut butter. Have you tried Artisana's coconut butter? You must - it's such a treat and I can eat it out of the jar with a spoon - yep it's that good :)

Raw Veggie Heaven and 12 Grueling Miles

Monday 6/15/09

Breakfast:

Breakfast this morning was another Orange Veggie/Fruit Smoothie. This time I added cauliflower (yogurt, apple, banana, baby carrots, cauliflower). I didn't put ice in it, and I already had my blender washed by the time I realized it wasn't cold. It wasn't as good as yesterday's orange smoothie, but not bad. Unfortunately I didn't get to drink it..............the floorboard of my passenger seat got more than 1/2 of it. It was an ugly site and I got up as much as I could, but need to do some extra cleaning tonight.

Note to self: Don't use a big cup that you can't fit in the cup holder.


Since I really didn't get to drink much of my smoothie, I had a Larabar Jocalat Chocolate Coffee bar instead.



Lunch was raw veggie heaven:

A friend of mine at lunch has been talking about taking me to a raw food restaurant for a while. I didn't bring a lunch today since I left so early and didn't have my act together. I e-mailed my friend and we decided to head over to the raw food restaurant she wanted me to try. Unfortunately I did not take pictures.

Arnold's Way Vegetarian Organic Cafe

Protein Shake
Energy abound with purified water, bananas, Dates, & premium Hawaiian Spirulina

Cheze Burger
Our Raw Veggie Bruger served with a Sunflower Cheze on our classic Buckwheat – Flax Bread. Toppings include Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Onions, Olives, & Red Sauce (Tomato, Beet, Olive Oil, Green Olives).

It was absolutely fantastic and out of this world. The green olives he used were totally incredible and a wonderful addition to the dish. The buckwheat-flax bread was out of this world. The sunflower cheze and red sauce was absolutely incredible. It was art on a plate (I love food that reminds me of being edible art). I wish I had pictures to show you. The best part was the prices, it was under $12 for all that.

12 Grueling Miles:

Last night after a 10 hour work day (working four 10 hour days to have Friday off for an extended mini vacation this coming weekend), I went on a 12 mile bike ride with Bill & Ryan.

I got home around 6:40pm and we left around 7pm. I probably should have eaten something, but we left before I got to eat dinner. Our path took us on part of the Perkiomen Trail, but most of it was on open road. I really hate riding on the open rode because the cars come speeding by and when you start to get tired and your legs are like noodles it's a bit scary. We finished around 8:30pm and went 12 miles. What a great workout, although I realized when I got home the gears got shifted up and it was probably harder going up the hills than it should have been. I remember at one point telling Bill that when I was going up a hill that it was as if the brakes were on during the middle of the hill. I think that is when the shifting happened and I didn't even realize it.

My butt is totally sore this morning, lol! I'm so glad we went though. It was super great exercise.

Dinner:

I was tired and just wanted to eat.

I took some rice wrappers (think fresh vietnamese spring roll wrappers) and put soem rice noodles (think vietnamese bun or Pho noodles) inside with thinly cut zucchini.

I wanted to make a peanut sauce, so I took some organic peanut butter and added a small amount of organic soy sauce and stired. It was still thick so I added some water. Not what I wanted, but it wasn't bad. Since it wasn't dippable I put the peanut butter mixture on top of each roll. I ate two before I took a picture.


Will post picture tonight.

Another weekend comes to an end:

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I always hate when the weekend comes to an end. Weekends make me happy since I'm not at work and with my family.

Saturday:

We went shopping today and ended the day seeing UP in 3D. Great movie with some great messages. Some of the movie was pretty sad though, and I hadn't really expected that. 3 Thumbs way up!


Sunday:

Today was Church, hanging around the house and my 4 mile walk.


Exercise:
I had a great 4 mile walk/run today. Over 400 miles were burned.

I was alone and sometimes I love being alone in nature. I ended up taking a road I've never been down today and I saw lots of beautiful birds, beautiful flowers, lots of green trees, plants and grass, lots of bugs that seemed to be attracted to the sweat, and really old home built in 1794 that looked like they have kept it mostly how it looked like back then (simplistic and beautiful). There was even a cave looking area in a small rock next to the house that I'm thinking was something they used to keep food cool back then - something similiar to a root cellar or something.

Racing Alert:
My man Jimmie Johnson ran out of gas again this weekend, two weekends in a row. Come on Jimmie let's not make it a 3rd. It was such a bummer to see him go from 1st to 22nd. SIGH!

Some eat's over the weekend:

Green Smoothie (Yogurt, avocado, spinach, carrots, apple, kiwi)



Ezekiel Tortilla Pizza:

Recipe: Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/moroccan-spiced-chickpea-soup-recipe/index.html

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Recipe by Dave Lieberman from Food Network.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
• 1 large onion, medium diced
• 6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 (28oz-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• 1 quart vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• Kosher salt & Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach

Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, and agave nectar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.
Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.
Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.

Changes I make:

Changes to original recipe: 1 tbsp olive oil instead of the 1/4 cup, agave nectar instead of sugar, 1/4 tsp cayenne instead of 1/8 and 28oz can of tomatoes instead of 14.5oz can. The agave nectar because its a clean sweetner, more cayenne bumps up the flavor - still very mild and more tomatoes gives more flavor and more liquid.

This is so yummy and the flavors are out of this world. I make this all the time. It's easy, clean and healthy.

Crockpot changes:

I put this in the crockpot. For the crockpot just cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil on the stove, then add the spices and transfer to the crockpot. Add all the rest of the ingredients except for the spinach. When you get ready to eat the soup, add the spinach and stir.

A really good OOPs!

I was making a bowl of oat bran this morning that I had planned on topping with Artisana's Virgin Organic Coconut Oil (another thanks to Heather -where I read about this product).

I made the most amazing breakfast this morning that was a total Oops!
I put the oat bran (1/3 cup) in my bowl and added water (1/3 cup - but it should have been 2/3 cup) in the microwave (yep I micro it - because I have to run out the door to work, so every second counts) and hit 3 minutes. Yesterday I had to end early because it almost bubbled out, but it didn't today. I was busy cooking and putting a soup in the crockpot and noticed it didn't come close to boiling over. I didn't think twice till I took it out of the microwave and it had a firm top on it. Upon further investigation I realized it looked like a cake. I took a bit and WOW - it tasted like a little spongy oat bran cake in a bowl. I topped it with 1 tbsp of the Artisana Raw Virgin Coconut oil and it made sort of a frosting.
All I can say is YUMMO! I'm so glad for this Oops and it will become a dessert and breakfast for me.

Breakfast and Dinner eat's are thanks to two other blogger's.

Breakfast:

Thanks to some great blog's I've been reading, I've been seeing some yummy pictures of blended oat bran's with varying toppings.

One blog in particular has really influenced me to not only make oat bran, but to try making my own nut butter. Heather makes the yummies breakfasts and snacks.

I started this morning with trying to make organic sunflower seed butter. I read on her blog that you have to leave the nuts or seeds in the processor for 7-8 minutes in order to get past the "powder" stage. I tried using the magic bullet and while it wasn't too bad, it wasn't the creamy smooth sunflower butter I was hoping for. I think the motor gets overheated too much on the magic bullet. I'll try again in my food processor in the small bowl. All in all it wasn't too bad. It was just past the powder stage and starting to get wet and smooth. It still tasted wonderful with the oat bran.

The oat bran itself was wonderful. I use this as a breading along with some other items for chicken nuggets. I've never had oat bran as an oatmeal type cereal before and it was sort of similiar to the Malt-O-Meal that I ate as a kid. I definately like the oat bran better than oatmeal, although I do like oatmeal too. I think I'm going to work on finishing some of the oatmeal and make the oat bran my fall too breakfast grain.

Lunch:

Lunch was a hummus egg salad sandwich on an Ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla (sorry no pictures).

Pre Dinner Shopping Snack:

Lara Bar -Coconut Cream Pie

Dinner:

Here's my dinner and I'll tell the story of who influenced it below.

Salad: organic romaine lettuce, organic shredded carrots, sliced organic strawberries, organic raw sunflower seeds, and organic feta cheese.

Dressing: 2 tbsp organic balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp organic olive oil, sea salt and pepper.

I must admit that I've been in food rut lately. Partly because we've been trying to use stuff in the house before going shopping, but also because it just got easy to eat simple quick foods that didn't require that much preparation. It's so hard to keep fresh fruits and vegetables in the house because it seems that it constantly goes to waste and since I try to eat only organic it gets so expensive.

This afternoon I made a comment on Maria's blog about a great post she had about making goals. She had taken a look at my blog and noticed that I really wasn't getting much fruit and veggies in. I'm so thankful she reminded me that I need to increase them.

I just happened to be going to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods after work, so the timing of her comment was really a God send. So after spending $160 at both stores combined, mostly on produce that was all organic (man did that add up fast - and I'm sure Bill is going to freak when he see's the amounts, lol). The good thing is, that I've got plenty of fruits and veggies. Bill thought I was nuts for the amount of fruit I have in the house. He says there is no way I can eat that much since it probably will last only a week. Note to self.......buy less and go back the second week.

After Dinner Snack: 1 organic Kiwi

Saturday's Eat's

I found these pictures when I downloaded my camera from breakfast and lunch on saturday. They actually say 6/5/09 on them.....but I was working Friday for lunch and had a quesadilla for dinner - so I'm not sure why the date is wrong.

6/6/09
Breakfast:

Ezekiel 3:9 Sprouted Grain Sesame Bread with organic peanut butter from Trader Joe's.




Lunch:

Tuna Patty with Sweet Potato Fries.




Tuna Patty

• 1 can tuna
• 1 small purple onion chopped
• 1 Ezekiel 3:9 slice bread ground in food processor or coffee grinder
• 1 organic whole organic egg
• juice of 1/2 organic lemon or 1 tbsp organic Santa Cruz lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• Dried terragon to taste

Shape into patties and cook in 2 tsps of olive oil till brown on both sides.

Lunch/Dinner & Snacks

Lunch and Dinner:

Both lunch and dinner was an egg salad hummus sandwiches just like last night. Sometimes I can be downright boring when it comes to my food.



For dinner I only used one piece of Ezekiel 3:9 Food For Life Sesame bread and baked some sweet potato fries to go along with it.



I easily get into food ruts, but I hope this blog helps me become more rounded when it comes to food. I tend to eat the same food for a while and then move on. Most likely because it's sometimes easier to finish leftover's since my family doesn't eat a lot of the healthier things I like. When we make actual meals they will eat what I make and Bill has gotten better at making things that are clean, but sometimes they eat their processed junk and I will eat my healthier meals.


Evening Snack:

Green & Black's Organic 85% Chocolate Bar - I had 15g of this heavenly chocolate. I must say this chocolate is rich, smooth and creamy. For me, the darker more pure the chocolate the more I love it.

Ingredients
Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Whole Milk Powder *

I've been searching out the best organic chocolate with the least amount of ingredients and sugar. I read on someone's blog the other day that Lindt makes a 90% bar that only has 3 grams of sugar. I want to check that one out.

Organic Black & Blue Smoothie

Breakfast today was a Black & Blue Smoothie.

Organic Black & Blue Smoothie

• 227g organic plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt
• 50g frozen organic blackberries
• 90g frozen organic blueberries
• 1/2 frozen organic banana
• 12g organic walnuts

Blend all in blender or magic bullet. This was my first time adding blackberries and the blackberries add a slight bit more bitterness than just using blueberries alone. It was slightly crunchy because of the seeds from the blackberries. I bet a vitamix would completely pulverize the seeds. Very yummy though.

Egg Salad Sandwiches & Hummus

Organic Egg Salad Sandwich

• 2 slices Ezekiel 3:9 Bread (I like the sesame ezekiel 3:9 by Food for Life)
• 1 organic egg
• 60 grams of organic hummus (recipe below)
• squirt of organic spicy brown mustard to taste

Chop up egg, and mix with hummus and mustard. Toast bread and spread egg/hummus mixture on bread. Slice into two and enjoy.

Organic Hummus

• 1 can organic chickpeas
• 1/3 cup organic tahini paste
• 1 clove of organic garlic - optional
• dash of sea salt
• Juice of 2 organic lemons or 4 Tbsp of organic lemon juice (I use Santa Cruz Organic bottled lemon juice because it's easy to have on hand).
• Water

Blend all in a food processor until creamy smooth. Use spatula to push down once in a while and add a little water at a time until you get the right consistancy. You could change out the beans and also add all sorts of spices.

I always have this hummus in my fridge. It's so easy to make and so tasty. I also want to try my hand at making my own tahini. I get about 5 batches out of a store bought jar of tahini paste.

Gentleman - Start Your Engines!

What a great weekend. Nothing like a great weekend with your family. Yesterday we spent our second straight weekend at a Nascar race. Last week we went to Dover and got to see Jimmie Johnson (my favorite as well as Taryn's) win. This weekend we went to the Pocono's to see the Pocono 500. Unfortunately Jimmie didn't win, but we still had fun.

We cooked hamburger's on our little grill before and after the game. We are new at this tailgating stuff......but we are getting better and learning more as we do it. I had given Bill explicit directions to get 94% ground beef for the hamburger's and he actually got 96%. Note to self, 96% is a little dry.

Me:
Enjoying my favorite bottled drink - Honest Tea Organic Honey and Green Tea. It's very low in sugar, although it does have a small amount of organic cane sugar. I wish it was just honey so it was completely clean. It's 70 calories for the whole bottle, so much better than your average drink from a gas station.




Bill:
Hamburger's are on the grill.




Playing Cards:
Enjoying a game of Joker's. We won the cards at the Combo's booth.



My man Jimmie Johnson:



Fly Over:

TGIF, Dinner and a Snack

TGIF:

Tonight we were graced by one of Ryan's concert's. He put's these on for us fairly frequently and they are a lot of fun. He has an electric piano he plays, 3 different guitars and a trumpet. Tonight we were graced with songs from the electric piano, electric guitar, a song written by him and some special sound effects. It really was a lot of fun and so cute to watch.

Dinner:

Dinner for me was a cheese and tomato quesadilla.



Quesadilla

• 1 Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Organic Tortilla
• 28g or 1 oz of Organic Valley Raw Cheddar Cheese
• 60g of diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp organic olive oil

I used my flat round cast iron skillet that is the same size as the tortillas. Place 1 tsp of olive oil on pan and heat. Lay tortilla on skillet and add cheese and tomatoes (or any fixing you like). Let tortilla get lightly toasted (be careful not to burn) and fold in half. Cut into triangles and serve.

I like to serve these with gaucamole, but I did not have any avocados on hand.

After dinner snack:

I had a huge craving for one of the Klondike Bar's that my family was so nice to torture me with in the freezer. While thinking about grabing a Klondike (I feel a song coming on.......What would you do for a Klondike Bar), when I decided I would be good. There is nothing in the Klondike Bar that is clean or healthy. What would my body benefit from eating this sugary snack. I decided to make another smoothie since I was craving something sweet. This one is very much like the one I had for breakfast this morning, but I added organic dark chocolate.

Banana, Chocolate & Peanut Butter Smoothie

• 227g or 1 cup of Plain Nonfat or Lowfat Yogurt
• 1 frozen Banana
• 12g of peanut butter (I used less peanut butter this time)
• 14g Organic Dark Chocolate 85% Coaco or higher
• 3 Ice Cubes

Blend in blender, vitamix or magic bullet till smooth. This has the consistancy of a shake more than a smoothie. I didn't take a picture of this one since it looked exactly like the one I made this morning except it had little specs of dark chocolate in it.

Lunch today is a Chipotle Salad Bowl

Chipotle Mexican Grille Review:

I had originally planned on having leftover potatoes (red potatoes with skin on, diced red onions, garlic and olive oil- baked till crispy) from last night dinner and I was going to whip up a fresh egg this morning to go with them. Bill and Taryn ate the last of the potatoes though. Note to self....next time make more. Since I was too lazy last night, I didn't make a back up lunch and of course left the house this morning empty handed. My usual lunch partner was having a pedicure at lunch today so I was on my own. Chipotle sounded good.



What I ate:
So it's not my exact bowl, but it's close enough to give you an idea of what it looked like.


Bowl/Salad-
Bowl with lettuce, black beans, carnitas pork, 2 servings of mild tomato salsa, 1 serving of medium green salsa and gaucamole. Calorie total was 520. The sodium was very high at 2200mg, but so is everything else at fast food/restaurants.

Iced Tea - unsweetened with fresh lemon and lots of ice


Was it good?
This was excellent. Very flavorful, spicy and filling. By eating it in a bowl you save a lot of calories by not needing the wraps. I also saved some calories and no nutritional value of the white processed rice. I chose to bump of the flavor with extra salsa. This was a completely clean and healthy meal. Not bad considering how hard it is to get a completely clean and healthy meal while dining out.

Chipotle is one of the few places you can get a truly clean fast food meals these days. The meats have no msg or additives added to them and are raised without hormones or antibiotics.


More Chipotle Info:

Calculate your calories:
Want to know how many calories your meal will be? Build your own meal prior to going at this great interactive Chipotle Fan Site.

MENU - Customize It
Build your version of the perfect burrito (or taco or bowl). Want extra meat? Just ask. Extra rice? Just ask. You choose exactly what you want. That may mean a little more salsa, a little less sour cream, whatever you'd like.

Take a look at the ingredient list for Chipotle - these are the clean items. I've removed the tortillas (processed white bread), rice (white rice is processed and not clean), pinto beans (cooked with bacon and not a lean meat and probably includes nitrates), Dressing (did not list what was in it), sour cream and cheese (both high fat -they can be used in moderation though - but I tend to think in this kind of a setting they use too much to part of a clean diet)

INGREDIENTS
Click on the names below to see what each menu items looks like. Read the ingredients and see why I love them. There is nothing gross in there and you can't say that about the meats at most fast food or chained restaurants.

Fajita Vegetables
We start with whole green bell peppers and red onion, slice them, and then sauté them in a bit of soybean oil with chopped, fresh oregano until bright and slightly crisp. Vegetarian.
Black Beans
Never refried, our black beans are seasoned with cumin, garlic and other spices, then slow cooked until tender, but not mushy. Vegetarian.
Carnitas Naturally raised pork, seasoned with thyme, bay leaves, juniper berries and freshly cracked black pepper. First, it's seared, then braised for hours until it's fall-off-the-bone tender and finally gently shredded.
Chicken
Marinated overnight in our smoky, spicy chipotle pepper adobo, then grilled. The char marks impart a subtle caramelized flavor.
Steak
Lean steak marinated for 12 hours in our smoky, spicy chipotle pepper adobo, then grilled to a juicy, medium-rare.
Barbacoa
Spicy, shredded beef, seared, then slowly braised for hours in a blend of chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano. Tender and moist, the barbacoa is a must for beef-lovers.
Fresh Tomato Salsa (Mild)
Chopped red, ripe sweet tomatoes, mixed with red onions, jalapeño peppers and freshly chopped cilantro for a mildly tangy, refreshing taste. Vegetarian.
Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa (Medium)
Sweet, succulent corn, blended with roasted poblano peppers, jalapeño peppers, red onions and freshly chopped cilantro. This unique, robust salsa is both sweet and mildly hot. Vegetarian.
Tomatillo Green-Chili Salsa (Medium Hot)
A distinctive combination of tomatillos, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, red onions, freshly chopped cilantro and several spices. A rousing addition to a barbacoa or carnitas burrito. Vegetarian.
Tomatillo Red-Chili Salsa (Hot)
This salsa of puréed chiles de arbol, tomatillos and fresh spices is smooth, full-bodied and a rich, rusty red color. Very hot. Vegetarian.
Guacamole
Several times daily in every Chipotle, we lovingly mash just-picked, ripe Hass avocados, then blend in freshly chopped cilantro, red onions, and jalapeño peppers, citrus juice, salt and selected spices to create the silky, sexy guacamole we love. Vegetarian.
Romaine Lettuce
Crisp, fresh leaves of crunchy romaine lettuce, cut just right to accompany your tacos (ask for mucha lechuga!). Omit rice and add lettuce to your burrito bowl for a Chipotle salad. Vegetarian.

What is Clean Eating and Clean Eating Resources

What is clean eating?

Clean eating is eating food that is in it's most natural state, or as close to it as possible.

Stay away from the following:

• Overly processed, refined foods (think box of this and cream of that)
• Sugar
• Saturated and trans-fats
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Anything fried
• Foods with nitrates and preservatives
• Alchohol

Look for these instead:

• Lean protein
• Whole Grains and Complex Carbs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Natural sweetners (honey, agave nectar, maple sugar, maple sugar flakes, Sucanant, and molasses) - use sparingly
• Healthy fats - Omega 3's, monounsaturated and polyunsatured
• Water - make this the drink you grab most often

I stick to organic as much as possible (although you don't have to eat organic to eat clean). I gave up mayonaise and processed dressings. Instead I now use things like homemade organic hummus, salsa or gaucamole/avocado in place of mayonaise. I make my own dressings using clean ingredients and it tastes better than anything you buy in a store.

How do I start to eat clean?

Some of you will be able to hit the ground running right off the bat. Other's will need to start slow. Try adding at least one new "Eat Clean" strategy to your life each week. Over time it will add up.

• Start reading labels - Keep it simple and avoid chemicals, artificial ingrediants and anything you can't pronounce or don't know what it is. The less ingredients on a list the better.
• Have lean proteins and complex carbs with every meal. By pairing these two together, your bloodsugar will be more stable.
• Eat 4-6 smaller meals spread throughout the day to keep your bloodsugar from going to low in between meals.
• Shop the perimeter of the store and keep the processed foods out of your cart.

Clean Eating recources:

Clean Eating Magazine

Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet Website
Check out her blog and forum!

Tosca Reno's website

Tosca has many great Eat Clean Diet and Recipe books. I highly recommend these books.

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Breakfast this morning:

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

• 227g or 1 cup of Plain Nonfat or Lowfat Yogurt
• 1 frozen Banana
• 24g of peanut butter

Blend in blender, vitamix or magic bullet till smooth. This has the consistancy of a shake more than a smoothie. You could add ice to make it thicker and icier.

I make mine using Stoneyfield Organic Plain Nonfat or lowfat yogurt, organic banana's and organic peanut butter (currently using Trader Joe's Organic Valencia Crunchy Peanut Butter).


This reminds me of being a kid when I would have banana and peanut butter sandwiches.

Some things on my WISHLIST

Here are some things on my wishlist. I feel I NEED them, and Bill just roll's his eye's at me. I can tell he is folding on the cookware because he told me what piece he wanted to get first. Unfortunately these are all pretty pricey. Most of the cookware is over $200 for each piece, so I guess I have to be patient and build my supply slowly. For now, I have to be happy using my blender and food processor. My cookware really needs replacing, so I think that is on the top of my list.

Vitamix:



Feel free to tell me how you use yours?


Le Creuset Cookware in the Dijon color:


This cookware is supposed to be good for you to use. It's really confusing when you see how many types of cookware leach bad chemicals into your food.

My Favorite body Soap

Product Review:



Made by: Kiss my Face


Pure olive oil bar soap
For centuries the people of the Mediterranean have recognized the benefits of olive oil to nourish and moisturize the skin. This unique cleansing and softening bar is as simple and pure as a soap can be. Long lasting and made from the purest natural ingredients, it is a superbly moisturizing soap suitable for all skin types.
GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE...Olive Oil: superb moisturizer for all skin types
INGREDIENTS: Saponified Olive Oil, Water, Sodium Chloride
This product contains no animal ingredients, artificial colors, or unnecessary chemicals and was not tested on animals.


It's rated as a 0 at the Cosmetic Data Base . This is a great site if you have never checked it out before. Basically it's just Olive oil, water and salt.


I was a bit afraid to try this because after I bought it I read a few reviews of people saying how badly it smelled and that it gelled up on them. I have used this product for over a month now and I'm in love with it. I'm not going to lie and say it smells great, but heck - it's not as bad as they said. I'm totally used to it now and I actually enjoy it.


It's a nice light green color and the bar lasts a really long time if you take care of it. I keep mine in a covered soap dish that I take in and out of the bathroom daily after using. I make sure there is no water left in the soap dish and leave the lid off for a few minutes after I get out to ensure it dries. My daughter put it back in the shower once and after the kids showered, it was all gunky. Luckily, after I used it the next time and put it back in the covered soap dish it was as good as new.


It leaves me feeling nice and soft and there is absolutely no residue at all. Best of all, it's super safe for you, your family and the environment.

What is Clean Green Adventures?

Welcome to my "Clean Green Adventures" Blog.

Clean:
Eating clean is a term used for eating foods that are wholesome, fresh, not processed and healthy. Tosca Reno is the queen of Clean and I have learned so much from her. My goal is to continue to learn as much as I can about eating healthy clean whole foods. I hope you are as excited to learn more about "eating clean" as I am about sharing this way of life with you. Your going to be amazed at how tasty and beautiful eating clean can be.

Green:
I love trying to do as much for the environment and "Mother Earth" as I can. I've made some significant strides in the past few years, but I have much more to learn. My goal is to continue to learn more about becoming "greener" and be able to share what I learn with you. I'll also be sharing some personal and home care products that are better for you and the environment.

Adventures:
I love adventures. I love to travel and see new places and live life to it's fullest. Life really can be an adventure if you open your heart and mind and let them take you to places that open you up to possibilites you never thought possible. I invite you to share in my adventures as I learn more about eating clean and living a greener way of life.

Are you ready? I certainly am.

About me:

I'm Melanie and I'm married to my wonderful husband Bill for the past 22 years. I turn 40 next Month, but I'd like to think that it's the new 20. Heck look at Tosca Reno - she just turned 50 and looks amazingly beautiful. Her excitement on her recent birthday, really taught me that we all need to embrace life and enjoy ever part of it.

I have two wonderful kids - My daughter Taryn 17 and my son Ryan who is 11.

Here is a picture of us in one of our favorite vacation spots:



I lost about 50lbs a few years ago, and then gained almost all of it back in the past year and a half. I'm in the process of losing it again for good. I started on January 1st, 2009 at 176.2 and I'm currently at 163.6. Slowly and surely I will lose it. I do count calories and my range to lose is 1200-1550. I am 5'2" and would like to get down to about 125 pounds.