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Cleansing is Complete!

Now all there is left to do is enjoy delicious food that accompanies a lifestyle change.

I can say that I have never in my life eaten like this for an extended period of time. I am proud of myself for working towards this goal. The best part of the whole thing is that I am not going back to the old "foodie" me!

It's veggies, fruit, and deliciousness from here on out!

Remember me writing that I love sun-dried tomatoes??

Well I am definitely looking for ways use them and this one has been terrific!

I sauteed my chicken with oregano, dried basil, salt, and pepper, and put in the oven.

I added the tiniest bit of Italian dressing to my Thomas Bagel Thin half, then topped the chicken and tomatoes off with spinach leaves! Mm.

I have had this sandwich twice now in one week!

This particular day was extremely busy with two back-to-back meetings, a UGA basketball, my roommate's birthday/her birthday dinner...

So I basically had to pack enough food to last me from 3:30pm to 9:00pm!

I surprisingly didn't even go through all of it!

Boredom Led to a Sweet Potato

I found the greenbean recipe on cookthink.com.

(I dislike cilantro, so I left that out.)

I once again needed to spice up my veggies.

Fresh greenbeans did the trick!

But to make them a little more appealing I had to add a little extra something: GINGER.

This is another one of my Favorite flavors.

First I boiled the green beans until they were bright green, then I drained the water and threw them in a pan where olive oil, ginger, and garlic were sizzling together.

They basically sauteed and I paired this side with my sweet potato:

The potato cooked in the oven at 350 degrees in a little bit of olive oil.

I then sliced it open and squeezed the juice of an orange over it!

Added some salt and (of course) tons of cracked pepper.

Day 15 - Delectable Yellows

(taken with AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm lens F/2.8)

Hello delicious banana and blueberry breakfast!

Actually this was just a precursor for my oatmeal (which was also delicious).

Mood switch:

Welcome to lunch.

Instead of using green bell peppers in one of my favorite dishes, I opted for yellow! It's amazing how much of a difference color can make in a meal. I felt like I was eating something completely different, but in actuality it was still the same old favorite.

The Favorite: onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil, then you just throw in peppers! MMM

As seen here, I add cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese on top.

Oh yeah, and black beans (I used to put the onions and peppers on top of a bed of orzo and feta cheese...also extremely delicious.)

On a flavorful spinach and herb tortilla!

Day 14 - It's Been Two Weeks!

It's been two weeks and I feel like I've been doing this all my life. It's amazing. It's very natural and I have gained an excellent grasp on portion sizes and what to eat and when to eat (which is mostly, Just when I'm hungry!)

I have made yet another fruit discovery!

Out with the Cocktail Grapefruit and in with the Meyer Lemon!

The plate is cute right??

I swiped it at Reed's Odds & Ends (three of them actually).

Happiness on a plate right there!

They reminded me of Anthropologie.

Anyways, back to the lemon.

This little fruit is supposedly a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.

Well, the package lied because it tastes like a straight-up lemon!

Sour as can be!

However, the bag says:

"The chef's preference for desserts, beverages, main dishes, and more!"

So, maybe I'll cook with it?

Tonight dinner was on Cristina!

We were feed this healthy upgrade via www.cookthink.com: Turkey & Red Bean Chili.

Before the tomato sauce goes in.

After.

A sprinkle of cheese.

Review:

This chili is much more like a soup than a thick brew.

It's much lighter than typical chili.

I actually wished that it was hotter

(I think it's because we couldn't find a Poblano pepper.)

I was looking for more intense flavor from this dish,

nonetheless it was delightful to have a warm meal.

Interestingly enough, we decided to add pineapple pieces to the "soup" and it provided the twist I was looking for.

Day 13

Day 13...not too much happened this day.

Just eating the dinner that I made the night before.

The salmon patties were wonderful.

I will definitely make them again.

They had a punch of flavor and tasted just as good the 2nd and 3rd time I ate them.

The edamame succotash was good, but succotash isn't my favorite,

so I'm a little unsure if I'll make it again.

The good thing about it is that it's a fresh variation on what you might buy in the frozen section at your nearest grocery store.

The vegitable stock (or chicken stock) and salsa is what spices it up a bit.

Actually, maybe I will make this again! I think I'll just eat it with something else next time.

I guess I'm a little tired of it because I ate it about four different times.

Day 12 - Cleansing - Wednesday

Prepping for Thursday...back to school

Tuscan Bean Dip. Salmon Patties. Edamame Succotash.

First drain and rinse the beans. I chose to use black beans.

I only recently learned how to spell vegetable correctly!

I love it.

I am a huge fan of the Balsamic Vinegar! (I think I'll add more next time.)

I only used half the amount of basil it called for, and it was perfect.

I'd say this is a pretty guiltless bean dip. I think you could get away with only

using one Tsp. of olive oil, instead of two.

The plan is to dip veggies in it. The beans will be filling and

this will be a nice change of pace on the snack front. 

Next Up: Salmon Patties

I found this recipe on simplyrecipes.com.

In the scheme of things, the only thing that took time was dicing the peppers (red & green) and the green onions, but mixing and cooking it took no time.

Make patties and place in olive oil to cook for about 3-4 minutes on

each side on medium-high heat.

I was able to make 5 patties from the mix.

Man, what a hit. To think the basis of this meal was canned salmon just amazes me.

I won't add a whole Tsp. of salt next time. You can salt it according to your own taste.

It's a potent little patty.

I need a new vegetable...

I'm getting tired of peppers and lettuce.

Welcome succotash!

This is the simplest dish to make!

I found it on recipe.com

Surprising ingredients, which is why this little veggie dish caught my eye:

• Salsa
• Edamame
• Vegetable Stock

Well, I am well pleased with myself. I have three entirely new dishes to either make a meal out of, or just a nibble. Tuesday and Thursdays are my busy days. This should make it a little easier, while still keeping it healthy.

Day 11 - Cleansing - Snow Day # 2 (No School Again!)

I have loved almost all of the new breakfast ideas I've tried.

And I just crave this simple one.

Whole wheat bagel thins (nothing on it) and a fresh, crisp grapefruit is just so refreshing and light.

I love broiling my little Thomas Bagel halves until they're pretty crunchy.

Today I seemed to be hungry more often than I would have preferred,

but if your body calls...feed it.

So I ate an apple and chomped on dry roasted, unsalted peanuts in between bites. Now that is satisfying! (and most importantly - filling)

Soon enough Lunch came around...

Today I made a new discovery for sandwich complimentaries...

I realized that cucumbers are the perfect compliment to spicy Pepper Jack cheese! I love spicy things, and the cucumber was naturally cooling,

like Aloe in my mouth.

This sandwich includes:

• Deli turkey meat (Boars Head Ovengold)
• Jack Daniels honey mustard
• Pepper Jack cheese
• Cucumber strips
• Roma tomatoes
• And yeah, that's mayonnaise on the right half
• Obviously tons of pepper, and some salt

We walked outside for a bit to explore the winter storm that Athens is still overcoming...

For Dinner: Herb & Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken

I have officially decided to buy sun-dried tomatoes often.

I've always liked them, but decided they were more of a luxury than a necessity.

However, eating differently, healthier, this is a great thing to treat myself with.

I found the recipe via www.myrecipes.com.

(I left out the feta cheese and replaced it with low-fat white sharp chedder cheese)

On the left: Oregano, fresh basil, garlic, and pepper

On the right: Sun-dried tomatoes

You can cut a slit on the side of the chicken to create a pocket for the stuffing, or you can just roll your chicken. My chicken wasn't that thick,

so I resorted to rolling it and that worked just fine.

(Season with salt and pepper.)

I couldn't help but eat the leftover "stuffing". I love the flavor of Oregano.

This is basically a foil wrap. Sprinkle olive oil on both sides of the foil before setting the chicken in it. Seal the edges by folding them over, so the chicken cooks inside at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Super quick and easy.

Now pop it in the oven and you're good to go!

Meanwhile:

I sauteed half of a green bell pepper and half of a red bell pepper in olive oil, with a little garlic. I couldn't help but add diced tomato...I just can't get enough.

Yet another diverse meal! I haven't had chicken in like a week!

I'll definitely put more stuffing in the chick next time.

There can never be too many sun-dried tomatoes.

Day 10 - Cleansing - Monday Snow Day

For a mid-morning snack I cut up bananas and squeezed lime juice on them

(a happy accident that I discovered a few years ago) and then added blackberries.

Such a good, filling snack!

We bought two containers of blackberries at Sam's for a really good price

(compared to the grocery store).

This was quite a nice meal. My poor roommates just got back to the apt. from trekking in the snow and ice for nearly two hours. They got stuck at a friend's apt. the night before, due to snowfall. They were cold and wet (from the freezing rain) and, so when they arrived I cut up some veggies and put out some fruit as an appetizer to a warm meal. MK opted for her Dad's homemade vegetable soup. I re-created my Sunday night dinner for Cristina, lit an awesome Anthropologie candle and relaxed:

I was hungry every hour it seemed like. My body was just not satisfied with what has become the regular routine. I did my best not to go southward with sugary/carby things. This was my splurge:

Jalapenos Poppers.

I've actually never made these from scratch, but always wanted to try them.

My Daddy grows jalapenos so we have thousands of jars of pickled jalapenos, so this was easily obtainable for me.

I searched for a healthy alternative:

Baked, not fried.

Ground-up cereal (bran flakes),

although I used Panko breadcrumbs that I had in my pantry.

I didn't feel too bad about this "indulgence" because I only used 1 whole jalapenos and enough cream cheese and Parmesan for those two little halves.

I dunked the stuffed -'penos in eggs and then rolled it in the Panko. Also, I added garlic, salt, and pepper to the cream cheese mixture for the stuffing.

I baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

One important thing to note: I couldn't make it through half of the second one because my mouth was on fire.