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 9 - Cleansing - Sunday

Breakfast:

This one is straight from my Daddy. He always recommends (more like guilts me into it) having tomatoes on my egg sandwiches. But, it really does enhance the flavor.

I used Roma tomatoes (I would suggest using a different breed).

I'm still learning portions, because I used to eat much bigger portions in all the wrong ratios.

I usually double up my egg sandwich (2 fried eggs) to ensure that I wouldn't be hungry once at work. Well, that did not work as well this morning. I couldn't even finish my second half before I was stuffed. So just one egg next time.

Also, I resisted the temptation to add cheese, but I felt like it would be okay to smear just a tiny bit of mayonnaise on one slice of bread.

Lunch:

A salad with some fruit in it wasn't going to cut it today.

I was hungry for something a little heavier...black beans did the trick.

I just used my leftover sauteed green peppers and onions (with garlic) and some chedder cheese to combine with the black beans and it was delicious. I used a wonderful spinach and herb wrap as well. Here I resisted the urge to incorporate sour cream (darn).

Dinner:

This was the easiest recipe ever. Really quick, except for the 1 hr. it takes to bake.

It's turkey meatloaf!

It's Ellie Krieger's recipe on Food Network.

I have saved a dozen recipies by her...so prepare for some Ellie Krieger to hit the fan!

This is not my photo, I was too lazy to take my own. In her recipe it takes to make patties (about 6) so it's good to help regulate portions.

To make this even better (because I thought it could use a little more tomato-something) I sauteed spinach leaves with garlic, and tomatoes in olive oil, then placed on top. It was MUCH better that way.

This meal was great because it provided something Warm to eat. Finally. I've noticed with all this healthy eating that you can eat so many cold-based meals, so this was a nice change.

Also, good for leftovers!

Day 7 - Cleansing - Re-organizing the Fridge

We're taking turns buying little wooden boxes full of clementines (as seen here), but more importantly, we each get a box to put our own personal fruits in. Once we all have boxes I will take pictures and post our personalized fruit flairs. It will be fun. (I'm big on grapefruits.)

Welp, it has come time for us to re-organize the fridge. We have many unhealthy (pre-cleansing times) items prevalent in the there so we shoved it all to the back (in case we completely crash one day).  

Veggies and fruit have taken there place on top (as it should be), while deli meats, cheeses, yogurt, and eggs are on the second shelf. The bottom shelf houses all of the things we probably should stay away from: all of our juices (apple, cranberry, and grapefruit)...But this shelf also contains items that are tall, and okay to eat.

But you know...we still eat salad dressing, mayonnaise, cheese, milk, honey mustard, (not really sour cream, even though you can see like five containers in there), and other condiments...

but we just use them sparingly.

Actually I have found that I enjoy those little things to pump up my meals, since I'm mainly eating vegetables and fruits all the time now. I feel that I deserve it, and hey, it's okay!

My consistent weaknesses that I have cut out of my daily diet:

• cereal
• cookies
• fruit juice (even if it's "100% juice")
• rice
• pasta
• orzo

Day 7 - We Made It Through an Entire Week!

 (I apologize for the quality of all of these "cleansing" pictures. My apartment doesn't offer much light and these meal-time shoots usually take place at night with bad tungsten lighting...and I really can't stand flash.)

Tonight I altered one of my favorite regular dishes. I mean I usually make this dish but I add a bunch of orzo and feta cheese.

I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5-10 minutes, then added in the green bell peppers, put the lid on and let it cook together for a few minutes.

I put olive oil in a pan, put in my Tilapia fish, seasoned it with rosemary, oregano, salt, and pepper and let it cook in the oven (covered with tin foil) for about 20 minutes.

Wah-lah! And I am not lying when I say the veggies were better than the fish! (Although that probably has something to do with my lack of knowledge in how to flavor/cook fish.)