Some Cool New Find!

I've been searching all over for some cool, healthy holiday treats and I finally found one. I will be trying this paleo ginger bread cookie recipe over break and figured a few more people would want to try it also! Once i make them I will keep you posted!

Ingredients:

• ½ cups palm shortening (you could substitute unsalted butter)
• ½ cup molasses
• 2 egg whites
• 3 cups blanched almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp cloves

1. Set oven to 350F.
2. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix until it is combined well.  Dough will be very stiff.  Let the dough sit for 20 minutes at room temperature before rolling out.
3. Roll out dough and cut shapes into it using a cookie cutter.
4. Bake for 10 minutes and ready!

Stress

Stress can also be very unhealthy. Here are some ways to get unstressed!

1. Breathe. -  Something as simple as taking a deep breath when the world seems like it is coming down can help so much! Remember, not only is stress coming from your mind but your unconscious. Breathing allows oxygen to just flow through and calm you down completely.

2. Take a bath. - Do something relaxing. Allow your mind to rest from such a long day.

3. Plan your day out more effectively. - Plan. Plan. Plan. If you feel organized, you feel in control!

4. Plan a day to rest. - Every one needs a break sometimes, you're not a machine and that is ok!

Healthy French Fries

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Chilly powder
Sea salt
Olive oil

Cut potatoes in the shape of French fries and put them in a bowl. Add sufficient amount of spices listed and enough olive oil to lightly coat each fry. Place over parchment paper to prevent sticking and place inside the oven at 375. (Time varies in how thick your fries are cut but I would say average is about 20 minutes.)

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 Ripe Banana
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla and Cinnamon
Oats
Honey

Mix the eggs and ripe banana well, until you get a "batter"consistency. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Cook on frying pan like you would a regular pancake. Plate and top with oats and honey. (and maybe a little extra cinnamon!)

Berry Chia Smoothie

Ingredients:
Frozen blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and blackberries
almond milk
water
chia seeds

Add fruits, almond milk, and water (less water than almond milk) in a blender and blend. I prefer using the bullet blander and I really recommend it but any blender will do. Sprinkle chia seeds over the top and let sit for about a minute before drinking. Enjoy!

Turkey Bacon-Spinach Omelette

Ingredients:
Egg whites
Spinach
A pinch of sea salt
Mozzarella cheese
Turkey bacon
Teaspoon of olive oil

Cook bacon on a frying pan, once cooked remove from pan and put off to the side. Use the same pan and add olive oil. Add desired amount of egg whites and let cook for about a minute. Add fresh mozzarella and spinach. When cheese begins to melt, stick the already cooked bacon right on top and close your omelette. Plate and sprinkle a little sea salt.

Blueberry Sweet Treat

Ingredients:
1 cup of plain yogurt
3/4 cup of all natural peanut butter
1 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of natural oats (I also threw in some organic cereal)
honey

In a bowl layer in ingredients in the desired order. Then drizzle some honey over top and pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds. This should should melt the peanut butter just enough and you get a warm sweet treat!

P.S.- This is really filling! You won't be hungry for a while!

Homemade Chicken Burrito Bowl with Lime-Cilantro Rice

Ingredients:
Chicken
Brown Rice
Lime
Cilantro
Corn
Red and Green Peppers
Onions
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Lettuce
Potatoes (optional)

Chicken:
Season chicken (I used my homemade sofrito which is a mix of herbs and seasonings but you can season it however you'd prefer) and grill and shred the chicken in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. If adding potatoes, slice the potatoes in long strips and add to the chicken using an extra tablespoon of olive oil.

Rice:
Follow the instructions on the back for making organic brown rice. When rice is close to a simmer add in half a lime and about a 1/4 cup of cilantro. Let the lime juice reduce.

Corn Mix:
Add 1 cup of corn, 1 lime, 1/2 cup of cilantro, onions, and tomatoes in a bowl.

Peppers:
Grill strips of red and green peppers in a pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Grill till brown.

Place all ingredients in a bowl. I recommend this order:
1. Rice
2. Chicken
3. Peppers
4. Corn mix
5. Lettuce
(and of course I added a nice slice of avocado!)
Enjoy!

Tips:

1. Costco, BJ's, Sam's Club, and other wholesale stores are a great way to save a lot of money.

2. Always read the label. If you have a hard time pronouncing 90% of the ingredients listed, chances are you shouldn't be eating it.

3. Chia seeds are a great source of nutrients. Here are 10 Reasons to add chia to your diet: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/03/chia-seed-benefits-_n_3379831.html

4. Drink plenty of water. Water is the best way to stay hydrated throughout the day and should be a part of every meal.

5. Honey is a great way to add sweetness to any meal 

Planning

When planning my journey, I had to decide where to start. Obviously, not everyone is the same so I found it hard to believe millions of people could stop everything they know about food and dive right into a full paleo diet. So I followed some easy steps to evaluate my own eating habits and routines.

1. I kept a food journal and wrote every meal I had for a week straight including times, where I was when consuming this meal, and how often I drank water. (long story short, my diet sucked)
2. I wrote down how often I was truly hungry, not just in the mood for cookies or something.
3. I documented every strength and weakness I had and every aspect of my daily routine i believed would be a serious problem and barrier.

After a week, I determined what was the unhealthiest thing I ate the most of. For me, bread and wheat was definitely part of my meals everyday, so based off of this I decided eliminating wheat from my diet was my first task at hand. Everyone will have different results but it is ultimately up to you want you want to start with. Just remember: if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself!

My Own Journey to Clean Eating

After SERIOUS research I finally decided to start eating clean. I knew this was the beginning to a hard but rewarding journey, however, I did have one major concern: How was I going to change a 17 year old habit? I mean of course I tried this before but I never got very far because so many things were getting in my way, but there was something different about this time. I finally formulated a plan that would work for me. Clean eating blogs and websites help so much but never really touch on the fact that you will make mistakes the first few weeks, I sure did. The beginning stages of changing your diet is always left in the unknown, but I'm here to explain the raw and uncut version of what really goes on. I decided that starting off with a completely paleo diet (a diet based on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans, consisting chiefly of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, and excluding dairy or grain products and processed food. AKA NO PRESERVATIVES) would to hard for me. Instead, I am working step by step toward cleaning out my diet and eventually eating a rigorous paleo diet. Instead of following specific diets online, I made my own based on my strengths and weaknesses and I truly believe this helped a lot. So whether you want to jump right into it or take baby steps, you can use the steps on my next post to make your own plan.