Spiced peanut and sweet potato soup

This is the not only the prettiest, but also the yummiest soup that I have made since I started with the clean eating. Anything with peanut butter is good, plus I usually have lots of leftovers to bring for school lunches:)

Spiced Peanut and Sweet Potato Soup

1.5 tsp olive oil

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (I use the kind from a tube)

2 peeled and diced sweet potatoes

4 cups low sodium veg or chix stock

4 cups diced tomatoes, low sodium

Half cup natural peanut butter

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

pinch salt

pinch pepper

pinch cinnamon

6 cups chopped Swiss chard

In large Dutch oven, heat oil on med/hi heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook 3 min.

Stir in potatoes, a cup water, PB, spices, broth, tomatoes. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 12 min.

Stir in Swiss chard. Simmer until wilted.

Enjoy! Garnish with cilantro or crushed peanuts.

Green Goddess Pasta Salad with Chicken

This Green Goddess pasta salad is divine;) 

It's easy, delicious, and great to bring to a party. Of course I do make a few changes to the recipe. Ha ha! I use double the asparagus and half of the pasta. I also blanch the asparagus with the pasta as it cooks; just throw it in for the last minute to save time. And I was lazy and used dried herbs instead of fresh, but it's still quite good with plenty of leftovers for lunches this week. Plus Trevor likes to eat the pasta, not the chicken or asparagus... yet! 

The complete recipe is at http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/classics-made-clean/green-goddess-pasta-salad-with-chicken/

Prepped to enjoy my vacation

It's true. I did find an amazing workout space here at the beach, but I confess today was my first workout since we arrived on Saturday. Though I have been setting myself up for success in other ways. First of all, it's important to enjoy your vacation, so Saturday was pizza and frozen custard night. No guilt. Yesterday I had a double shake day- breakfast and lunch. I wasn't feeling my best, so a double on the shakes always helps with that. We went out for dinner at Bethany Blues, and I was happy with my grilled salmon and baby spinach salad hold the dressing. I was able to get to the farmers market in the morning and grocery store later in the day to stock up on my staples: fruits, veggies, eggs, chicken sausage, parmesan cheese, seltzer water, goat cheese, spinach and a rotisserie chicken for salads. I'm feeling pretty well equipped to eat clean when I want, and also ready to enjoy what the beach has to offer:)

Lemon water for breakfast?

You often hear me and others talking about the benefits of drinking water, but did you also know that you can jump start your metabolism each day by starting off with a warm lemon water? It's great in theory, but who has time on the morning to deal with cutting and juicing a lemon? Not me, so I make it easy by juicing a whole bag of lemons at once, pour the juice into an ice cube tray, then stick it in the freezer. All I do each morning is pop out a juice cube and fill my cup with warm water. My reward for finishing it is I get to drink my shake;)

Pizza Spaghetti Pie

I just found my new favorite dinner, and it's super easy!! It takes a while to bake, but other than that it's quick. You know me, I had to change a few things from the recipes, so I cooked my spaghetti squash in the microwave for 14 minutes instead of baking it. I used ground turkey and added lots of Italian seasoning instead of sausage, added clean tomato basil spaghetti sauce (also more than 1 cup) instead of pizza sauce. Of course I had to top it off with a little parmesan cheese. How can they call it a pizza with no cheese? I loved it; Bill loved it, and Trevor wouldn't get near it. (Maybe because I let him snack on a zucchini muffin.) Ha ha! You can find the recipe at http://paleomg.com/almost-5-ingredient-pizza-spaghetti-pie/

Three day refresh results

     Ta da! Here I am... three days later and 10 pounds lighter. (I know that's crazy, right! I got on the scale three times because I couldn't believe it either! It's a cheap bathroom scale, so might not be completely accurate, but it's what I used on day one and after.) Also, I lost two inches from my waist and two inches from my hips, no doubt about that. 

    OK, so the numbers are pretty impressive. But how am I feeling? I feel great, and refreshed. Ha ha! Good name for the product, right? The whole experience was a positive one for me. I'm happy with my results, and feeling like I can take the driver seat back with my food choices without going overboard while at the beach next week.

     Would I do it again? Yes, but not anytime soon. I'm not really about quick fixes and shortcuts. My goal is to lead a healthy lifestyle that is sustainable long term. So why did I do it in the first place? I was curious, and I really wanted to see what would happen for me after seeing results from my other friends. I've been wanting to have JLo abs for a while, but not really sure what's required to get them and probably not willing to make that much sacrifice. They say that abs are made in the kitchen, so I decided to find out if this would give me the definition that I desire. I've also been enjoying a few more cheats than usual since I've been on vacation. It's nice to get myself back on track, and I will think twice about those extra treats now that I am so much closer to my goals. Plus I will think back to the challenge of following the 3 day refresh; that should help me to keep myself in check;)

Last day of three day refresh

Thank goodness this is almost over! I was really fine with everything until this afternoon at about 4:00pm. Bill and I had spent a few hours at a friend's pool, and I was good about bringing my lunch and snacks. It was the first time this summer that I was actually able to sit by water and relax, close my eyes, and even fall asleep for a while. Every other time Trevor has been with us, and there is no relaxing when he's near, especially when water is involved. Something about being out in the sun all that time just made me tired and hungry. I wanted to comfort myself with food. The good news is that I was craving healthy stuff, like this spaghetti squash pizza casserole that I'm making tomorrow. But the bad news is that all I had left in my plan for the day was a shake and some asparagus with walnuts. My solution was to drink a couple cans of seltzer water and take a shower. That did help me out, but honestly I will be happy to go to bed tonight so that I can wake up to a day full of healthy eating. Plus I am excited to see my results;)