Allison’s (@ Go Dansker Mom) Day

Today my friend Allison wrote about her Day Two on the Clean Eating Challenge.  The poor thing had a rough day with a sick toddler.  I’m in awe that she stuck with it.  You can read all the charming details below, along with some great recipes.  Today I’m going to make the Mexican salad for my lunch, which looks yummy!  Be sure to check out Allison’s blog, where she writes about motherhood, “Martha Moments,” travel, books, health & fitness, cooking and more.  I love her blog.  She also just launched her own business helping bloggers reach their full potential.  You can read more about that on her business site, Allison Barrett Carter. 

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I am fearful this whole post will turn in to an “eugoogley” for all the Coffee in my life…

I have to say, I had a little more than 1 cup – just a splash more, though, not much – and no sugar or creamer. A little bit of soy milk in it (Organic EdenSoy unsweetened) in the morning and it still tasted delicious. As that pot brewed, the sweet, succlent, rich smells soothed me as my kids decided to get down all the musical instruments at 7 am. I need coffee in my life.

Clean Eating Breakfast

I did eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking up. Score! The hardest part of the breakfast routine for me was not sticking some cereal nuggets in my mouth as I get the bowls ready for the boys. Not this morning, though! I kept my willpower STRONG.

I ended up eating:

• 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 cup cut up fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup of my homemade granola recipe (made without the brown sugar or any dried fruits, since those have sugar, and instead of honey I used agave nectar)

It was so delicious!  I mean, really yummy I have to say.  The granola isn’t as sweet without the sugary goodness baked in, but with the yogurt and fresh berries I didn’t miss it.

Clean Eating Morning Snack

Of course, by 10 am I was really hungry.  I was at a client’s office for work but had remembered to fill up my Nalgene and bring in some fresh snacks.

Over the weekend I made roasted chickpeas (which you got a sneak peek at on my Instagram account), inspired by The Gracious Pantry and also pinned to my Clean Eating Board.

For morning snack I had:

• 1 banana
• a handful of roasted chickpeas
• a LOT of water

Incidentally, I also made 5 trips to the bathroom in 1 morning.  This “drinking a lot of water” isn’t for the lazy.

Clean Eating Roasted Chickpeas

These roasted nuggets are a tasty snack for healthy and clean eating.

Ingredients

1. 2 cans chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2. 1 TBLS garlic salt
3. 1/2 TBLS onion salt
4. 1 TBLS cumin
5. 3 tsp chili powder
6. 1/2 tsp of kosher salt
7. 1 1/2 TBLS olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, gently.
3. Spread beans in a thin layer on to a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
4. Roast for 40-50 minutes, shaking every 10 minutes. Watch carefully for any browning.

At this point my day got crazier: shut down at the office, daycare pick up, quick jet-in to the local organic co-op for fresh fish for dinner, preschool pickup, track down our old nanny to get her to sign some forms, get home, get groceries in, get preschooler down for nap…. all while having to pee.

I was very late to lunch and so, so hungry.  Also really tired.  I was dreaming of nothing but a nap.

At 2 I finally sat down to eat.

Clean Eating Lunch

I am not sure how you all will feel about this, but many “clean eating” websites say that nachos are their go-to lunch. Well, I needed something quick but still wasn’t sure nachos were what I was after.  But I have a torrid, unhealthy love affair with Mexican.  So I made a Mexican salad:

• heaping handful of organic mixed lettuce greens
• 1/4 cup nacho cheese blend
• 1 cup black beans (from the can, drained & rinsed and heated in the microwave)
• 2 tablespoons fresh salsa (from the store’s deli department, not homemade)
• 1 single serving size of guacamole
• fresh cilantro leaves sprinkled on top.
• crumbled 7 tortilla chips on top… but before you judge these were no preservative, no hydrogenated oils, no transfats, no gluten, organic really expensive tortilla chips (plus Rome wasn’t built in a day)

Oh. And water.  Of course.

This was delicious and I felt better after eating. Although still feeling pretty tired.

Clean Eating Afternoon Snack

This was the best part of my day. I had made these gluten-free energy balls from Land of Nod’s blog (which is a fantastic blog, by the way) in the past. I whipped them up again for this challenge, but of course without the chocolate chips and sweetened coconut this time.

I also treated myself to a big glass of hot decaf green tea, sweetened with just a hint of my agave nectar.

This snack was completely rejuvenating.

Then life went south…. My toddler woke  up from his nap and proceeded to vomit on me. Four times.

No, I didn’t eat my stress.  I mean, who wants to eat after that? But at this point the already tough day (month) had me defeated and utterly exhausted.

Thus, I confess: at 5:30 pm, when the hubs returned home he poured me a glass of red wine, which I readily and gladly accepted. I took a very long, hot shower then sat down for 15 minutes with that wine.  WORTH IT.

I almost didn’t have enough desire to cook a healthy dinner for us.  But after the kids went to bed early, here is what I whipped up for the hubs and I for dinner:

Clean Eating Dinner

1 cup of organic wild rice/brown rice mix (courtesy of my organic co-op), with a seasoning of garlic salt, pepper, and onion salt

• baby bok choy, mushrooms, and green onions sauteed in just a splash of tamari with some crushed red pepper flakes
• Asian-style baked tilapia —> I picked up some farm raised, local tilapia at our local co-op for only $5.12 for a pound (yes, on sale!). I whisked together some soy sauce, a splash of olive oil, minced garlic, ground gigner, and a teaspon of honey then marinated the filets in the fridge for an hour.  I baked them at 425 for about 15 minutes. They were fabulous!

I then snuck one teeny tiny piece of chocolate from my special chocolate stash.  A friend of mine recently mailed me some high quality chocolate from Moonstruck in Oregon as a thank you for some blog help, and I am savoring each piece.  So yes, I helped myself to what amounts to 1/16th of a chocolate bar before coming upstairs to write this post.

Was I perfect today?  Absolutely not! Depending on how you count the 7 chips, I could be scored at a 3 point deduction. Wine, tortilla chips, and a piece of chocolate.

Do I feel good right now? Absolutely! I am exhausted today but I feel so, so proud that I curbed all my cravings.  Not a single Crispix, Dorito, or spoonful of mac & cheese made it in to my mouth all day.  It felt great to exercise complete control over my diet without those “Sneak Snacks” I referred to on Sunday.

So I feel better. I know I didn’t rock Day One of this challenge, but I also feel like I made progress.  Being accountable to you all helps.  Now wish me luck on Day Two!

Are you joining us? #cleaneatingchallenge hashtag and please give me creative recipe ideas!

Be sure to comment below and give Allison some feedback.  Next up, we have Amy from Hot Breakfast, so be sure to check back tomorrow!

#cleaneatingchallenge