Clean Eating Day 11

Saturday! I got up super early and went to Milo for coffee and then to the Hillcrest Farmers Market. Its was 26 degrees this morning. I did not last long. I got some granola, breakfast sausage from Freckled Face Farms, some cheese from Kent Walker Artisan Cheese (Gouda and habanero cheddar), some kale (finally broke out the juicer), and some info on joining a CSA this summer. I'm working later tonight so today's blog is just breakfast.

Breakfast: Juice (kale, ginger, mango, cucumber, lime)
Brunch: Sausage (see above), eggs, cheese (see above), and 8 Grain toast. We made breakfast sandwiches. Glorious.
Lunch: not gonna lie, its probably going to be a pimento cheese sandwich. I just cannot get enough of this stuff.
Dinner: Working at the Bistro tonight, so I'll probably just grab whatever they give me (as long as its a whole food).
Wine: I'm gonna bet its Bota Box Cabernet, because that is what I have at home.

Clean Eating Day 9-10

Geez. I am not going to be able to keep this up daily. Who has the time? I actually do. I just keep forgetting. So, I forgot to mention on Day 8 that I started a ginger bug. I am SO excited about this and hope it works. I absolutely love ginger ale and ginger beer, but all the chemicals in it keep me away (I don't drink soda's). Basically, you start with some grated ginger (2-3 tablespoons, it works out to about 1 to 2 inches) and some raw organic sugar (same amount as ginger). Then add 2 cups of filtered water (apparently chlorine messes with the bug). Stir with a non metal spoon, cover with cheesecloth (I used a cut up pillowcase and a mason jar), and wait. Feed the bug every day with 1 tablespoon on sugar and 1 tablespoon of grated ginger. I am only on day 3 as I write this, so we will see if I got it right. If its not fizzy in 7 days you have to dump it and start over. Day 9 and 10 I went back to work after all the school days, and my students were just as excited about it as I was (insert sarcasm here). I took some greek yogurt and frozen berries for breakfast, Salad from the night before for lunch, and a handful of nuts for an afternoon snack. 

I also neglected to mention that I made a great quinoa recipe on day 8. I got it here. It was great!

Here is the breakdown from Day 9:

Breakfast: greek yogurt with frozen raspberries and blackberries

Lunch: Salad with roasted chicken, strawberries, cucumber, and feta with balsamic vinegar

Dinner: Pimento cheese sandwich from boulevard (I worked at the restaurant and ate a tablespoon of pimento cheese on one slice of 8 grain bread). I justify these foods in my clean eating diet because I know that the cheese and the bread is made from whole ingredients and is made 2 miles from my house.

Wine: Bota Box Cab (duh) and a pint of IPA from our local brewery, Lost 40.

Day 10. Its FRIDAY! The Long Hair and I went to one of our favorites, South on Main, for Social Hour, which is their take on Happy Hour.  I had a Mule (its made with brown sugar, I think) if not, whoops, but it is Friday, right. Aren't you allowed to cheat a little on Fridays? I also had a glass of Cabernet. The hubs had an Old Fashioned (truly wonderful, David Burnette makes such great drinks). We had some boiled peanuts and then came home. Just a really nice, relaxing evening. Also, House of Cards Season 3 came out, so we plan on marathoning that REAL soon. Here's the breakdown.

Breakfast: greek yogurt with frozen raspberries and blackberries

Lunch: Leftover quinoa with roasted chicken

Dinner: Pimento Cheese sandwich

Wine: Domaine Laroque '13 Cab Franc, Loire, France 

Clean Eating Days 4-8

Well, I am not as good a blogger during the weekend/snow days! I can sum up the weekend here on one post, though! I am happy to report that I have stayed true to my challenge. Lets look at this day by day!

Day 4: Saturday. Ugh. You just know you are going to go to lunch. My best friend and I went to a local pizza place. I was starving. Mimosas were only $7 (for the entire BOTTLE). What was I to do? Make good choices. I had a primavera salad (lettuce, broccoli, bell peppers, asparagus, etc.) with feta cheese and oil and vinegar. I also added chicken. Not too bad! Then the mimosas came. I don't feel too bad about the champagne because, well, wine. But i didn't know what to do about the juice. Turns out our lovely server brought us OJ, Grapefruit, Pineapple, and Cranberry juice! AND the grapefruit and pineapple had NO ADDED SUGAR. Decision made. After a bit of shopping next to the pizza place (Box Turtle, yes, ma'am), we went to meet my husband at Pizza D for a beer. My friend got TONS of fried food, but I didn't even taste it. MAJOR accomplishment. For dinner that night I sauteed some chicken breast with mushrooms, spinach, garlic, and onion. Fabulous. To summarize:

Breakfast: coffee
Lunch: Primavera salad with oil and vineger
Dinner: Chicken, Mushroom, and Spinach
Wine: Champagne, baby.

Day 5: Sunday. Date day. Every sunday, my husband and I go to our favorite bar for brunch. We get a bottle of mimosas and do the Sunday crossword. We have been doing this since the first week we started dating. Not stopping now. SO I cooked breakfast at home. I then used VERY little oj for my champagne. I still feel good about it. After brunch, the hubs and I went to a friends house to help them move and then came home. I cooked up some brown rice to go with last nights dinner, and there ya go. All done with Dinner! A few friends came over later that night and we had some Cabernet, but that was about it!

Breakfast: fruit with greek yogurt
Lunch/Dinner: Brown Rice with the Chicken from last night
Wine: Champagne/ Cabernet (Bota Box)

Day 6: Monday. SNOW DAY! The hubs and I spent the morning with some fruit and greek yogurt. Then we walked to our neighborhood bar (where the snow days are ALWAYS fun.) It is Thursday as I am writing this, and wouldn't you know it? I can't remember what we ate this day. Hang on...

Breakfast: fruit with greek yogurt
Lunch: Ham and Bean soup? I think that's what we did
Dinner: I fell asleep early. I think maybe I didn't eat dinner. Whoops.
Wine: Bota Box Cabernet

Day 7: Tuesday. Another Snow Day. The roads were pretty good in the afternoon on Tuesday, so for breakfast I made Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms, Goat Cheese, and Onions. Served it all up on an Ezekiel tortilla. Very filling. Tons of protein. Lunch with Lyds at the Oyster Bar, went to work with the Long Hair (the husband), and then grocery shopping. We stopped at Boulevard for Balsamic Chicken Salad, Pimento Cheese, and 8 Grain Bread. On to Kroger for some produce and quinoa. Long day, super glad we went to the store, because I did NOT leave my house on Day 8.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on Ezekiel tortilla
Lunch: Shrimp Gumbo from Oyster Bar
Dinner: Pimento Cheese on 8 Grain from Boulevard
Wine: Bota Box Cabernet

Day 8: Wednesday. ANOTHER SNOW DAY. This time the snow was coming down all day. I did not leave the house. I did not get out of my pajamas. I got completely caught up on Scandal. It was wonderful. I ate ALL DAY. I probably had 6 small meals (which is what they tell you to do when doing the Whole Foods thing). I took my leftover Strawberry and Cucumber and marinated them in some balsamic vinegar. Roasted some chicken breasts. Made a salad. GLORIOUS.

Breakfast: Pimento Cheese on 8 Grain
Lunch: Nuts, Balsamic Chicken Salad
Dinner: Roasted chicken with spring mix, strawberry and cucumber, and feta cheese.
Wine: Bota Box Cabernet

Clean Eating, Day 3

Ok, so today I have only had breakfast, but I have a second, so I thought I would post something. I made a smoothie day that really wasn't so great. Lesson learned.

Breakfast: Greek yogurt, all-natural peanut butter, frozen coffee cubes. eh.

Also, found a great article about why diet soda is sooooooo terrible for you. Enjoy!

STOP IT WITH SODA

Clean Eating Day 2

Good Lord, grocery day was exhausting. I was so hungry on Day 1 so I started at Target to get a vegetable pasta thingy. I wanted a snack once I got there, but I couldn't find anything unprocessed! Anywho, on to the GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW WHOLE FOODS! It was a great store, but PACKED. I got a great deal on some free range organic chicken breasts though (decision made on whether or not to cut out meat). So, I thought I would share what I ate on Day 1 and Day 2.

Day 1:
Breakfast: handful of nuts
Lunch: Spicy Thai Basil Soup from Whole Foods
Dinner: Stir-fry Broccoli, red pepper, onion, carrot, and snap peas with Vegan Organic Coconut Oil and Braggs Liquid Aminos.
Wine: Bota Box Pinot Noir

Day 2: (this is getting waaaaay easier by the way):
Breakfast: Smoothie with Strawberries, Raspberries, blackberries, and Greek Yogurt (plain). I also added in a little Raspberry Lemonade that I had made up (True Lemon is what I used. They are FANTASTIC, and I'm pretty sure they aren't processed).
Lunch: Ham and Bean soup (I made a HUGE batch of this back in December and froze some...it still turned out GREAT)
Snack: carrots and snap peas, I had some mixed nuts as well in the late afternoon
Dinner: Stir-Fry from the day before with Organic Quinoa
Wine: Bota Box Pinot Noir (duh, I didn't drink it all last night!)

I am working  a 3rd job at a local restaurant/bakery so I have decided to get my bread there instead of worrying about Spent grains and Ezekiel bread. I get a discount and I know who makes it so I'm gonna do that. They make AMAZING bread too (try Boulevard Bread Co. if you are ever in the Little Rock, AR area).

Clean Eating Day 1

So today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent (is that capitalized?  I can't be sure). I am not catholic, but I like to participate in Lent every year. I think that its a good exercise in self-control. In previous years I have given up sodas (5 years now), Cigarettes (that one didn't stick a couple of years ago, but I am 7 months strong now), and probably tons of other things that I have now forgotten.

I should introduce myself. I'm Jesi. 35 years old. Married. Teacher, professor, wine lover.

This year for Lent, I have decided to give up processed foods. This blog is a way to hold me accountable, and check my progress through the next 40 days. Bear with me, this won't always be pretty.

I like this guide to get me started. 

Today is list making and grocery shopping day. I am trying to decide if I want to cut out lean meats or not. If I decide to eat lean meats, they will have to be organic, grass-fed, blah, blah. Anyway, that can get expensive. I went a year without meat, so I really don't see this being a problem. I'll take it a day at a time.

This is what I used for the grocery store.

I am also going to target to pick up one of those Vegetti's. You know, that turn vegetables into pasta? Ok, the one thing I will confess that I am not giving up.....my wine. Between you, me, and Olivia Pope, I just can't do it. I need a glass of red at the end of the night. And that is my pledge. One glass. 

Join me tomorrow to see how today went. Hell, join me for the next 40 days.