Days 4-8: Out and About

So I think we are finally getting the hang of this eating clean thing! Maybe...

Eating clean is hard to do while eating out with friends and family. I must admit, I come from a family that eats out a lot. My sister and I were always involved in activities and so our family time was spent at the dinner table, but not usually our own table.  Things are still this way with my family now, which is why it is so important that we figure out how to eat clean while eating out.

Over the last few days we had an opportunity to figure this out.


I have off work every other Wednesday, so I took Johnny lunch. After doing the Daniel fast many times with our church, I knew that Pei Wei would have a lot of options for us. I ordered off of the kid's menu so the portion would be appropriate. Johnny had steamed tofu with brown rice and mixed vegis and I had "velvet" chicken (**which is how you order chicken at Pei Wei if you don't want the breaded chicken) with brown rice and vegis. It was so good!

We both had protein & healthy carbs. Success! And, it was only about $9.00 for both of us to eat

Then Sunday afternoon after church we went our for brunch. We went to BBD, our fave breakfast place in Tulsa. We actually had a lot of great options there! I had their homemade granola with plain yogurt and fresh fruit & 2 scrambled egg whites. Johnny had a buckwheat pancake with natural peanut butter & 2 eggs over easy.

We both had protein, healthy carbs & healthy fats.

Then last night Johnny brought home dinner from In The Raw-- yum. Sushi & ITR salad... Johnny really loves me.  Johnny had a pineapple rice bowl with steak & vegis. I had a small ITR salad (which has lettuce, chicken, scallions, almonds & ginger vinaigrette) and a roll with salmon, crab & cucumber. The rice around my roll was white rice, so not 100% clean... but what we are learning about eating clean is that it is more about making better choices than being perfectly "clean."

Here are the ground rules we have established for eating out:
- no fried food (look for steamed or grilled protein)
- drink water only (juice sounds healthy, but the amount of sugar in juice is outrageous)
- no bleached flour
- no cream based sauces or dressings
- smaller portions, or take 1/2 of it to go

I really don't think you could eat out as much as we are accustomed to and truly eat clean... I know a lot of what is not "clean" about eating out is the way the food is prepared--which we cannot control unless we cook at home. However, because of our lifestyle, we have to figure out how to make BETTER choices when we eat out.

It's not easy, but it can be done!

Days 2-3: Oldies, but Goodies

So I did manage to make it more than one day without cheating! Which is an accomplishment, by the way. Cheating in general has never been an issue, never cheated on tests or boyfriends, but seriously cheated on my diet plans and workout schedule in the past... NO MORE! I am a new woman--for today at least.

So anyways, here are two things I learned about the way I eat...

1. I get majorly obsessed with a certain food or flavor combination and eat the same thing for days in a row. My latest obsession? Guacamole. Seriously, could eat guacamole every day for every meal (which I almost did on Wednesday-oops!) It's great for eating clean, just veggies & avo. Fiber + a healthy fat

2. Food and clothes are a lot alike to me... Have you ever reached into the back of your closet and found an amazing dress or pair of shoes you totally forgot about? Finding it is like going shopping, it all of the sudden is new & exciting again! I feel that way about food too. 

Tuesday evening I had one of those "ahh ha!" moments in the kitchen when I realized I hadn't cooked Johnny dinner yet.  He was on his way home from the office late so it had to be quick. What did I have easy and quick? Some left over brown rice, eggs, Ezekiel bread & peanut butter. Breakfast for dinner! DUH.

One of my all time favorite breakfast items is something my mom made all the time after we had leftover rice during the holidays-- rice and egg. It's just scrambled eggs with rice. Johnny loved it! He actually asked me to make it again on Wednesday night. Success! To make it "clean" I used brown rice and egg whites.  Good carb/fiber + protein.

So far, so good!

Day 1- Texture Terror

Day 1-
1 down, 89 to go! So I did the unthinkable yesterday... I ate two foods I loathe: a hard boiled egg and oatmeal--YUCK! You see, I am a texture person when it comes to food. I cannot stand how slimy and stinky hard boiled eggs are, or how mushy and gooey oatmeal is.  However, I know both of those items are things I should be including in my new diet.

So I was very brave yesterday at work and had oatmeal for breakfast. We have oatmeal and cream of wheat in our employee cafeteria, as well as a fresh fruit bar (organic, because that is what we serve our patients.) So I had about 4oz of oatmeal and about 4oz of berries with it--no one said I couldn't overload the oatmeal with berries to mask the disgusting texture.

Bite # 1:  gag.
Bite #2: half a gag.
Bite #3: finally okay with oatmeal as long as there is a lot of fresh berries on top. I mean, a lot.
Mission accomplished, for now.

Now for lunch... I didn't take the time to pack my lunch so I ate again from the cafe at work. I had 4 oz of tuna with celery, 4 slices of cucumber, and 1 HARD BOILED EGG. Gross. I figured I was so brave at breakfast, that I could be brave again at lunch.

I took one bite of the actual egg... GAG GAG GAG. Pretty much had to spit it into the trash, please keep in mind we had a meeting during lunch, so this happened in front of my entire office. It's okay to laugh, I did. So instead of trying another bite, I decided to dig out the yoke and add the egg whites to my tuna & celery. Mission accomplished, again.

After realizing my options at work would be very limited, I decided to take a trip to Reasors after work to grocery shop before Yoga. Wish we had a Whole Foods in South Tulsa!! After spending over $150 on groceries and getting my butt kicked at Yoga,  I headed home to show Johnny all of the goodies I bought at the store--and make him dinner of course--I'm so domestic.

We had marinated chicken on the George Foreman grill and called it a night. Plenty left over for lunch tomorrow, PTL.

Day 1 = SUCCESS!

Project Eat Clean

Inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, I am starting my own blog today. Yes, finally doing it! Mostly because I actually have something to blog about-- a 90 day challenge that starts today.

I recently was recommended by my Body Pump instructor at Gold's Gym to read "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. I hate hate hate the word "diet", I am more interested in long term changes, not short term "trends." After reading a few reviews on Amazon (my favoriate place to order all things Katy--including, but not limited to: books, shoes, gifts, dog treats... yea, obsessed) I finally ordered the book.

I had an amazing long weekend away from home with Johnny this weekend and finally had a chance to dive into the book. I really like how practical the book is-- it includes fast food guidelines, grocery lists, and recipes.

Here is the gist of the book: eating food in it's most natural state. This mean eliminating simple carbs, refined sugar, processed food, and preservatives. Tosca also stresses the importance of drinking lots of water. Here are some things I am having a little trouble letting go of: cream with my coffee, juices (way too much sugar), and pasta.

It's okay though, because "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." --Kate Moss

So here we go, eating clean for 90 days. Tune in for all the details.