Tag: cleaneating

Just eat the candy bar

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“Just eat the Snickers restriction isn’t the key,” is the Instagram comment left on a recipe for a healthier version of a Snickers candy bar. I understand the sentiment, but I want to break it down. I tried to keep scrolling, but things like that get stuck in my brain and I think of all the ways I want to respond, but never will because I don’t do that. I could also complain to my husband about it, but that doesn’t help anyone because he’ll just nod and agree, just to move on to a different topic. So here it goes.

I will always believe, for the foreseeable future, in the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time you stick to eating plants, twenty percent of the time you have fun with food, whatever that means to you. I believe in enjoying special events and occasions completely, meaning enjoying the cake and fun foods that come with a celebration! YOLO is my actual motto; if I have a limited time on this Earth I want to enjoy whatever I want!! BUT – I also want to feel my very best while I’m here.

Yes, you can eat the candy bar and maybe you find joy from that, but how does it actually make your insides feel? Maybe you eat it because you’re super hungry and just need something. But does it actually help? Sure, it helps settle your hungry tummy a little, but what comes next? For me, I’d get bloated and then DAYS later I would have an acne breakout. It’s easy to overlook these symptoms and blame them on other factors, and since every person is different there are a number of things that can cause these things to happen. The one single thing that changed my acne breakouts from frequent to rare – changing my diet.

I struggled with acne starting in FOURTH grade. Looking back, I was probably dealing with gut health and food sensitivity issues, but at that time who even knew that was a thing?? Certainly not me as a ten year old. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties that I finally made the connection between what I was eating and the breakouts I had constantly, and the way I felt on the inside!

So all of this to say, YES you can eat the real Snickers bar without any guilt because you should enjoy life…but it’s also possible to take control of how you feel, every day, for life!!

Want the healthier Snickers bar recipe? Leave a 🍫 in the comments!

Ready to feel your very best through what you eat, without giving up desserts? Tap Nutrition Coaching at the top of the page!

Improving My Skin Part 2

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When you’re going through food sensitivity struggles, it can feel like every little thing will be an issue. It can be intimidating to even try new foods because you don’t know how it will affect you after. But once you know your trigger food(s) you can start healing your gut and know that you will be able to eat the things you want to in the future. I was throwing things against the wall to see what would help me, but I felt like I was stuck going in circles without any real solutions. Between 2018 and 2022 I felt like things were never going to change, and because psoriasis is an autoimmune issue, I thought there was nothing I could do.

Fast forward to 2022, a new program came out, The 4 Week Gut Protocol. Just like Whole30, the Gut Protocol program calls to eliminate the most common food allergens from your diet for four weeks, then reintroduce them one by one to see how things make you feel. The only real difference is in the GP you have guidelines to help you calculate how much food you should be eating, where the Whole30 just gives you the foods to avoid. This taught me how good I can feel when I’m getting all the essential nutrients my body needs instead of trying to piece together meals and *hope* I’m getting what I need. Which honestly, I didn’t think about nutrients at all during my first round of W30. Live and learn.

After four weeks of elimination, I felt AMAZING! I used to feel bloated almost all the time, pretty much as soon as I would eat something in the morning – I’d feel bloated all day. But eating whole foods in the right proportions helps the body truly work the way it’s supposed to. The best part – I started noticing a difference in my skin. It was nowhere near clear, but it was different. I didn’t reintroduce any foods right away, except I added ONE of the food categories back in – legumes. I *thought* this one would be fine and as someone who eats vegan + gluten free I wanted a little more variety in what I was eating day to day. Fast forward a week or two and my skin was changing again…but it was going BACK to the way it was before GP! Again, this is the part of the process that’s annoying – testing different foods to see what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes it feels easier to stick with the allergen free, whole foods way of eating instead of trying a food, waiting a few days to see how things go, adding it back in, waiting a few days again. It’s a process, but is so worth it I promise!!

Again I went back to the original plan, back to no foods that are on the common allergen list – including legumes – and I decided to continue on with it indefinitely. I wanted to see a difference in my skin again; I was determined! I was loving all the foods I was eating anyway, and my gut was feeling awesome! So it didn’t feel difficult to stick to. Reminder: it took five years of trial and error and winding down different paths trying to get here. It certainly did not happen over night!! Feeling confident about food, especially when you have to relearn every wrong thing you’ve ever been told by any media source, takes time and effort and will feel like a full struggle sometimes.

Fast forward to today, I’m still working on figure it all out, but have seen about 60% improvement in my skin. At one point I saw about 90% improvement – that was when I was eating completely clean with no hiccups in my diet. I have a new mentality about food and life, because, yes I want to feel my very best every day and I know that happens through what I consume. BUT, I’d also like to ENJOY life by eating fun foods that are not necessarily “clean.” For example, France is in my future travel plans and I KNOW I will eat macarons while I’m there – of course, not a vegan or gluten free or allergen friendly food. But would I really fly all that way and not enjoy the best of what they have to offer?? (the answer is no).

I am still following The Gut Protocol so my skin can maybe one day be back to 90% clear (or more), but I am OPEN to what life has to offer, and sometimes if I want to stray from my plan for the real important life moments (like croissants in France, not just pizza because I don’t feel like cooking).

Life is short, I believe we should treat every day as a celebration! You never know when the party is over. Eat the foods you like, but don’t forget we run on essential nutrients. Start with the very basics to help your body work the way it needs to, and add in the fun from there.

Want to see an improvement in your life through gut health, skin, energy, sleep, and more? Click here for the 4 Week Gut Protocol.

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Improving My Skin Part 1

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I have an entire section on this blog dedicated to my personal experience with the Whole 30 program; thirty days of food elimination to figure out which, if any, foods are causing different reactions in the body. Anything from bloating and gas to skin irritations and mood swings can be the result of food sensitivities! (In the United States alone, 60+ million people suffer from food related issues 😮) Talking to your wellness professional can help you get to the bottom of these issues, but in this country, that’s not always an option (read: our healthcare system is wack). Here are my personal opinions and experiences having completed one round of the Whole30 program, and made an entire lifestyle shift after the Gut Protocol program.

It’s not the easiest process to go through, but if you have a plan in place then it can be pretty simple. If I didn’t make a plan for every single week there definitely would have been a point where I would have slipped up. Without a plan, I would have given up the first time life felt too busy, or overwhelmed with all the tasks that present themselves throughout a normal day with kids and pets. There is a reason that the quote -fail to plan, plan to fail- is so popular. It is so true for most things in life! I’ll be the first to admit sticking to a plan has not always been the easiest for me, even when I am interested in whatever it is I’m trying to stick to.

When I first considered the Whole30 program I asked my husband, Matt, to do it with me for accountability because when he decides to stick to something, anything, that’s it – he does it. So I knew having him with me would help me stay the course. Thirty days later we felt pretty amazing…but we jumped right back into our old habits. This is when I started to feel pretty terrible. Although I had gone through the reintroduction phase and knew how things made me feel, I decided to ignore that, and wouldn’t realize until later on that I was feeling bad because I was still dealing with food sensitivities. I didn’t take what I learned from the Whole30 program and use it to better my life. It was more of a “can I finish this program,” and once I did I felt accomplished – but didn’t realize the true impact until later.

A few months after reintroduction I started to develop psoriasis patches on my skin, something I had never experienced before, but runs in my family. At first I had NO CLUE what it was and went into panic mode. But after a few days of wearing a band-aid over the new patch on my hand, I realized what it had to be, and used Google to confirm. Some might not make the connection between the two, but I think the Universe helped me find that relation. Before Whole30 I was eating the Standard American Diet, then after eating a squeaky clean diet for thirty days, I went right back to that S.A.D diet. In my head it made complete sense that they were related, but I was positive at the time it was only dairy that was contributing to my new skin problems. So I cut out dairy and meat. And still the psoriasis continued to spread. But I thought I just needed more time.

Click for part 2

Creamy (n)ice cream

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You’re not going to believe the main ingredient in this one:

Zucchini. You probably just thought, “what the??” Yes, it’s for real.

I wasn’t totally convinced this would work, but it is SUPER CREAMY. I made this two days in a row, and plan to make more later this week! And something I want to be sure of with everything I eat – it has to be gut friendly. Meaning it won’t make me feel bloated or give me a stomach ache after I eat it.

Aside from zucchini, the other important part of this recipe is the protein powder. You really need a brand that has a really great flavor FIRST and is boosted by other flavors, and vice versa. I’ve tried just about every kind out there and have landed on a kind that not only tastes amazing, but it has pre/probiotics in it too + other good stuff.

This recipe calls for a chocolate protein powder, but I only had vanilla so I doubled the amount of cacao powder, which I used instead of cocoa powder.

Click >here< for the recipe, I hope you’ll let me know in the comments if you try it!!

*post contains product links

Super Spicy Jalapeño Bake

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Fresh Jalapeño

Red cabbage

Rice

Red Lentils

Black beans

Corn

Taco seasonings

Toppings: Franks Buffalo Wing sauce, Primal Kitchen Ranch, Chipotle Hemp Hearts

I started by cooking the rice and the lentils, separately, in small saucepans. Each takes two cups water to one cups dry ingredient. Cook until water is absorbed.

While the rice and lentils cook, I prep the jalapenos (with gloves to avoid juices getting all over, lesson learned the hard way) by slicing in half and cleaning everything out of the inside. Lie in baking pan and drizzle with olive oil and place in 400 degree oven to let peppers start to soften.

Rough chop the cabbage into bite sized pieces, cook in cast iron skillet with a little oil until soft.

Season lentils with taco-like spices; I used salt & pepper, cumin, garlic powder, crushed red pepper and crushed chipotle peppers. Stir all together and set aside until jalapenos can almost be pierced with a fork.

Pull jalapeno dish from oven, spread rice all over jalapenos, then scoop lentils on top, followed by rinse canned black beans, and frozen or canned corn kernels. Add soft cabbage and put dish back in the oven and bake until jalapenos are easily pierced with a fork.

Drizzle on Franks Buffalo sauce and Primal Kitchen Ranch dressing and sprinkle Chipotle hemp hearts on top. Of course, you could omit the hot sauce if you don’t like super spicy, but I think it’s a great way to get a little extra water intake for the day.

Spicy Acorn Squash Energy Bowl

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I needed a good meal after the gym and came up with this awesome dish. I had a half serving of rice and half of an acorn squash in my bowl, trying not to go overboard on carbs. Also I used more of a deep plate, but I’m still calling it a bowl!

Acorn Squash

White rice

Red, green, yellow bell peppers

Onion

Guacamole

Hemp hearts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut squash in half starting at the stem then scoop out the seeds. Place squash face down in baking dish with just enough water to cover bottom of dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until skin can be pierced easily with fork.

Cook rice according to package. Chop peppers and onion and cook in cast iron skillet until soft and slightly browned.

I had guacamole already made, but it’s super easy. Avocado, salt & pepper, garlic powder, chipotle pepper, Franks hot sauce. Done!

Scoop squash from skin into bowl and add peppers, onion, rice, guac, hemp hearts, and hot sauce.

Pictured is everything together in my bowl, but then I mixed it all up to eat it (not as pretty).

*Add cooked cubed chicken if you eat meat

Homemade SpaghettiOs

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While I was still working in an office and had no idea what a healthy diet was supposed to look like, I would buy lunch from the pharmacy in the building. That included foods like Ramen noodles, salt & vinegar potato chips, chocolate covered pretzels, or some kind of microwavable Chef Boyardee or Campbell’s product. I didn’t know how to read a nutrition label or even think about looking at an ingredient list, and I’m positive not one thing was clean or macro friendly. Fast forward five years and now I have my own version of the classic canned SpaghettiOs. 

This recipe was a happy accident that happened when I needed to go grocery shopping, but didn’t feel like it so I used pretty much the only things I had in the house: gluten free noodles and tomato soup.

I had no idea what creation I was about to make, but I cooked the noodles according to the package directions (I used this) and added the noodles back to the pot after drained. Next, the tomato soup (this) is added to the pot with the noodles and heated until everything is warm. At this point the recipe could be done, or you can add some of your favorite spices to kick it up a notch. 

This is a great alternative to the canned version of SpaghettiOs, even if it isn’t technically ‘spaghetti’. You can use any type of pasta and any brand of tomato soup and have the same result. I use whatever I have on hand at the time and it always tastes the same. Just make sure to check your labels if you want your dish to be clean!

Broccoli Soup

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1 large broccoli crown

1 cup shredded carrots

4 Garlic cloves

Olive oil

7 oz Coconut milk

2 cups water

2 Vegetable bouillon cubes

Banza Chickpea elbow pasta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop broccoli into bite sized pieces, coat in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in oven for 15 minutes.

Cook garlic in olive oil in a large pot. Add shredded carrots and roasted broccoli, stir. Add two cups water and one bouillon cube and let dissolve. Add coconut milk and other bouillon cube, stir and let dissolve. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and let cook 8-10 minutes or until soft but not falling apart.

Serve with gluten free crackers on top!

Buffalo Cauliflower Vegan Taco Bowl

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One of those days where I have no idea what we’ll have for dinner, but then it turns out pretty awesome! The original idea was everything stuffed into taco shells but I always stuff them way too much and it all falls apart so instead I put it all in a bowl and mixed it all together.

For cauliflower:                 1 head cauliflower

Frank’s Hot Buffalo Sauce*

Other Ingredients:          Rice

Re-fried Black Beans

Multi Colored Bell Peppers

Mann’s Kale Beet Blend

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Blue Corn Taco Shells

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop cauliflower into bite sized pieces and put into a large bowl. Drizzle a generous amount of buffalo sauce on top and mix all together until every piece of cauliflower is covered completely. Add more sauce as needed. Roast cauliflower in single layer on baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until easily pierced with fork and a little browned.

Cook the rice while cauliflower is roasting; I like to make extra rice so I have some for another meal the next day. Chop peppers into small pieces and cook in pan on stove. Add onion too if you want, I just didn’t have any on hand. I have a large cast iron skillet, so when the peppers were soft and slightly browned, I moved them to the side of the skillet and added the re-fried black beans to the other side just to warm them up.

Once everything was ready, I started with breaking some taco shells into a bowl, then I added rice, peppers, black beans, cauliflower, greens, and salsa, then more broken shells. This was really easy to prepare and came together quickly!

*If you don’t like spicy, use your favorite mild taco sauce.

Week 1 Day 1

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Breakfast: Mashed sweet potato with almond butter, whole almonds, and cinnamon mixed in

Lunch: Banana, macadamia nuts.

Dinner: Pizza Spaghetti Pie. Spaghetti squash and pasta sauce, plus your favorite veggies. One of my favorite meals, ever!

Whole30 says you can pretty much eat as much as you feel like you need at meals, but try to cut out snacking between meals. If you workout regularly, or are pregnant or breastfeeding then you should snack because your body will need the extra fuel.

One of the first things I do when I meal prep is boil 3-4 (or half a bag) sweet potatoes. It takes about 30 minutes, but they get so soft and easy to mash, and the skin peels right off. I make this breakfast regularly, so it saves me so much time each morning. You can also cook the spaghetti squash ahead of time and then throw together the rest of the ingredients later when you’re ready to cook and eat.

Most days, I stay pretty full from breakfast or I eat breakfast late in the morning, so my lunch will be a snack or preworkout type food. I started this on New Years’ Day so I’m pretty sure I woke up really late in the day, I usually eat much more than a banana and nuts for lunch!

-Sweet potato bowl-