The Challenge: Continued

So several weeks ago, I started a post about a nutritional challenge. You can catch up here...

so I was heading into my day--a nutritional cleanse day and I was a little leery. I actually would say my attitude sucked going into this...I hear the word cleanse and think "GI Cleanse" but this is a detox cleanse--using natural fruit juices and herbs to help to rid the body of toxins and supplementing your day with little snacks. A break to the GI system and a way to flush the body of toxins that build up in our bodies.

Nutritional Cleansing increases the health benefits you’ll receive from the ancient health practice of cleansing. The herbs, vitamins and minerals that aid cleansing do two things:

• Accelerate the removal of impurities from the body.
• Nourish the body with vital nutrients to rapidly revive health.

A cleansed and revitalized body is stronger, resists illness better, is more efficient and performs at a higher level than one that is filled with impurities. Many people notice an ability to reach and maintain their ideal weight.

I was expecting to hate it and call it stupid. I am the biggest skeptic out there. It took me a year to even try this. 

But I was feeling energized and CLEAR. I tried a one day cleanse and I could not believe how great I felt! even dare say better than I had in a long time.

I continued the nutritional plan as written and not diverting from it for a second. After a few days, it was insane how GREAT I felt. And alert. I did not miss coffee and I any sort of craving for "junk" was deeply diminished. In week one I dropped 8lbs and my lean tummy was returning.

I continued on with week two in the same way. Super clean nutrition, eating every couple of hours and using only clean nutritional supplements (vitamins, a super clean protein shake twice per day), implementing the nutritional cleanse to release toxins and lots of water.

These are just random pics of some of my meals

At the end of the two week trial period I dropped 14lbs and nearly 2 inches from my waist. From that loss, my body fat dropped 4.7%.

I was sold. There would be NO GOING back to the way I was eating before.

getting leaner every week
no, I did not make my bed 

I consulted a nutritionist regarding this plan and the needs for endurance athletes; she helped me to map out a plan specifically for me (as well as a structure for endurance athletes) and how this is going to play into my life once I up my training and hit some bigger cycles. I was psyched to have her look over the plan and give it a big thumbs up and talk to me more a bit about how the whole system played a role in recovery, refueling and keeping that muscle mass.

BUT--The biggest reasons I am sticking to this plan?

ENERGY-my energy is through the roof! no more stimulants like coffee are even needed. I feel amazing. Never have I felt this energized and focused. 

RECOVERY-my body recovers quicker workout to workout.

STRENGTH-I am preserving LEAN MUSCLE MASS and dropping body fat (measurements and body fat measurements confirm this)

TIME-It made my day easy and simplified my daily nutrition. I have super easy grab/go options and I am getting in MORE nutrient dense meals into my day without spending more time prepping them. 

-It falls in line with every single EAT CLEAN principle I have been behind since I started my own 120lbs of weight loss 5 years ago. Ethically, it agrees with all the fundamentals I have been held onto from the start!

I cannot wait to tackle 2014 leaner & meaner than ever!! 

Bite Me!

Now that it is the "off season" I am really trying to pay attention to my nutrition and trying new things. While I am in great shape right now, I still feel like I can drop my overall body fat percentage a bit more in prep for next season. We all know that nutrition plays a huge role in this show!

I easily get stuck in a rut with the same dishes over and over-I love eating clean but I also love easy, cheap and quick!

Over the next several months I am going to be testing out new recipes and sharing the success with you!

I have two oh-so-sweet dishes to share this week and hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Banana Bread French Toast

Monday Morning breakfast with a side of egg whites

I came up with this easy breakfast one morning when I was craving something sweet-it's easy and filling. Plus it is versatile. You could sub in peaches & pecans for a Peach Cobbler style french toast or even berries & almonds.

• 2 slices Ezekiel bread (or other sprouted grain bread ie Trader Joe's)
• 1 whole egg & 2 egg whites OR 1/3 cup of Egg Beaters
• 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• a splash of your favorite milk product (cow milk, almond milk, rice milk, soy milk)
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of stevia (or your favorite sweetener)

 Topping

• 1 small banana
• handful of chopped walnuts
• REAL Maple Syrup or honey

Heat a skillet (medium heat) and spritz with your favorite oil. I like coconut oil for this one

In a bowl, mix up your egg, cinnamon, stevia. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture, making sure that you get the bread well saturated.

Put each slice of bread onto the heated skillet and cook until golden on each side.
Top with banana slices, walnuts and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.

This is great with a side of greek style yogurt too-This is the perfect recovery breakfast after an early morning training session or even just a healthy way to start your day!

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Awesome Balls

photo credit: The Eat Clean Diet

I cannot take credit for this amazing goodie, snack/recovery snack. I found this on the community boards of  The Eat Clean Diet and could not wait to try it out. The original recipe called these Peanut Butter Balls but really?? That was boring. They taste like awesome. So I call them Awesome Balls. I mean really anything made with peanut butter has got to be good right??  I am going to attempt this recipe with Almond Butter too to see how that comes out! Then I can call those Awesome Almond Balls...

•1 cup crunchy style peanut butter
•1 cup honey
•1 cup non fat dry milk
•1 cup wheat germ
•3/4 cup protein powder (vanilla is what I used but sure chocolate could be yummy)
•1/4 cup sesame seeds

Mix and roll!! It can get a bit tough to mix this dough so make sure you bring your A game to the mixing bowl--call it a workout session and enjoy one of the AWESOME BALLS as a reward.

Roll the balls in the sesame seeds. Feeling frisky?? Add a dark chocolate chip to the center. AWESOME.
Really...

These store well in the fridge.

Happy Eating!!

Tell me--what is one of your favorite healthy/clean eats?? Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Snacks!

I'm strong to the finish-

-'cause I eat my spinach!

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!! (toot! toot!)

Spinach. So versatile and easy. And SO GOOD FOR YOU!

I have always liked spinach. Matter of fact, when I was in grade school, I would get the school's hot lunch. I would love it whenever we had spinach (or broccoli). I would trade my cake (or whatever other dessert there was that day) with other kids to get THEIR spinach! I recall kids just willing handing over their spinach (and broccoli) and I thought I was the lucky one~getting ALL this spinach!

Fast forward many (many) years and I still love it. These days I am enjoying this super veggie in a few more creative ways then the boiled mess they offered in school lunch.

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat spinach!

I love to start the day or wrap up a workout with a protein shake and my favorite has to be one I have named "The Green Monkey". This is not my original recipe, it was actually an adaption from Tammy's recipe for her spinach protein shake, so a big thank you to her for sharing her recipe with me!

THE GREEN MONKEY PROTEIN SHAKE

• 1 cup of Almond Milk (or your favorite milky liquid~coconut, rice, soy, cow, goat etc.)
• 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein isolate (or your favorite protein powder)
• a dash of stevia or your favorite sweetener (honey works well here too)
• a dash of vanilla extract
• 1 generous tablespoon of all natural peanut butter
• 1 frozen banana cut into chunks (you don't have to use frozen but it's really really good if you use a frozen banana)
• a couple ice cubes (more if you used a non-frozen banana)
• a BIG hand full of raw baby spinach

put all of the above in your blender in that order and WHIZ until smooth. Enjoy-you won't even know you are drinking spinach-I promise!

A couple weeks ago after running a race, I was craving pizza. Now I did not want to go out nor did I to consume 9,000 calories in a single sitting so I played around with what we had on hand and came up with a great solution~yummy melted cheese, mostly figure friendly and satisfied my craving. Now this is a quick and easy lunch~add a big salad and you've got a great dinner too!

Easy Spinach Quesadillas

• 2 whole wheat wraps (I really like Joseph's Oat & Flax wraps)
• 1/4 cup (or more!) of LF shredded cheddar cheese (like Cabot 50% reduced fat is awesome!)
• 2 tblsp cottage cheese (optional-I have made it with and without, both are good!)
• 1 big hand full of raw baby spinach-chopped

Spritz a skillet with olive oil or non-stick spray and place one wrap in the pan. Layer cheese, spinach, cottage cheese and then more cheddar cheese.

Top with the other wrap. Cook on med-med/high heat until the bottom wrap is toasty and golden. Flip onto a dinner plate and slide back into the skillet. Repeat to toasty golden perfection on the other side.
I make a yummy salsa dip for this that is also super easy!

DIP: equal parts of plain Greek yogurt and your favorite salsa (1/4 cup each is good). Top with chopped cilantro and green onion (optional) or make it spicy with some extra hot sauce!



I came up with this salad combo this summer after a visit to Longhorn Steakhouse and several trips to pick strawberries.

Spinach & Fruit Salad with Feta

• 4 cups of raw baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup of fresh strawberries, quartered
• 1 cup of green grapes, cut in half
• a couple rings of sliced red or sweet onion

Toss the above in a large salad bowl and top with crumbled feta cheese. You can also add some grilled chicken to this to make it a great lunch or meal. I even like it with some toasted nuts like pecans or almonds. As for dressing~something light and simple goes well with this salad. A raspberry/walnut vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing is really good!

What is YOUR favorite way to eat spinach??

What is YOUR favorite super veggie??