Clean Pizza

K this by far has to be one of my FAVORITE clean meals I have ever made! All you do is take a whole wheat English muffin spread olive oil over them mince some garlic and spread. Then I used mozzarella cheese spinach and tomatoes on top. I put in the oven on 350 till I could see the cheese was melted and the veggies were cooked. I cut up some kiwis and let my kids use organic spaghetti sauce for theres.

peanut butter protein ball

I just made these for the first time today and there awesome! CapriLee and Hayze would eat all of them in one setting if I let them.

1 c natural peanut butter
1/2 c honey
2 cups rolled oats
1 scoop chocolate protein

its a new day tomorrow!

This weekend I have not been very good about my goals of eating healthy. My Husband decided to make killer brownies after church today and I was hit victim! We ended up going out to dinner two or three times as well. But Dan (my hub cap) is always good to remind me you cant be perfect all the time. I also feel that if I get so sucked into don't eat that or skip every sweet tooth craving I find my self wanting it more and end up binge eating. We need to remember were all human and if we slip up its OK! That's no reason for us to give up completely. Tomorrow is a new a brighter day. I'm going to be putting some of my fav treat recipes on here and next time I have a weak moment ill try and go to the healthy treats instead of the unhealthy stuff.

Why Almond Milk

Ive had a few people ask why I use almond milk over dairy milk. Well it first started when I started this whole fitness health journey. My son is lactose intolerant so I started buying him soy milk and got introduced to almond milk through my green smoothies. Ive never liked the taste of milk and was so so pleased when I found almond milk in chocolate!! It was like I had struck gold! My hub cap asked me one day whats so much better about it? So I went a digging and this is some of the benefits I have found.
       It is very low in calories. It only has 4o calories to an 8 oz glass. Where a cup of 1% has 102 calories. Its lactose gluten carein and cholesterol free. Its full of vitamins and minerals. It actually contains 30% of our daily recommend calcium intake.It has 25% vitamin D which helps with cell function. And I think its heavenly! If you haven't tasted it before I would go try it! Its also great because it doesn't have to be refrigerated!

Lets Go Shopping!

I  Had a friend tell me It would be a good idea to put a grocery list together. What a good idea huh! I make menus once a month and shop for two weeks at a time. The list will change from month to month with what I'm cooking but these are a lot of my staples. Produce can get expensive so shop the adds or wait till it comes back into season. Frozen is an awesome way to save money with the price of fruit and veggies.This is a picture of a regular shopping trip.I make stops in between Walmart, Smiths and Good Earth

PRODUCE
cucumbers
spinach
celery
zucchini
yellow squash
carrots
onions
tomatoes
Green and red peppers
sweet potatoes
apples
lemons
oranges
strawberries
pineapples
grapefruit
kiwis


PROTEIN
black beans
kidney beans
ground turkey
grass fed hamburger
turkey bacon
chicken
fish
eggs
Adams natural peanut butter


DAIRY
cottage cheese
unsweetened almond milk
Plain Greek yogurt
Greek yogurt with fruit(for my kids)

FROZEN
broccoli
strawberries
pineapple chunks
green beans

OTHER
dried fruit
whole wheat bread
whole wheat tortillas
plain rice cakes
brown rice
olive oil
steveia
chia seeds

Thank You

I just wanted to say Thank you! I never thought I would get so much positivity from this blog! I love getting tagged in your posts and receiving emails! Your all doing awesome and I cant wait for whats to come!

Din Din

Here are a few of our meals Ive made this week. The first is Crock pot chicken. All I did was put a bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot for 8 hours on low with some Mrs.Dash for the seasoning. Mrs.Dash is great because its all herbs and there is no salt in it which is really healthy. Your still getting all the great taste without the sodium. Then I just steamed some broccoli and had a side of strawberries SO simple!

 This next one I was a little nervous about but it ended up way yummy. We really love grilled cheese but I found this healthier version. I used ricotta cheese and pears with a little honey drizzled over the pears! It was a big hit.

We have fish a lot at our Home. Fish is a great protein!! It is good for your skin, helps cut heart disease by a third and the omega-3 fatty acid that is contained in fish helps raise the chemical level that causes depression. See eating healthy has awesome benefits! I baked my tialpia at 375 for about 10 to 15 min. I seasoned it with Mrs.dash. Added some steam carrots and brown rice! I do recall my Husband Dan eating this and saying "Hey I could get use to this whole clean eating thing." Ha ha ha! One of my goals for this year is to help him eat and understand eating clean. 

Here's Miss CapriLee eating her pear grilled cheese!

A few ideas

OK here is one of our Favorite snacks. All you do is cut your apples into thin slices. Then you need one orange and a lemon. Cut them in half and juice them over the apples. Let them soak for 15 min to an hour in the fridge. My kids and I love this easy and healthy treat!

Here's a little list of a few ideas to help out with that growling belly.

Air popped pop corn

Peanut butter on a banana

Rice cake Pb&j

Frozen granola and yogurt Popsicle

Ants on a log

Pears and cottage cheese

My kids love anything that is fun colored or in a cute shape. Just take cookie cutters and  use them to make fun  kabobs with cheese, fruit and whole wheat bread.

Nice to meet ya

Hi my name is Awnaliese and I'm starting this blog to help people get healthy, stay positive, get motivated, and share my dreams and journey through the way. I'll be posting clean recipes as well. 

     Now let me tell you a little about why and how I have decided to live a clean and healthy lifestyle. I didn't know what you put in your body really mattered.  Later in life a lot of my family had health issues related to the way they ate. As did I. I never really knew the importance of it all until six months ago. I was always taught our bodies are temples and to not drink and smoke but couldn't image the damage over eating and sugar intake could do.
I'm a mom of 2 and when my son Hayze was 6 months old I decided to make my own baby food. I started reading labels of things I was feeding my kids. Half of the ingredients I couldn't even say. At this same time I was drinking a 42 oz of black death (coca cola) every day! I felt like this was the only thing that could ease my anxiety from all the trials I was going through in my personal life. But in the long run I was building more problems.

       It had been six months and I couldn't lose the weight from having my son. I've always been a huge sweet tooth, junk food junky, pizza loving gal. You could always find chips in my car, skittles in my purse and soda running through my veins. I couldn't even walk up the stairs with out being winded. I never exercised and ate  nothing but sugar loaded fatty foods. And I couldn't understand why I felt so sluggish and sad about my appearance. I had heard a few things about eating clean and working out. So I decided to give it a try.

             I stopped drinking my liquid crack and replaced it with water. My body completely shut down. I had the worst migraines for days I had cold sweats and felt like I would throw up. I also had a root canal, almost 15 cavities filled and a tooth pulled due to all the sugar and nasty chemicals cola has in it. I couldn't believe how addicted I was.

     I started eating lots of fruits and veggies. And going to the gym 6 days a week. I finally started seeing some improvement in the way I looked and how I felt. I could push my kids in the stroller with out getting a side ache and was able to lose the baby weight. 

      I first started eating and exercising to lose some weight and now I've chosen to make this a life style. I am determined  to become as healthy as I've ever been and help those in need.  Please understand I still have set backs and have a long way to go till I hit my goals.  But I'm hoping that together we can become stronger and remember we have the ability to choose. Lets make the rigt choice!

Lets get started

OK now I've had a lot of people ask me what I've done and how to start eating clean. This is one of the Major reasons why I have started this blog. First let me tell you what eating clean consists of. It's really pretty easy. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, complex carbs and lean meats. You'll want to stay away from soda, fatty foods and sugar.
              When I first started I was scared out of my mind. I was so worried what I would eat. I thought I would starve without my sugary cereal and Twinkies! I once watched a documentary about processed foods. And they said something that has stuck with me. America is one of the most obese countries, yet every one is starving! When I first heard this I was so confused how could this be possible. The reason behind this is that So many of us are eating unhealthy foods  that are so yummy but are filled with chemicals, salts and are high in sugar. So we're not getting any of the nutrients our bodies are dying to have. There for our bodies think we're still hungry.
     It took me a few Weeks to realize healthy food Can be just as tasty and much more filling. This is one of the first clean recipes I ever tried. I'm a green smoothie freak now and have one every day! I know at first putting spinach or kale in a drink is kinda weird but you cant even taste it!

1 Banana
A hand full of spinach
1 cup frozen sugar free pineapple
1/2 cup plain  Greek yogurt
a few ice cubs
1 cup almond milk

A little tip

OK, since I have been eating clean I have learned a lot. And I continue to learn as I go. I am hoping to share my knowledge with you along the way. One thing I have found to be helpful is drinking water. When I first started I would drink a big glass of water before each meal. I now drink a gallon a day. I pretty much feel as if I have swallowed a swimming pool by bed time. It would help fill me up so I would not want to indulge. Even if you are eating good, potion size is always important. Also use Plain Greek yogurt in place of your sour cream. I swear it tastes the exact same and is way better for you. You should also try and eat six times a day. So three meals and three snacks. At first it can seem complicated but what I try and do is prepare the night before. If I'm unable to food prep that week I try and get snacks put together, lunch thought through and dinner planned out. One of my favorite quotes is "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I try and remember that and it has helped lots. One of my goals for this year is to be more prepared. Not only in my eating life style but life in general. Hope your New year goals are coming along nicely!

Crack heaven pancakes

OK I am In love with these pancakes! There so yummy and Healthy! I'm not a big fan of pancakes but when I found this recipe I had to try it. I also made these cute little omelets in muffin tins. I cooked them at 375 for about 15 to 20 min. But watch yours my oven is old school. I used 1 egg for each omelet. I added peppers and spinach. You can add pretty much any veggies.
Red velvet pancakes

1 cup whole wheat pancake mix

1 and a half cups organic whole wheat red velvet cake mix

1 whole egg 

1 egg white

1 and a half cups almond milk.

1 table spoon olive oil

Now these babies are a little tricky to cook. I had to keep mine small and thin in order for them to cook properly. Also keep your burner on medium to low heat. Good luck and Ill see you in pancake rehab!

Cranberry Cleanser

Here is another great green smoothie that I love!
So easy and good for you. This will make a lot so if just making it for yourself maybe cut it in half. This is a great vitamin c booster which will be great to help in this horrible flu season!
1 cup water
6 ice cubes
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 bananas
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 peeled oranges
2 cups kale
I get my flax seed from Good Earth in Riverdale.