Clean Eating Egg Nog

It isn't the holidays without egg nog. Just the smell of the cinnamon and nutmeg puts me in the holiday spirit. Whether I'm wrapping presents or writing Christmas cards, I need some in my hand to make it truly feel like the holidays. Regular egg nog, though, is full of sugar, high in fat and has chemicals and preservatives added to it. Not what I want to be drinking!

The recipe below starts with almond milk, which gives it the nice creamy color of traditional egg nog. With all clean ingredients, it's delicious and healthy. I absolutely loved it! And I'm drinking some right now. :) It also fits into Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer program eating plan. Perfect!

This recipe is adapted from the Gracious Pantry web site, a wonderful web site with clean eating recipes and meal ideas. I recommend checking it out.

Clean Egg Nog

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
1.5 egg whites (I used egg beater whites -- about 5 tablespoons)
2 tbls plus 2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1.  Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 2 minutes.
2. Pour the eggnog into a pot and warm over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Whisk constantly to prevent it from simmering.
3. Remove from heat and chill overnight.
4. Whisk when ready to drink to redistribute the spices and top with a touch of nutmeg. Enjoy!

Per serving:
Calories: 124
Carbs: 28
Protein: 2
Fat: 1.25

Cinnamon Protein Bars

We eat these up so quickly, half the pan was almost gone before I could get a picture!

 

Today is the end of Phase 1 of the Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer for me. I've completed every work out and followed the meal plan exactly. It hasn't been nearly as difficult as I expected! Lifting weights five days a week and cooking a giant amount of food on Sundays has become routine.

I start Phase 2 on Monday and am looking forward to a couple of changes: adding in cardio four times per week, lifting weights six days a week instead of five, and cutting out some of the starchy carbs later in the day. I'm looking forward to it!

Once I complete Phase 3 in the beginning of January, I'll post before and after photos. After four weeks, I've already seen a lot of positive changes, so after twelve I'm expecting even more visible results. Only 8 weeks to go!

As part of the meal plan, I've been trying out new recipes to keep things interesting. My new favorite is the below recipe for Cinnamon Protein Bars. The original recipe was from Jamie Eason, but I made a few tweaks that I think made it cook a little more evenly and made it a little fluffier. Hope you enjoy!

Cinnamon Protein Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Stevia
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups oat flour (grind up quick oats)
2 scoops vanilla whey protein
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Spray 8x8 pan with olive oil
3) Mix together all ingredients together in a medium bowl until everything is evenly incorporated
4) Pour in pan
5) Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes (my oven cooks them perfectly at 27 minutes)
6) Once cooled, sprinkle with extra Stevia (optional - it's for looks!) and cut into 16 squares

Makes 8 servings (2 bars per serving)

Macros per serving:
Calories: 97
Protein: 9 g
Carbs: 14 g

Salsa Crock Pot Chicken

Salsa Crock Pot Chicken

I'm kicking it into high gear and starting a new weight lifting program on Monday (Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer), so I've been prepping foods this weekend to get ready. I searched for recipes, hit the store and then started cooking up a storm today. This recipe will serve as lunch for the entire upcoming week. I'm ready to go!

I found this recipe on www.HeandSheeatclean.com, a wonderful resource for healthy recipes and the "eat clean" lifestyle. Higher in protein and with less carbs than my current lunch menu (peanut butter or roast beef sandwich), this will be an excellent change. I also made nine cups of brown rice with chopped cilantro to serve as a side dish throughout the week.

The chicken and rice made for an excellent meal tonight, and I'm looking forward to having it many more times this week!


Ingredients:
3-4 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of your favorite salsa
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.  Mix all ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
2.  Once cooked, shred the chicken in the crock pot and let it cool before placing it in a container. I also drained off most of the liquid, as it was too runny.

6 oz serving:
Calories: 160
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 2g
Protein: 36g

No Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars

I've been experimenting with a lot with protein powder in the kitchen lately. I've baked cookies, cake, mug brownies, and honestly, have only found a handful of actually good tasting results (most of which are on this blog already!).

One of the disappointing attempts includes a batch of protein powder peanut butter cookies that was so inedible I even tried to resurrect them by slicing them in half and filling them full of more peanut butter to improve the taste -- which still didn't help. Another failed attempt consisted of a chocolate mug brownie made with chocolate protein powder that somehow with one bite was able to suck every drop of moisture from my mouth, causing me to cough and choke like I'd just eaten a scoop of dust out of the vacuum bag. It wasn't good.

Finally, though, I've found another recipe that I actually enjoy eating. This No Bake Protein Bars recipe came from Oxygen Magazine, my favorite magazine at the moment. I've only received three of the magazines in the mail so far, but I've read each one about thirty times. And it's recipes like this that keep me coming back.

Ingredients:
2 cups quick cook oats
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
4 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup water
Agave syrup

1. Line a dish with parchment paper. ((I used a 9 x7 glass dish)
2. Using clean hands, kneed all ingredients in a large prep bowl.
3. Spread dough into the pan, pressing down to flatten. Spray a spatula with olive oil, then use it smooth out the surface. Drizzle agave syrup over the top, if desired (I recommend it!)
4. Freeze for 30 minutes. Cut into twelve bars. Serve and refrigerate the rest. Stays good for a week.

Makes 12 bars

Per serving:
Calories: 155
Total Carbohydrates: 14 g
Protein: 11 g

Low Carb Chicken Pizza

This recipe is a staple in our house. My husband and I limit our carb intake and try to maximize the amount of protein we take in each day, and this recipe fits into our plan perfectly. It has 40 grams of protein and only 29 grams of carbs while still offering a satisfyingly crunchy "crust."

This pizza takes just a few minutes to throw together and tastes so much better than those frozen pizzas full of preservatives and chemicals. Healthy is easy!
 

Ingredients:
1 spinach tortilla (I like Trader Joe's Spinach Tortillas)
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 jalepeno, sliced
1 1/2 slices mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, chopped
pizza sauce

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place tortilla on a non stick cookie sheet. Top the tortilla with the pizza sauce, chicken, red pepper, jalapeno and sun dried tomatoes. Then rip up the mozzarella cheese into little pieces and layer over the the top. Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and tortilla is light brown and crispy.

1 Serving
Calories: 430
Protein: 40 grams
Carbs:  29 grams

Clean Quinoa Crackers

 

Chips and crackers are my down fall. Salty, crunchy, and addicting, I have a hard time eating just a couple. I like to compare it to cocaine. No, I don't sniff them, but given the chance, I would probably try. 

In order to quell this addiction and yet still eat healthily, I decided to make my own crackers with only healthy ingredients. No, they don't taste like Wheat Thins. But they are healthy and have that salty crunch, so they make an excellent substitution.

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, uncooked, then prepare per directions on box

1 cup brown rice, uncooked, then prepare per directions on box

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

1 teaspoon pepper

Sea salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put rice into a food processor, and chop for about 30 seconds until the grains are no longer visible. Add the quinoa and pulse for about another 10 seconds until mixed. You might have to do in two batches, like I did, doing only half of each at a time.

Add the rice and quinoa mixture to a medium bowl. Add in the rosemary, pepper and salt. Stir to combine.

Spray a metal non stick cookie sheet (I used an 17.25 x 11.5) and a spatulata with olive oil or Pam until coated. Using the sprayed spatula, spread the mixture into a thin layer completely covering the cookie sheet. I covered a 1 cup measuring cup with plastic wrap and used that to even out the mixture into a thin layer.

Sprinkle with more sea salt and pepper if desired.

Pop in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. When done, it will be light brown and crispy. I used a pizza cutter to cut it up into squares about 20 minutes in to the cooking time to let the middle pieces get extra crispy.

This is what it looked like after I spread it into the pan.

The finished product! This is only about half of what the recipe actually made, but my husband and I ate a bunch of these right when they came out of the oven. We topped them with mozzarella cheese and washed it all down with some Pinot Noir. YUM!

Grilled Veggie Packets

Courtesy of Finecooking.com

My best friend from college came for a visit this weekend and shared this simple, easy and healthy side for grilled entrees. With little preparation time and few ingredients, it makes a perfect addition to a Saturday grilled meal.

Servings: 3 hefty sides

Ingredients:
6 yukon potatoes
2 cups baby carrots
1 yellow onion
flavored olive oil (we used Tuscan Herb)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
Salt
Pepper

Tin foil
Olive oil spray

Wash and peel potatoes. Slice thinly. Cut baby carrots into 1/4 inch slices. Chop onion to desired size. Spray one side of 6 same size sheets of tin foil with spray, then place a third of the veggies onto 3 of the sprayed side pieces of foil. (Each person will get their own individual packet of veggies). Toss one clove of smashed garlic on top of each one, and drizzle with the flavored olive oil. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Top the veggies with another piece of foil, sprayed side facing the veggies, and roll up the edges tightly to form a packet (should be about 8 inches x 8 inches).

Grill on medium for 20-25 minutes, flipping every 5 minutes. Stab with a fork to test the hardness of potatoes if needed.

Throw next to a tasty burger on a plate, and eat up!

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