Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I cant believe I have not put this recipe on here yet. This is one of our FAVES!! I make it every Sunday for breakfast and my girls LOVE them, my husband LOVES them and I swear they are better then regular pancakes. I double the recipe for my family.

Ingredients
Dry
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1tsp baking powder
2TBSP maple sugar flakes ( I couldn't find flakes, I use maple sugar)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt

Wet
8 egg whites
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
Cooking spray

Prep
1. Combine first five ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center

2. Combine eggs, cottage cheese and yogurt in small bowl. Pour into well. Stir until just moistened.

3. Heat a non stick pan and spay with cooking spray. Heat should be medium high. Use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until lightly browned on both sides, keep warm in oven until all the batter has been used.

4. Serve with fruit. I put frozen blueberries and strawberries and put them in a sauce pan heat and mash and a tiny bit of water. You will get a nice thick fruit sauce!

Nutritional Info
Calories 81
Calories from fat 2
Protein 7g
Carbs 12g
Dietary fiber 1g
Fat 0.3
Sodium: 112mg

Eat Clean Cooking Spray

Put healthy oils such as EVOO into a spritz bottle and simply spritz your pans and baking sheets when ready to use

Roasted Squash

Danea has been sick and not eating very much of anything lately. I made this squash today for lunch in hopes that she would get something healthy in her and it worked!! Maria loved it so much she was telling Zoe about it and asked me to make it again!!

1 Large butternut Squash (about 3Ibs)
2TBSP of agave nectar
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Eat clean cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 f
Line baking sheet with parchment paper
Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds and stringy insides
Coat squash with light spritz of cooking spray
Place the halves of the squash cut side down and bake for 40 mins. Test for doneness by piercing the flesh with a fork. The flesh should be soft
Remove from oven
Meanwhile mix agave nectar and spices in bowl. Scoop the cooked squash into a bowl and mash well with a potato masher

I realize that I have not posted in FOREVER!! I have so many things that I want to blog about just no time to get it done in. I also have not been able to weigh myself. I did for weeks one and two and then I took a week off of weighing myself. I do not want to be stuck on a number to tell me if I am healthy or not but I do want to weigh myself occasionally and now my scale has broke.... So i thought well that is okay I have taken my measurements that will have to do. Well all my measurements were stored in my phone... They are now GONE!!! For any of you who know how many times I have lost pics that I have not backed up you would think I would of learned my lesson by now but no this is once again ANOTHER learning experience.
So I now have no scale, and no measurements to base my progress on but I DO have 2 pairs of jeans that did not use to fit that now do!! I have not missed one workout even when I have really good excuses to miss it!! I have eaten clean EVERY day!! And the best part is everyone I have met since I have started this Eat Clean Diet cant believe that I am a day over 25 they are shocked to find out I am 32 years old with 4 daughters!!
So scale or no scale I am obviously doing something right! I FEEL GREAT!!!

Confession Time!!

One of our favorite things to do as a family was go out and eat at a restaurant. The girls LOVE it and I dont have to make dinner. Obviously we have not gone to a restaurant to eat since I started my eat clean diet. Tonight however we had something to celebrate and so what did we decide to do?? Go out to eat as a family. Our girls wanted to go to Boston Pizza. They LOVE bugs and cheese, pasta with Alfredo sauce and however knows what else is in it. I ordered pizza thinking it looked delish and I DESERVED IT! Well half way through my meal my head started hurting, I think because of how salty it was and when we left Zoe said she felt like throwing up and had a headache. She said to me she doesnt want to eat unhealthy food and next time we celebrate we should eat fruit!! Then we came home and Ana had diarrhea all over the bathroom.
You see our girls have eaten just as healthy as we have. They eat basically the same things we do and LOVE IT. I am now sitting here with a headache and I feel like puking. What once used to be things we loved to eat are now things that make us feel sick. We are not used to processed, salty, sugary, fatty foods anymore. What would of been a great treat is to do like Zoe said and buy fruit and come home and dip it in 75% or higher dark chocolate! That would of truly been a treat and a celebration in truly changing our lifestyle. Even though I feel disgusting right now I am glad that we as a family had this experience. Not only do I know once again why it is so important to eat healthy foods, my girls know why also and I LOVE THAT!

To Shop Organic or Not...

I will be the first to admit that only a about 4 years ago or so I did not search out for organic fruits and vegetables. I thought they are way to expensive and the whole organic thing was a lot of hype. I figured that as long as you washed everything really good, you would get rid of most of the pesticides. Why spend double the price sometimes more?? I have a lot of kids to feed who LOVE fruits and vegetables and eat them all day long.
Well there are a few reasons I have now changed my mind

1. No matter how much you wash SOME fruits and vegetables you can never completely get rid of all the pesticides and chemicals that are in them.
   
2. I have a responsibility to myself and my family to offer them the best in nutrition and health that I can.
3. When you know better you do better.

Now I still dont buy exclusively organic there are some things like pasta, cookies, basically anything processed I couldn't be bothered and Clothing.... NOT A CHANCE
I do try to buy as much organic fruits and vegetables as possible, some things I can not find and there are some things that are more important to me than others. I came across a list in Toscas Eat Clean Diet Recharged book that I use as a reference when I am shopping

THE 12 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES MOST CONTAMINATED BY PESTICIDES ARE:

1. Apples
2. Bell Peppers
3. Celery
4. Cherries
5. Grapes
6. Nectarines
7. Peaches
8. Pears
9. Potatoes
10. Raspberries
11. Spinach
12. Strawberries

THE 12 FRUIT AND VEGGIES LEAST CONTAMINATED BY PESTICIDES ARE:

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cauliflower
6. Corn
7. Kiwis
8. Mangoes
9. Onions
10. Papaya
11. Pineapples
12. Sweet Peas

This list helps me when I go shopping. Organic is expensive but if you can at least get the ones that are contaminated the worst that is a great start. I know longer worry as much about the price of the food as I do the quality of the food.
My husband went to superstore a couple weeks ago to get sweet potatoes. He went up to the produce guy and asked where the sweet potatoes where. The guy said they are right here. (He was putting these GIGANTIC potatoes away. Mitz thought they were huge Yams) Mitz said are you sure? These are huge. The man said "yup here is the sign. If you want the regular sized sweet potatoes go and check the organic section"
I thought it was kinda funny but you gotta think what are they putting into these fruits and veggies to make them so gigantic???

Almond Butter Banana Wrap

I made this tonight for the first time and I think it will be one of my new favorite snacks. Quick, Easy and DELISH!!

Ingredients

• Whole wheat Tortilla
  
• 1/4cup plain low fat Plain Greek yogurt
• 1tsp cocoa
• 1tsp honey
• 1TBS Natural Almond Butter (or you could use natural PB)
  
• 1/2 banana
• cinnamon
  

Instructions

Heat skillet with pam
spread Almond Butter on tortilla and place banana
roll tortilla and heat for 1-2mins each side...( I think i did 3mins?)
while heating mix yogurt cocoa honey cinnamon ( i used it as a dip)

Tips & Bonus Information

cal 259.5 fat 10.5 carbs 42 fib 9.5 pro 11.5

Yield: 1
Preparation Time: 1
Cooking Time: 4

This week has been INSANELY busy!! I am waking up at 6 in the morning, working out and running around crazy all day until 930 at night or later without so much as sitting down, unless I am driving children somewhere. Not even an exaggeration. The funny thing is that even though I am tired I can do it. I wake up in the morning ready to go and every day seems easier than the last. I am able to do this because of CLEAN EATING. It feels very good to know that I have put only healthy things into my body this week. My kids are eating up everything I have made this week and they are loving it. I have taken pics and will post them sometime this weekend. I hope that I always remember how GREAT I feel and that I never revert back to my old ways...
Packing a cooler, planing my menu and sticking to it, preparing my meal prep in advance when possible are all ways to allow me to be successful with this. If I can do that then there is no stopping me!!!

Scallops with Vegetables & Quinoa

I have cooked this recipe before and even my kids loved it!!
4 servings
20 mins of prep
30 mins cooking time

Ingredients:
1IB scallops or 3-4 scallops per person
3TBSP olive oil divided
1 cup of Quinoa uncooked, well rinsed
2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
6 small zucchini
4 similary sized carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 red bell pepper, seeded and deveined, cut into long strips
5 scallions trimmed , cut lengthwise into fours
juice and zest of 1 fresh lime, divided
2 TBSP of white sesame seeds
2 tsp of roasted sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 TBSP low sodium tamari sauce (I used soy sauce..)

Method for Scallops
Heat 2TBSP olive oil in skillet. Add scallops and pan sear over medium heat, two minutes per side, Remove from heat

Method for Quinoa
Rinse Quinoa grains well, this removes the bitter coating, so its essential to do this before cooking.
Place rinsed grains in saucepan. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and reduce.Let simmer, covered, until all liquid has been absorbed

Method for vegetables
With a vegetable peeler, peel stripes of green zucchini skin. Dont use white center part of zucchini. ( You can use it later in a soup or stew)
Peel strips from the carrots until you have reached the core. Dont use the core. (Again, use it later in a soup or stew)
Heat remaining olive oil in skillet. Stir-fry red pepper, scallions, zucchini and carrots in batches
Once all veggies have been stir fried, season with lime juice, sesame seeds, sesame oil, ground ginger and tamari. Serve with scallops hot over quinoa and garnish with zest.

Charitys Meal Plan for 1 Week

Here is my menu for the next week. I will post pics of the recipes as I make them.

Weekly Menu

Monday

Breakfast

• · Power Oatmeal Pancakes Water.

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberris, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Mexican Pinto Beans and brown rice with tortillas and plain yogurt Water

Snack

• · Apple with Almond butter and herbal tea

Tuesday

Breakfast

• · Oatmeal with berries, bee pollen, flax seed. Protein shake with water. Water.

Snack

• · Handful of trail mix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Scallops with vegetables and Quinoa Water

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Wednesday

Breakfast

• · Oatmeal with berries, bee pollen, flaxseed. Protein shake with water. Water.

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Vegetarian Chili Water

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Thursday

Breakfast

• · Oatmeal with berries, bee pollen, flaxseed. Protein shake with water. Water.

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Turkey Loaf to Live by, Green Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad Quinoa with sundried tomatoes
  

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Friday

Breakfast

• · Oatmeal with berries, bee pollen, flaxseed. Protein shake with water. Water.

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Homemade clean pizza

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Saturday

Breakfast

• · Crock pot porridge (pg 9 in the family cookbook)

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Leftovers

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Sunday

Breakfast

• · Cottage Cheese Pancakes (pg 12 in the family cookbook) With berries mixed as sauce

Snack

• · Handfull of trailmix (almonds, cashews, dried cranberries, raisins) apple water

Lunch

• · Wrap, ground turkey, hummus, zucchini, carrot, spinach, chopped apple. Water

Snack

• · Greek Yogurt with sliced banana and berries. Water

Dinner

• · Vegetable and Lentil Soup
  

Snack

• · Apple with Almond Butter and herbal Tea

Have you eaten your SUPERFOODS today???

I found this on a facebook group that I belong to check it out there is lots of great info on there. This is a great list I am going to put it on my fridge!

A superfood is a food that provides health benefits above and beyond the basic proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. They contain substances that your body doesn't necessarily need to function- breathe, pump blood, grow, etc. They may help lower your risk of developing diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Here are the top 30:

Almonds
Beans
Blueberries
Broccoli
Carrots
Cayenne
Cherries
Cinnamon
Cranberries
Dark Chocolate
Flax
Grape juice
Honey
Oats
Oranges
Peanuts
Peppermint
Pumpkins
Red bell peppers
Red wine
Salmon
Soy
Spinach
Strawberries
Sweet Potatoes
Tea
Tomatoes
Turkey
Walnuts
Yogurt

As you go through your day, choose the majority of your food choices from this list.
~The Superfood Cookbook

Mexican Pinto Beans & Brown Rice

I have never added the chiptle peppers and its still good. I was worried that it would make it to spicy for my girls. If you want to save these images onto your desktop you can print this as a 4x6 at your local walmart or wherever you print your 4x6 photos

ENJOY!!

Big Time Weight Loss!!

I have decided to do this blog because it is keeping me accountable. I try my hardest to live a life that is always within integrity and if I say to someone that I will do something. I will get it done. My experience with myself has been that if I say to myself that I will get it done it may or may not happen. I don't want to be that person anymore. The world is full of lots of starters but not a whole lot of finishers. I want to be a finisher. Especially when it comes to Weight Loss. This truly for me is a Journey of Health. I will have great days, bad days, whatever days maybe even sad days but I will also have victories and triumphs but no matter what the day I will always get up and start fresh and new.
I have chosen to start my Journey of Health with a very restrictive clean eating diet. Not because this is the way I want to eat forever but because I want to jump start my weight loss with big numbers and I want to get used to controlling what I eat and my portions. When my regular menu of clean eating food starts in a week I will no longer crave the fats and sugars I did previously. I am craving a delicious clean healthy meal that is full of flavor and nutrients.
I am ecstatic to report that I chose to weigh in this week and I have lost an AMAZING 5 Ibs this week and 2 inches off of my waist!!!!! WOOT WOOT!
My cooler is packed... is yours??? :o)

Packing a Cooler

Today has been A LOT better than yesturday. I did wake up with a pounding headache... more like a migraine but it did get better as the day went on and completely went away once I went and bought Motrin!
All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS FOR COOLERS! I pack my cooler the night before of all my food for the next day and it helps TONS!! I never have to wonder what I am going to eat next or not have enough time to make what I was intending on eating. Its already done and ready to go when I wake up. As long as I have my little cooler (which by the way is a cute little bag) I will not run into any major issues with not having healthy food to eat. I may not always want to eat what is in my cooler but that is a whole other issue!
My cooler is packed and I am off to bed!

Day 1 down 13 more to go....

So I have decided to go a little more extreme for the first two weeks. I packed my cooler last night, I put every meal I was eating today into. (Except for breakfast) I felt great when I woke up this morning, then I had breakfast....
I made oatmeal which normally I would add berries to it but for the next two weeks it is just 1/2cup of oatmeal and 2T of flax!! If you have ever eaten flax that is a lot for a little bit of oatmeal. Oh well I can handle it. As I was eating I felt worse and worse to the point where I was literally gagging it down. 3/4 through I finally stopped eating it. Little did I know it had gone bad... Which is great b/c that means tomorrows breakfast will go that much better!
So as I said these next two weeks are very strict. Today I feel irritable, tired, I have a headache, light headed at times and I can not wait to get to bed the second I am done this post!!
My menu for the week is nothing fancy. It is rather bland to say the least but I am keeping it the same everyday this week because I just don't feel like putting the energy into switching it up everyday. Because really its only two weeks and then I can go back to eating an assortment of delicious clean foods!!

Breakfast 730am

• Handful of cooked oatmeal (estimate) topped with 2T of flax.
  
• 1 Scoop of protein powder in water

Snack 10am

• 1/2apple chopped up and mixed with 1 can of tuna and a dash of lemon juice
• Water

Lunch 12pm

• 1/2 sweet potato
• palm sized chicken breast
• spinach and cucumbers with a dash of balsamic vinegar
• Water
  

Snack 230pm

• 1 scoop of protein powder mixed with water
• 1/2 apple
• Water
  

Dinner 5pm

• Palm sized chicken breast
• steamed green beans
• 1/2 sweet potato
• cucumbers
• Water

Thats it, Thats all... I get to look forward to the same thing tomorrow!! I am now going to enjoy my herbal tea and a good nights sleep!