I know we have heard it a million times but it is so true! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. In order to be successful we need to be ready and prepared for each day. We should not be walking out the door empty handed wondering where we will get our food for the day.
I had to go to Indy with my Daddy yesterday for a doctor appt. As Friday was getting closer I was kind of panicking because I didn't know how I was going to be gone from 8 to 4 and eat clean on the road. I ate my breakfast right before he picked me up. This is what I took with me.
- A huge gallon size bag of veggies (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
- A protein shake with almond milk
- 2 bananas
- 1 apple
- 1 string cheese
- A lot of water
The goal on this clean eating plan is to eat every 3 hours and to combine protein with carbs. So at 11am, I drank the protein shake and had a banana. At 1pm, I had string cheese and veggies. We stopped at McDonalds twice and Dairy Queen once during our trip. Oh yes- Dad!!! Oh wait, I should say we did McDonalds three times because Dad bought egg mcmuffins before we even left. I put mine in the fridge and knew I would not eat but didn't tell him that because he just wouldn't understand.
We had to use the bathroom so we stopped on the way there. He also wanted to get a coke. He decided on lemonade and I got a black coffee. I think that was the first time I have ever drank coffee black. I was shocked that I enjoyed it.
Dad got a great news on his heart checkup. His heart is functioning even better! He has congestive heart failure and supposed to be on a low sodium diet.....by the Grace of God, he is better. On the way back, Dad was hungry even though he had eaten half my veggies and a banana (had enough for both of us) He got two big macks and he got me a water. I have tried and tried to get my dad to eat healthy- that is another blog!
He wanted to stop at another restaurant but I insisted that I was not hungry. I really wasn't. We ended up stopping at Baileys discount store on the way back. Oh look, there is a dairy queen in there!!! He strolls in and gets a hamburger. I munched on veggies until I got home and was able to eat dinner. It was four hours before I ate my next meal which was supposed to be three but I did not cave in to temptation. Speaking of temptation, have you ever been to Baileys and seen all the candy they have?!
Ok friends, I'd like to go over some things you might need in your kitchen to eat clean. You may already have all of this.
-measuring spoons
-measuring cups
-food scale
-juicer (a hand juicer is fine)
-ziploc steam fresh bags (Love these)
-snack bags, sandwich bags, gallon size bags
-stayfresh containers that are easy to transport
-a cooler or bag so you can take your food with you
Tomorrow I will talk more about what I am eating, the staples you should have in your kitchen and the rules to eating clean. In the mean time, here is a recipe for Pumpkin Protein bars I found that is very yummy. You can find all the ingredients at Kroger. I chose to put the walnuts in for some healthy fat!
Nutrition Facts:
Nutrition (without walnuts): 1 square = 47 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein
Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein
Ingredients:
- ½ C Xylitol Brown Sugar Blend (Ideal) (found this at Kroger in a purple bag. Made with Ideal)
- 1 - 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce (using baby food is perfect because you don't have any pesticides or added sugar)
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. ground clove
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 - 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin
- 2 C oat flour (you can make your own oat flour by grinding oats in a food processor. Bob Red Mills makes a great brand plus it is gluten free)
- 2 scoops vanilla whey protein (want to find one low in sugar. Jillian Michael brand is good)
- ½ cup almond milk (unsweetened vanilla or reg)
- ½ C chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.
- Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.
- Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated. Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.
- Makes 24 squares.
j
Can you explain what some of these ingredients are? ie. xylitol
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