5 Ways Clean Eating Can Change Your Life

Most All of us probably want to live happy, healthy lives, right? This doesn't need to involve cosmetic surgery, loads of money, and an in-home chef! Clean eating can be a good first step to the road to a happy healthy life, but you must first be happy with who you are to begin with, and value yourself enough to know that you are changing for yourself, not because you want others to like you! You are valuable as a person, and no one should make you feel any less valuable! Set up your support system; my husband has cheered me on from the moment I we began my our road to a healthier life!

We began eating healthier, and I began working out a bit more, and things began to change.

Adding exercise into the mix, helped me travel the road right to Transformation Results City! Yeah, it has taken a lot of work. And once it becomes a habit, it's not easier; you're just stronger. I love the way I feel, and how I look! I'm not done yet, and every time I remember how I used to feel/look, I don't want to let myself go back there.

We've since begun eating cleaner, and I want to give you a list of the ways that clean eating has changed our lives, and can possibly change your life, too.

5 Ways Clean Eating Can Change Your Life

1) Detoxifies your body. I've blogged about the reasons to detox here. Clean eating gives your body the nutrition it needs by possibly eating less, and minus the preservatives and artificial junk that are hard for your body to process.

2) Helps you lose weight. Clean eating involves eating less high calorie/fat/sugar junk food, so you will naturally begin to lose weight as you begin eating healthier foods. Also, as I said in 1), you get the nutrition you need by possibly eating less. And the clean foods that you eat, will likely fill you us for longer. Also, you aren't eating as much addictive simple sugar in the form of sweets, which will help cut your cravings, and calories. I've talked about Shakeology as one of the tools for my clean eating, as well as another Beachbody tool I hope to use in the future, Beachbody Ultimate Reset.

3) Food discovery! Since I've been hosting clean eating challenge groups on Facebook, I have heard numerous responses about how clean eating has changed lives. One member told me that the clean eating group raised her desire to explore new recipes, while another said she tried a new food that she had in her pantry, but didn't know what to do with. I recently picked up a jicama, which I look forward to trying today! Other things I've been discovering, are substitutes. Since clean eating is about getting rid of the processed, and low-nutrition junk, you may be exploring substitutes for white sugar and white flour.

4) Save money. Clean eating can cheaper than buying processed food, if you are smart about it! This can be true, especially if you are used to eating a lot of processed snacks, and pre-made, pre-packaged meals. One way to save, is to prep your produce, snacks, and other foods. When you purchase produce that will be used for snacks or meals, cut them up when you bring them home from the store, and plan out your snacks and meals to ensure that produce won't go to waste. Also, as I talked about in 2), clean eats, such as salad, can fill you up quicker than many processed foods can.

5) Inspire others. This is one that I feel strongly about! Especially when I began my journey, and inspired my husband, and now, more than ever, I've inspired our 5-year-old son to live healthier. Through the clean eating groups, my posts, my appearance, and lifestyle, I have been able to touch other lives! To give the motivation to help others begin that road to Transformation Results City. Small steps lead to big transformation! You want the support? You want the motivation? Don't give up! Reach out to others for support, or to give your support. I want to help!!!

https://www.facebook.com/Sarahsdrive
www.beachbodycoach.com/iib4

Clean Eating for Dinner

A few clean eating recipes

Below are a few clean eating meals that I love. Last night I made the Thai Stir-Fry, and it was delish! It's hard to find one of the main ingredients, fresh pimentos, in the winter. Pimentos are a variety of larger-sized spicy pepper, also known as cherry peppers, that can be found fresh in the summer and early fall, and after searching around at a few stores, I finally some...in a jar of course, at this time of year. I was beginning to think it was spring, since we've had a few days where I only needed a light jacket, but then this morning it was winter again. I had to scrape the windshield for the first time in weeks!

Thai Stir-Fry with Pork and Green Beans
bigoven.com
4 Servings

Ingredients:

-1 lb green beans, trimmed (you can also use frozen)
-1 whole pimento (experiment with how much jarred to use, depending on the spice that you want)
-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
-2 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
-1 Tbsp. fresh ginger (I keep mine in the freezer to make it last, then grate what I need)
-1 tsp. sugar (I don't like using sugar very often when clean eating, so you could substitute with 1/4 tsp. honey, instead)
-1 tsp. paprika
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
-3/4 lb pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I went ahead and used olive oil, but you could substitute with coconut oil, peanut oil, etc.)
-1 Tbsp. fresh basil (I had some frozen from my garden, but you could also substitute with 1 tsp. dried)
-1 Tbsp. fresh mint
-1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro
-3 Tbsp. dry-roasted peanuts

Directions: 

Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain; rinse beans under cold water to stop the cooking.
Combine pimento, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, paprika, salt, and red pepper flakes in a food processor/blender. Whirl until mixture is a smooth puree.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a very large non-stick wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until no longer pink. Remove pork from pan. Add remaining 1 Tbsp.oil to pan and heat. Add green beans to the pan, stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. water; cover and cook for 2 minutes or until beans are just tender.
Return pork to the skillet. Add pimento puree; stir to mix and stir-fry for 1 minute. Mix in the basil, mint, and cilantro. Sprinkle with peanuts.

I serve this dish with quinoa, but it's great with brown rice, as well!

Chicken Stew
Taste for Life
6 Servings

Ingredients:

-2 Tbsp. olive oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-3 carrots, peeled & chopped
-2 celery stalks, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-Salt & pepper
-1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
-1 Tbsp. tomato paste
-3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
-1 tsp. dried basil leaves
-1 bay leaf
-3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
-1 (15-oz.) can white cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

Directions:

 Heat oil in large, heavy pot set over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, & garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Season w/ salt & pepper to taste.
Stir in tomatoes w/ juices, tomato paste, broth, basil, & bay leaf. Add chicken.
Bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low & simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
Add beans & simmer until liquid has thickened, approx. 10 to 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Spring Cleaning with the Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Spring Cleaning Detoxing

Earlier in the month I talked about detoxing, & the reasons that you might do a good cleansing. The human body has a way of adapting to what we eat & what we do to/for it. That's probably why a lot of people are able to eat processed foods much of their lives & still be able to function. But, why settle w/ merely functioning in life? I want to live life to the fullest! I want to be around for my grand kids & great grand kids! I want to travel the world! What is your health worth to you?

If you feel like you are struggling in life; struggling w/ your health, perhaps what you have been eating (& what is possibly still lurking from your past food intake) is affecting you more than you think! Recently, in my cell biology class, we learned about how diet & exercise can affect our body on a microscopic level! The foods that we eat can affect the bacteria in our body, which can affect our mood, diseases we may contract, and many other aspects. Exercise can actually affect the folding of proteins, that can, in turn, affect your risk for diabetes & cancer. For exercise, I am currently doing P90X3, and aim to work out every day until I'm finished with the 90-day program.

Clean eating is an awesome first step toward taking your health back, but sometimes our body needs an extra assist in the cleaning out department. Recently, I've reached a plateau in my weight loss, &I know that I haven't been taking care of my body the way I should be. My back injury put me off a bit, & I've also been getting more migraines lately, as well. I know many people who have had success with the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, so, in the near future I hope to renew my health. This month, March 2014, Beachbody's Ultimate Reset challenge pack is on sale!

Check out this video, and read on about the Beachbody Ultimate Reset and what it can do for you!

What is the Beachbody Ultimate Reset™?

The Beachbody Ultimate Reset is a complete, three phase, 21-day program that provides everything you need to:

•Phase 1: Reclaim your body's natural balance.
•Phase 2: Release the harmful materials you may be storing within you.
•Phase 3: Restore your system to its maximum health.

What are the benefits of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset?

In just 21 days, the Ultimate Reset can help you gently restore your body to its original factory settings," to help you:

•Have more energy and greater focus
•Experience better digestion and a more positive mood
•Enable your body to function more efficiently
•Lose weight
•Improve your overall health

What the Beachbody Ultimate Reset™ is NOT:

•A starvation diet. (You'll eat three filling, healthy meals every day.)
•An abrupt cleanse that's hard on the body. (The supplements work together
gradually to gently shift your body's internal settings.)
•A laxative-based, colon-focused cleanse, which fails to truly detoxify the whole body. (You won't be running to the bathroom every hour!)

What's included in the Beachbody Ultimate Reset?

Six Essential Supplements:

The Ultimate Reset Nutritionals are uniquely formulated to help restore your body to optimal health.

•Alkalinize–Helps maintain alkalinity.
•Oxygenize–Helps provide supplemental oxygen to the body.
•Mineralize–Adds natural minerals needed by the body.
•Detox–Helps remove toxins and waste in the colon.
•Revitalize–Helps revitalize flora in the digestive tract.
•Optimize–Promotes healthy metabolism and effective body functions.

Raw vs. Cooked Veggies

To Cook, or Not to Cook? That is the Question

So far you may be incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet, but are you reaping all of the benefits? For awhile, I thought that all fruits and vegetables provided the best vitamins when they were eaten raw, but, I found out not that long ago, that this isn't the case for all produce!

Here are a few of the benefits you can get from cooking your produce & from eating it raw:

1) Tomatoes:

I personally prefer my tomatoes cooked, which provides me with more cancer-fighting lycopene. You can add crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce to stews and spaghetti sauce, or this amazing recipe:

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients & Preparation: 6 4oz chicken breasts 4 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 medium onion, cut into wedges 26 ounces of organic tomato sauce 12 ounces box of whole wheat rotini pasta
Place the first 3 ingredients in a slow cooker. Pour in the sauces. Cook for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Prepare the pasta as shown on the box directions. Serve 1 cup of chicken mixture over 1 cup of pasta.

You can get more recipes like the one above, check out this link to learn more.

2) Zucchini:

This is another fruit (although used mainly like a vegetable), that I prefer cooked. When zucchini is cooked it provides more beta-carotene, which is a building block for vitamin A. Vitamin A helps to build strong teeth and bones. Cooked carrots and sweet potatoes are other good sources of beta-carotene.Try not to over cook them, or you will actually lose more beta-carotene! Lightly steaming vegetables is best. I know you can't do that with sweet potatoes, unless you thinly slice them.

3) Spinach:

I don't eat as many salads as I should. I guess all the chewing of the healthy green stuff bores me out! On the other hand, I use salsa as a substitute for salad dressing, so it helps to spice things up a bit! Guacamole or just plain old avocado are other favorite things that add flavor to salad. Spinach is a vegetable that is great to eat raw and cooked. Raw spinach provides more vitamin C helps collagen production, can help lower blood pressure, antihistamine, and the list goes on. Raw spinach also provide folate, which helps in repairing and making new cells.
Cooked spinach provides more calcium and zinc, which helps with the immune system, digestion, acne, and wounds. Here's a spinach-packed smoothie to get your day started!

Greenberry Shakeology is packed with spinach that has been minimally processed, but if you don't have Shakeology, you can try this smoothie:

Popeye Smoothie

Ingredients: 2 cups spinach, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, or low-fat yogurt, 1 small banana, 1 cup strawberries (or other fruit), 1 tsp. nut butter, 1 Tbsp. honey (or 1/2 Tbsp. agave), 2 Tbsp. ground almonds
Blend in a blender. It may be a little chunky, so you can strain it with cheese cloth, but then you're losing the fiber (which aids in weight-loss!)!

4) Bell peppers:

Green peppers give you more vitamin B when eaten raw. B Vitamins are antioxidants, which neutralize cancer-causing free radials. Raw red bell peppers give you a ton of vitamins!

5) Garlic:

Now, I LOOOOOOVE my garlic! Unfortunately, garlic is best eaten raw!!!? It's antimicrobial power is diminished by cooking, so try mixing it in a vinaigrette, mixed in a cold pasta salad, or even added to spaghetti after the sauce or noodles have been removed from the heat.

How do you prepare your favorite vegetables? 

Got Nutrition?

My Daily Dose of Dense Nutrition, Shakeology

Since I am blogging about clean eating, I want to talk a little more about Shakeology, which is one of my main basis of clean eating. Have you ever tried out a meal replacement shake, but found that it didn't fill you up, didn't give you energy, didn't help fight cravings, & probably wasn't very good for you? Not to mention, there weren't many flavor options, so you soon got bored?

When you think about what your body needs, then assess what you are really feeding it, you probably come to realize that your body is kinda like a finely tuned vehicle; you've got to feed it the right fuel to get the most mileage out of it! For the past 9 months I've been doing just that: giving my body the nutrition it needs with Shakeology, and I don't ever want to give it up! My health (& your health, if you're ready) is worth it!!!

This meal replacement shake is amazing! Since I began drinking Shakeology, I have been able to replace a meal with a shake that actually satisfies my hunger, and has helped to shrink my stomach (which has helped me lose and maintain my weight), because I don't eat as much. And, not to mention, it has helped cut my cravings, since my body gets what it needs every day!

Shakeology also gives me energy, and helps to keep me healthy! This is great, because, as a mom (a mom of a type 1 diabetic, at that), a college student, wife, and fitness coach, I live a pretty busy life and can't afford to get sick very often! Here are a few of the ingredients that help increase my energy, help me think, strengthen my immune system, and keep me calm: astragalus, ashwagandha, cordyceps, gingko leaf, tulsi (holy basil leaf), maca root, maitake mushroom, reishi mushroom, and schisandra. That's just to name a few of the 70+ healthy ingredients, approximately 10 salads' worth, that fit in one 10-20 oz. glass of Shakeology (depending on how you make it)!

In Shakeology, there are pro and prebiotics that help increase nutrient absorption, promote regularity, and improve digestion. This amazing shake also contains antioxidants, a super-protein blend, all of the 9 essential amino acids, and more! Plus, it comes in 5 flavors: Strawberry, Chocolate (in vegan or regular), Vanilla, Greenberry, and vegan Tropical Strawberry! My personal fav is Tropical Strawberry, which I blend with water, banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds. It is delicious! I also love Greenberry, which I usually drink by its delicious self!

If you have been needing something like this in your life, maybe you're ready to try it out? I'd love to hear from you!

www.beachbodycoach.com/iib4

New Clean Eating Challenge Group

Support & Motivation to Help You Achieve Your Nutrition Goals

Tomorrow, March 3, I will be beginning another clean eating challenge group on Facebook. These groups are private, so only the members that are in the group can see what is posted. These groups have helped members to receive the support and motivation to help them to achieve their nutrition goals. Members have worked to support and motivate each other through their own experiences, and this support has occurred between total strangers who simply want to be an encouragement!

Most of the members of past groups have been women, seeking to provide a healthier lifestyle for themselves, and/or their families. I have immensely enjoyed the successes that these individuals have achieved! Many have lost weight (50+ lbs from 11 members of one group in 30 days), many have kicked bad habits and developed new, healthier habits, begun exploring new, and healthy recipes, and I, myself, have begun to try new foods!

If you desire to have/give support and motivation to/from others, I would love to have you in the next challenge group. You will be given 30+ days' worth of recipes, including shopping lists to go with them, as well as other tips throughout the month. Even if you read this blog a week from now, or even a month from now, I will probably be starting another clean eating group, whenever you are ready to get started. If I'm not hosting a group at that time, I will still want to help you to achieve your nutrition, and/or fitness goals, if you want my support! I want to help you succeed and to take back your health, or to continue your journey to a healthier you!

If you are ready, sign up for your free Team Beachbody website by going to www.teambeachbody.com/signup. Please use my coach referral id:  i  i  b  4, then send me a Friend Request on Facebook (Sarah Biesen (Shull)), so I can add you to the group, where you can begin to get the support and motivation to help you begin to achieve your goals!

Clean Eats Substitutes

Healthy Substitutes

What kinds of healthy substitutes do you use at home, or choose to swap for when you're eating out?

Here are a few of my favorites, plus my favorite pizza crust recipe & toppings!

Some healthy swaps, ask for:

-Whole wheat/grain bread in place of white
-Brown rice in place of white
-Sweet potato fries/sweet potato in place of regular, for added vitamins, & nix the fatty toppings, & opt for pepper, instead.
-Vegetables, instead of fries
-Mineral water w/ lemon in place of soda pop (diet & regular) (I don't know how many restaurants provide mineral water, which can provide calcium, may lower bad cholesterol & blood pressure, & may decrease bone loss).

For sour cream in a taco, on a salad, in a Stroganoff, maybe:

Equal parts guacamole/avocado (you can often ask to have this subtitutes at restaurants)
Plain yogurt/Greek yogurt

For salad dressing:

Salsa is one of my favorite swaps, and it adds a little kick. I'm usually alright if I add too much, conversely, I usually end up overdoing it with the ranch & vinaigrette

If you do get salad dressing at a restaurant (or even at home) have it served as a side, not preserved over the salad.

For mayo:

Equal parts guacamole/avocado
Plain yogurt/Greek yogurt
Hummus

When cooking creamy soups, you can substitute half & half or milk with a cashew/white bean blend. Just experiment for consistency & taste!

We've learned a little about sugar substitutes, & you'll remember that you can swap honey for white sugar. Here is a link about how you can properly sub. honey for white sugar in your recipes: http://www.ehow.com/how_2110342_substitute-honey-sugar-recipe.html

You can also substitute cow's milk for your own homemade nondairy milk!

When baking, try apple sauce in place of eggs or oil, just reduce the amount of eggs/oil used & fill in the gaps with applesauce. Leave about 2 Tbsp. of oil. Experiment on what kind of consistency/amount that you need/desire to use. The best recipes you can substitute with are muffins & banana bread.

How about toppings for pizza??? Pepperoni & Canadian bacon, as well as other lunch meats, are full of nitrates, which wreak havoc on the body, so think about what other healthy, & delicious toppings you can add to your homemade (&store-bought) pizza! Recently, I made the most delicious homemade pizza from scratch!

Yeast-less (& Sugar-less) Pizza Crust
vegweb.com

2 cups flour (1-1/4 cup wheat, 3/4 cup all-purpose)
1-1-1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup water (start off with a little less than 2/3 cup, then adjust)
1/4 cup olive oil
rosemary, to taste, optional (which may guard against brain degeneration)

Combine ingredients. Knead by hand until becomes a dough & doesn't stick to sides of the bowl. Cover until ready to use.

Top crust w/ tomato sauce, low-fat shredded cheese, sliced bell peppers, onions (green & yellow/red), cooked turkey burger, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives.

Bake crust at 350*F for about 35 minutes, or until the dough in the center is cooked through.