On Saturday, I finally made it to the grocery store to get all of my ingredients for our Team's 5-day "Clean" Slow-Cooker Challenge Group. We've had over 400 people sign up to participate in this month's group! Our lovely "hosts" prepared a fancy PDF explaining the rules and even provided a shopping list to all of the participants. Everything was SO easy! If you are looking for a way to jump-start your clean eating, or even if you just want to add some really tasty meals to your meal rotation, joining one of these Challenge Groups is a sure-fire way to get some great recipes as well as cooking tips. Not to mention, the motivation is stellar!
For those that are asking
"What the heck is 'Clean' eating?"
Clean eating is truly a lifestyle of committing to only consuming foods that are free of:
- Chemicals
- GMO's
- Preservatives
- Added ingredients that just really aren't necessary!
(Think no-processed food and nothing you can't pronounce in the ingredient list)
A "clean" diet consists of lots of plant-based foods, whole foods (meats included), whole grains, and meals with fewer ingredients.
This lifestyle can be a little over-whelming at first to be completely honest, especially with kids. But honestly, the food tastes SO much better and kids follow our lead. They watch our faces and how we react or what we say about certain foods. They eat what we feed them.
I have to say, too, that the grocery shopping seems easier for clean meals and your buggy & fridge look so much prettier with all of the fruits and veggies. On top of that, if your cart is full of box after box of processed food, I can bet you either have a) gut problems (ie. poop issues, lovely! or heartburn, etc.) or b) you are addicted to sugars, natural flavorings, etc. and suffer headaches or other health issues that you just pass off on a fairly daily basis. Yuck!
Eating all of that crap just isn't good for your body. And there's just NO WAY that you can succeed with a healthy lifestyle and keep up with eating all that junk. I promise, give it a week or two, you'll feel better, lighter, and you'll see the results you are looking for.
And don't forget your water!! Cutting out the sodas, sweet tea...just do it and see what happens. Every now and then I have a glass of sweet tea and I can't believe how sweet it seems now! And I find myself craving sugary products afterward. It's a vicious cycle. (More on that in another post!)
So, now that you are a little more informed about clean eating....let's get to the good stuff!!!(sorry for the cruddy iPhone pics but I was in a hurry to eat this mess of goodness!)
Such an easy meal. Which, is something you'll find with clean eating. The chicken was cooked in the slow-cooker with peppers, onions, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, chili powder & cumin and then s&p to taste. It cooked on high for about five hours Sunday afternoon. I turned it on right after church and it was perfect by 5:30 so I turned it to "keep warm" while I prepared the quinoa you see up there and threw some salad together. This was probably one of the tastiest meals we have had in a while. Maybe the prettiest too!
I used the organic quinoa from Aldi. It cooked up quickly and perfectly. Then I added finely chopped cilantro and mixed peppers. A little pink Himalayan salt & pepper. Voila. Even the boys liked it!
My salad consisted of spinach, chopped cucumbers, fresh blackberries & raspberries, topped with cilantro. Then I whipped up a fancy-schmancy dressing we'll call "Cilantro Lime Greek Vinaigrette". ooh la la. It was perfect and married all the flavors together of each dish.
Served right up, piping hot from the slow-cooker.
Good stuff.
Hubby & kid approved!!
So during the day while I was gone with the kids, my husband had gotten up from sleeping after working third shift. He thought the liquids seemed a little low so he added "some" water to it. At the time I was like "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?!" Turns out, adding the liquid was perfect! Not only was the chicken super duper juicy....I was able to make leftover SOUP!
All I did was mix my leftover quinoa together with the leftover chicken, peppers & broth. Oh yes! Seriously it was almost better than the plate of food, actually. The warmth of the soup and the flavors of the cilantro and peppers....mmmmm!!! There was no need for me to get feisty about the water, he was helping me out! ;)
So there you have it. Two clean meals in one! Even better. And this meal cost us about $10 if I could guess. It depends on the chicken that you buy and how many peppers you use, etc. But that's great, in my opinion, for a meal that fed four, plus enough leftovers for lunches (2 days for me, 1 day for my husband). That's like $1.40 a meal per person. (Assuming my math skills didn't just get the better of me!!)
If you are interested in hearing more about our slow-cooker clean-eating challenges, or
if you visit my website and are interested in Shakeology or a Beachbody program, please comment or send me a message. I would LOVE for you to join me on this journey of better eating and more doing, while getting fit and healthy along the way.
Being healthy does NOT mean sacrificing good food!!
**Our next challenge is the
21 Day Fix where we learn to portion control! Amazing success stories from this program. Ask me!!**
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RECIPES
Clean Cilantro Lime Chicken - Slow Cooker Style
4 Large Chicken Breast
3 Mixed Bell Peppers sliced thinly into spears
1 Medium Onion cut in half and sliced into thin strips
Juice of 1-2 Limes
3 tbsp Olive Oil (can sub coconut oil or red palm oil)
3 cloves Minced Garlic
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 cup Cilantro chopped
Himalayan Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper to taste
(add water depending on if you want to make the leftover soup)
Add all ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 5-6 hours.
Quinoa with Cilantro & Mixed Peppers
Organic Quinoa
1/2 cup Cilantro
1/2 cup Mixed Bell Peppers chopped
S&P to taste
Prepare quinoa according the the package instructions (recipe for 4 calls for 1 cup). After cooking and fluffing the quinoa, remove from stove and add 1/2 cup chopped cilantro & 1/2 cup finely chopped mixed peppers and S&P to taste.
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
Big dollop of Non-fat Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Lime juice
2 tbsp chopped Cilantro
S&P to taste
Fully mix together until yogurt is dissolved into mixture. Spoon over salad greens.
ENJOY!!
(You can always sub 4 ounces of the almond milk for water)
