A Most Egg-cellent Clean Sammie

Life can get in the way of our healthy goals. I know this because it's been happening to me alot lately. I have a vision of how I want myself to look and feel and I  know that my goals are totally attainable if I could just stick to the plan I've laid out, but then life happens. Everyday I get up, pack a clean lunch with lots of healthy snacks, drink my water, head to the gym after work, get home between 7 & 8 p.m. and then stuff my face full of whatever food is ready and at my fingertips. Not. Good.

I love spending time in the kitchen trying new recipes and cooking up wholesome, healthy meals for dinner. This time of year, I'm drawn to casseroles and roasted veggies and all types of comfort foods, but I've had to accept the fact that there are some days when I'm going to have to whip up something quick and easy, so that I don't turn to junk food as a substitute for my dinner or wind up eating dinner at 10 p.m.

This sandwich has been one of my regular "go to" meals lately. It works for breakfast , lunch or dinner and I've enjoyed it at all times of the day. I got the idea from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Vegetarian Cookbook and tweaked it a bit to suit my tastes. It's easy, tastes great and most importantly it's healthy and clean and fits nicely with my goals.

All you do is scramble up 1/4 cup of egg whites in a small non-stick frying pan. Add in a few drops of Frank's Red Hot (I like lots!!!) and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Once the egg is finished cooking, I like to make my sandwich with a toasted whole grain English muffin or flatbread smothered with a whole lotta dijon mustard. Don't skip the dijon my friends, it makes this sandwich!!!

Now this is WAY healthier than the old egg sandwich I used to eat --- picture a scrambled egg on toast topped with a processed cheese slice and lotsa ketchup. Welp! I used to eat that a couple of times per week!!!

Do you have a quick and easy 'go to' meal when life gets hectic?

 

Source

Have a great day my friends!
Andrea

xoxo

What I Ate Wednesday - Veggie Love

Hiya guys! I've been really light on my posting over the past two weeks and its because I've had a lot of stuff on my plate! The most recent was a visit from one of my most favourite people....my mom!

She's on her way back home this morning :( and we are back to our regularly scheduled programming ---- not only in our routine but our eats! Oh gosh, our eats have been all over the map. I have been absolutely amazing at sticking to my clean eats goals during the week, but I've been indulging a little more than I'd like to over the weekends.

We have some vacation plans coming up, so that's the motivation I'm using to really stick with my clean eats program and I'm hoping all the veggie love shared at Peas & Crayons this month will help motivate me and give me some creative ideas on how to eat clean while keeping things interesting, and most importantly DELICIOUS!!

 

Even though I've been absent here on the blog, I've still been snapping pics and sharing my eats on Twitter and Instagram....here are some of my fave meals from the past couple of weeks (please forgive the photos - most were taken on my phone and clearly I need to use my Canon with editing to actually have a photograph that is properly centred :) :

 

Bananarama Protein Pancakes are still one of my all-time favourite breakfasts. Lately, I've been adding 1/2 a grapefruit to my first meal of the day.

 

 

 

Over the weekend, I made my mom & I some sweet potato homefries (sweet potato & sweet onion panfried in coconut oil) and baked eggs with mozza, grape tomatoes & fresh basil. I must say it was the best egg concoction I've put together in ages! My mom and I totally swooned over this breakfast.

 

 

 

I've been making a true effort to pack a healthy lunch that includes mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. Here is one from last week that included Gina`s Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili, plain non-fat Greek yogourt with mixed fruit, whole wheat crackers and roasted garlic hummus, and some of my trail mix.

  

 

 

I've also been eating a ton of kale. Yesterday, I marinated some kale in an olive oil/apple cider vinegar/dijon combo and topped it with some leftover sweet potato homefries, sweet orange pepper, raw pepitas, raw walnut pieces, goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. It was ah-mazing!

 

Dinners have been really good too. I cannot get enough of Angela's Easy BBQ Tofu. It is so good! I usually pair it with some roasted veggies - here I had roasted taters and turnip. Have I mentioned that I used to hate turnip?! I tried roasting it with a bit of coconut oil and sea salt and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. Derek and I easily eat an entire turnip in one meal!

  

 My other fave dinner of late was Lentil Veggie Mac & Cheese by Lindsay. A classic comfort food with an added punch of protein and veggies. I didn't share one bit of this with anyone; not even Derek got a bite!!!

Whew! I'm feeling a little better about my eats now that I see all the goodness I've used to fuel my body. I've had a few moments of weakness where chocolate or and wine have passed my lips, but hey "moderation is key" wouldn't you agree?!

What's the best healthy meal you've eaten this week?

When you try to follow a meal plan do you allow for some indulgence?

Have a great day my friends!

Andrea

xoxo

Responsible Snacking: Trail Mix ~ My Way

Hi! How was your weekend?! Mine turned out great even though it started out with a 'snow day' on Friday. We had our first winter storm in two years and it was quite the winter wonderland when we woke up on Friday morning. I had the day off, so I didn't have to venture off to work and since I wasn't able to get anywhere, I ended up getting some long overdue chores done at home.

I planned to get to the gym and do an early morning workout,  but my cardio sesh was cancelled due to the fact that I couldn't get out of the driveway. Instead, I went outside and burnt some calories by shovelling snow....twice.

Improvisation, baby!!!

As you know, I've been following a 'clean' diet since the beginning of January and 90% of the time, I've been doing great. The only time I struggle with my new food plan is in the evening. I crave sweets EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and it wasn't until I started eating clean that these cravings started to rear their ugly head. I tried to have a tea, but found that I was waking up in the middle of the night with a full bladder and that just wasn't working for me.

I've been doing alot of my weekly meal prep on Sunday afternoons and I've just recently added a trail mix to my prepping time. It's super easy, really it can barely be called a recipe, and you can add whatever nuts, seeds and dried fruit you fancy. I've been loving a handful of this when the snack monster attacks. This is also a great pre-workout snack. I grab a handful on the way to the gym and it gives me the extra fuel I need.  

Andrea's Healthy Trail Mix

1 c raw almonds
1/2 c dried cherries
1/4 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c raw cashews
1/2 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c reduced sugar banana chips

All you do is throw all of the ingredients into a large ziploc bag and shake 'er up!

Grab a handful when a craving strikes and enjoy! The sweet cherries, banana chips and white chocolate are sure to control any desire for sweets and the nuts will fuel ya up!

Clearly, I'm not the only one in my house that's looking for a little treat!

What's your favourite sweet treat?

Have a great day!

Andrea

xo

Workout Videos at Home

Um, remember how I shared my goal of getting to the gym to workout at least 4 times per week. Yeah, well that just is not happening my friends. I don't really have a good excuse as to why not other than the fact that I've been really tired at the end of the workday and by the time I get home from work, I have no desire to turn around and drive back to the gym after dinner. It makes for a really long day and there are some days when I don't get to sit down until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

Mondays are great because I do a one hour core strengthening class, followed by an hour of zumba. I LOVE <3 Monday nights!! By the time I'm finished both classes, I can barely lift my arms. I also love Saturdays because that's my yoga day. It's such a nice way to start the weekend. The rest of the week is left up in the air  --- I'm thinking the flexibility is part of my problem.

I've  been trying to figure out how I can kick myself in the butt and get a more regular schedule in place (that I will actually follow) and I've come to the conclusion that in order for me to get in a sufficient amount of workouts per week, I need to do at least one to two of my weekly workouts at home. It's hard to get back to the gym in the evenings and if I turn on a workout video as soon as I get home from work, then I'm done with my workout and well on my way to having dinner ready by 6:30 p.m. That is a time schedule that makes me much happier!!!

So, what workout videos do I like? Truth be told, I need to bulk up my home workout selection -- I hardly have anything at home. I borrow videos from my friends and use some online resources like bodyrock.tv, but I don't really stick with any of them on a consistent basis.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Beachbody.com and was asked to take a look around the site. The timing couldn't be more perfect because this is a terrific place to get your hands on some of the most popular home fitness workout videos. One of their most popular workouts is the well known P90X. I'm sure you know someone whose tried P90X --- I've personally seen some pretty fantastic transformations as a result!

Some of Beachbody's newest workouts are:

Les Mills Combat Workout
Brazil Butt Lift Master Series 
Asylum Volume 2

I am very familiar with the Brazil Butt Lift Master Series and if you want to lift and firm that booty in preparation for an upcoming beach vacation, this is the series for you! 

One thing that I really loved about the site is that they provide you with a comparison of their most popular fitness programs. You can find the comparison here and then choose what programs are best suited for your goals and fitness level.

I definitely see some of these fitness videos in my immediate future. What about you? Do you have a fave workout series? Have you ever heard of Beachbody before? Let me know what you're using and what you find most effective!

Have a great day.

Andrea
xo