Clean Tacos

Clean Tacos 

1 pound of your favorite ground meat 

Trader Joe's Taco mix it's clean 

Romaine lettuce leaves 

Feta cheese (instead of shredded cheese)

Avocado 

Lime 

We have Taco's every week around here ,but in the journey to eat healthier we needed to change a few things. We use organic meat now instead of regular cooked with Trader Joe's taco mix (no chemicals) instead of the store brand pouch we used to use, traded the fried taco shells out for romaine lettuce leaves. Most refried beans I've found are clean just check the label to be sure. We use them as a small side. If you are trying to lose weight skip the beans and have an extra taco.

The Trader Joe's taco mix is spicier than the mild seasonings we were using so you don't need as much. We use maybe a tbsp. Which means one pouch lasts us a month ! We also use it in our Mexican crock pot soup. 

Guacamole my favorite part of taco night, that and no one is going to complain about dinner !

Smash the avocado up with some sea salt a squeeze of fresh lime and some garlic. Makes a great healthy topping for tacos. Kroger has organic salsa which is great and not much more than the regular brands.

If you want to make your own taco seasoning my friend Deb sent me this recipe to try,

  thank you for sharing !

HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING

I try to buy ALL organic

1/4 c. Plus 1 Tbl. Chili powder

1 1/4 tsp. Garlic powder, Onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes and dried Oregano.

2 1/2 tsp. Paprika

2 Tbls. Plus 1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

1 Tbls. Plus 2 tsp. Sea Salt

1 Tbls. Plus 2 tsp. Black Pepper (optional)

Salsa chicken chili

Salsa chicken chili 

We don't like to throw any food away 

 around here and I love letting my crock pot cook for me.

So I love this recipe not only is it yummy
  it uses last night dinner to make tomorrows lunch with my crock pot. 

Ingredients 

Left over chicken from "The Best Chicken I ever made"

1 15 ounce jar of salsa 

2 cups chicken broth (we use organic from costco)

1 Bay leaf 

1 onion chopped 

2 cans northern beans 

salt/pepper
1 tsp garlic 

Pull off the remaining chicken from last night's dinner shredding any large hunks as you go 

Chop the onion 

put everything together in the crock pot cook on high for 1 hour 

then low for at least 5 or more hours 

since we are trying to lose weight and not having any carbs after 2 we have this for lunch only. I've estimated one cup of this chili around 400 calories give or take.

You can garnish with cheese and sour cream or Greek yogurt ,but if you are trying to lose weight skip the extras ! Extra's on your food means extra's on you !

Crock Pot Mexican Soup

 We made this all the time before going clean so whether you are eating clean or not this is a great recipe. The only thing that makes it clean was reading the labels and buying the same items without the chemical ingredients. 

1 pound ground turkey brown or whatever you prefer 
1 tbsp Trader Joe's taco mix I add this to the meat and give it a stir 
Then put in crock pot 
Add 1 can each 
diced tomato 
chicken broth
corn
black beans
one medium onion chopped 
We used Kroger organic brand canned beans. I added a chopped onion too.
If you like more liquid then add more broth. 

Cooks for 5 hours more or less. Enjoy with tortilla chips if you like. Those are usually clean and gluten free just check your labels & watch your portion size if you are trying to lose weight. 

If you are not having Carbs after 2 you'll want to omit the corn and tortilla chips or just have this for lunch. 

The best Chicken I've ever made !

The Best Chicken I've ever made !

Chili Lime Chicken 

You'll need one roasting chicken 

One medium or large onion 

Chicken broth we use organic 

Chili Powder 

Salt/Pepper

Slap Ya Mama

South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (Trader Joe's)

2 Limes 

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350

Using a paper towel I rubbed coconut oil on the bottom of the roasting pan 

Chop onion into big pieces spread on the bottom of the pan 

Place Chicken on top of the onions 

Coat the chicken in olive oil 

Cute one lime in half squeeze juice onto chicken places the halves in the chicken cavity

Slice the other lime up into thin pieces arranged on top of chicken  

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, slap ya mama,chili powder & the South African Smoke Seasoning 

Add 1/2 cup broth to the bottom of the pan

Cover with foil ,tent the foil so it doesn't touch the top of the chicken 

Bake at 350 for 2 hours 

I pulled the foil off during the last 10 minutes of cooking 

Let it rest 5 minutes before serving 

We spooned the broth and cooked onions over the top of our chicken and it was amazing ! 

We had this along side a serving of fresh spinach sauteed in coconut oil with garlic and sea salt.

Slap Ya Mama Salmon

Salmon Quinoa and Broccoli 

Baked salmon seasoned with salt and pepper and a little "slap ya mama" it's a New Orleans thing.

Salmon was Kroger brand frozen in the bag just followed the directions on the bag.
Frozen Broccoli steamed in the microwave then added butter and garlic gave it a stir.
Quinoa cooked with chicken stock one small onion a teaspoon fresh garlic a handful of baby spinach and 5 baby portabella mushroom sliced. Add the onion at the beginning of cooking add the other vegetables at the end so they don't get mushy.

The kids loved the Quinoa, well everyone but Natalie . We'll get there eventually.

This came in around 400 calories. Which means you can have some flavored Greek Yogurt for dessert !

Lemon roasted chicken with rosemary

Lemon roasted chicken with rosemary 

You'll need 1 whole chicken 

2 lemons

one onion 

olive oil 

chicken broth 

sea salt/pepper

few sprigs of fresh rosemary

chicken broth 

1 whole chicken (I found one at Kroger already cut up all natural and hormone free on sale for 5.84 !)

grease dish with coconut oil 

add layer of chopped onion to the bottom of the dish 

arrange chicken over the top of the onion

pour chicken broth into the bottom of the pan just enough to cover the bottom and then some 

rub chicken with olive oil 

squeeze one lemon over chicken put that lemon in the cavity

salt and pepper to taste

slice one lemon arrange over chicken

chop a few sprigs of fresh rosemary remove stems sprinkle over chicken and lemon slices 

add 1/2 cup chicken broth to the bottom of the pan

cover with foil

bake at 350 for 2 hours

let rest for 5 minutes before serving

serve with a side of your favorite veggies or two.

If you are using a whole chicken sprinkle with sea salt and pepper ,cover with lemon slices ,sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Then stuff the chicken with any left over lemons and a couple of sprigs of rosemary.

 Same cooking time and temperature.

We use the left over the following day in a crock pot recipe for salsa chicken chili. 

  

Enough is Enough

December 2nd 2012 just after polishing off Little Ceasers followed up by a good helping of the left over M&M's from Saturday night family movie night. Washing it all down with my personal favorite "Coke Zero" We all climbed on the couch and I had to unbutton my pants...then I thought I'm going to have to go buy bigger pants...I don't want to go buy bigger pants. This internal dialogue began it's the same dialogue I had a lot. The sane me grilling the crazy food addicted me. Why do we always end up here on the couch with our pants unbuttoned feeling GROSS ,you said you weren't going to do this anymore yet here we are again ! You have no self control no will power what is wrong with you ? Anyone else constantly  having this conversation with themselves or is it just me ? Please tell me I'm not alone here.

 Going to bed every night saying tomorrow will be the day I'll get it right tomorrow and depending on the day I had a 50/50 chance of either doing great or failing miserably because once I gave in I would just run with it.

That very next morning as we got ready I told Gerald we needed to do something something drastic this making little changes here and there was clearly not working for us, but I had no idea where to start. As I went up to work in my studio I pulled up Netflix and it suggested I watch the movie "Hungry for Change" I love to listen to documentaries while I paint so I took the suggestion and watched the movie. If you haven't seen it you must watch this movie. It changed my life. Before I had even finished it I had emailed Gerald the link and said watch this NOW ! It explained everything we had been struggling with for years. For the first time I realized it wasn't my fault that I was addicted to food , because the food I was eating was made to keep me addicted to it. Just like the extra ingredients the cigarettes companies put in their products to keep the client coming back for more, well the food companies are doing the exact same thing except no one really questions it. I mean we all grew up eating it so it must be OK right ? All you have to do is walk out your door or perhaps look into your own mirror to see what these companies and food like products are doing to us. For the first time I thought "I can do something about this". I had quit smoking 14 years ago. Yes I needed help and support to quit ,but I did it. If I could do that then I could take back my life and health from the unhealthy food I was eating. By the end of the movie I had decided we were going to start eating clean. Even though I had no idea what that would look like or where to begin. Even if you don't want to eat clean I'm hoping we can all come together in 2013 and figure out what works for each of us an individuals get healthy and stay that way.

 I found this blog "The Gracious Pantry"  and it has been very helpful in getting us started. So began our journey. Our goal feed our bodies and not our mouths, get healthy and know that we are doing everything we can to be around for our children and grandchildren and help teach them to live and eat well.

I'll be sharing the recipes I've started making and tips I've learned along the way here and I hope you'll add to them !

So what brought you here what are your goals ? Let's do it together !