Are you ready for 2013???

Another full calendar year of {clean eating} is behind me.

I have less anxiety. I have less digestive issues. I have less headaches. I have less sickness. I have less depression. I have less cramps. I have less chemicals in my body. I have reduced my risk of many diseases.   I have less hunger.

I have more energy. I have more inspiration. I have more strength.  I have more mental clarity. I have more micronutrients in my body to ward off illnesses in my body.  I have reached my ideal body weight. I have better skin.  I have better hair.  I sleep better.  I have more hope for good health in my future.  

If you struggle with your health you should really consider going "clean". FULLY CLEAN for 30 days. I want to be very clear about something, I want you to do this to be HEALTHIER, not thinner. If you are overweight by any amount, try it. Being overweight can lead to so many illnesses down the road. If you truly follow the eating clean principles and dive in head first, the rest will follow. Promise. 

Your ideal weight will start to emerge. In the first 3-4 more months you will feel frustrated, scared, empowered, and rich with reward.  You will soon, "get it". You will start to share it with everyone and anyone you care about. You will want them to realize what they are feeling isn't the BEST they can feel.  You will feel truly BLESSED and proud. You will realize you had it in you this whole time. 

If you are looking to make THE change and would like to completely overhaul your life and embark on a {clean eating} journey, here are some of the major things you will need to know.

Avoid all over-processed and refined foods (especially sugar, white rice, and white flour)

Avoid saturated and trans fat, instead consuming healthy fats (Margarine, Fast food, Frozen meals, Prepackaged Meats, store made baked goods, most chips and crackers, cereal bars, candy, cookies, toppings, dips, etc)

Avoid soda and other sugary juices and drinks (just stop drinking them FOR GOOD)

Avoid high-calorie, zero nutrient foods, (i.e., junk food)

 If you are still drinking soda or other sugary drinks you are in for quite the fight to detox off of those.  I'm here to prove that it can be done as I am 29 months "sober" off the Diet Coke. (and only crazy ex-addicts still count after the year (or two) mark)

Now, here are a few things you SHOULD do:

Drink Green Tea (and water). It's recommended you drink half your body weight in ounces daily of water. (ex. A person weighing 150 lbs. should drink 75 ounces.) If you are consuming green tea in your water you are only doing your body a favor. Read more about why here: Miracle Tea    

Exercise. Start with 2 hours a week. Walking counts. Heck, have you ever played Wii Just Dance game? That counts too! Yard work. Shoveling snow. Stretching. Get creative. Get OFF the sofa. 

Always eat breakfast. Always. Even if you aren't hungry. Eat within a hour of waking.  

Eat 5 to 6 small meals daily. That's 3 main meals and 2-3 {healthy} snacks.

Stick to these 8 "rules" and master them and you will see huge results.  I will say that I am not 100% {clean} and never claim to be. I strive for 90%+ each month.

Here's the book I bought and took with me to the grocery store over 2 years ago: Eat Clean Diet. I am now even further into this journey and have learned a lot this year about food additives, GMOs, and the food industry. Reinforcing why EATING CLEAN was the best decision I made for my family. 

I hope you have an awesome year ahead. I hope you choose to {clean up} your act and experience the rewards. Cheers to 2013. It's gonna be great!

TBHQ {butane in your food}

If you have been reading labels you should know by now that abbreviations aren't good news. TBHQ is one to look out for and AVOID! If you aren't reading the ingredients, then I can assure you that you are consuming many chemicals and such.

Tertiary Butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ as it is more commonly referred to as, is in fact a chemical preservative which is a form of butane.  The risks and side-effects of this preservative product far outweigh the benefit of it being used as a highly unsafe preservative ingredient.  

Consuming high doses (between 1 and 4 grams) of TBHQ can cause nausea, delirium, collapse, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and vomiting. There are also suggestions that it may lead to hyperactivity in children as well as asthma, rhinitis and dermatitis. It may also further aggravate ADHD symptoms and cause restlessness. Long term, high doses of TBHQ in laboratory animals have shown a tendency for them to develop cancerous precursors in their stomachs, as well as cause DNA damage to them. It is also suggested that it may be responsible for affecting estrogen levels in women.

TBHQ can be found in McDonald's famous chicken nuggets, Kellogg's poptarts, Little Debbie snacks, Red Barron pizzas, Tastykakes, crackers...The list goes on and on...trust me!

Some of this information was taken from this site: Natural News

{clean} Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really can't believe I am baking. Little ol' me! The one that used to screw up everything I attempted to bake.  Has {clean eating} changed me in the baking department too? Maybe so....Anyway, on to the point...

A friend suggested I try this recipe. It's fabulous. It has NO processed flour in it! When I was making the recipe and added in the sugar (evaporated cane juice), my daughter kept saying "that's a LOT of sugar!". I couldn't help but laugh and say "Well, it's Christmas time! It's time to make special cookies." 

 This recipe is super simple.  I even made my own Almond Butter with 2 cups of raw almonds and a tsp of Barlean's Coconut Oil in the Vitamix.

{clean} Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Recipe from : www.cleaneatingmag.com

Ingredients:

• 1 c unsalted almond butter, stirred well
• 3/4 cup Sucanat (I used evaporated cane juice)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 oz dark chocolate (70% and greater is best), chips or broken into pieces

Directions:

1) Preaheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.

2) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

TIP: After I was done baking I simply slid the parchment paper and cookies on to the top of the stove to cool.  I still don't own a wire rack! It's very important you don't move these cookies until they are completely cooled.

You're giving YOURSELF a headache!

Headaches! I hate headaches. I used to get them often before cleaning up my act. I used to live on Diet Coke and Tylenol. I remember taking Tylenol often.  I wish I would have known that eating clean would transform me {this} much because I would have done a video diary of my typical week prior to the transformation.  Oh well, what's done is done. I am a healthier person now...and more importantly, I have very few headaches.

If you are suffering from daily or weekly headaches, don't immediately go running to the medicine cabinet for pain relievers. Take a look at your daily food consumption.  Are you consuming artificial sweeteners? Are you consuming too much sugar daily? Do you feel like you "crash" at a certain time each day ? It could very well be your diet.

Sugar Dehydration 

Dehydration is a common way to get a headache. Eating too much sugar dehydrates your body in two ways:

Dilution: When you eat too much sugar, your body has to dilute that sugar to keep it from harming your body. 

Urination: One of the ways that your body has of getting rid of excess sugar is to dump it in your urine. This is especially true of diabetics, who have to go to the bathroom a lot.

Think this could be you??? Read more about sugar headaches in this article: www.olsonnd.com 

As for artificial sweeteners, there aren't many studies yet proving they cause headaches. There are a few stating they cause migraines which are so much worse than a true headache. I know they caused mine. With that said, there are still many reasons a person should cut out artificial sweeteners our of their daily life. 

Check out some here: Avoid Artificial Sweetners