A day of eating....{Clean Freak} style

I know many of you have expressed interest in what I eat on a daily basis. Since eating clean isn't about counting calories or fat, I really don't pay attention to what I eat (and when) because my kitchen is a safe zone and I can eat what's in it without reading labels.  

It is important to eat 6 small meals a day. Never skip breakfast and eat it within a hour of waking. Always be prepared by packing snacks to work or on the go. Always have water or green tea with you so you don't get dehydrated.

Let's begin.

Breakfast (around 7:30am):

I never used to eat breakfast. It was a huge accomplishment to master eating in the mornings. I have one of the follow with a cup of coffee (and a small amount of water). 99% of my breakfasts contain no meat and no dairy.

• A cup of clean oatmeal (recipe)
• 1-2 slices of Ezekiel toast with {all natural} Peanut Butter or Barlean's Coconut Oil
• Green juice/Slice of Bread
• Raw nuts and banana
• 2 No-Bake Energy Bites/Green juice
• Homemade muffin

Mid-Morning Snack (usually around 10-11am):

It really just depends on how hungry I am or what I am doing as to how much I eat at this time. I always leave the house with a 20 oz glass of iced green tea with all natural stevia.

• Banana
• Raw nut mix
• Veggies and dip
• Apple
• Cuties
• No-Bake Energy Bites

This picture is for after zumba.  I usually eat more right afterward zumba than if I wasn't working out.

Lunch (between 12-1:30pm):

Lunch varies greatly. If I am home, I often heat up some leftovers. If I am on the go it's very basic. I would eat one of the items below. Most all lunches contain no meat and no dairy either. Water.

• Garlic green beans or any other side vegetable from dinner (leftovers)
• Salad with no cheese and little amount of vinaigrette dressing.
• Black bean soup (leftovers)
• Veggie soup (leftovers)
• Hummus with WAY BETTER sprouted chips
• Raw veggies with hummus
• Black bean dip with sprouted chips
• Green Juice

Mid-Day Snack (around 4pm):

This may or may not happen depending on if I am hungry or not. More water or another green tea(maybe).

• 2 No-Bake energy bites (recipe)
• raw nut mix (recipe)
• roasted 50% less salt almonds
• apple, pear, or banana

Dinner (around 6pm):

Dinner varies greatly too. We eat poultry 2-3 times a week. Fish usually 1-2. The rest are vegetarian days. Dinner is where I will eat cheese (dairy) if it's needed for the recipe.  I try to serve 2 vegetables with each meal or a vegetable and bean.  I don't always have fruit with dinner, but the kids typically do.  (I'll do a whole other post for the kids). Water.

• Veggie soup with grilled cheese (recipe)
• Chicken and Black bean tacos, chips/guacamole, corn
• Grilled Chicken, baked potato, and green beans
• Wanna be Spaghetti (recipe), fresh baked bread, salad
• Black bean/cheese quesadillas, salad, and corn (chips and salsa)
• Vegetable pizza, salad
• Fish, sweet potato fries(recipe), and vegetable

Super quick Chipotle Cheese Quesadillas (corn tortillas), corn, beans, lettuce and salsa. Added Chipotle hot sauce too.

Veggie Panini (tomato, cheese, spinach, and olive tapenade) on whole grain, sweet potato fries, broccoli and fresh pineapple

Crockpot chicken(recipe), no egg noodles with carrots, peas, mashed potatoes, and roll. 

Late Night Snack (9pm-10pm):

This all depends on if I am even hungry. More water.

• apple
• chips and salsa
• pistachios
• homemade "ice cream" from fruit
• homemade cookie
• no-bake energy bites
• nut mix

In the end I typically drink 80+ ounces of water/green tea a day. It is recommended you drink half your body weight in ounces a day.  Before starting this journey I drank NO water. Ok, maybe a sip, but that's it! My old lifestyle left me feeling hungry all the time. Now, I rarely feel hungry. If I do, it's my own fault for not eating my snack or meal on time. It takes a few months for your body to get used to clean eating. Artificial sweeteners,  processed foods, and chemicals cause us to feel hungry often. 

NOTE: I don't eat raw nuts more than twice a day. I don't eat more than 3-4 energy bites a day.