Trust The Process - CE Motivation

My Newest Obsession: Sweet Potato & Bean Burgers

This recipe is all over the Fitspo blogs on Tumblr, so giving an attribution is a little tough. I'm not sure who conceived this recipe, or took this picture - but whoever you are...BLESS YOU. These burgers are awesome, and once cooked freeze wonderfully for a quick grab and go lunch burger. I occasionally fiddle around with the seasonings, but crushed red pepper flake is still my favorite.

Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers

• Peel and cut up 3 large sweet potatoes, then boil them until soft.
• While that’s cooking, mash up 4 cans of white beans ( drained and rinsed! )with a fork, potato masher, or food processor. ( Potato masher works best, you want them with a little chunk to them, not perfectly smoothly pureed. )
• Once the potatoes are cooked, add them together with 2Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes and mash it all together. ( I've also added garlic or powdered spices to switch up the flavor. )
• Whisk 2 small eggs together, and add to potato mixture.  If the mixture is loose, and whole wheat flour by the tablespoon until the mixture tightens a bit. ( Don't use rice or almond flour - in this case, you want the gluten elasticity wheat flour offers. )
• Form into patties, throw in the oven at 425* F until they are firm and crisp on the exterior. ( About 20+ minutes for me, on average.  I like to spritz them with a little olive oil from my oil mister; it gives them a nice crunchy texture. )

I got this from RoboLikes - TY!

3/10 - Sunday Clean Eating Coupons

Here's this week's best coupons available to help you save while eating right.

You'll Never Crave a Chip Again

Maryland Sheriffs Testify on HB294 - Maryland's Onerous Gun Control Bill

     If you have time ( video is 20 minutes ) and are interested in hearing what real law enforcement officers - people on the front lines of crime every day -  think of the types of laws put in place by New York State and proposed in states like Maryland and Colorado, I'd highly urge you to listen to their testimony.

For me, this is highly persuasive testimony as to the misguided ( and in several instances, particularly here in Maryland ) highly uninformed views of politicians on what actually works to dissuade and reduce gun violence.

These men are professionals at what they do, and I sure as heck trust their opinion on how best to curb crime in my area rather than rely on the opinion of a lawyer or career politician.

Edited to add: These sheriffs are against the proposed gun control law here in Maryland, and give very persuasive arguments against it based on fact, statistics, and logic.  If you'd like to hear argument against gun control from what you might consider an unlikely source ( law enforcement officers ), I would invite you to watch this video. It might change your mind about the wisdom of stricter gun control measures.

Another Clean Eating App & Website: Shopwell.com

I'm all about using technology to my full advantage, so when I heard about another app that could help Clean Eaters make healthy choices at the store - I was all over it!

Once installed, Shopwell will match any product you scan and compare it to the profile you've set up on their website to see if it is compatible with the dietary parameters you've set up there.

**Unfortunately, this app is ONLY available for iPhones at the moment. I'm a Droid user, and am hoping this becomes available soon **

Step 1 - Create a profile on shopwell.com
Step 2 - Download their app
Step 3 - Scan product at the store to see if it is compatible with your profile.

http://www.shopwell.com/

Curb Nightly Cravings With Herbal Tea

Find yourself ( like me ) struggling with late night snacking urges? Do you find yourself aimlessly opening and closing pantry doors looking for something to eat?

Have you considered herbal tea?

I drink a large cup of peppermint herbal tea nightly, and I have to say it helps me significantly cut down on cravings and urges. I'm much more likely to eat Clean on nights when I brew myself a hot mug of tea than on nights when I go it with water alone. Why? There appears to be anecdotal evidence that suggests herbal teas can aid digestion, calm agitation / promote sound sleep, and many people find it helpful in weight loss. Perhaps herbal tea has properties that allow the body to feel "preoccupied" metabolically, and thus your brain has an easier time saying "no" to inappropriate choices.

Whatever the reason, if you are not a regular tea drinker already, I would encourage you to visit your store's tea aisle, pick a flavor that you would find pleasing, and try it for a few consecutive nights. Are you more able to resist nightly temptations?

Affirmations

I've written about affirmations before, and how having an affirmation can help you reaffirm your healthy habits. Mine is "This will not get me where I want to be" when contemplating an Unclean, processed snack food.

Thoughts on Focused Imagery

Sage Words on Starting Clean Eating

What is your phrase? What will help you stay on track?

Eating Wrong, Eating Right

Male Versus Female Green or Red Peppers

And from the "I had no idea!" file...

     FYI: Male over female? Flip the peppers over to check their gender. The ones with four bumps are female. The ones with three bumps are male. The female peppers are full of seeds. You can save yourself some money by getting the males.

Thank you for the picture and info, http://www.produce-planet.com/.

Food Aversions and Clean Eating

  

     Have you ever wondered how you can absolutely adore a food but the person next to you despises it?   I sometimes think about things like this - especially when confronted with my potato hating son. How the offspring of an Irish woman and a Welsh man could hate potato ( and garlic! ) as much as mine does...I'll never understand.

      I ran across this interesting round up of the most commonly disliked foods - and why you might dislike them.


Soapy Cilantro
This herb, popular in Mexican and Asian dishes, is surprisingly divisive (there’s even a website dedicated to cilantro-haters. “The aldehydes give cilantro its fragrance and give off that soapy smell and flavor, but some people find it pleasing.” 

Bitter Brussels Sprouts
Although some people love these pint-size veggies, others can’t stand the odor of Brussels sprouts, which are a member of the cabbage family. Cooking Brussels sprouts releases a sulfur compound. The longer they’re cooked, the more it smells.
 
Texture-challenging Tomatoes
About 19 percent of American adults don’t eat raw tomatoes. That’s amazing given that they’re included in practically every salad and sandwich. For most, it's less of a taste issue than a matter of texture. Most dislike the firm flesh with the oozing insides.  It’s also rare for people to like both raw and cooked tomatoes with their wildly different textures.

Funky Fennel
Fennel’s strong licorice scent can be off-putting to some and refreshing to others.

Icky Eggplant
People who don’t like eggplant often can’t reconcile the tough-on-the-outside, mushy-on-the-inside texture.
It’s hard to cook properly. And eggplant can be chewy and is like a sponge, sucking in all the flavor.

Earthy Mushrooms
Mushrooms are grown in the ground so it’s no wonder that they have an earthy taste and are associated with dirt. People who get easily grossed out don’t like mushrooms, They have a hard time knowing what they are—that they’re a fungus.

Strange-Looking Raisins
There’s no delicate way to put this: Raisins resemble feces. .That may explain why many people can’t stand even the sight of them while they adore grapes (raisins are simply dried grapes).


Pungent Ginger
Potent, spicy ginger is a popular ingredient in Asian dishes.

A mixture of the natural compounds in ginger causes its characteristic and, in some cases, despised pungent odor and flavor (particularly with pickled ginger, which tastes like perfume or soap to some).

Off-putting Pulp
Although pulpy juice is associated with just-squeezed freshness, people who are fans of pulp often say things like they don’t want to “chew their juice.”


Thank you for the list, YouBeauty.com!



( btw - I'll cop to a strong dislike for ginger and fennel. Everything else I'm good with. )

And From The "Even A Blind Squirrel Can Find A Nut Every Once In A While" File...

"The number one reason Americans are heavy:
The brain very smartly, wants nutrition.

But the average American is eating empty calories.

So you finish that 2,000 calories and your brain says "Keep going until you get nutrients."

- Dr. Oz

Clean Turkey Chili with Beans

For a quick but Clean chili your whole family will eat:

Clean Turkey "Chili " with Beans

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1 (15.25oz) can low/no sodium organic black beans. drained and rinsed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 - 3 cloves chopped garlic 
1 can (14.5oz) diced no salt added organic tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce - no salt added
1 Tablespoon +chili powder
1 small bag frozen whole kernel sweet corn

Preparation:

In a large skillet, cook turkey with onion for 5 - 10 minutes, or until turkey is browned*
Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.


*Maura's note: I would HIGHLY recommend you brown the ground turkey until it is carmelized. It will add a depth of flavor that turkey that is just browned until it is no longer pink lacks. I'd also recommend you jazz the ground turkey up with Clean seasonings that appeal to you. Without it, the chili is rather bland.

Thanks for the quick recipe, S&W Beans!

The Struggle to Eat MOAR

Recently ( within the last month or so ) I've struggled to keep on my Clean Eating path. At times, it's been hard. There have been times when I've felt like a complete hypocrite - writing a blog encouraging Clean Eating when I myself have been Clean Eating "not so much." But the siren song of processed, easy foods can be difficult to resist. Excuses aside ( busy mom, full time work, website Moderator, multiple websites of my own... ) I must confess that my consumption has been "Clean-ish" more than Clean recently. 

I've definitely done better.

I've been asking myself "What am I doing differently now than I was doing then? Why was I able to successfully stay Clean for over a year with very little effort, yet I'm struggling now?" Stress? Anxiety? Apathy?  I've struggled again to pinpoint my problem. But time and again, I'm sitting alone, late at night ( my husband goes to bed much earlier than I do these days ) - and the kitchen beckons.

A few days ago, I came across the "One does not simply..." meme picture above, and I realized this is an issue I've struggled with, again and again. This is not the first time this has happened - but I absolutely need to remember this cardinal rule of Clean Eating: Eat at least 6 times a day.

I haven't been eating enough, and I haven't been eating early enough.

It's difficult for me to eat a decent amount before lunch time - it's always been difficult. My natural tendency is to eat lightly in the morning, heavier in the evening. This has GOT to change.

I ate a banana at 9 am this morning, and just forced myself to eat a bowl of hot multigrain cereal ( I like BetterOats brand ). I'll eat lunch soon ( salmon, a cheese stick, an orange, and some edamame ) , and will also force myself back into the routine of eating a mid afternoon mini-meal.

This is why I've been unable to resist snack foods, filching slices of pizza, eating more carbs than I know I should - I'm not eating enough during the day to support my blood sugar and metabolism through the evening. I get home from work and my blood sugar is low. I'm making up for low food intake during the day by eating heavily at night. Then the cycle repeats itself because I'm not hungry the next morning.

"You know you ate too much the night before if you don’t wake up hungry in the morning."

Clean Eating bumps in the road happen. The best you can do is stop the cycle by examining the whys and hows, and come up with a plan to counteract what you are doing incorrectly. Review the core tenants of Clean Eating: Avoiding processed foods, proper hydration, eating 6 times a day, eating low sodium/organic/minimally processed. See where you are succeeding, and where you could be doing better. When I stuck closely to the essence of CE, I was happier and healthier than I've ever been. I want and need to get back there, especially since I know there are Girl Scout cookies in the kitchen...

Thin Mints: "They will not get me where I want to be. They will not get me where I want to be."