CLEAN EATING CHALLENGES - WEEK 1, DAY 1

almond13

Hi Everyone. I am new to the concept of 'Clean Eating'... but I know that to successful in the long run I need to make healthier choices. Yes, I stay within my allotted calories… and I have lost 10 lbs doing so… but the choices I make are not always healthy and I know that I will not be able to lose the rest of the weight this way. I am trying to adopt a clean lifestyle… check out the link below for some info….

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/minisite/ce_index.htm

However, this is not a change I can make overnight. I am going to ease into eating clean, and I am going to allow myself some treats along the way. I don’t want to deprive myself… I just want to make better choices. So along with the support of a group… I have decided to post weekly / daily challenges to help myself and others (JOIN IN) adapt a clean. healthy lifestyle. So feel free to join, a new thread will be posted daily or weekly depending on the challenge!!!!

Challenge 1 (Start Date: Mon., July 20th, End Date: Fri., July 24th): DRINK CLEAN (aka. Water / Tea / Black Coffee)

Challenge 1 is a weekday challenge. Try hard each day this week to cut out soda, alcohol, processed juices etc. from your diet... this is going to be hard for me, as I am a diet coke addict, but I LOVE the way I feel when I don't drink it for several days... so good luck!!!

I am also going to post recipes... feel free to post your own tips / recipes / challenges

almond13

Chicken Marsala YUM!

• 2 tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 6-oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 16 small carrots, peeled
• 3½ cups marsala or low-sodium chicken broth
• 8 pieces dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 4 tbsp nonfat yogurt
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Mix fennel seeds, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture over chicken and set aside.
Boil carrots for about 4 minutes and remove; dry on a paper towel and set aside.
Bring marsala to a low boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, shallots and garlic. Seasonwith more salt and pepper. Simmer until sauce reduces, about 20 minutes. Discard garlic and set sauce aside.
Coat grill with cooking spray and grill chicken for 4 to 6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Grill
carrots for about 5 minutes, rotating until charred.
Return sauce to stove; bring to a simmer, remove from heat and whisk in yogurt.
Divide carrots among 4 platesand top each with chicken, sauce and a sprig of rosemary.

JoyousMaximus

Thanks for the mag link.

sixtyinchesoffury

well it sounds like a good idea to me. but when i read the first challenge i was sipping coffee with half

n half and splenda. so did i already blow it? i think i will just finish this cup but still start. i only have

one

i have been wanting to cut splenda and diet pops out for a while now so this is pretty good timing for

me. i will accept your challenge. i am excited!!

great idea:drinker:

Ang

almond13

:laugh: no worries... I had a creamy coffee in the am as well... (while I was thinking about this challenge)... so I would say finish it up and start! :flowerforyou: I have already noticed how much more water I am drinking... I have probably had 2x what I would drink in an entire day in a few hours... :laugh: :drinker:

sibetsimo

I'm going to try for an entire week without alcohol. I don't drink pop or juice or coffee ever, and very seldom do I have a cup of tea, but alcohol has to be my downfall. Let's see how this goes, shall we?

4mykids

I'm in too! Haven't had anything to drink yet today... about to fill up the water bottle.

Thanks so much for this challenge!!!

RosieB405

I think I can do it I don't like soda, and rarely drink coffee or alcohol I do like Ocean spray cranberry half with water...is that ok?

denitchy

I'm in also!! I had a coffee with milk this morning but.... starting NOW, water it is! I usually have a coffee in the morning :ohwell: and then ONLY water the rest of the day but for the week I will stay away from it!

jigglybits

Gonna try this challenge Already through a 2 ltr bottle of water today...staying off the diet coke is gonna be hard but worth a try

alereyes228

i'm in. i think my biggest problem will be cutting out processed orange juice. i just love it soooo much

miracle

Wow! what a great idea...count me in....the idea of small steps towards a healthy clean diet is great...and one I may be able to actually stick too....thanks for challenge...I just dumped out the rest of my diet pepsi and got a cold bottle of water instead....oh and my 11 yr son just came in from playing outside and instead of a soda..i gave him a bottle of water as well....this could become a family thing! Thanks again for the great idea and challenge!

almond13

Glad to see so many of you are up for the challenge! In terms of what is / is not okay... it is up to you... clean eating is all about cutting out the artificial junk... and eating food / drinking things in their most natural state... if you like orange juice... try to make your own or look at the store for organic kinds without preservatives, artificial flavors etc... You want to look at the ingredients and recognize everything... oranges, water, etc...

So for the purpose of keeping track of things, and making progess after each challenge a new thread will start and a new challenge will be posted (I will also post it afew day ahead of time so people can plan)... if you want to really challenge your self, and move forward try to continue with the old challenges while adding the new ones... I plan to do this with some small exceptions... for example... this first week w/o soda / alchol is about will power and showing myself I can do without them... but in reality if I want to stick with the program I may allow myself a drink with the girls on friday nights... or one soda now and then...

So...

JULY CHALLENGES

CHALLENGE 1: 07/20/2009 - 07/24/2009: CLEAN DRINKING
CHALLENGE 2: 07/25/2009 - 07/26/2009: Weekend Challenge - Wake Up! Clean Breakfast
CHALLENGE 3: 07/27/2009 - 07/31/2009: CLEAN DRINKING / CLEAN LUNCH (EXTRA VEGGIES)

denitchy

Small step challenges are wonderful!! It makes me feel like I can really do this!! Thank you

sixtyinchesoffury

Ok so yesterday went ok. By about 4 or so I had a terrible headache and I am pretty sure it was due to the cutting back of the caffine. I may have an iced tea today (unsweetened) if that starts again today.

I too found that I drank a lot more water which is always a good thing. This morning I had my coffee with half n half. That's one thing I changed a couple of months ago...I used to put powdered creamer in my coffee. It started to gross me out so I switched. Even though it's more calories at least it's natural.

Good luck to everyone today. I hope this gets easier. I can't even think about wine:grumble:

almond13

Hey Everyone. This is SO hard... I honestly think that eating clean will be easier than drinking clean... :laugh: I drank SO much water which was great, and so far I am on a good track... I just got a bunch of yummy food for breakfast.... organic eggs, fresh veggies, really great whole grain, whole wheat bread... YUM. I can't wait for the weekend! :bigsmile:

julziepopz

Hi everyone

I'm new to this website and I love it already! I'm up for the challenges. Today is day 1 for me and I'm going to try and drink lots of water. I'll miss my caramel lattes though!!

Good luck everyone!

Julie x

jigglybits

Loving the no diet coke and juice...but i feel as i spend most of my time peeing:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: i never knew it was possible to drink so much in a day...started loading up on my veg as well...i have a container of carrot sticks all chopped up and ready to munch

coronalime

Been caffeine free for almost 2 months. If you have a Trader Joes they have a great decaf unsweet white tea with mint...Its in a prepared plastic bottle. There is also a unsweet decaf black tea that I grab there sometimes too.Never been a coffee drinkier but was a Diet Soda Addict
I just finished Tosca Reno Clean Diet and looked through her Cookbook which has alot of great receipes!
So I cant wait till the next week Challenge. I am so in for this

almond13

Morning Everyone! Sounds like we are all on the right track... I am really loving how great I feel! (although I am spending a ton of time running to the ladies room... haha... I have been told that my body will eventually get use to all the water I am drinking ... so hopefully I will be able to cut down on the number of bathroom breaks I take... :laugh: ) :laugh: :laugh:

4mykids

Day 3 - still clean. I'm missing my diet pepsi though. I actually have one sitting right beside me on my desk. It's been sitting there since Day 1. I'm keeping it warm so I won't be tempted to drink it as much - working so far...