I Eat “Conveniently” Clean. No Excuses.
March 13, 2010
Not the “convenient” you all may be thinking and yes, it’s possible. People ask me what I eat all the time because they want to know how I keep the weight off, build muscle, keep my energy levels high for physical activity and minimize cravings. Let’s get something straight before I start this blog post. I am not a 100% clean eater (although I strive for 100%), I am not a 100% organic eater and I am not a perfect eater, but I overall eat well and pay attention to what I put into my mouth. I eat about 95% well about 100% of the time and I think that’s very good *applauding myself*. I do allow myself to eat bad things once in a while and that’s why I left off that 5% off of my eating well percentage. I try not to have to cook which means that I also eat raw food half of the time as well.
WARNING: BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER
Let me start off by warning you all that this is going to be a long post with pictures and I hope that most of you will read it to its entirety because it may help you with your eating well struggles. This will be the last time I’ll be answering this question. If someone asks me this question again I’m just going to simply to point them to this blog post.
Everything explained in this post is how I eat and do things, in regards to nourishing myself, on a daily basis, nothing more and nothing less. This is it! Now back on topic!
What are some of the bad foods that I love to eat?
So first things first. Let me get the ugly stuff out of the way first. What are some of the bad foods that I love to eat? I’ll list them out.
1. Skinny Vanilla Lattes Venti from Starbucks
2. Chocolate Mousse anything
3. Nachos Bell Grande from Taco Bell
4. Granny’s Sweet Potato Pie
5. Pepsi
6. All of the snacks at Disney World
7. Smoked turkey wings and legs
8. Double Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper
9. Chicken Parmesan and Spaghetti from our favorite diner
10. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
11. Blueberry Muffins by Costco
12. Crunch n’ Munch
13. Ice Cream Sandwiches
14. Chocolate Cookies from Subway
15. Cherry and Peach Cobbler from Whole Foods
16. Sushi
17. Chinese Take Out - love, love, love and it’s so so nasty at the same time!
18. FRENCH FRIES…I have a serious addiction to these. 
…and I’m sure there’s more, but you all get the idea. With the exception of #1 and occasionally #2, #3 and #16 I don’t eat much of my favorite things anymore because they are simply not good for me and when something or somebody is not good for you what do you do about it, him or her? You dump it. Common sense.
What do I eat and what do I use to prepare and store them?
Next, what do I eat and what do I use to prepare them? Well, I eat fairly simple. I do not diet anymore unless I have a certain fitness goal to achieve. I am, unfortunately, not a recipe person because I just don’t have time for it. I love to eat fancy food sometimes, but what I cook is good enough and it’s tasty.
I try to get my hands on wild and free-range proteins, organic vegetables and fruits and I do a good job of finding them at good prices too. I shop at Trader Joes, A&P, Costco and Whole Foods. I no longer shop at fisher markets like the ones in Chinatown in New York City because most of the fish and seafood they sell are farmed…it wasn’t always that way. This recession is a mess, huh?
I also have no problem with eating the same things everyday. No sweat. Here are examples of what I eat, how I store and prepare.
My first Wild Ahi Tuna and I bought it from Costco and I paid…
…for it. I seasoned it with these things…
And here are some details about that Organic No-Salt Seasoning I used…
It basically has every staple spice and seasoning you need all in one container. Simple! I got it from Costco for about 8 bucks. I use this on all of my proteins all of the time. Saves time and money.
I let it marinate for about a couple of days in the refrigerator and then I use a little bit of this…
…on my…
…Forman Grill. I haven’t used pots and pans in a very long time. Not true. I do use a pot of water to put under my steaming basket and to make my egg whites in the morning. I also use a rice cooker for my Basmati brown rice, a food processor to grind up my flaxseeds, a toaster to brown my whole wheat or whole grain bread slices, a steaming basket for my veggies and a blender to make my protein shakes. I keep all of my bulk foods in our second refrigerator and it looks like this…
Right now on the top shelf I have several boxes of egg whites, a container of baby spinach, wheat germ, ground flaxseed, Naked juice, a small box of Quaker rolled oats that I use as a refillable conatiner), green tea tea bags…
On the second shelf, I have a container of organic spring mix salad, organic cherry tomatoes, two big Ziploc bags of strawberries, Canadian bacon, my Ahi Tuna and a bag of baby carrots…
On the third shelf I just have a bag of organic sweet potatoes and a big bag of large apples. I also have a big box of California oranges as well as a jar of Smucker’s natural peanut butter, a bag of blue corn chips and a bag of walnuts not pictured. More convenient foods in the door of our second refrigerator…
…like light yogurt and microwavable brown rice when I’m pressed for time.
Powerade Zero, more Naked juices, 1% milk fat cottage cheese, water, more wheat germ…
Already made, fresh salsa from Trader Joes and soy milk (Note to my Clean Eats Recipes teammates: yes, I relapsed on the soy milk…I held off as long as I could, but rice, coconut and almond milk sucks!!! — forgive me. Ha!)
In the freezer I have wild cod fillets, wild Alaskan salmon patties (so good), a bag of baby shrimp, a bag of large shrimp, whole wheat bread, whole grain bread, chicken patties (with low everything in the nutrition facts from Trader Joes), bags of my own marinated, free range chicken breast cutlets, fresh brussels sprouts that I bagged myself, and plain turkey burgers.
In the freezer door, believe it or not, that’s all fresh brocolli. Brocolli is a super food and I eat it every single day…raw or steamed. Zip Loc baggies are the greatest invention, I think, ever created. Buy in bulk and freeze your goodies!!!
On the top of our second refrigerator I keep my…
…gigantic box of oats, a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, onions and lots of cans of albacore tuna in water.
Last, but not least…EVERYTHING ELSE! Plus tips!
Yes, I eat cereal. I only eat Flax Plus by Nature’s Path who makes all natural, high in nutrients, organic cereals. I put my cereal into a canister that I can see through to make sure no dust or bugs have gotten in and this canister seems to keep my cereal fresh. I find that almond, coconut and rice milk with is cereal tastes disgusting so I’m back to using soy milk with it. If anybody got a problem with that then shoot me an email and we can talk about it. LOL!
I think I made a mistake in buying Creatine because I only drank it once and couldn’t finish it, it tastes fake, it tastes like it contains NutraSweet in it (I didn’t read the container - shame on me) and I forget that I have it. *shrugs* I’m going to end up giving it away.
I drink one protein shake a day and I use EAS powder mix in vanilla. Yummy! I use this as a meal replacement for my afternoon snack which holds me through my evening workout before dinner.
Up until now, I’ve only been drinking water and plain green tea. I am now drinking 4 ounces of Naked juice once a day to keep the cravings away. I love the nutrition facts….here is what it says for “blue machine”: 8 fl. oz., cal. 179, sodium 10mg, pot. 370mg, carb. 40g, dietary fiber 7g, sugars 29g, protein 1g.
Lastly, I do throw in a tablespoon of low-fat mayo made with olive oil into my tuna salads. I eat bananas sparingly or whenever I get in the mood for them. I eat a handful of blueberries and one large strawberry in my 1/4 cup of oats every morning. What else? I use mustard, Smart Balance butter (1 pat) on my breads whenever I eat bread and I don’t eat bread everyday. I do not use added sugars ever - not even Stevia or Agave Nectar - there is really no need for it. I eat only eat Basmati brown rice now and I eat 1 cup of it everyday. I’m focusing on getting all of my grains in, hence the whole wheat and whole grain breads I have on hand. I sometimes throw in avocado slices instead of olive oil into my salads and that works well with balsamic vinegar. So the only fats I consume is low fat olive oil mayo, olive oil, avocado and Smart Balance butter.
I use fresh, chunky salsa in my proteins when I want to spice them up when I don’t to just eat them grilled as I do a lot. I don’t use sauces from cans or jars…I make my own if I need to. I go by serving sizes for 1 whenever I eat anything. For example, 1 serving of blue corn chips is 17 chips and I never go over that. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a little sea salt, black pepper and oregano is my salad dressing all the time - I use only two tablespoons of dressing on my salads no matter how big they are.
I am a serious label reader. If something is too high in added sugar, sodium, carbs and fat I don’t eat it. The food must have a good amount of nutrients in it or I won’t eat it. I eat basically the same foods all the time and everyday. I don’t look at food as recreation or as a vehicle for comfort anymore, but as fuel for my body and for my body to run properly it must be given good fuel to prolong its longevity. I don’t over eat ever or I lose energy and fall asleep. I eat five to six small meals a day. I also eat veggies and fruits that are in season so it doesn’t mean that if you don’t see it in my fridge that I don’t eat them.
I don’t eat white potatoes, white rice, white pasta (I haven’t been eating pasta at all lately not even wheat), white bread or white sugar (I don’t use sugar at all not even brown or syrups). I eat walnut halves (12 halves) and natural peanut butter (1 table spoon) as a protein in my diet every day. I don’t eat candy or sweets, but I will taste them every once in a while because I can. When I was big and trying to lose weight I didn’t because I couldn’t or I’d still be big today. Thank God I wised up before it was too late!
If I know I’m going out for the day and I’m going to be away from my food I take a couple or three small Ziploc bags of protein with me. Outside you can always find a salad. So what I do is dump my grilled chicken on top and ask for olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing. I carry grilled chicken, grilled fish and/or tuna in my bag. Sounds crazy to put a Ziploc bag of Tuna in my Louie, but hey, whatever works. As long as I’m not eating junk outside I’ll carry whatever in my Louie. Just make sure you double up the Ziploc bags to prevent accidents like leaks. I also carry an apple, orange, walnuts and a bottle of water almost always in my bag to have as snacks on the go.
I try to eat the best way that I can, in a timely fashion where I don’t go broke and slaving in the kitchen while doing it. I don’t mind paying the price for goods foods because they made me who I am today and I love them all for it. When you buy in bulk, you save money and you eat small meals so it lasts a long time. I go shopping for food every two weeks so that’s how long the foods that I have, even in my second refrigerator, lasts us. We don’t keep food too long because the longer you freeze food the more nutrients and freshness it loses over time.
The best thing about the way I eat it is that it takes me about 15-20 minutes tops to prepare my family’s dinner. Throw the protein on the grill, throw the veggies in the basket and throw a hearty salad together. No brainer. The only food that may take a while to cook is sweet potatoes because I have to bake them, but when in a hurry I microwave them. I find that traditonal convenience foods like most that crap located in the inner aisles of the market costs far more than the good foods located around the perimeter of the store. It takes longer to make Hamburger Helper than it is to grill a pound of tuna, steam 4 cups of fresh broccoli and put together a salad…believe me, I know ALL about Hamburger Helper. Okaaaaay?!
I’ve heard every excuse in the book and while most of the time I don’t give my opinions on them when I come across them, best believe I’m thinking about how ridiculous those excuses are. And I can think they are ridiculous because I was one who had an excuse every day as to why I couldn’t do this or that or whatever. Search my blog for pictures…I was a big girl not too long ago. And not only that, eating well is not all about being at a healthy weight or being skinny, it’s about preserving your shell (you only get one body so take care of it), feeling better physically, minimizing the risk of disease and even death.
Well, I think that’s it boys and girls. If you have any questions or comments…leave a comment and I’ll get back to you all ASAP!
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