I’ve recently returned to work after being a stay at home mom for nearly two years. What a culture shock! I’m working as a clerk in a hospital, and there is TONS of new stuff to learn. So needless to say, I’ve been pretty wiped out when I get home at night (The first week is always the hardest!).

So my honey has pitched in with trying to make dinner for us, and I have to say, he’s doing a FABULOUS job! I might make a cook out of him yet!

Tonight he made us this lovely taco salad, and I almost over ate because it was so delish! I was able to stop myself before I ate to much, but boy am I looking forward to lunch tomorrow! Here’s the recipe:

Clean Eating Taco Salad
(Makes as much as you’d like to make)

Meat mix ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey meat (the leaner the better)
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

All the other ingredients
Avocado – sliced or mashed (Try my clean eating guacamole’)
Corn – no sugar added
Lettuce – I used spring mix from Trader Joe’s
Black beans – no sugar added (again… Trader Joe’s)
Salsa (from where else…. Trader Joe’s)

Possible additional ingredients
Tomatoes
Onions
Olives
Low fat shredded cheese
Fresh cilantro

Directions
Step 1 – Prepare your meat in a non stick pan using either chicken broth or 1/2 tsp. olive oil to cook it. Add all “meat mix” ingredients to the pan and cook until the meat is done.

Step 2 – Prepare all other ingredients.

Step 3 – Layer all the ingredients on your plate and serve.

Eat and Enjoy!

RELATED READING:

• Clean Eating Chips And Guacamole’

Is French toast really French? Does anyone know? I mean, if the French invented this, I think I may need to relocate. I know they are culinary geniuses and all, but da-anggg! French toast R.O.C.K.S!

I’ll be adding this to my Saturday morning repertoire with my munchkin man. He loves it too. Here’s how I adapted an old recipe to a clean eating version.

Clean Eating French Toast
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 cup non fat milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
Whole wheat/grain bread (No sugar added)
Agave or maple syrup to taste

Ingredients

Directions
Step 1 – Combine your egg whites, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a bowl. Whisk until well blended.

Step 2 – Soak your bread in the mixture until it’s partially saturated (Don’t let it get too soggy or it will be a drag to get it out of the bowl)

Step 3 – “Fry” on a non-stick pan without any oil. Keep the heat low to medium low so it doesn’t burn. Cook a bit longer than you would regular french toast to be sure the egg gets cooked at the lower temperature.

Step 4 – Plate your food and top with your favorite French toast toppings!

Eat and Enjoy!

RELATED READING:

• Clean Eating Protein Waffles
• Clean Eating Kiwi Muffins
• Clean Eating Whole Wheat Pancakes
• Clean Eating Buckwheat Crepes
  

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Let them add the ingredients to the bowl, stir and soak the bread. They can also top their own French toast. Just set up the toppings like a buffett line with lots of healthy toppings. They’ll be happy as clams!

Note: Nutritional Content will vary depending on bread used.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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Don’t those look yummy? I think they do. They were yummy! I’ve been wanting to make stuffed mushrooms for quite some time now, and I finally got around to it. I’m thinking these will fit in nicely with my Easter menu. But I won’t get to ahead of myself here.

I made mine with regular ground turkey meat. But if you really want to give these a flavorful punch, use a clean eating turkey sausage instead. Just cut open the casing and chop up the insides. Yum! I might have to make these again…

Clean Eating Stuffed Mushrooms
(Makes 24 mushrooms)

Ingredients
24 medium to large white mushrooms
1/4 large red bell pepper – chopped fine
1/4 large green bell pepper – chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2/3 cup cooked turkey meat (or clean eating sausage – chopped)
Stems from your mushrooms – chopped fine
4 egg whites
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup tomato sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Clean mushrooms and gently remove the stems. Set stems aside.

Step 2 – Mix all ingredients (except mushroom caps) in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3 -Place your mushroom caps on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Step 4 – Using a small spoon, gently scoop your filling into your mushroom caps.

Step 5 – Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until your mushrooms have a nice golden brown appearance.

Step 6 – Serve immediately. They are best when they are right out of the oven.

Eat and Enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Wash their hands, then let them add the ingredients to the mixing bowl and have at it! They love to squeeze the “goo” between their fingers, and your mix will be very well…… mixed! Just be sure to wash their hands thoroughly afterward.

RELATED READING:

• Clean Eating Stuffed Zucchini
• Clean Eating Chips And Guacamole’
  

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1 mushroom

Calories: 21
Total Fat: 1 gm
Saturated Fats: 0 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 4 gm
Sodium: 43 mg
Carbohydrates: 1 gm
Dietary fiber: 70 gm
Sugars: 0 gm
Protein: 3 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 1

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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I love it when a great recipe happens on accident.

The truth is, I was trying to make the pizza dough recipe out of the Clean Eating Magazine I just bought, but I didn’t have enough of some ingredients, or any of the others. So I improvised.

I also cut down on the salt by half, and the oil by a third.

What I got, it probably the best pizza dough I’ve ever had. Soft, chewy and full of fabulous, bready flavor.

How I love pizza! I firmly believe it should be it’s own food group on the food group pyramid. But maybe that’s just me.

Oh I’m sorry, did you want the recipe? Silly me. Here ya go!

Clean Eating Pizza Dough
(Makes enough for 1 large pizza)

Ingredients
1 tbsp. agave
1 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups oat flour
4 tsp. vital wheat gluten
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions

Step 1 – Mix your agave and warm water together. Disolve the agave completely. Then add the yeast and let it sit (do not move the bowl or stir). It should foam.

Step 2 – While all this is taking place, mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl.

Step 3 – Once you have a nice bowl of foam, pour it into the flour mixture and stir until just blended. I had to knead a little with my hands to get everything blended.

Step 4 – Coat the base of a bowl with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Then, roll your ball of dough around in it to coat the surface. Cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Step 5 – If your dough is very wet, add 1/4 cup extra oat flour while you knead a second time. Mold the dough into a ball once more and let it rise for another half hour.

Step 6 – Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. Form to your pizza pan or a cookie sheet, and let rise for another 20-30 minutes (covered with plastic wrap) while you prepare your pizza toppings.

Top your pizza, bake and get ready to enjoy one yummy pizza!

Eat and Enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Kids love to mix dough. It’s in their nature to get their little hands into something to knead. It comes naturally. I firmly believe if you stick a bowl of dough in front of a kid, and don’t give them any instruction what so ever, they will instinctively know what to do. So let’em have at it! Measure the ingredients for them, and put them to work. They’ll certainly enjoy their pizza more knowing they helped make it.

RELATED READING:

• Clean Eating Thin Crust Pizza
• Clean Eating Quick Pizza
• Kids Pizza – Clean Eating Pizzadias
  

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I read about this flavor combination on another blog I read from time to time. One of the readers submitted their recipe. I never actually read the recipe, but the flavor combination really stuck with me. I love salmon, so I had to try it.

It was a nice change from the salmon I usually make. The unique combination of flavors really made me slow down and take notice of what I was eating.

Admittedly, I had to add a little salt to really bring out the flavors. But it was quite tasty and I’ll be making it again in the future.

Clean Eating Maple Cranberry Salmon
(Makes 2 fillets)

Ingredients
2 salmon fillets
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup cranberries (Preferably fruit juice sweetened)
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 1 – Mix your marinade ingredients in a bowl, being sure to properly disolve your maple syrup.

Step 2 – Place marinade and salmon into a ziplock bag, and let marinade for 20 to 30 minutes.

Step 3 – Pour all ingredients onto a parchment lined cookie sheet or cake pan and place in the oven.

Eat and Enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

While this recipe may be a bit advanced for younger cooks, they can still help by adding the measured ingredients into the bowl. They love to check the salmon as it sits in the marinade!

Note: Nutritional Content not available for this recipe due to the unspecified amount of salmon.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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Share This Post With A Friend]]> http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-maple-cranberry-salmon/feed/ 0 http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-quick-pizza/ http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-quick-pizza/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:00:47 +0000 The Gracious Pantry http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/?p=1710

I realize that pizza made on pita bread is not a new concept. I’m sure many of you have tried it.

But years ago, I belonged to weight watchers (haven’t we all at one point?), and I remember sitting in class wildly scribbling down recipes that some of the ladies were sharing.

At first, the idea of this pizza didn’t sound very appetizing. But if you’ve done weight watchers, you know that after a while, you just NEED to try something new. So I went for it.

OMG!!!! It was so good! I ate this pizza for the next week straight, and off and on, ever since.

The part I love is that it’s so quick and easy to make. Just layer your ingredients on a plate, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes, and you’ve got dinner. How’s THAT for a quick meal??? Okay. So here we go.

(You might also enjoy making your own Clean Eating Pita Bread. Would you rather make regular pizza? Try this recipe for Clean Eating Thin Crust Pizza)

Clean Eating Quick Pizza
(Makes 1 pizza)

Ingredients
1 whole wheat pita
1/4 cup tomato sauce or clean eating spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
Fresh spinach – as much as you can cram onto the pita

Directions

Step 1 – Place your pita on a microwave-safe plate.

Step 2 – Spread your sauce onto your pita.

Step 3 – Pile on the spinach. Go ahead, be greedy. Gluttony is a good thing in this case.

Step 4 – Put your cottage cheese on top.

Step 5 – Slide that puppy into the microwave and cook it for about 2 minutes until you have a nice, melted, cheesy mess on your plate.

Step 6 – Don’t forget the knife and fork. This is not the kind of pizza you want to eat with your hands.

Trust me.

I tried.

It wasn’t pretty.

My favorite white (now red) t-shirt will never recover.

Eat and Enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

This is a GREAT meal to get the kids involved with. There’s nothing here they can’t help with, unless they can’t reach the microwave. Just a little supervision, and you’ve got the kids entertained for at least 10-20 minutes, depending on the amount of toppings you offer.

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1 pizza

Calories: 297
Total Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fats: 2 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 10 gm
Sodium: 1064 mg – This will vary depending on the ingredients you use.
Carbohydrates: 45 gm
Dietary fiber: 6 gm
Sugars: 6 gm
Protein: 21 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 24

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

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I’ve been really struggling with this concept, so I have to ask you:  Are you still living clean if you get a flu shot?

My son is at the age where vaccines are part of the drill at the doctors office. Part of MY drill, not his.

You see, every time I take him into the doctor’s office, I get the same lecture and concerned looks from the doctors about the fact that my son has not had all his vaccines yet.

I got him his tentnis (and diptheria, because they don’t come separate) shot when he started crawling because I was concerned about what he may crawl in or on in his daily explorations. But he has had no other vaccines to date.

I keep trying to explain to them that my real concern is the frequency and number of shots given at such a young age. I just think there are too many shots all at once. Their poor little nervous systems can’t keep up. I mean, a hepatitis shot the day they are born? How many babies do you know that are going to go out and share needles with somebody the day they are born? Not likely. Plus, their little immune systems aren’t even up and running yet to create the necessary antibodies the vaccine is supposed to create!

But I digress.

When you consider that a vaccine is essentially filled with chemicals and preservatives, and you eat clean in order to try and avoid getting those very chemicals in your food, are you still “clean” if you get a flu shot? I mean, the whole point of eating clean is to avoid chemicals and preservatives. To put only real and living foods into your real and living body.

I’m not saying that getting a vaccine of any kind is wrong. It’s a totally personal decision. But I struggle with this. I haven’t had a flu shot in years, and I certainly will NOT be getting the H1N1 vaccine. They don’t even know if it works, and they certainly have not had the time to do the necessary research to prove it’s safe. But what about the regular flu shot? Is it worth braving those chemicals in your body to avoid a simple bout of the flu?

What about the one person in every million people who get the neurological disease called Guillain-Barré Syndrome from the flu shot. Is it worth the risk?

I realize people die each year from the flu. But I am a 35 year old woman who is relatively healthy. I’m eating right, and I exercise 6 days a week. Do I need a flu shot? Is it really worth the risk? Can I still call myself “clean” if I get one?

I read this article that seemed to really convince me that getting a flu shot was a bad idea. But now, I work in a hospital. So I have to weigh the consequences of both actions, and I can tell you it’s not an easy choice for me.

So, what I’m trying to ask in a very long-winded sort of way is, are flu shots a “healthy” part of a clean lifestyle?

I’ll let you know what I ended up doing when the time comes. Until then, it’s food for thought.

Ya, you read that right. Clean eating and “cookie dough” in the same sentence.

And yes, you WILL eat the whole batch. I admit it. I caved. I mean, you can’t call these things “clean”, and then eat just one. It’s not gonna happen. Sorry.

Actually, I take that back. I DID eat only one. Then I stuck the entire batch in the freezer. After a few hours, I tried another one, and another, and well… you get the idea. I’m embarrassed to say I did NOT want to share these with my son. But in my defense… I did. And he loved them. So this is a good one for the kids too! Hmm… should this be in my Clean Eating Kids section? Naaahhh! I think most clean eating adults will want these all to themselves like I did.

Just look at this face?

How could I not want to share a cookie with it??? Oh boy. I have a problem. I really did have a hard time giving these up. But the good news is, I can always make another batch. And so can you. I should mention I adapted this recipe from the Love Veggies and Yoga blog. Here’s the recipe!

Clean Eating Cookie Dough
(Makes 12 dough balls)

2/3 cup raw cashews
1/3 cup cooked oatmeal
3 tbsp Agave
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup chopped prunes (no sugar added)
1/2 cup almonds – ground to a consistency you like.

Directions

Step 1 – Grind your almonds in a food processor. Set aside in a separate bowl.

Step 2 – In your food processor, blend together your cashews, oatmeal, agave and vanilla.

Step 3 – When you have nice lumpy dough, fold in your prunes.

Now, I should warn you that this is a very sticky dough. Try chilling it in the fridge or even the freezer for a couple hours to help make it more manageable.

Step 4 – Roll the dough into 12 equal sized balls and roll in the ground almonds.

You can eat these as is, or you can freeze for several more hours. I highly recommend the freezing. Something about freezing it makes it taste so delish and so much like actual cookie dough! Don’t worry, you won’t break a tooth. It doesn’t actually freeze to a hard ball. You can still bite into it even when it’s frozen.

Eat and enjoy!

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Yes, this WILL be messy. But isn’t that half the fun? Let the kids have at it. They’ll have a blast. All you have to do is work the food processor….. and maybe do a little clean up!

Nutritional Content
1 serving = 1 dough ball

Calories: 73
Total Fat: 4 gm
Saturated Fats: 1 gm
Trans Fats: 0 gm
Cholesterol: 0 gm
Sodium: 3 mg
Carbohydrates: 8 gm
Dietary fiber: 1 gm
Sugars: 5 gm
Protein: 2 gm
Estimated Glycemic Load: 4

Nutritional Information estimated at Nutritiondata.com. Data may not be accurate.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

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I recently received an email from a reader asking about clean eating substitutions for a recipe she wanted to make. It got me to thinking that this would be good information for me to not only research for my own use, but to share with you all here.

I mean, let’s face it. If you eat clean, at some point, you will probably want to adapt a favorite recipe to suite your clean eating needs. So here is an outline for how to do just that.

I’ve based this list on things that I have cut out of my diet since I began eating clean. If you would like any help with substituting an particular ingredient, please leave a comment and I’ll see if I can help.

That said, I’d love to know what substitutions you use to keep your cooking and baking clean!

Sugar
The white stuff is pretty easy to substitute if you have a kitchen scale. Simply weight the amount of sugar called for in a recipe, and then use that same weight in agave. You can do the same thing with honey. (Don’t try to substitute by volume. 1 cup of sugar does NOT equal 1 cup of agave.)

Brown Sugar
Follow the directions above for weighing your sugar. Once you have the weight, use 3/4 agave and 1/4 molasses to get a flavor that is shockingly close to the real stuff. You can use honey here too, but it won’t have the same flavor. Agave is better when you are trying to achieve the flavor of brown sugar.

Oil
In cooking, if your recipe calls for more oil than you’d like to use, replace it with plenty of chicken broth and a non-stick pot or pan.

In baking, use 3/4 cup apple sauce (no sugar added), and 1/4 cup fruit puree (like pumpkin or banana) for each cup of oil. But be sure to add extra spices and extracts, as there is then little or no fat to enhance the flavor of what you are baking. Typically, 1 extra tsp. of extract or spices will do nicely. Watch your baking times closely as low fat/non fat items turn from raw to dry very quickly when in the oven.

Flour
White flour is not only used for baking, but also for thickening sauces and other culinary uses. If the texture of your recipe depends on the flour (like in baking), then stick to whole wheat pastry flour.

If the texture is not as important, you can substitute regular whole wheat flour or other flours such as oat flour.

Eggs
I found a fabulous source for all kinds of ways to replace eggs, either the whole egg or just the whites or yolks. Check it out here.

Gluten
This is such an involved subject that it would take me a whole other post to cover it. So instead, I’ll send you to the expert: The Gluten Free Goddess. her tips are excellent. I don’t cut gluten out of my diet, but I know many of your do.

That’s all I can think of for now. If you can think of anything I’ve forgotten here, leave a comment below so I can update this post to be a better reference for everyone.

Thanks!
Tiffany

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Now before you roll your eyes, I realize this is a pretty basic concept, not really worthy of being an actual recipe. I actually refer to this as the “Lazy-Girl’s-Sandwich”. It’s that simple.

But I’m posting about it because I’ve found that it can be so easy to get caught up in recipes and big pots of food when you’re learning to eat clean. I often overlook the simple things that are quick and easy to grab on the go.

So this is it. My big brain child. My not-so-complicated recipe for today.

Clean Eating Chicken Sandwich
(makes 1 sandwich)

Ingredient
2 slices of bread (1 slice for less carbs – open face sandwich anyone?)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast – baked
Prepared mustard – to taste
Fresh spinach – as much as you can cram onto the bread

Directions

I’m sure you don’t need directions on how to build a sandwich. I’ll trust you to figure that out on your own.

But I will say this: watch the portion of chicken. If you have one of those huge chicken breasts, you may want to cut it in half to cut down on the cholesterol. Who knew chicken was so high in cholesterol?!! I was shocked! But I guess it’s better than most of the meats out there. So I won’t complain.

Munchkin Helpers:

If you have little ones, here’s how they can help (With close supervision, of course).

Sandwiches are a GREAT way to get kids involved in the kitchen. Lay out all the ingredients for them and let them build their own. They’ll have fun, and they’ll be far more likely to eat it with veggies if they do it themselves.

Note: Nutritional content not available for this as it will vary depending on the bread used, and the amounts used with the rest of the ingredients.

Caution: Any time a child is in the kitchen, they will require close supervision. Munchkin Helpers suggestions should be applied with common sense to your own child, taking their own capabilities into account. Do not assume that because it says here that your child can do something, that they can, in fact do it. Please use common sense when in the kitchen with your child(ren).

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.