Clean Eating Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/meals/smc1228/minestrone-soup-with-quinoa-clean-eating/

I found this recipe in the last issue of Clean Eating Magazine. I don't follow it exactly, but here are my modifications and quick instructions. The recipe takes about 20-30 minutes to prepare and another 20-30 minutes of solo cook time.

Spray a stock pot with olive oil spray. Cook the following until tender (8 mins or so):

• 2 bay leaves
• 1 C chopped carrots
  
• 1 C chopped fennel
• 1 C chopped red onion
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced (I put the carrots, fennel, onions and garlic in the food processor until they are chopped - mine get to a pretty fine consistency)
• Sometimes based on what is in my fridge, I might add a chopped red pepper or chop a few stalks of celery

When veggies are done cooking, add:

• 2 t chopped thyme (I just pull the little leaves right from the 'twig' and don't bother chopping)
• 1/4 t fennel seeds (not terribly important if you don't have them)
• 6 C water
• 2 cans Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, no salt added variety (I get these at Meijer, Kroger, etc, in the organic food section)
• Beans - the recipe calls for white kidney (cannelloni) beans. I usually get a 15 oz can, drain and rinse. However, rinsing doesn't get rid of a ton of the sodium, so the last time I made this soup I bought dry beans and made my own. I couldn't find dry cannelloni beans, so I used great northern beans. They have a similar size, shape, consistency and flavor. Making the beans added a little more time to the recipe as I needed about 2 hrs to quick soak and cook. When using my own cooked beans, I added about a cup and a half cooked to the mixture.
  
• 1/3 C quinoa (pronounced KEEN–wah; quinoa is often called a superfood - it's grain like, high in protein, and easy to digest. Read here for a nice article on its awesomeness: http://www.menshealth.com/men/nutrition/food-for-fitness/quinoa/article/b19f96cf917d1110vgnvcm20000012281eac. You can find quinoa in any grocery store, but I buy mine at costo in a 3lb bag for 10 bucks. Cheap!!)

Let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes until the quinoa has a chance to cook. Remove bay leaves before eating. The recipe calls for some chopped fresh basil and chopped fresh spinach thrown into each bowl as you prepare to eat. I will cut the basil and spinach (a handful of each) into thin slices and throw it into the pot while it's cooking. Top each cup of soup with 1 T grated romano cheese and salt/pepper to taste.

This particular recipe gets me anywhere from 11 to 13 cups of soup. One cup of the soup (with 1T romano cheese) has approximately:
100 calories
3 g fat
13 g carb
7 g protein
5 g fiber
172 mg sodium

To up my protein and calorie intake (and make this enough for a meal), I add 3 oz cubed chicken breast (you could very well use a rotissere chicken for this purpose) or a cooked tilapia filet (individually frozen bulk bag from costco - 10 minutes in the oven).

A batch of this soup made on Sunday gives me lunch and dinner options for the entire week!

What do I eat?

I was recently asked about what I eat, how much I eat, and how often I eat by a friend... I wrote quite a lengthy response, so I figured I'd share it here.

Calories:

• Typically 2000 calories is the standard, but you need to adjust that up or down based on your goals, current activity level, and then it's really a moving target once you start. I have played with my caloric intake for the last year or so, going up and down anywhere between 1300 cals and 2200 cals depending on my activity level at the time and how heavy I was lifting. There are great calculators online for determining what your basal metabolic rate is and using this as a starting point for determining caloric needs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/g/BMR.htm

The Basics:

• Eat every 2-3 hours (breakfast is a MUST, even if you're not hungry. It jump starts your metabolism)
  
• Drink LOTS of water. I drink about a gallon a day (128 oz). You pee a lot in the beginning, but your body gets used to it.
• Eat a good combination of foods at every meal - lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats.
• Steer clear of alcohol - slows the metabolism and lowers inhibitions, which leads to crap eating.
  
• Remember that liquid calories count just as much as solid - pop, juice, coffee, Gatorade, etc. Try and limit yourself to water and tea. Carbonated beverages (even calorie free) still cause bloat and discomfort. Plus, have you seen all of the chemicals in a diet pop?
• Eat clean - this means eating food as close to its natural form as possible. Try to stay away from things that are processed or have more than a handful of ingredients. If it contains something you can't pronounce or sounds like a chemical, stay away. This is probably the most important aspect of everything. People that adopt a clean eating lifestyle can lose weight without ever trying to work out. Your body's metabolism is slowed down by the amount of chemicals and processed crap that we put into it every day.
• Subset of eating clean/processed foods - stay away from anything WHITE. White bread, white flour, white sugar, etc. You can eat bread, just get whole grain bread. Anything that says 'enriched' is garbage. Sugar is the devil - it's so refined and overly processed - along with white flour. There are other alternatives to those. Whole wheat flour, for example. Or oat flour. For sugar, there are tons of non processed options - honey, agave nectar, and tons more natural types of sugar. Clean eating isn't about giving up the stuff you like - it's about eating it in a different way.
• READ LABELS!
  
• Pay attention to portion sizes. I bought a food scale and measuring cups and it's amazing to realize how our food portion sizes are so distorted. Just look at the massive sizes of cups, plates and bowls - compare these to the size of dishes 10, 15 years ago. It's eye opening to see how large a true portion is.
  
• PREPARE. This helped me SO MUCH in the beginning. On Sundays, I take an hour or two and cook some food for the week and plan out a meal list. That way I always have something handy and never have to give into the temptation to eat crap just because its quick and easy. That's no excuse.
  

Typical Schedule:
7:30 am: Breakfast
Mid-morning (10, 10:30): Snack 1
Between 12 and 1: Lunch
Mid-afternoon (3ish): Snack 2
6-7 pm: Dinner
9 -10pm: Snack 3

This is a pretty standard day, but can change a bit based on how often and when I work out. If I'm training at night, I'll break up my dinner into two sittings - something small about an hour before I train (lower fat, slightly higher carb - maybe a bowl of Kashi and milk) and then something small right after I train (3 oz fish and a bowl of soup or veggies, half sweet potato).

Examples of meals:

Breakfast:

• Protein oatmeal: 1/2 c quick cook oats and water, nuked. Add 3 or 4 egg whites and a scoop of protein powder, nuke again for a minute. Maybe add some cinnamon.
• High protein cereal (kashi go lean) and skim milk or almond milk.
• Scrambled egg whites w spinach and salsa in a whole grain tortilla.
  
• Lately I've been making protein pancakes - mix 1/3 c fat free cottage cheese, 2T ground flax seed, half scoop vanilla protein powder, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, and 4 egg whites (add the egg whites last so they don't get too mixed). Spoon onto a skillet and cook like pancakes. Mmm!
  

Snacks:

• Raw Almonds (Small handful - 20 or so)
• Celery with natural peanut butter (very important to have natural, no oils, sugars or salts added - I like the Trader Joe's brand (pretty cheap @ 2 bucks, or Krema Natural - make sure peanuts are the only ingredient)
  
• Apple w/peanut butter or almond butter (same rules apply to any other nut butter)
  
• Fat free Greek yogurt (Oikos or Fage - tons of protein) with a scoop of protein powder
• Fat free Greek yogurt with chopped apples and walnuts
  
• Sliced red peppers with hummus

Lunch:

• Chicken breast with broccoli (I grill 5 or 6 chicken breasts on Sunday - frozen ones in a bag from costco - and then put them in baggies for the week so I just need to nuke). I either get frozen broccoli or fresh and put it in a microwave steamer bag - 3 minutes and your lunch is done.
• Salads with chicken breast - I like spinach/onion/sliced apple/fat free feta, or romaine/black beans/salsa/red onion/low fat shredded cheese.
• Soup - there is a minestrone soup that I LOVE right now, I make it once on Sunday and eat it for lunch and dinner all week. It makes about 13 cups and it's super easy to make. (I'll have to post the recipe.)
  

Dinner

• Protein:

• Grilled chicken
• Baked tilapia (I buy individually frozen filets in a bulk bag from costco - they work out to a little over $2 a piece. They defrost in the sink in about 15 minutes and only take 10 minutes in the oven. It's my favorite white fish - not 'fishy' at all.)
• Grilled salmon (again, individually frozen bulk bag from costco)
• Steak (lean cuts)

• Veggies:

• Anything really. In the summer I like grilling asparagus, zucchini. In the winter I like doing sweet potatoes, spaghetti squash, red skins, or baked crispy kale. Or when I'm super lazy, I eat a cup of that minestrone soup.

You should aim to get in a lean protein (any lean meat, low fat dairy, egg whites, protein substitute if necessary), complex carb (sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal, wheat pasta) and healthy fats (avocados, olive oil (teaspoon drizzled over veggies), nuts, nut butters, fatty fish (like salmon)) at every meal.

Whew! That's a lot of info. It's really just the HIGH level. I could go into so much more detail about the differences in carbs (high glycemic vs low glycemic), dairy vs no dairy, natural properties of veggies, supplements (which is a whole other discussion)... I could go on for days, but this is enough to get you started.

I have been reading about nutrition, exercise, and supplementation for the last year and a half. It has become somewhat of an obsession (just ask anyone who knows me). If you have any specific questions, or want something addressed in further detail, just let me know! You can email me at sarahmcook@gmail.com.

Good luck!

Mmmm.... baked goods :)

I am a sucker for anything sweet... savory... fruity... anything containing chocolate... and anything that isn't good for me. Since I've been eating clean, I have banished all of my prior "cheats" from my diet. No vitatops, no peanut butter marshmallow protein bars (those things are like candy bars anyway), and especially no sugar free fudgesicles (do you know how many chemicals are in those things??)! In my search for "clean" sweets, I came across a really great blog - SimplyClean (http://marialouisepeters.blogspot.com/). Maria has some GREAT treat recipes on her blog, and I decided to try my hand at two last night.


Chocolate-Banana Protein Muffins
1 cup oats, divided

2 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 tbsp raw almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao nibs (You can get these at any health food store - I actually got mine at the Vitamin Shoppe)
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp amber agave nectar (I only had light agave in the house, and they turned out just fine)

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray 12 cups of a muffin tray with olive oil or use cupcake/muffin liners.
Blend 1/2 cup oats in food processor to make oat flour. Combine oats, oat flour, protein powders, cocoa powder, sea salt, almonds, and cacao nibs in a medium sized bowl.
In the bowl of a food processor combine mashed banana, applesauce, vanilla, honey, and agave nectar. Process until smooth.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Distribute mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake 13 -15 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool on a wire rack. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Makes 12 muffins.

Nutrition info per 2 muffins: 216 cals, 6g fat, 30g carb, 18g protein, 6g fiber.

My review: these are WONDERFUL. They are full of chocolate, dense and chewy. I stuck them in the freezer so not to eat the entire batch when they came out of the oven. You know what? They are really good frozen, too! They were super easy to make. I just bought a mini food processor, so the prep was really simple. A note about the almonds - the recipe didn't specify what exactly to do with them - so I threw them in the food processor and ground them up a bit.

Since I love all things baked, I decided to try the carrot cake muffin recipe that Maria posts as well.

Carrot Cake Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour or any gluten-free whole grain flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
2 cups carrots, grated
1 (4-ounce) jar carrot baby food
1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, skim milk or unsweetened soy milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar, pure maple syrup or molasses
½ cup organic zero or sucanat
½ c walnuts
½ cup raisins, unsweetened

Preheat over to 350˚ F. Mist 24 muffin tins with olive oil or line with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients – whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt.

In a medium bowl combine wet ingredients – grated carrots, carrot baby food, applesauce, milk, vanilla, sweeteners.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until moist, do not over mix. Gently stir in walnuts and raisins.

Add batter to prepared muffin tins and bake for 45 – 55 minutes.

Cool completely before icing with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz neufatchel cream cheese, brought to room temperature
2 tbsp agave nectar, molasses or pure maple syrup
2 tbsp organic zero or fine sucanat (place sucanat in food processor for 30 seconds)
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and mix until combined. Spread on cooled muffins.

Nutrition Information for 1 muffin with approximately 1/2 tbsp frosting: Calories 111; Fat 3; Carbohydrates 20, Fiber 2, Sugar 7; Protein 3

I modified the frosting slightly, adding a scoop of no-flavor protein powder (my new favorite is Detroit Bodybuilding Company 100% Whey Protein) and using 1/3 less fat neufatchel cheese.

And the consensus is... these muffins are DELICIOUS! It's like a little piece of carrot cake heaven. In fear of eating the entire batch (2 dozen!), I promptly packaged them up and sent them home with friends and family.

I’ve started the program - why am I not losing any weight?

It’s either because you’re not eating enough (see previous blog), or it’s a normal side effect from lifting weights. Check out this article for a really good explanation as to why some people see no weight loss (and even weight gain) during the first few weeks of a new program.

http://chalenejohnson.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-do-you-sometimes-gain-weight-when.html

Weight Watchers vs. Weight Lifting - What Do I Eat?

When I first started P90X, I was still following Weight Watchers and eating my 20 points per day – which was roughly 1150 calories. I saw the p90x nutrition guide that comes with the program and saw that my recommended calorie allowance was anywhere from 1800 to 2200 calories a day. What the heck?! No WAY was I going to start eating that much. I worked too hard counting my points to lose those 30lbs or so. Plus, I figured, it’s simple– take in less calories, burn more calories working out, I’ve GOT to lose weight, right? A month into p90x I was still counting points and didn’t lose a single pound. And I was busting my butt 6 days a week! It was discouraging. The more I started reading on calorie consumption, the more I realized that the people at p90x were right – I NEEDED to eat more. I was starving myself on 1200 calories a day – and if I worked out and burned another 500 calories, I was really only at a net caloric intake of 700 calories! Even without vigorous exercise, the 1200 really aren’t enough calories to live on. When you go into such a substantial caloric deficit, your body thinks that it’s being starved – and holds onto everything you take in for dear life, storing it as fat. Our bodies are really smart like that – if it thinks a famine is on the way, it’s going to prepare by storing as much as possible. I finally let go of my point counting, and started eating more. I started monitoring my caloric intake (I use a site called the daily plate), and am now eating anywhere from 1600-2200 calories a day. Right away, I dropped 4 lbs. My metabolism was re-started! I am now eating enough to properly fuel my workouts, build muscle (which in turn burns calories – 25x more than your fat does!), and be healthy. I eat anywhere from 5-7x a day, which may sound like a lot, but isn’t too bad with a little preparation.

Here is a sample day:

• 6am - workout
• 7:30am - Breakfast – 1/4 c dry oatmeal, 3 egg whites, 1t flax seed oil, 1 scoop protein powder
• 10am - Snack 1 – 1c greek yogurt, ½ c berries, 1T flax seed
• 12:30 - Lunch – 3c baby leaf spinach, 4oz chicken breast, 1T balsamic vinegar, ¼ c goat cheese, ½ c mixed berries, 1T sliced almonds
• 3pm - Snack 2 – String cheese, apple, 2T peanut butter
• 5:30pm - After work snack – ¼ almonds, protein shake, red pepper slices, ¼ c cottage cheese – just something to keep me going until dinner so I don’t completely overeat
• 7:30pm - Dinner – 4 oz protein (chicken, salmon, tilapia, turkey), 2c steamed veggies, ¼ c brown rice
• 10pm – Snack (sometimes) – ½ c almond milk with 2T chocolate protein powder, ¼ c cottage cheese with 1T sugar free preserves, protein shake – I still have the mentality that I need to have something “sweet” at night. I should really be calling it quits after dinner, but some habits are hard to break.

I make all of my chicken breasts on Sunday – pop 6 or 7 in the oven and cook them for an hour, and then put them all in baggies so I have them ready for the week. It takes me all of 10 minutes each night to prepare my lunch for the next day, and my dinners are not extravagant enough to where it takes me more than half an hour to prepare/cook. I limit alcohol as much as possible. I didn’t drink for almost the entire p90x period – it’s nothing but empty calories and slows down your metabolism – so why bother?


Two GREAT books to read in regards to diet and caloric intake:

• The Clean Eat Diet by Tosca Reno. Your body is probably 10% genetics, 10% gym time, and 80% what you put in your mouth. You can work out til the cows come home, but if you’re not eating the proper foods, you’ll never see the results. This books explains what to get rid of and what to add into your diet. I notice a HUGE difference when I eat clean.

• The New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler. This book is great to explain just why your body needs so many calories to survive and how many calories it takes to build a pound of muscle. Muscle burns fat, so to build muscle, we need to eat more (and eat the right kinds of food), in addition to working out. This book changed the way I looked at caloric intake.