Here we GO!
Drew and I have made some big changes to our daily eating habits and I'm excited to talk about it! We've both been working out (Drew with running and lifting weights) and I with my Dailyhiit.com (high intensity interval training) and weight lifting workouts. We are tired of not seeing the results we want so we decided to change things up a little. We're not trying to lose weight.. we're trying to burn fat. We're actually trying to GAIN weight! The good kind..
I gave up soda for Lent so I was already a little more used to the concept of cutting back on sugar. I was talking to Drew about "clean eating" and how it is so important when you're looking to burn fat and see the muscle definition that you work hard to gain. There are a few different views on "clean eating" but basically we avoid packaged foods (soda, candy, snack foods like Little Debbies, cookies, most breads that aren't whole grain, etc.) We enjoy lean meats, veggies, fresh fruit, eggs, milk, and some cheeses in moderation.
Clean eating isn't a diet.. it's a change to our eating habits. We pay attention to sugar most importantly and try to stay below our daily recommended allowance. For example, my daily allowance is 38 grams (at 5'6" and weighing 128lbs). It's TOUGH to stay below 38! We also try to eat our body weight in grams of protein (yep, 128?!) because we're working to build muscle.
The reason I'm sharing this information is because I want to show friends and family the huge difference in "clean eating" vs the other way of eating. I've made revisions to a few of my recipes (they're not all 100% clean but are definitely improved). I love figuring out the nutrition with myfitnesspal app on my phone. Here are a couple of things I've noticed:
This is the nutrition for my homemade spaghetti sauce (left) vs Prego Chunky Garden Combo (right). This is for 1 cup of sauce. Big differences in calories, sodium and sugar! Yes, it takes time to make the sauce.. but it makes a big batch and can be frozen. Interested? Here's the recipe:
A's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
2 T olive oil
1 c onion
3 oz baby carrots
3-4 cloves garlic
28oz diced tomatoes
29oz tomato sauce
12oz tomato paste
2 c water
3 t fresh basil (or the stuff in the tube)
2 t dried parsley
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 c red wine
Process onion, carrots and garlic in food processor until finely chopped. (I do this to "hide" veggies for the family I cook for. The kids love spaghetti and don't know it's full of the good stuff!) Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat and add veggies. Cook 3-4 minutes until tender. Add all tomatoes, water, spices and stir well. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Add in wine. Simmer on low 1-2 hours (or longer) stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn! Serves 12
Need some meatballs too?
Here's my recipe (left) vs Rosina's frozen Italian Style (right)
Similar calories (that's for 6 meatballs by the way) but compare the FAT!
Easy Meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
2 T milk
1/2 c bread crumbs (I used one slice of Earthgrains Wheat Berry, processed into crumbs)
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup carrots
1 clove garlic
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use food processor to finely chop the garlic, onion and carrots. Combine all ingredients (except the beef) and mix well. Add in beef and mix with fork. Make 24 meatballs (I use a small cookie scoop so they're about 1 1/2" each). Bake 20 minutes.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we do!
