My Clean Eating Staple Foods and Other Recipes

Hey all! Sorry I've taken a big of a hiatus from posting.  I've been taking summer classes for the last 4 weeks and my fiance, Alex, left for USMC training this past Saturday, so things have been chaotic to say the least! It's been pretty tough having Alex gone this past week, mostly because I spend all my time with him (so much alone time right now.. aaaaah!) and also when it comes to planning meals for only one person. We have it set up so that Alex makes the food and I do the cleaning. He's an amazing chef so I don't mind! But unfortunately, I have to be able to eat over the next 6 weeks until he gets back, so I'm going to document my healthy eating escapades!

Anyone who knows me knows that I preach three things when it comes to clean eating:

1. Eat loads of lean meats.
2. Have vegetables with every meal.
3. NO PROCESSED FOODS!

Along with those guidelines, I'm trying to stay away from starches and I can't eat dairy anyway because I'm allergic (but if you're not allergic, you just shouldn't eat dairy because it's bad for you). I'll start by telling you my Clean Eating Must-Haves...

1. Almond Milk - because I don't eat dairy products, almond milk has become a life-saver. Any die-hard paleo person will tell you that you should get regular almond milk, but I'm not a die-hard and I like things that taste good so I prefer the sweetness of the vanilla. I use it as a coffee creamer, milk substitute, and it's obviously wonderful on cereal (when I decide to splurge a little and get cereal).

2. Fruit of Any and All Kinds - Fruit is nature's candy!! It's is wonderful to snack on and just tastes delicious. One of my favorite recipes is Paleo PB&J: almond butter, coconut, and your choice of raspberries or blueberries. Awesome snack!

3. Mixed Nuts - fun fact: peanuts are not nuts! They are actually legumes. I generally stay away from legumes because they're a fairly low-quality source of protein and contain a lot of phytic acid which prevents your body from absorbing the nutrients they do offer. Anyway, nuts are also a great snack and follow the paleo regimen, if that's what you're going for. 

4. Red Peppers - With vegetables, I would generally say you should plan out exactly how much you'll need with each meal for the week so that your produce doesn't go to waste. However, I like to get a couple red peppers whether I have them planned with meals or not. As I've said in the last two points, they are great to snack on.

5. Herbs and Spices - You have got to have spices to prevent your meals from being bland! No one wants to eat a piece of chicken totally plain.. that is super blah. Have lots of herbs and spices in your pantry to add some zest to your healthy eating.

6. Mustard - If Alex saw this on my list, he would definitely roll his eyes. I don't know why, but I just love mustard. It's super tangy and delicious; and much like spices, it adds an extra kick to a meal. I can't have pork burgers without mustard.

7. Naked Juice - I don't know if Naked Juice is really as healthy as they say it is, but for all intensive purposes, I'm just going to agree. If you look at the nutrition facts on the side of a bottle of Naked Juice under the "This Product Contains..." part, it always says something along the lines of "Banana, Apple, Orange, etc." No added sugar. No processed crap. Just fruit. LOVE IT! It can be a little pricey, so I try not to get it every week, but it is definitely a favorite of mine.


Now,  I've had an interesting week of cooking, and I've decided on a new favorite recipe that I found on www.stupideasypaleo.com. It's called the Coconut Wild Boar Burger. I've had pork burgers before, but holy crap these are delicious. I did use pork instead of wild boar (you can use either). The unique things about these burgers is the use of ginger and coconut. I never thought those two things would go well together, but it was delicious. I paired the burgers with sweet potato fries and steamed asparagus. It was an amazing dinner! Definitely a repeat. 

I'll be continuing to update you guys on my cooking escapades! If you need tips on clean or paleo eating, feel free to ask :)