1. No Bake Banana Cream Pie, ifoodreal // 2. Two Ingredient Peach "Ice Cream", One Part Plant // 3. Clean Eating Lemon Curd, The Gracious Pantry // 4. Blueberry Skillet Cobbler, One Part Plant // 5. Carrot Cake Energy Bites, Fitness Magazine // 6. Clean Eating Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake Bites, Clean Eating With A Dirty Mind // 7. Vegan Cherry Brownies with Coconut Cream, Jessica Murnane for Bubby & Bean // 8. Chocolate Avocado Mousse with Cacao Nibs, Fitness Magazine // 9. Vanilla Bean and Blueberry Chia Pudding, The Healthy Family and Home // 10. Clean Eating Pear and Apple Tart, The Gracious Pantry
A few weeks ago I was hanging out with a friend who had a baby about three months before I had Emmett. She looked amazing. And I don't just mean her body (which did look incredible) - I meant her, as a whole. Her skin and eyes and hair glowed. She even looked well rested, which I know, as the mother of three little ones under four, she isn't. She just looked healthy. I've been feeling pretty meh lately myself. I still have over fifteen pounds to get to my pre-baby weight, but that isn't even the issue. I've just been feeling out of shape, tired, and not like myself. I have been exercising some and eating okay, but I've known deep down that I needed to find a way to make a commitment to myself to take more drastic measures. I knew my friend worked out regularly, but there was something especially striking about her this time. So I asked her what she'd been doing, and she told me she'd been following a clean eating regiment. She had cut out all processed foods, sugar, and anything with more than five ingredients or anything she couldn't pronounce. Now I've always considered myself a healthy eater, but I'm a candy junkie and I love pizza and french fries and other junk food in a big way, and they always seem to creep in despite my best efforts. But I decided that for the month of May (because to make something a long term habit you have to start small, right?), I'm eating clean too. I did some research, made some grocery lists, and so far, have stuck to it. And I'm already seeing results. I have so much more energy, my skin looks better, and I've dropped some pounds too. (I'm also working out six days a week for 20-30 minutes. It's not much, but it's something.) I do allow some cheats (one cheat meal a week, occasional cheese, a boozy beverage here and there, etc.), which makes it feel less like pressure and more like fun.
My biggest challenge, as I knew it would be, is sweets. I love sugar. LOVE. IT. I am a sugar addict. So finding clean foods to satisfy my sweet tooth has been a big priority for me. (I have to stay sane through this, after all.) In my quest I've come across all sorts of delicious looking clean eating desserts, thank the universe. And for this edition of 10 Great, I thought I'd share some of my favorites. I've only tried a couple of these so far (#2 and #7), but plan on making all of them at some point. I mean a healthy salted caramel cheesecake bite? Sign me the F up.
Anybody else on the clean eating train? Which dessert above should I make next?
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hard to believe those are (healthy) desserts? they look too delicious! it is so hard to get the baby weight off ... I'm still working on that. sigh
ReplyDeleteI generally eat healthy, but I could never go without chocolate or BBQ chips :) Great desserts, especially #4 and #10!
ReplyDeleteSugar is a funny thing. I do love it - but when I decided to give up anything with more than 7 grams of it last fall, I found I didn't really miss it. Granted, I definitely have my cheat moments, but for the most part, after the first miserable week, I've stuck with it. Granted, it's much easier when I'm well-rested, because my ability to make good decisions decreased exponentially when I'm tired (so to be honest, I doubt I'd do nearly as well if I had two kids like you!) But honestly, as these recipes show, there's so many delicious things out there without a ton of sugar that, well, most of the time, who needs it? (That said, I will never be able to give up cheese. Ever.)
ReplyDeletexox,
Cee
I mean...avoiding things you cant pronounce seems like such an "I avoid all chemicals" thing to say. What if she couldnt pronounce aloe barbadensis, would she not buy the aloe vera drink?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure you know what that meant (any long, complicated ingredients that most likely indicate preservatives or synthetics), but that admittedly is kind of funny, Anonymous.
DeleteI just did something similar through my gym. It was a combination of workouts and nutritional guidelines called the 21 Day Burn, and it was clean eating like to Whole 30. I LOVED IT. It was kind of a hassle to eat that way all the time, because sometimes you just want to have nachos and beer, but I've decided I'm going to stick to it during the week. My skin cleared up, my dark circles weren't as pronounced, etc. I'm excited to see how you like it!
ReplyDelete