1 large sweet potato and 1 large russet baking potato (1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and sliced into thin strips
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
In a bowl, toss together the potatoes, oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Halfway through, turn the fries over and continue baking.
Remove the fries from the oven and place them on several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with the salt.
This is another recipe from the Flat Belly Diet that was delish! The kids even chowed down! It would also make a great dinner party dish. It looks pretty plated up, yet is so easy! One serving equals under 400 calories, so it not only looks good and tastes good, it's good for you!
Chicken Roulade
Adapted from Prevention.com
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach
4 chicken breasts (about 4 ounces each), trimmed
In a medium nonstick skillet, combine the tomato, onion, 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon water. Turn the heat to medium. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the onion sizzles. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring once, for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Add in spinach and parm cheese and let simmer on low.
While you prepare the spinach mixture, grill the chicken until done. Serve the grilled chicken breasts with the spinach mixture on top, sprinkled with more parm cheese if you like.
As I've mentioned before, the hubs and I did the Flat-Belly Diet 4-day cleanse several weeks ago. And while I'm not diving into the diet hardcore, I've picked out several recipes from the Flat-Belly Diet book to try and share with you. The basic gist of the diet is to eat four 400-calorie meals and include at least one MUFA (monounsaturated fat) in each meal. For example, the MUFA for this meal is the EVOO. I like the idea of incorporating a MUFA in each meal, which we do for most meals anyway!
Anyway, the cheesy spinach ziti was just okay. It came out a little dry but still had good flavor.
Cheesy Spinach Ziti
1/4 cup whole wheat penne
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup nonfat ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons shredded italian four-cheese blend
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons onions, sliced
1/2 cup newman's own marinara pasta sauce (I left out the marinara but prob should have used it to make the dish less dry)
Cook the pasta according to package directions, then toss with all remaining ingredients.
Before I started the whole journey to eating clean, I did a 10-day Advocare Cleanse to clear out my system, so to speak. It did wonderful things for my energy levels and helped get my mindset into eating clean. Well, nine months later, I decided I needed another push of the reset button. I've been doing really well overall, but summer has been hard for overeating and not choosing good foods. So, I am doing another cleanse, but this time I am doing the Flat Belly Diet 4-day Anti-Bloat Cleanse.
I am not a fan of diets at all because I think they set you up for eating unrealistically and while you may have success at the beginning, it usually fades pretty quickly. I'm more for lifestyle changes that you can adopt for the rest of your life. I came across the Flat Belly Diet and was skeptical at first, but after reading through the book, I decided to try the cleanse and then adopt some of the diet. The diet is basically a 1600-calorie Mediterranean diet that includes a MUFA (monounsaturated fat) in every meal. You can read more about it here and here.
I'll talk more about the diet as I go along, but I wanted to tell you all about the cleanse. I definitely felt less bloated afterwards, but pretty hungry each day. I definitely did not consume enough calories for my 14k training and bonked on one of my runs. Overall, it was a great way to reset my appetite and I did lose a few pounds. I will continue to drink the Sassy Water because was very refreshing and suppressed my appetite.
Here's what was on the menu for each day (plus my modifications). I took some creative liberties and swapped out some of the sides and changed them between days:
Day 1
Breakfast
1 c unsweetened cornflakes
1 c skim milk
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce (I did not eat this...gross)
1/2 c raw or roasted sunflower seeds
1 glass sassy water
Lunch
4 oz turkey
1 light string cheese
1 pt fresh grape tomatoes
glass of sassy water
Smoothie: 1 c skim milk,1 c frozen blueberries blended then add 1 Tbsp cold pressed organic flaxseed oil (This can be eaten as a mid-morning, mid-afternoon or after dinner snack...whenever you need the pick-me-up)
Dinner
1 c fresh/frozen cooked green beans
4 oz grilled/cooked
tilapia
1/2 c roasted red potatoes drizzled with 1 tsp olive oil.
Day 2
Breakfast
1 c Rice Krisipies
1 c skim milk
1/4 c sunflower seeds
4
oz pineapple tidbits canned in juice (left this out...not a pineapple fan either)
glass of sassy water
Lunch
3 oz light tuna in water (I did turkey every day b/c I don't like tuna)
1 c steamed baby carrots (I used raw, regular carrots...too much sugar in the baby ones)
1 light
string cheese
Sassy water
Smoothie: 1 c skim milk, 4 oz canned pineapple
tidbits in juice in blender, stir in 1 tbsp flax oil
Dinner
1 c fresh crimini (bella) mushrooms sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil
3 oz grilled chicken breast
1/2 c brown rice
Sassy water
Day 3
Breakfast
Same as Day 1 except for 2 Tbsp raisins instead of applesauce
Lunch
Same as Day 1
Smoothie: use 1 c frozen peaches w/ 2 tsp flax oil
Dinner
Same as day 1 except for 3oz baked turkey cutlet instead of fish. (I did chicken again)
Day 4
Breakfast
1 pkg instant cream of wheat
1 c skim milk
1/4 c sunflower seed
2 dried plums
Lunch
Same as Day 1
Smoothie use 1 c frozen strawberries/2 tsp flax oil
Dinner
1 c fresh/frozen yellow squash sauteed in 1 tsp olive oil
3 oz grilled chicken breast
1/2 c brown rice
Sassy water
During 4 days you also must avoid coffee, any soft drink, sweeteners,
salt, excess carbs, bulky raw food, gassy foods, gum, fried foods, spicy
foods.
The Sassy Water Recipe
2 liters water (about 8 ½ cups)1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium lemon, thinly sliced
12 small spearmint leaves.
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and let flavors blend overnight.
Drink the entire pitcher by the end of each day.
