Eating Clean Day 2--First Clean Eating Trip to Kroger

Breakfast--nothing (too busy getting everyone around for church! Need to get better about at least eating something to keep my metabolism up)
Mid-morning snack--nothing 
Lunch--peanut butter (all-natural) and jelly (homemade and canned...thanks Michelle!!) on homemade whole wheat bread (recipe to come...still trying to find a good whole wheat bread recipe that's not so dense...any suggestions??)
Afternoon snack--Reese's Peanut Butter cups (I know, not very natural but I only have two left from Christmas and I will not waste Reese's!!)
Dinner--two slices of Papa Murphy's Classic Italian pizza; we tried to substitute the garlic cream sauce that usually comes with it for the garlic and olive oil but they messed up the order. The crust, sausage and pepperoni are not all-natural, but when you switch the sauces, everything else is. 
Bedtime snack--nothing
Workout--hour of Pilates

$$ Saving Green Alert! $$

This week was my first trip to Kroger under our new Clean Eating regime. I wasn't sure how I would do, but I ended up saving 35% (I aim to save between 30 and 40 percent each week with couponing, sales, etc.)

Here's a look at what I got:
Barilla Pasta--on sale 10 for $10, used $1 off 3 coupon...got 6 boxes of pasta for $4 or $.66/piece...I bought the whole wheat variety, which is all natural and whole grain goodness.

Pork Tenderloin--on sale for $2.47/lb...great lean protein

Chicken Breasts--on sale for $1.77/lb...another great lean protein at an awesome price...I stocked up for my freezer

Kroger Butter--$2.48...we used to use margarine, but have switched to real butter. The Kroger brand butter is actually cheaper than the margarine I used to buy. 

Kroger block cheese--on sale for $2.99 for the bigger 16 oz block. Kind of interesting, shredded cheese=not natural, same brand in the block cheese=A OK!

Day 4 Cleanse

Day 4 was a little different for the cleanse routine. I didn't have to take the fiber drink (thank God!) and instead took two pro-biotic pills to aid with digestion. I caved a little today and had some carbs (brown rice in my burrito bowl and small helping of rice pilaf at dinner). I was sooooo hungry!!! For me, this cleanse isn't about losing weight, but helping my body be as healthy as it can be. However, I have noticed that it has only taken three days to get rid of the extra Christmas weight I put on in the previous two weeks.

Breakfast--banana
Mid-morning snack--handful almonds
Lunch--Chipolte chicken burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans and guacamole (I'll admit, I also had a little cheese and sour cream as well)

Afternoon snack--banana and peanut butter
Dinner--country ribs, rice pilaf, sauteed green beans, sauteed peppers, onions and mushrooms

Evening snack--handful almonds
Herbal pills before bed and LOTS of water  

Workout--rest day

What's with this eating clean??

I'm definitely not a granola-eating, organic, all-natural kind of girl. However, I recently came across the concept of clean eating and it sparked my interest for a few reasons:

* I've recently run into some minor health issues and family history has revealed some potential future issues. I am hoping eating clean will help alleviate the current issues and prevent any future issues. 

* I have always been athletic and into fitness, but have realized that diet plays a huge role in overall weight loss, weight management and health. As I get older (30 in February!!), my metabolism continues to slow down and I can't rely on just working out to keep my girlish figure :)

* I want to teach my kids how to eat healthy and make good food choices.

Starting January 1, my family will start to "eat clean" and attempt to eat food that are natural, with only ingredients we can pronounce, no preservatives and no additives. This blog will chronicle our adventures and the process it takes to change our eating habits. We definitely will not be quitting processed foods cold turkey, but will take a gradual approach. We also will not give up processed foods completely...for us, it's all about moderation! I want to aim for 75% natural, 25% not-so-natural. :)

The second part of the blog will be eating clean while saving money. I'm an avid couponer who finds a lot of great deals on processed foods. I want to see if I can get the same savings with natural foods. Eating organic and natural foods can be expensive...$5 for a gallon of organic milk, twice the cost for organic produce...I want to see if I can save as much or more money eating clean as I do eating regular and processed foods.