Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 81

Breakfast

Cracked Wheat with Homemade Berry Sauce

This hearty bowl of cracked wheat had just the right touch of sweetness with a spoonful of homemade berry sauce (with all-natural brown cane sugar). After this healthy breakfast idea, I felt fulfilled, energized and ready to take on the day.

Try Great River Organic Milling Cracked Wheat

Mid Morning Snack

Fresh Strawberries

Lunch

Garden Salad with Chicken Breast, in Greek Yogurt Honey Dijon Dressing

If you haven't tried Greek yogurt dressing, you're missing out. With nearly half the calories of regular dressing, they still taste good. I recommend Opa or Litehouse brands.

Afternoon Snack

Cucumber, Hummus and Red Pepper Stack

Super easy snack to make, yet super delicious.

Dinner

Lobster, Avocado and Cilantro Salad (recipe here)

You can substitute lobster with shrimp if you want, but this clean eating recipe was awesome, and you should absolutely give it a try.

Healthy Lunch Recipe for Weight Loss Meal Plan: Veggie Quinoa Wrap

Veggie wraps may be one of the easiest of healthy lunch recipes to make, but do they taste good?

I felt skeptical too, but love the idea of combining healthy foods like veggies and whole grain, and decided to create my own veggie wrap. Because I'm a fan of Middle Eastern flavors, I used ingredients like hummus and tahini. To balance the strong flavors, I added blander foods like beans and quinoa.

This healthy lunch recipe turned out delicious! And of course, as expected, it was simple to do as well.

If you have a chance, you should absolutely give it a try--and add it to tomorrow's clean eating and weight loss meal plan.

Healthy Lunch Recipe: Veggie Quinoa Wrap

Ingredients:

- Whole wheat tortilla

- 1/2 cup of cooked organic quinoa

- 2 table spoons of hummus

- 1 tea spoon of Tahini

- 1 pinch of sea salt

- Roasted minced garlic and red peppers

- 1 cup of romain leaves

- 1 cup of cooked kale

- 1 lemon wedge (or 1 tea spoon of lemon juice)

- 2 tea spoons of Tamari soy sauce

- 1 table spoon of apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Lay tortilla wrap flat on a plate.

2. In a mixing bowl, add all other ingredients, and mix well.

3. Spread mix evenly on tortilla.

4. Roll tortilla into a wrap and cut in half.

5. Enjoy!

There you go.

Healthy, tasty and one of the easiest healthy lunch recipes I've tried. See? Healthy foods don't always taste bad. I hope you enjoy this veggie and quinoa wrap as much as I did.

Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 80

Breakfast

Fried Egg Over Whole Wheat Toast, with a Side of Melon Slices

This breakfast has protein, fiber and vitamins. It's all around healthy--and it's delicious too.

Mid Morning Snack

Larabar Fruit and Nut Bar (get them here)

I LOVE-LOVE Larabars! They're all-natural and completely delicious. If I ever crave candy bars, I'll grab a Larabar. It's such a better choice!

By the way, the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavor Larabar is the best. Get them here.

Lunch

Avocado Chicken Cobb Salad

Mmmmmmm delicious and fresh! Avocado goes with everything!

Afternoon Snack

Organic Popcorn

Dinner

Grass Fed Steak with Steamed Squash

If you want to load up on protein, steak is the way to go. And what better steak than naturally grass-fed beef?

Also, to keep this meal clean, instead of potato on the side, switch to sweet potato or squash. They provide more nutrients and not so much starch.

Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 79

Breakfast

Egg Avocado Wrap (recipe here)

This was such a quick, easy and hearty way to start the day. If you don't like wraps, you can also use whole wheat bread. The combination of eggs, cheese and avocado is just delicious. Again, click here for recipe.

Mid Morning Snack

Curry Deviled Eggs (recipe here)

Adding curry flavors gave deviled eggs a new twist--and it was a delicious idea.

Lunch

Chicken Zucchini Parmesan Melt

This clean eating idea was easy and healthy. If you need a quick lunch with both veggies and protein, this is it!

Afternoon Snack

Apple Walnut Guacamole 

Another avocado dish? Yes please! Avocado is too delicious. With walnuts and apples, this dip tasted sweet and crunchy too.

Dinner

Shrimp Snow Pea Stir Fry (get recipe here)

Tonight's savory dinner of shrimp and snow pea was a delicious way to end the day. The shrimps were supple; the snow peas were crunch. Together they made a tasty meal--and an easy healthy dinner too.

Find recipe at Clean Eating Dinner.

Good Breakfast for Clean Eating and Weight Loss: Goat Cheese, Fig Preserves and Prosciutto

Welcome back to Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

Today's healthy breakfast idea is one that I absolutely adore. It's a delicious mix of flavors, containing soft goat cheese, sweet fig preserves and (slightly) salty prosciutto. It's also packed with nutrition--full of calcium, protein and whole grains. It's also a versatile recipe, because you can enjoy it as a good healthy breakfast, clean eating lunch, or healthy snack idea.

Also, it's one of the best simple breakfast ideas I've had--took less than five minutes to make. There's little reason to NOT try it.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

- 1 piece of whole wheat toast

- 2 servings of soft goat cheese log, sliced

- 1 table spoon of organic fig preserves (I recommend Organic Fig Jam from Tebourba, which is imported from Tunisia and made with Mediterranean figs.)

- Prosciutto

Directions:

1. Lay toast on a plate.

2. Stack cheese slices, fig preserves and prosciutto on top.

Enjoy!

Told you it was easy.

I hope you enjoyed today's good healthy breakfast, and decide to try it yourself.

Oh, here's the Organic Fig Jam I recommend: 

Thanks for visiting!

See you next time.

Crispy Honey-Glazed Ham – Looks, Tastes, and Sounds Like the Holidays

A great holiday ham glaze needs to have three things; a wonderful flavor, a gorgeous, shiny appearance, and a crispy, crackling crust you can hear across the room. I’m happy to report this easy to make glaze has all those things in abundance.

This honey glaze will work on any size or style of ham, and as long as you keep the mixture quite thick, and caramelize it properly at the end, you will be the proud owner of a magazine cover-quality ham.

As I mention in the video, this was an uncured, fully-cooked, country-style ham, and if you use something similar, I’m recommending you pull it at 130 F. internal temp. Remember, ham is already cooked, so we just want it hot enough to eat. By the way, if you’re using a ham that’s not cooked already, you’re on your own!

The type of ham I used doesn’t contain a lot of added water like most hams in the supermarket, so it’s even more crucial to use a thermometer to achieve the proper temp. The meat has a denser, drier texture, and while the payoff is a superior ham flavor, it can get dry and salty if overcooked.

If you're using a standard ham, you can use the exact same procedure, but maybe go to 140 F., since you have a lot wetter product to work with. I realize many guides say to go to 160-180 F., but I have no idea why.

No matter what ham you use, you’ll need to give the glaze a final caramelizing before it gets anywhere near kale and tiny apples. They say you can crank the oven up to 500 F., or use the broiler, but nothing does a better job than the old blowtorch. If you don’t have one, they’re only $15 at a hardware store, and are an invaluable tool in the kitchen.

So, if a holiday ham is on your menu, I really hope you toss out that packet of who-knows-what, and give this wonderful, crispy honey ham glaze a try. Enjoy!

Enough glaze for a 7-9 pound ham:

1 packed cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp rice vinegar (or any vinegar), or enough to make a thick paste

pinch of cayenne

1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

For the water in the roasting pan:

2 whole star anise, and a bunch of whole cloves

- Bake ham at 325 F., glazing every 20 minutes until the internal temp is 130 F. for country-style hams, and 140 F. for regular hams.

Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 74

Breakfast

Bear Naked All Natural Granola

So sweet and healthy! Great idea for a quick breakfast. Get them here.

Mid Morning Snack

Slow Roasted Pecans with Sea Salt

Lunch

Starbucks Lunch Box with Hearty Veggies and Brown Rice

Surprisingly, Starbucks has healthier options than a lot of other coffee shops. While you're there, grab a boxed lunch, like my freshly-made Hearty Veggie and Brown Rice today.

Afternoon Snack

Emily's Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Made with real strawberries and scrumptious dark chocolate, these bite-sized snacks were sweet and satisfying. Get them at Emily's.

Dinner

Broiled Ginger Salmon with Vegetables

Hope you liked today's Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

Have a good day.

Truffled Cauliflower Gratin – Now 100% Truffle Oil Free

This cauliflower gratin would typically be “truffled” with truffle oil, but I’ve never been a big fan. Truffle oils are almost always synthetically produced, one-dimensional, and way too overpowering. 

So, in this otherwise humble gratin, we’re going to use another, much more delicious delivery system…truffle pecorino. For less than $10 worth of cheese, I think you can get a much nicer, truer truffle flavor – plus, it’s cheese. By the way, if you know they actually make this cheese with synthetic truffle oil, please keep it to yourself, and don't spoil it for me. 

This stuff is pretty easy to find in fancy grocery stores with decent sized cheese departments, but if you can’t, I’ve seen it online at even better prices.

It’s worth the effort to find, and turns this already great casserole into something truly special, and with side dish season in full swing, I really hope you consider giving this truffled cauliflower gratin a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6-8 Portions

6 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1 tsp salt or to taste

pinch of cayenne

pinch of nutmeg

5 to 6 oz wedge of truffle pecorino, grated

1 large head of cauliflower

2 tbsp breadcrumbs

freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano as needed

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

a few fresh chives to garnish

Healthy Snack Recipes for All Weight Loss Plans

The saying "less is more" couldn't be truer for clean eating diet.

In clean eating, healthy snack ideas and recipes use as little ingredients as possible--and all of them are natural and organic. Though the Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan Blog focuses more on weight loss, it also considers healthy lifestyle as priority. Yes, a clean eating diet can help you lose weight--and most likely will--but it's more of a long-term lifestyle change.

No matter what weight loss plans you're on or fitness goals you've set, today's healthy snack recipes can become a part of your better eating. 

Incorporating muscle-building protein snacks, heart-friendly cheeses and wholesome grains, these healthy snack ideas are simple, tasty and nutritious. I hope you enjoy them all!

Healthy Snack Recipes for All Weight Loss Plans

1. Cucumber, Hummus and Red Pepper Stack

Made by blending olive oil and garbonzo beans, hummus has a smooth and creamy texture that pairs well with veggies, chips and breads. Because of its rich flavor and abundance in protein and fiber, it's possibly a favorite healthy snack for the clean eating diet. In fact, it's probably a favorite for other weight loss plans and diets as well.

I recommend this snack because it's crunchy, flavorful and presentable--and makes an excellent finger food for party guests!

2. Stuffed Medjool Dates with Soft Cheese and Nuts

If you haven't tried Medjool dates, you're missing out. These fruity treats are plumper and tastier than other types of dates--and are sweet like candy but with natural sugar. Full of carbohydrates that increase energy and fiber that benefits the digestive system, Medjool dates are healthy too.

For this healthy snack recipe, I balanced the dates' sweetness with mild brie. Because both dates and cheese have soft texture, I then added pistachios for a crunchy bite. 

If you don't like brie or pistachios, you can try blue cheese, goat cheese or walnuts. I've combined all of them with Medjool in the past--and they all tasted amazing.

3. Gouda and Homemade Cranberry Sauce on Ritz Whole Wheat Cracker

Due to gouda's mild flavor, it's used more as a sandwich condiment than a main ingredient in healthy snack recipes. It's also less popular than other mild cheese--namely swiss. However, gouda's high nutritional value shouldn't be overlooked. According to best-selling health book author and blogger at The Healthy Home Economist, Sarah, gouda cheese is "higher than most liver, grassfed butter, and even pasteurized egg yolks in the critical nutrient vitamin K2." 

Vitamin K2 is crucial for preventing aging and bone disease, by the way.

Because of gouda's lack of flavor, for this healthy snack recipe, I topped it with tangy-sweet homemade cranberry sauce. Substituting white sugar with organic brown cane sugar, the sauce was just as sweet but clean. I also used baked whole wheat crackers by Ritz to reduce calories.

The result was a lovely blend of creamy, crunchy and sweet.

4. Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese and Dry Thyme

I'm a HUGE fan of goat cheese, because goat cheese is gentler on the digestive system. Goat's milk composes of smaller fat globules than cow's milk, and is therefore easier to digest. It's also lower in fat, cholesterol and calories, making it a great cheese for all weight loss plans.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, salmon's always fresh. In fact, the region produces some of the best smoked salmon. Today's healthy snack recipe incorporates smoked salmon from the Pacific Northwest, by stacking each piece with goat cheese and dry thyme. 

If you don't mind extra calories and fat, you can use organic cream cheese instead of goat cheese. Regardless, the combination was tasty and flavorful--and I highly recommend it!

5. Baked Zucchini Bite with Garlic, Parmesan and Tomato

This bite-sized snack is loaded with nutrients and flavor. From heart-healthy zucchini to vitamin-rich tomato to anti-flammotory garlic, this is the perfect snack for both body and taste.

Also, the recipe is quick and simple. You can find it here.

Thank you again for visiting the Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan Blog!

Though today's post wasn't a meal plan, I hope it was still helpful for your clean eating diet and weight loss goals.

I also hope that you liked the healthy snack recipes from today.

See you soon.