Clean Eating Challenge: Day 8

Welcome back.  Now begins week 2 of Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge.  In case you are just now joining me, take a look back at the past week to see what I ate and what I thought about it.  Or don't…

Breakfast: Blackberry Smoothie
Yes, I changed this one up quite a lot.  I tried last week, but I just can't eat yogurt anymore :(  I have been lactose-intolerant for many years now and avoid dairy milk and ice-cream, but yogurt used to be fine.  Not anymore.  So sad.  I love Greek yogurt, I used to put it on everything!  Oh well.  I used blackberries because there were no organic blueberries at Trader Joe's and I won't eat non-organic berries.  To add a little protein and creaminess that was missing since I didn't use yogurt, I put in a tablespoon of almond butter.  This smoothie was quite lovely.  The little touch of sweetness from the honey and the hint of vanilla are crucial.

Lunch: Shakshuka
This is the first time I have ever had this dish.  I almost made it with only one egg, because I also wonder if I might have problems with eggs too….  I probably just should have done an elimination diet to be certain…Oh well.  But in the end, I was starving and knew that one egg wouldn't tide me over.  The dish was really tasty, but The eggs overcooked really quickly, so be careful with that.  I didn't get the yummy runny yolks that I like.

Snack 1: Pear Slices with Almond Butter
I changed this one up from strawberries to pear.  Again, I won't buy non-organic berries, so I am waiting to get strawberries from the farmer's market tomorrow.  I also tried out the new tiny coffee place in my hood called Blacktop.  It is brainchild of one of Handsome's previous owners.  But I got green tea, since no coffee is allowed on this eating plan.  I did take a sip of my friend's coffee and while pricey (and comical at how long the barista took to make a pour-over) it was really damn good.  I will be back for a cup of my own whenever this challenge is complete.

Dinner: Roasted Eggplant with Hummus Chickpeas and Cauliflower
This was really tasty.  Again, no yogurt.  For Danny I gave him less eggplant and added some chicken and yogurt.  I was really shocked by the deliciousness of simply roasting the chickpeas and cauliflower then tossing with hummus and lemon juice.

Snack 2: Two Dates and Two Almonds
Gotta love these joke snacks.  When I go back to eating normal, I'll probably have a joke snack every now and then.

Clean Eating Challenge: Day 4

Today was great!  I want to eat like this forever and always.  It's funny how much sweeter things taste to you when you aren't gorging yourself with overly sweetened things all the time. (Mauna Loa chocolates that I ate my weight in last week…I'm talking about you!!!)

In case you are just now joining me, I am doing Buzzfeed's Clean Eating Challenge.  This is day 4.  Welcome.

Breakfast: Scallion and Goat Cheese Omelet
Once again, I use goat cheese where this meal plan calls for feta because I couldn't find any vegetarian fetas.  I am such a fan of goat cheese.  We have a great local goat cheese farm called Soledad's.  If you live in the Los Angeles area, you are bound to find them at one of the many farmers markets around the city.  I fell in love with it from the Tuesday Culver City farmer's market years ago, but now we have a lovely Thursday farmer's market in the Arts District, literally across the street from my house, and they sell it there!  Hooray!

Lunch: Greek Style Salad with Cod
I came home to eat lunch after I finished my 45 minute, super intense, Nike Training Club workout and this salad was exactly what I needed! And boy was it huge!  I'm talking medium-sized-mixing-bowl-huge!  I put it in the mixing bowl just to toss it, but ended up eating from it.  But since it's spinach, cucumber, and red pepper, with just a tiny bit of the fish, it wasn't a ton and I was actually able to eat it all.

Snack 1: Mango Banana Smoothie
I blended this while at home and packed it to bring back to school with me.  Pretty straight forward, no special ingredients here.  But I really enjoy the addition of a little bit of vanilla extract that the Buzzfeed food plan adds to the smoothies…It just adds a nice additional flavor and smell.

Dinner: Cod and Roasted Fennel Salad
Thank God this was the last of the cod!  And double thanks for the deliciousness of roasted vegetables, even if when raw they taste horrible…like fennel.  Roasted Fennel is so sweet and tasty!

Snack 2: 2 dates stuffed with almonds
What a silly snack.  But I do love dates.  I only discovered in the past year or so that dates=caramel, so you can use them in vegan baking and to make amazing things like homemade snickers!

And now I go to a party.  I will not drink.  I will not eat anything.  I will just socialize and drink water like a boss!