14 Days of Eating Clean Mini Challenges

With this Challenge I will be posting one Eating Clean Challenge each day for 14 days in our Facebook Event.  Each you can accept the challenge and tell us how it went, what your struggles were or share photos of you meals, groceries etc. 

If you’re interested in giving these daily challenges a shot you can choose build each day on top of the next or simply tackle one daily challenge at a time. My hope is if you take on these mini-challenge, you’ll gain a new perspective from the experience and make at least some positive long-term changes as a result. No matter what though…these mini challenges will get you to start reading ingredient labels (if you don’t already)!

Please join my 14 Days of Eating Clean Mini Challenges Facebook Event for support from others doing the same challenge as you and accountability for the two weeks!  

14 Days of “Eating Clean" Mini-Challenges:

• Day 1: Two fruits and/or vegetables per meal – Eat a minimum of two different fruits or vegetables (preferably organic) with every breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal.
• Day 2: “Real” beverages – Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week for the duration of the challenge, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day).
• Day 3: Meat – All meat consumed this today will be locally raised (within 100-miles of your hometown). 
• Day 4: Read ingredients – I challenge you to open up your cupboards and read the ingredients lists on your processed foods.  What surprises you?  What ingredients are you unsure of?  Then share with our Facebook group the ingredients you are surprised to find, want more information on or want to share with the group. 
• Day 5: No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.
• Day 6: Try two new whole foods – Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before. Share in the 14 Days of Eating Clean Mini Challenges Facebook Event to tell us what you tried today!
• Day 7: No low-fat, lite or nonfat food products – Do not eat any food products that are labeled as “low-fat,” “lite,” “light,” “reduced fat,” or “nonfat.”
• Day 8: 100% Whole grain – All grains consumed must be 100% whole-grain.
• Day 9: No refined sweeteners – No refined or artificial sweeteners including (but not limited to): white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, sucanat, splenda, stevia, agave, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and cane juice. Foods and beverages can only be sweetened with a moderate amount of honey or maple syrup.
• Day 10: Stop eating when you feel full – Listen to your internal cues and stop eating when you feel full.
• Day 11: No refined oils – No refined or hydrogenated oils including (but not limited to): vegetable oil, organic vegetable oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, organic canola oil, margarine, and grape seed oil.
• Day 12: Eat local foods – Eat at least 1 locally grown or raised food at each meal. This includes, but is not limited to: fruits, vegetables, eggs, grains, nuts, meats, and sweeteners like honey.
• Day 13: Nothing artificial – Avoid all artificial ingredients including, but not limited to: sweeteners, flavors and colors.
• Day 14: No more than 5-ingredients – Avoid any and all packaged food products that contain more than five ingredients no matter what ingredients

By the end of the two weeks what you can and will be able to eat:

1. Whole foods that are more a product of nature than a product of industry
2. Lots of fruits and vegetables 
3. Dairy products like milk, unsweetened yogurt, eggs, and cheese
4. 100% whole-wheat and whole-grains (Find a few of my recommended 100% whole wheat breads on my Which bread is best blog series)
5. Seafood (wild caught is the optimal choice over farm-raised)
6. Locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken.
7. Beverages limited to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and beer!
8. Snacks like dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn.
9. All natural sweeteners including honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are acceptable in moderation.

By the end of the two weeks what you won't be eating:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”).
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda.
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredientslisted on the label.
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Southwestern Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet

I made this yummy breakfast on Sunday Morning and Gord and I both loved it!  I over cooked the eggs slightly but next time I'll know to take it out sooner!  The recipe did use up 1.5 of my Yellow containers for the day which leaves me only .5 yellow left for the day but it was worth it!  In the future I would probably swap the black beans for corn which would add a green container to my count and reduce the yellow containers by 1/2!  

Try it out!  I hope you enjoy!

Southwestern Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet

Serves 2

21 Day Fix Portions: 1.5 Yellow, 1 Red, 1 Blue

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or 1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp cumin
1 large sweet potatoe, peeled and chopped or bag of frozen Sweet Potatoes cubed (if doing the 21 day fix measure our two containers of Sweet Potatoes)
1/2 cup black beans/corn or both, canned or homemade (1 Yellow Container)
3/4 tsp Hymalian sea salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup shredded Old cheddar cheese (2 Blue Containers)
4 eggs (counts as 2 Red Containers)

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute for about six minutes until tender. Add cumin and toss well. Add garlic,sweet potatoes and black beans and or Corn, then reduce heat to low, cover skillet and let cook for about 20-25 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender. 

I used black beans as I didn't have any corn on hand but both would be awesome and I would have added corn to it if I'd had some.  If your doing the 21 day fix you may want to leave out the black beans (yellow container) and just use corn.  

Check every five minutes or so to make sure the potatoes aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. You can add a little water if mixture seems too dry.

I added a touch of water at the end (before adding in the cheese) to make sure the spices were well mixed and didn't stick to the potatoes or not enough on others. 

Preheat broiler.

Add cayenne pepper and salt to sweet potato mixture then add cheese and stir over low heat until all the cheese has melted. I transferred my hash mixture into a casserole dish before cracking the eggs on top because my Cast iron pans are in the trailer for camping! But if your are using a cast iron frying pan or other oven friendly pan and just crack 4 eggs on top of mixture then transfer to the oven and broil on high for 3-5 minutes until eggs are cooked through. 

Before I cooked the eggs, hubby was so confused at what I
was up to cracking eggs on top of the hash. 

I think I overcooked our eggs slightly but 2 of them were
still runny in the center.  Next time I'll take them out
sooner!  

Peanut Butter Banana Cups

I'm doing the 21 Day fix this week and my usual evening snack is a sliced apple and my Homemade Peanut Butter.  But I decided tonight would be a good night for a little treat and to try a new recipe.  

These little peanut butter banana cups were so easy to make and I just popped them into the freezer for a couple hours and they were done!  

I love using the silicon muffin cups and use them in so many recipes.  They work great and I love that I can just pop my Peanut Butter Cups right out of them so easily! I have used them for mini cheese cakes as well and they are perfect.  

These little Peanut Butter Banana Cups have just one slice of Banana in them so I can't really count it as any fraction of a purple container for the 21 Day Fix but each one uses about 2 Tsp of Peanut Butter and a tiny bit of honey and coconut oil so I'll be counting each one as 2 Tsp for the day.  Not bad for such a tasty treat!  

Peanut Butter Banana Cups

Servings: about 12 cups

21 Day Fix Portions: 2 TSP per 1 Cup
Preparation time: 10 minutes

• 1 ripe banana
• 3/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter (I used my Homemade Peanut Butter)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 teaspoon coconut oil 
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

1. Cut the banana into slices between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.

2. Mix all remaining ingredients in a separate bowl.

3. Place a bit of the peanut butter mixture to cover the bottom of each of the silicone muffin cups. 

4. Place a banana slice on top of the peanut butter.

5. With a spoon, scoop the peanut mixture onto each banana slice and cover completely.

6. Place in the freezer to set.

7. Store in the fridge or freezer.

I hope you enjoy and it cures any sweet tooth craving you have!  

Chicken Artichoke Pesto Pizza

Yes I'm doing the 21 day fix this week and yes you can eat pizza for lunch!!

Having a toaster in the office allows me to get creative with my lunches! My co-workers are always commenting on my meals cause I don't often bring just a sandwich or salad. I've even been known to bring in salmon and cook it on a piece of parchment paper in the toaster oven! 

Today I packed all my pizza toppings and a tortilla for the crust in my lunch and assembled it in the office to bake in the toaster oven. 

This lunch was so satisfying and healthy too! 

Here is the recipe and 21 Day fix container portions. 

Chicken Artichoke Pesto Pizza

1 red container Chicken breast

1 green container Artichokes (or half artichokes half spinach) 

1 blue container white cheddar

1 orange container pesto

1 yellow container whole wheat wrap

To assemble; spread pesto onto tortilla wrap, top with chicken, artichoke hearts cut into quarters and cheese. 

Bake in toaster oven at 400 for 15 minutes or until brown. 

I used one of the Natural Wraps from Costco. I like the ingredients in these as they are very clean (flour, water, salt) and super thin and crispy when baked too! 

I'm telling you these wraps are awesome!  For this pizza which is pretty heavy with chicken and artichokes it got a bit floppy but on a lighter pizza they are great and hold up no problem!  

5 Day 21 Day Fix Meal Plan for Summer

Prepping our meal plan today to start the 21 Day fix on Monday with hubby!  Beach days are coming and we both want to feel confident and comfortable in shorts and swim suits so it's time to crack down and do this thang!  

Heading the the grocery store shortly and I'm making my list based off my meal plan for the next 5 days.  

I use my 21 Day Fix Tally Sheet that I created which makes our meal planning so much easier!  

You can just print it off and either slide it into a page protector so that you can write each days meal plan out or you can print off 5 and write down each days on the paper.  I personally like to have each day pre-written down so I'm planning to get 5 page protectors so that I can reuse them but still have my days planned in advance.  

This week I will be doing the 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts and following the regular meal plan. I love the intensity of the workouts but I prefer the regular less restrictive meal plan. I find if I restrict too much then I just don't stick to it.  

Here is this weeks Meal plan...

Our breakfasts and Lunches
 prepped for Monday morning!

Monday

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Raspberries and whole wheat waffle ( 1 Red 1 Purple 1 Yellow)
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology with water and ice (1 Red)
Lunch: Chicken Pesto Pizza with Spinach and artichoke (1 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1 Green, 1 red)
Snack: Cucumber slices (1 green)
Dinner: Taco Salad (1 Red, 2 Green)
Snack: Peanut Butter and Apple Slices (1 Purple 2 Spoons)

Tuesday

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Raspberries ( 1 Red 1 Purple)
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology with water and ice (1 Red)
Lunch: Chicken Enchilada ( 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Blue)
Snack: Cucumbers and Tomatoes (1 Green)
Dinner: Chicken Fried Rice (1 Yellow, 1 Red, 1 Green)
Snack: Peanut Butter and Apple Slices (1 Purple 2 Spoons)

Wednesday

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Raspberries ( 1 Red 1 Purple)
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology with water and ice (1 Red)
Lunch: Chicken and Black Bean Burrito Salad in a Mason Jar (Recipe below)
Snack:1/2 red container cottage cheese (1/2 Red)
Dinner: Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich (recipe below) (1 Green 1 Yellow 1 Red 1 Blue)
Snack: Peanut Butter and Apple Slices (1 Purple 2 Spoons)

Thursday

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Raspberries ( 1 Red 1 Purple)
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology with water and ice (1 Red)
Lunch: Chicken Pesto Wrap (1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green)
Snack: Cucumbers and Tomatoes ( 1 Green)
Dinner: Slow cooker Pork Carnitas (1 Yellow, 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Green)
Snack: Peanut Butter and Apple Slices (1 Purple 2 Spoons)

Friday

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt with Raspberries ( 1 Red 1 Purple)
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology with water and ice (1 Red)
Lunch: Pesto Goat Cheese Veggie Wrap (1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 blue)
Snack: Cucumber slices (1 Green)
Dinner: Turkey Black Bean Lettuce Wraps (2 Red, 1 Green)
Snack: Peanut Butter and Apple Slices (1 Purple 2 Spoons)

Recipes

Chicken and Black Bean Burrito Salad in a Mason Jar

Total Time: 20 min.
Prep Time: 20 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
½ cup fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. + ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, divided use
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 medium jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups canned black beans
4 oz. shredded cooked chicken breast
1 cup chopped jicama
½ cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce

Preparation:
1. Place lime juice, 2 Tbsp. cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno in a blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
2. Slowly add oil, blending continuously, until well mixed. Evenly divide dressing between 4 one-quart Mason jars. Set aside.
3. Evenly layer beans, chicken, jicama, radishes, onion, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, and remaining ½ cup cilantro on top of dressing in jars.

4. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Shake before serving.

2 Green, 1 Yellow, 1/2 Red, 1/2 Blue

Chicken Ciabatta Sandwiches

1 Green 1 Yellow 1 Red 1 Blue

Make your own delicious chicken patties seasoned with garlic and spices and build them into a memorable sandwich with Swiss cheese and whole grain ciabatta rolls.

Total Time: 27 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 12 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 1 sandwich each

Ingredients:
1 lb. raw chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into chunks
1 medium carrot, grated
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 dash ground white pepper
½ tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. olive oil
4 whole grain ciabatta rolls, cut in half
4 tsp. Dijon mustard
8 slices medium tomato
4 thin slices medium red onion
4 thin slices Swiss cheese (about 1 oz.)

Preparation:
1. Combine chicken, carrot, green onions, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and cumin in food processor; mix until combined.
2. Form chicken mixture into 4 patties. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
4. Add patties; cook for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat.
5. Top bottom of each ciabatta with 1 tsp. mustard, chicken patty, 2 tomato slices, 1 onion slice, 1 slice of cheese, and top of each ciabatta.

When I'm meal planning I usually plan around my dinner or lunch recipes, so having a good source of dinner ideas is key!  I recently created this list of 20+ Dinner recipes  for the 21 Day Fix, which I will be adding to as I create and find more.  If your in need of more dinner recipes check it out.  And if you have a great dinner or lunch recipe please share I'd love to add it to the list!

15+ 21 Day Fix Dessert Recipes

Treats and Dessert for the 21 Day Fix!

Here is a round of up yummy 21 Day Fix Approved Healthy Dessert and Treat recipes I have found along the way. 

Most of them have listed the container counts, but if not I've made an educated guess for you. 

Remember these are your treats, so you only get 3 per week and they usually use up a yellow container for the day. 

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (1 Yellow Treat)


 
Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt

Ingredients ➡3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp nut butter, 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1/4 tsp pure vanilla (free fix food),  1 tbsp mini chocolate chips.

 ➡Combine Greek yogurt with the nut butter, pure maple syrup, vanilla in your yellow cup as 1 serving. Mix until smooth. Top with mini choc chips and enjoy!!!

Tip> You can only replace a yellow cup 3 times a week with a Treat (Fix page 39)

Grilled Fruit Quesadilla - 1 Yellow 1 Purple 1 Tsp

Peanut Butter Jelly Cookies - 1 Yellow 1 Purple 2 Tsp

Chocolate Mocha Mousse - 1/2 Yellow 1 Red 1 Blue/Orange

Chocolate Shakeology Brownies - 1 Yellow Treat

Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites - 2 Bites equal 1 Yellow Treat

Flour-less Chocolate Muffin - 1 Muffin equals 1 Yellow Treat

Healthy Peach Crumble - I found this one but it's not 100% 21 Day fix so I'm not including the link and I have modified it slightly. 

Ingredients
1 purple of sliced peach (use a fresh one)1/2 a yellow of oatmeal1 red of plain greek yogurtPacket of Stevia  1 tsp Honey
Vanilla, Cinnamon, & a dash of Brown Sugar  Swirl of Honey

DirectionsSpray a pan with cooking spray. Place sliced peaches in a pan and allow to cook for a bit. Add a tablespoon of water and your oats to the pan and stir frequently. With your greek yogurt, mix Honey, a couple sprinkles of cinnamon, and a couple drops of vanilla. Place 1/2 of the greek yogurt mixture on the bottom of the plate, then layer your "crumble" from the pan, top with the remaining mixture. Drizzle with honey. 

Peanut Butter Cookies - 1 Cookie equals 2 Tsp

21 Day Fix Approved Cheese Cake - 3/4 Red Container per serving (Plus 1 Purple for berries)

21 Day Fix Chocolate Bar - 1 Red 1 Healthy Fat

Guild Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle  - 1 Red 1/2 Green 1 Orange 1 Spoon

Peanut Butter Bars - 1 Yellow

Fudgy Avocado Brownies - 1/2 Blue 2 Spoons

Lemon Blueberry Mini Loaves

I ordered an epicure Perfect Petites mini loaf pan a few weeks ago and it arrived this weekend!  Lucky for me it is my flex day today so I tried it out during Fraser's morning nap.  I decided to make lemon blueberry mini loaves for the boys lunches this week.  

I'm sitting here right now enjoying a couple of them, trying really hard not to grab a couple more.  They are that good.  

I made them using whole wheat flour and coconut oil.  I had a really old Lemon Loaf recipe in my recipe book that was pretty basic so I used that and modified it to my liking.  This time I used organic cane sugar because I wanted to make sure they turned out so the boys had loaves for their lunches this week.  But I'll be trying this recipe with honey for sure very soon.  

There is also an optional glaze which will up the lemon factor on these little babies but has sugar in it as well so if you are cutting out sugar then skip it.  They are just as good on their own. 

Left over batter turned
Lemon Blueberry baked
doughnuts!

I love using my silicon muffin cups so this nice mini loaf pan is awesome for me.  I was able to make so many little loaves and they pop right out of the pan.  No fighting with them!  Plus because they are so little they cooled off pretty quickly which is a bonus when you have impatient kids wanting to try the "cake" as fraser likes to call all muffins, loaves or bars.  (He also calls crackers cookies).  

I hope you like the recipe and let me know how yours turn out.  It could also be used as a muffin recipe, large loaf or baked doughnut too.  I had some left over batter and put it into a few silicon doughnut containers.  Perfect!  Can't wait to give Asher one of those after school today. 

Lemon Blueberry Mini Loaves

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
3/4 Cup honey (Organic Cane Sugar would also work)
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Almond milk
1 tsp organic lemon juice1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 grated rind of lemon
1 cup blueberries

Procedure

In a stand mixer, cream together coconut oil and honey or Cane sugar until creamy.  Add in eggs and mix until combined.  Add in Almond milk and lemon juice.  

In medium sized bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon rind.  

Gradually add flour mixture to wet mixture stirring to combine.  Stir in Blueberries.

Add one spoonful into each mini loaf section and bake at 350 for 15-20 minute or until golden brown.  

Once your loaves come out of the oven you can brush on the optional Lemon Glaze.  Using 1/4 cup sugar and 2 TBSP lemon juice, mix them together until the sugar dissolves mostly, then brush a small amount onto the tops of all the mini loaves.