Healthy Lunch Shrimp Avocado Boat

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"Help me lose weight!"

... is probably one of the most common phrases you hear in January. I walked into the gym two weeks ago, and could barely find a free locker.

And traffic for my clean eating and weight loss websites? Shooting off the roof!

While Im happy everyones asking for weight loss help, and has health and fitness on their minds...

I must stress that weight loss--and especially doing it through a clean eating diet--isnt a traditional process that deprives of certain food groups and cutting calories. Instead, proper weight loss (through clean eating diet) requires daily eat clean habits and exercise--and continuing both for a life time.


A clean eating diet, despite its ability to help with weight loss, is not a diet but a life style change.

And hence this little websites purpose to provide free daily clean eating and weight loss meal plans, with easy and healthy meal ideas, as well as constant reminders that aid in your weight loss journey.

One of the improvements Id like to make to the Clean Eating and Meal Plan site, in 2015, is to add more healthy weight loss recipes.

Meal plans are good; links to other sites are great. However, I also feel that providing healthy recipes right here adds variety and therefore improves visitors overall experience.

Without further a due, heres todays Healthy Lunch Recipe--Shrimp Avocado Boat.

I served this to family and friends during Christmas, and everyone loved it. I think youll like it too, especially if youre an avocado-lover.

Healthy Lunch: Shrimp Avocado Boat

Ingredients:

- 11/2 to 2 cups of cooked shrimp, diced
- 1 table spoon of fresh organic chives, diced
- 1 Haas avocado
- 2 leaves of basil, broken into small pieces
- 1/2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 dash of sea salt
- 1 dash of fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tea spoon of organic balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup of organ cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tea spoons of dry dill

Directions:

1. Cut avocado into two halves, and take out core. Lay on plate and set aside.
2. Heat frying pan on high. Add olive oil.
3. When olive oil heats up, add chives and shrimp. Stir for 30 seconds.
4. Add sea salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Stir and cook for about 1 min.
5. Turn off heat. Transfer cooked shrimp into a bowl. Set aside.
6. In a mixing bowl, add cream cheese, yogurt and dill. Mix well.
7. Add cooked shrimp into the mixing bowl. Mix again.
8. Scoop mixture evenly into each avocado halve (or boat).
9. Top with broken basil leaves.

Serve and enjoy!

I think Ill make this healthy lunch again tomorrow.

Just looking at the Shrimp Avocado Boats makes me drool. Hope you like it too.

By the way, for this clean eating recipe, here are the products I recommend:

Vila Manodori Organic Balsamic Vinegar

Made from Italy, birth place of balsamic vinegar, this is a premium balsamic vinegar with rich, potent and enjoyable flavor. Also, its certified organic.

Find it at Vila Manodori Vinegar.

California Olive Ranch Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil

This award-winning olive oil is known for its amazing flavor and elegant casing. Its 100% California-grown and certified extra virgin by COOC. A really great item for cooking.

Find it at California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Well, thats it for today at the Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan.

Thanks for visiting.

Hope you liked todays healthy lunch and clean eating recipe.

Have a nice weekend!

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Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 117

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Breakfast

Organic Oatmeal with Banana Slices, Cinnamon and Real Organic Maple Syrup

We recommend Coombs Family Organic Maple Syrup

Mid Morning Snack

Brads Raw Sweet Potato Chips

Get them here.

Lunch

Butter-Seared Shrimp in Balsamic Vinaigrette, Whole Wheat Toast and Tomatoes on the Side

Afternoon Snack

Grapes

Dinner

Herb-Rubbed Broiled Chicken Breast with Steamed Green Beans on the Side

Thanks for your time!

To conveniently receive new meal plans, please sign up via email above.

Hope to see you next time!

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Healthy Lunch Recipe Avocado Tomato Open Face Sandwich

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A HUGE misconception about the clean eating diet is that clean eating meals, or weight loss foods in general, require fancy, exotic ingredients and complicated steps to make.

In reality, a clean eating diet is simple: use as little processed ingredients as possible, and make quick and easy meals. For these reasons, clean eating has gained much popularity in the last few years. Its simple, tasty and creates a healthy lifestyle. Whats not to like?

Clean eating diet can also help you lose weight, because eliminating processed ingredients eliminates refined sugar, hydrogenated oil and all the harsh artificial ingredients that induce weight gain. By simplifying your meals, you reduce unnecessary calories--and most of them develop into fat.


Todays healthy lunch and clean eating recipe reflects just the simplicity that defines clean eating.

With only five ingredients, this juicy, delicious and completely clean sandwich was a pleasure to both make and eat.

Plus, it took less than five minutes to make. We all like that, dont we?

Healthy Lunch Recipe: Avocado Tomato Open Face Sandwich

Ingredients:
- 1 piece of whole wheat bread, slightly toasted
- 1/2 avocado, peeled, de-cored and sliced
- 2 slices of tomato
- 1 slice of all-natural swiss cheese
- 2-3 leaves of basil, broken
- 1 tea spoon of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tea spoon of organic balsamic vinegar (optional)

Directions:
1. Slice toast in halve, and lay each piece on a plate.
2. Stack swiss cheese, avocado slices and tomato on top. 
3. Splash basil leaves. Then drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar, if you choose to use them.

Thats all. Now enjoy each bite.

Thanks again for coming by Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

I hope you enjoy todays Healthy Lunch Recipe.

(I think you would if youre an avocado-lover.)

I also hope to see you next time!

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Portobello “Steaks”

These last few warm days with the tease of the toasty summer to come has me itching to get out the grill. And by get out the grill I mean make sweet puppy dog eyes until the fella drags the grill out of the garage and does his manly imperative above the open flame. The grill is his territory and Im happy to let him keep it.

Its been a crazy week and our cooking schedule has been thrown into a tizzy so I settled for the next best thing to the grill on such a tight schedule. We got out the grill pan and tossed some marinated portobellos on it and reveled in the meaty herby smells filling the kitchen. These couldnt be easier and I always do at least a double batch because they taste so good I can guarantee each of us will want to eat more than one. And until the nice weather is here to stay that grill pan is going to be getting a lot of use.

Portobello “Steaks”


2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry red drinking wine
1/4 cup oil
1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. Montreal or Chicago-style steak spice
salt and pepper, to taste


The day or morning before you plan on serving these, mix together all ingredients but the mushrooms in a large glass or ceramic casserole dish with a lid. Lightly score the tops of the mushrooms in a criss-cross pattern. Place the mushrooms top-up on the marinade and swish around so the liquid fills some of the spaces in the underside, then flip over and lay them down with the tops in the marinade. Cover and let marinate until evening, or at least 4 hours, flipping the “steaks” over occasionally.


Preheat a cast-iron frypan or griddle; spray lightly with oil spray. Sear the mushrooms on each side quickly, then pour the marinade over mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes so that the marinade cooks and the steaks absorb the flavors, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to serving dishes and spoon more marinade over top.


Original recipe from Diet Desserts and Dogs Blog.

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Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan 209

Breakfast

Scrambled Eggs with Natural Colby Jack Cheese, Whole Wheat Toast and Apple Slices

Mid Morning Snack

Grape Tomatoes

Lunch

Tuna Melt with Whole Wheat Bread and Mixed Vegetables

Afternoon Snack

Apple Slices

Dinner

Apple and Avocado Salad Over Mixed Greens with Feta Cheese and Organic Poppyseed Dressing

We hope you enjoyed day 209s Clean Eating Weight Loss Meal Plan!

Please sign up via email, above todays post, for more meal plans.

Have a wonderful day!

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Raw Clementine Gelato

I wish I could have gotten a picture that captured how very tasty this was. Youll just have to look at the pictures at the Raw Food Blog that actually do it justice instead of making it look like a bowl of scrambled eggs.

Until recently I didnt give the Raw Food movement much thought, it seemed a little too crazy even for me. However in my search for truly unsweetened desserts I kept running into Raw recipes that looked really tempting. Aside from honey and dates I can eat everything they cook with, which are a lot easier and cost effective to substitute than Splenda or other nasty fake sweeteners in diabetic recipes that are so heavy in sugar substitutes it makes me cringe.

The second I saw this recipe I knew I would be making it. After the success with the gelato I plan on making the accompanying cheesecake very soon. The only problem is Im wary to buy an ice cream maker, I feel like the second I had one the urge to make ice cream would disappear. So I had to get creative to get something resembling gelato consistency out of this recipe. As it freezes it turns into a triple layer terrine as the nuts sink to the bottom, the coconut oil sits in the middle and the juice floats to the top. I found running a fork through it and treating it like a granita worked out alright. It mixed the layers together but didnt quite get it creamy. After a month with no dessert other than carob chips and homemade sorbet this was heavenly regardless of the texture.

Now we have a box of left over Clementines to snack on and the ingredients to experiment with other Raw desserts on hand. These are both exciting things. I also discovered that Breyers has a whole line of low carb ice cream bars. The fruit bars are sweetened with fructose and something I loved even before this diet so it was a nice surprise to find out I could still eat them. And they have chocolate bars that have small amounts of Splenda in them which could come in handy next time I have an emergency chocolate urge.

Raw Clementine Gelato

2c cashews
1/ 2 cup coconut butter/oil
1/ 4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cup almond milk (we used unsweetened hazelnut milk)
1 cup Clementine juice
2 teaspoon Clementine zest

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Taste for sweetness, you may need to add extra agave if your Clementines weren’t that sweet.

Pour mixture into a rectangular container and place in the freezer to set. Once set but not frozen through, run a fork through it breaking up the layers of the gelato that will have separated while setting. Blend the gelato together in a bowl using fork or mixer to combine. This wont make a smooth gelato consistency but it tastes lovely without buying another kitchen appliance. Alternatively, you can pour the mixture (unfrozen) into an ice-cream maker if you have one.

You can make your own almond milk(it is difficult to find unsweetened nut milks in the store) by blending 1 cup of almonds with 3 cups of water, and straining through a nut milk bag or sieve.

Original recipe from the Raw Chef Blog.

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Clean Eating Recipe Lobster Cucumber Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked lobster tail, chopped (we recommend: wild caught Longostino lobster tails)
• 2 cups of ripe avocado, peeled, de-cored and cubed
• 1 cup of cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1/2 table spoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tea spoons of fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 table spoon of freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 dash of sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 dash of ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients above into a mixing bowl.
2. Toss and mix well.

Enjoy!

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Light Weight

Im kind of oblivious when it comes to my body. Up until recently that was a bit of a good thing because it meant I didnt obsess about my weight or even know what bra size I wear. This helps me be comfortable in my skin but it probably was less than healthy as I never knew how much I weighed unless I found myself on the horrifying scale in the doctors office.

This obliviousness however is not the sanest thing in the world when one is dieting and blogging about it for the world to see. After 20 something years of not weighing myself I havent been able to convince myself to start doing it regularly now. So it took until the other day for me to notice the pants I bought a month ago were falling off me, my shirts were baggy, and regular wine shop customers kept going on about how thin I looked. Clueless me still thought I had only lost about 12 pounds. I stepped on the scale and almost fell off it when I discovered Ive now lost exactly 20 pounds. No wonder none of my clothes fit. Finally all the deprivation almost seems worth it.

I really didnt expect the results to be so obvious and so fast. Now Im down a pants size and oh so glad Ive kept my wardrobe from when I was lighter so I have something to wear. Cant figure out whether Im thrilled or freaked out that Ive lost weight so quickly.

Mostly Im thrilled because those 20 pounds are the evil nasty ones that Ive gained since going on thyroid medications that have caused havoc on my metabolism. The doctor warned me about weight gain but I wasnt prepared for gaining that much while eating less and exercising more so until the fella and I decided on this diet I had given up on ever being thin again. It should be interesting to see how difficult it is to get rid of the weight Ive been hanging on to a little longer.

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Clean Eating Recipe Tomato Cream Sauce

Clean Eating Recipe: Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of grape tomatoes, cut into halves
• 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 1 table spoon of real butter
• 1 cup of organic heavy cream
• 1 pinch of sea salt or kosher salt
• 1 pinch of fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat sauce pan on high over stove top.
2. Add butter and let it melt.
3. Add garlic and tomato halves into melted butter, and let  cook for one minute.
4. When tomatoes and garlic turn brown, reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for about 2 – 3 minutes. Stir occasionally.
5. Slowly stir in heavy cream.
6. Add a sea salt and pepper.
7. Let simmer for another 2 minutes while stirring often.
8. Pour sauce over pasta or cooked meat, like todays baked chicken breast.

Enjoy! 

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