• Clean Eating – Recipes and Tips for Staying in Shape

written by: Erin Stone

As a health science major, I have been learning a lot about nutrition and staying in shape. It turns out that while working out is EXTREMELY important, your diet contributes to about 70% of your results! Many people feel that eating clean and healthy meals are hard and time consuming, but I have found a few recipes that I love, and I hope you will too! It turns out that healthy meals can still be delicious. I have found that the key to staying on a healthy diet is making a meal plan and sticking to it. When you have your meals all planned out, it becomes much harder to cheat on your diet. Here are some fun (and interesting!) recipe ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everywhere in between!

Breakfast

Zeggs and Zoats  (Zucchini eggs and oats)- I discovered this crazy recipe a few days ago on instagram. It sounds weird, but tastes great if you’re looking for a filling, low carb breakfast! The best part is that you can personalize the recipe and add whatever toppings you’d like.

Paleo Zeggs:

Ingredients:

• 1 lg zucchini, grated
• 3-5 egg whites
• 1/4 cup almond milk or water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbs + 2 tsp coconut flour
• 2 tbs chia or flax seeds (optional)
• 1 or 2 packets of stevia
• add 1 tsp cocoa for chocolate zeggs!

Directions: mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, and put in microwave for 2 and a half minutes. Remove and stir, then put back in microwave for another 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Top with whatever you would like! Some popular toppings are sliced banana, PB2 powder, blueberries, cinnamon, honey, slicked almonds, or other fruit. Zoats are the same general idea, but there are oats in the recipe as well for more added carbs. There are tons of recipes on the internet for different flavor zeggs and zoats!

Coconut Banana Pancakes (YUM!) makes 4 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs coconut flour
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 packet stevia
• 1/2 smashed banana
• 1 tbs water
• a couple drops of coconut extract (optional)
• topping: chocolate PB2

directions: mix all ingredients and make pancakes on a griddle or in a pan, cooking for a few minutes on each side. Top with chocolate PB2 or maple syrup and the other half of banana, sliced. These pancakes are delicious, and give you nothing to feel guilty about!

Lunch/Dinner

Baked Wild Cod (my personal favorite!)

ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs wild cod
• 2 medium yams/sweet potatoes, sliced thin
• 2 small red potatoes, sliced thin
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 tbs tomato paste, mixed with 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp basil
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 450. In a large baking pan, toss and coat all of the ingredients. It’s that simple! Bake 30-40 minutes on top rack. Enjoy! Makes 4-5 servings.

Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1.5 cup pineapple, chopped
• 2.5 tbs sweet and spicy bbq sauce (or your favorite sauce)
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup pistachios, shelled and chopped (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Cut chicken into strips and season to your liking. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbs olive oil on medium high heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned. Next, add the rest of the olive oil (1 tbs), onions, bell pepper, garlic (or garlic powder), salt and pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Last, add the pineapple, pistachios, and BBQ sauce and stir for 1 minute. Makes 2 servings. (from hungry happens site)

Paleo Chicken Avocado Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp sriracha (or to taste)
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 scallions
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Heat broth and sriracha on stovetop on medium heat. Dice chicken into bite sized pieces while to broth comes to a boil. When broth is simmering, stir in chopped white part of scallions and chicken. Add garlic. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls, and divide avocado and green scallions among the servings.

Dessert

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 lb unsweetened frozen strawberries
• 14 fl oz coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp liquid stevia
• 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions: Put everything in a food processor and run until strawberries are pureed. If there are leftovers, store in the freezer! It will freeze solid, so take out of the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to eat it.

I hope you enjoy all of these recipes, I’m sure more will be coming soon! Remember, healthy  and clean food CAN taste delicious!