7 Ideas for Clean Eating Lunch

Today, I am presenting you with 7 Ideas for Clean Eating Lunch, be sure to check out all four of my posts in this series (this will be updated with links once future the posts have been created.)

• 7 Ideas for Clean Eating Breakfast
• 7 Ideas for Clean Eating Snacks
• 7 Ideas for Clean Eating Lunch
• 7 Ideas for Clean Eating Dinner

All of the following photographs are taken by me and are of meals I made in my home.

Idea #1: Tuna and Veggie Wrap and a Side of Fruit - I added some balsamic vinegar & a little bit of olive oil to my tuna and placed the tuna "salad" on an Ezekiel wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, & homemade pickles. Yum!

Idea #2: Egg Salad Sandwich with a Side of Fruit - Use this Eat-Clean Diet Egg Salad Recipe and serve on some high fiber bread. I left out the onions and celery from this recipe because egg salad is one of those comfort foods for me and I like it plain, without any type of vegetable added.

This is the soup before I pureed it.

Idea #3: Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup - Soup is filling, but with this soup you still need to add in some protein to your lunch. So, why not add a side of Ants on a Log.

Idea #4: Crockpot Black Bean Soup - With the addition of beans to your soup, you have included a protein to have a very filling meal. Add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt to the top, if desired. I love to make soups in the crockpot because I can get it going when I wake up and depending if I set it to low or high I have can have it ready for dinner (low for 6-8 hours) or lunch (high for 3-4 hours.)

Crockpot Black Bean Soup Recipe
2 cans (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
8 C broth
4 carrots, sliced
4 stalks of celery, sliced
1 med onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T cumin
1 T basil
1/4 C fresh cilantro

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hour. Serve & enjoy!

Idea #5: Quick Packed Lunch Bag - Go for the Greek Yogurt and some fruit. Typically, cheese is not allowed in the Clean Eating Diet because of the amount of saturated fat (30% in one stick) it contains, but you can have it occasionally and in small amounts. I like these cheese sticks because they are portion sized and you can occasionally indulge while controlling your portion size and pack in 7g of protein and 20% calcium.

Idea #6: Tabouleh with an Ezekiel wrap and alfalfa sprouts - Tabbouleh is very easy to make with the  box mix from Fantastic Foods, but it is also quite easy to make with a Tabbouleh recipe. Don't forget to make up some clean Pita Bread (so easy!) if you don't have Ezekiel wraps.

Idea #7: Quinoa, Black Bean and Avocado Salad - In my efforts to incorporate more grains I have discovered quinoa which also provides some protein as well. Quinoa is quite easy to make in a rice cooker and it provides a good base to add items to for a healthy and clean salad. I am very happy I discovered this salad because it is fast becoming a favorite. I found that the more I simplified this recipe, the tastier is was.

Thrifty Thursday: Use your Bread Bag as a Sandwich Bag

Have you gotten to the end of your loaf of bread and have a bag leftover? I like to re-use it to store sandwiches that we are taking with us. In this particular picture I have 3 sandwiches stacked up in here, which saves me 3 disposable sandwich bags that would be thrown away of from having to wash out 3 re-usable sandwich bags (learn to make you own here!)

I know friends who save them to take along when the take their dog on a walk to collect any doggie doo-doo it happens to leave. I know they also like to re-use those thing little bags that the weekend paper comes in as well to pick up dog poop.

How do you reuse your bread bag?

Wordless Wednesday: Fireside Apple Orchard

Fireside Apple Orchard & Gardens, Northfield, MN

PLEASE CLICK MISTER LINKY & ENTER LINK!!!!

Try It Tuesday : Make Felted Soaps

It is not too early to be thinking about Christmas presents especially if you are giving handmade items. My parents give each of the kids, in-laws, & grandkids at least one handmade present for Christmas and my mom gave us a deadline of the end of July to give them ideas on things they could make that we were hoping for. Felted soaps can be both a practical and fun gift to give someone. It is both soap and a washcloth in one present.

 Felting has been one of those crafty items I wanted to learn how to do and this was going to be the year. Felting is a great activity for kids to do as well. Felting soap is very easy for kids to do and they will love making their own creations.

Steps to Felting Soap

Gather supplies that include a bucket of water, soap with rounded edges, roving wool, and a clean stocking (optional) 

If your soap is not rounded, you can use a grater to round the edges. Be sure to collect your shavings in a container and save them to use to make Homemade Powder Laundry Soap.

 Don't worry if the edges are not perfect because after your wet your wool and soap and start rubbing it will all smooth out. You do want rounded edges because it is easier to rub the soap around in your hands and the process will work quicker.

 Cover the entire bar of soap with roving wool. I like covering the entire bar with one color and felting in another color to act as a design and provide interest. You could choose to do it in just one color or as many colors as you want.

If you have a clean stocking (or you can buy knee highs from Wal-Mart in an egg for 50-cents), it is helpful to put the wool covered soap inside as you rub it because it prevents you from catching an edge. I made these with about 10 minutes of rubbing (be sure to get all the sides) while I watched a television program with my son. 

When you are finished, allow them to sit out on a cooling rack (lets air get at it from all sides) and dry for 24-48 hours.

GIVEAWAY: UNREAL Candy

Do you want some Halloween Candy, special occasion candy, or every day candy that doesn't have all the junk in it? Then UNJUNK your Halloween Candy with UNREAL Candy. UNREAL Candy has no artificials, no corn syrup, and no hydrogenated oils. It would be hard to find many other candies that have been UNJUNKED.

You will be surprised at how you don't even notice that the junk is missing. They are still delightfully sweet and tasty. One thing you will hopefully notice on the wrappers is that many have nearly 50% less sugar, as well as lower calories.

Check back later this week when I post my review with pictures of products that I have taken, but I wanted to get this giveaway posted right away because the coupons expire on 10/15.

ONE WINNER WILL RECEIVE 6 COUPONS* FOR FREE UNREAL CANDY!!!!!

*ONE coupon is for a free UNREAL Candy with no additional purchase required and FIVE coupons are for Buy One Get  One FREE of UNREAL Candy. All SIX coupons expire on 10/15.

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I was given these coupon for the purpose of review from BzzAgent. I was not compensated for this review or giveaway.

GIVEAWAY and Review: Yamuna Body Rolling

I have had the unique opportunity to review Yamuna Foot Fitness. I was blessed/plagued (depends if you are glass half full or empty type of person) with flat feet and my feet can get very tired and sore from all the exercise I do. I exercise quite a bit. I do a bootcamp class 1x a week, Zumba 2x a week, yoga 1x a week, Kick It Up Class 1x a week, Weightlifting/Strength class 1x a week, run 1-2x a week for 3-6 miles and have recently started adding in boxing a couple times a month, plus then there is all the physical play & hikes I do with my kids. It's no wonder my feet are sore & tired.

The Yamuna Foot Fitness kit I was allowed to review was featured in the January issue of Oprah.

My feet have felt fantastic after regularly using the foot fitness kit. The DVD explains easily how to use it and the hows & whys of using it. I learned so much about why we need to take care of our feet and how it benefits the rest of our bodies. Just think about it, we use them all the time and it's hard to get away without using them especially when you are actively exercising.  This would also make a great gift for someone you love that has foot problems or wear high heels often.  :)

Yamuna® Foot Fitness helps prevent or alleviate common foot proplems such as:
Plantar Fasciitis
Morton Neuroma
Flat Feet
Hammer Toes
Fallen Arches

The Yamuna Studio is in the West Village of New York City and include classes in Yamuna Body Rolling, Yamuna Foot Fitness, Yamuna Focus Class, Yamuna Yoga, Yamuna Based Pilates, and Yamuna Master Class.





ONE WINNER FROM NEW YORK CITY and VICINITY WILL WIN A FREE PASS TO CLASS

Please make sure that you noticed this is a giveaway for a FREE PASS to CLASS to Yamuna Body Rolling. This is a $20 value for a class in YBR®, Yamuna® Yoga, Yamuna® Pilates.

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( I was not compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions posted are my own)

Make It Monday: Crockpot Pureed Butternut Squash Soup

It's simple, healthy, low-fat, filling and inexpensive. Can it get any better than that?

Pureed Butternut Squash Soup
1 large butternut squash (will be about 4-5 C of cubed squash)
4 C broth
1 med onion, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Peel, remove seeds and cube squash and place in crockpot (slow cooker).  Add broth, onion and cinnamon. Stir. Cook on high in a crockpot for 3-4 hours. Puree in blender, food processor or an electric hand blender. Top with a dollop of sour cream (or green yogurt) and serve.