Eat a Rainbow Everyday

I have been cleaning off my desk today and I uncovered some notes I took at a workshop I attended about a month ago.

Here is a list of what each of the colors of food offer us.

RED
- high in vitamin C which is good for the immune system
- high in lycopene and lutein which protects against clogged arteries and some cancers
- powerful cell protector (stops oxidation)

BLUE & PURPLE
- anti aging
- anti bacterial
- helps memory

GREEN
- good for vision
- high in calcium, good for bone and teeth strength
- high in folic acid

YELLOW & ORANGE
- high in vitamin C and beta carotene
- heart healthy
- anti inflammatory
- good for vision health
- boosts immune system

Special notes
- Tomato is the only vegetable whose nutritional profile improves with extended cooking. You get 5 times more nutritional value from a tomato after cooking. (I don't know how true that is but thought it was interesting!)
- Whether fresh, frozen or dried, look for produce that has bright colors and beware of produce that has been artificially colored or ripened.
- Cooking slightly helps to release the nutrients inside the produce.

Almost Clean Baked Oatmeal

With the exception of the protein powder, this recipes is "clean". (I think) I was able to eliminate the Splenda by adding 3 very ripe bananas. I store over ripe bananas in the freezer for just this purpose. They keep almost indefinitely in there. Just pop them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and the mushy thawed banana will slide right out of the peel. It looks gross but mixed in a recipe it adds a mild banana flavor and sweetness.

This recipe also made a bunch more muffins than the last time. I think it was because the steel cut oats didn't absorb as much moisture. Hopefully that won't affect the end product. It says that the severing size is one muffin but I usually have 2 at a time for breakfast and one for a snack.

1 cups rolled oats (300cal, 6g fat, 54g carb, 10g prot)

2 cup steel cut oats (1200cal, 16g fat, 208g carb, 32g prot)

2 cup plain soy milk (200cal, 8g fat, 16g carb, 14g prot)

2 cups water

4 scoops Soy Protein powder Vanilla (520cal, 6g fat, 12g carb, 100g prot)

1 cup blueberries (60cal, 0g fat, 18g carb, 0g prot)

1 cup eggbeaters (120cal, 0g fat, 4g carb, 24g prot)

3 Tbsp ground flax seeds (90cal, 7.5g fat, 6g carb, 4.5g prot)

3 very ripe bananas, mashed (215cal, 1g fat, 55.5g carb, 3g prot)

Cinnamon, nutmeg or other spices of choice

1 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350

In a large pan over medium heat, mix together all ingredient except blueberries. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid begins to thicken, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and fold in blueberries.

Spoon into 30 silicone muffin cups. Fill to the top as this will not rise. (If you use more or less muffin cups then use the recipe totals at the bottom to calculate cal, fat, etc per serving based on the number of servings you get from your pans.)

Bake for 40 minutes or until firm to the touch. (Depending on your oven this can take longer. These are very hard to over cook so don't stress about the time.)

If you use a metal muffin tin you should line them with papers or they will not come out very easily. After they have cooled enough to handle, turn them out of the silicone cups and allow to finish cooling. Once cool, store in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe totals: 2705 cal, 44.5g fat, 373.5g carb, 187.5g prot

Serving size 1 muffins: 90 cal, 1.5g fat, 12.5g carb, 6.25g prot

Note: You can use regular milk and whey powder if you want. That will change the final numbers but not by much.

Clean Eating

I just bought the Eat Clean Diet book by Tosca Reno. I already knew the info int he book and most of it is available online but it was put together in one place in a very easy to read and implement format that made it worth the money.

The Eat Clean Diet

Tosca Reno message board

Clean Eating Magazine

The Eat Clean Diet website

10 step strategy to Consistently Eating Clean

Eating Clean Works

Fitness Quest's Recipes