The 3 Day Refresh

I decided to complete the three day refresh during Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week. I just needed a kickstart (even though I'm in the midst of the 21 day fix again) after Easter in order to fully cleanse myself out! PLUS. I have a super huge goal of losing 10 MORE pounds by my birthday, which is Friday, April 10...I'm almost there!!

I did a breakdown of each day, what I had as part of the cleanse, and how I was feeling. This is definitely new for me. Something else to consider is this...this is the second time I've attempted the cleanse! The first time, I gave up at the end of Day 2 because I was so cranky and irritable. I'm hoping that now, since I've been clean eating for awhile, my body will be able to handle this cleanse ALOT easier.

What's the 3 day Refresh, you ask??
The 3 day refresh description, taken directly from my beachbody website : "If you're looking for a way to lose weight, feel lighter and more energized, and jump-start a new healthy-eating lifestyle, then the 3-Day Refresh is for you. This 3-day program of specially formulated shakes, easy-to-prepare clean meals, and healthy snacks has been scientifically designed to help you break the cycle of bad eating habits, lose weight, detoxify your body, and dramatically improve the way you feel—without starving."

What do you get with it?

There are two kits you can get. The complete kit - which comes with Shakeology packets for those customers that don't drink Shakeology daily. Orrrrrrr, you can purchase the kit without Shakeology for those of us that already have Shakeology on hand. Each kit comes with a fiber sweep shake, 2 vanilla fresh shakes, and a recipe guide for each day.

How much?
For the average customer, The 3 Day Refresh is $70. If you become a coach, simply for the discount, it's around $40! Totally worth it! I plan on doing one of these once a month. Even if I hate them. Because I'll clean out my system and lose 3 pounds :) In one year - I could lose 36 pounds!

Daily Eating Plan Schedule
Morning: 1 glass of water, Shakeology, Fruit
AM Snack: Herbal Tea
Mid-Morning: Fiber Sweep
Lunch: 1 veggie option, 1 fruit option, 1 healthy fat option
PM Snack: Herbal Tea, 1 veggie option, 1 healthy fat option
Supper: A supper meal from the recipe book
Nighttime Snack: Herbal Tea

(Because I am working out along with this cleanse (you are allowed to but it's supposed to be low impact since the diet isn't proteiny, I added a protein at night with my supper because my workouts are high impact. So I follow the entire cleanse during the day, and add a meat/carb. So for example, tonight I had spaghetti - with a recipe from the book.)

MONDAY/DAY #1:
Dear Diary, oh my dear lordy, I kinda want to die. I've been fine all morning, but this fiber sweep thing might make me gag. I'm not really good with chugging weird textured liquids that taste like orange medicine. ...okay, I'm being slightly dramatic. It's not that bad, but honestly this is probably the worst part of the day. I think this is what made me quit it the last time! But I'm pushing through. All day has been a breeze - it helps that I've been busy! I specifically picked to put this on week days because I'm busy throughout the week and I knew it'd help to keep my mind off of food and I wouldn't crave much of anything. I had Spaghetti at dinner (healthy!) as an added carb/protein simply because I am working out along with this cleanse! You technically aren't supposed too, but I'm making sure to add the right stuff in so I can still work along with my 21 day fix group. Right now, it's 7:30 pm and I'm getting ready to clean up the dishes, close the kitchen, and get my workout onnnnnn. Cause this girl has a goal to reach by Friday! HERE WE GO! As far as feelings go, I'm not hungry, I have no headaches, and I feel like I have energy. I can't fall asleep!! 
TUESDAY/DAY #2:
Dear Diary, I snuck a weigh in this morning. I'm down 2.2 pounds! WHOHOO. Even though it's not all about the number on the scale, it's good to know that I'm cleaning out my system. I hardly pooped at all yesterday...which is really weird for me. But that fiber sweep must do it's magic overnight because dear Lordy, this morning, I POOPED. Which probably contributes to my weightloss so far! haha! AND I woke up a half hour early this morning ready(ish) to start the day. I think I know why you aren't supposed to workout during the refresh (because you'll get tired faster with less calories in your diet) but I'm also glad I added in a carb/protein and plan on doing that tonight as well so I can keep up my workouts with my 21 day fix group. I still can't stand the Fiber Sweep...gah. It's the most dreaded part of my day. But I gulped that sucker down today because I know it'll go by fast! My stomach has been gurgly all day today though, and I have a weird taste in my mouth too. It's like metallicy. My stomach keeps making weird noises and I just keep pretending that I don't hear them ;) That's how it works, right? I've been so gassy and bloated - all day today. My tummy kinda aches and I just want to crawl into bed. But I'm not hungry...so maybe I just have to take a poop. Update: no poops...awkward diarrhea cloud poops. If you know what I mean. I feel bloated and sick in my stomach, but I worked out anyways! Hoping for good results tomorrow!
WEDNESDAY/DAY #3:
Dear Diary, I weighed myself again this morning - especially after I woke up not feeling bloated or sick in the stomach. I'm down another 1.3 pounds! Making the total so far 3.5 pounds and I'm not even done with Day 3 yet. This is definitely cleansing and refreshing! Even when I'm adding a protein at dinner time! I LOVE drinking my Shakeology and eating fresh strawberries every morning. I think I might keep up some of the habits of this cleanse! Peeing lots and lots has me cleaned out for the week. Today went SO MUCH BETTER than the past two days. It felt normal to just go through the routine - and it was honestly annoying to me because I knew it was the last day! hah! I'm looking forward to seeing my results tomorrow and hoping the scale really shows the changes (especially since I didn't take measurements!) My tummy wasn't grumbly or gassy at all and it felt great. I definitely took a HUGE poop (sorry, TMI) today, but I'd been waiting forever to take that poop and it was awesome.





RESULTS: I lost 3.8 pounds (and even more in inches...silly me didn't measure...but if this helps, even my underwear is baggy!)


REVIEW: I definitely want to do this every month from now on! I want to clean out my system and good news is - this cleanse can be shipped home direct every month without ever thinking about it! (Done AND Done!) I lost a total of 3.8 pounds! WHAT A DEAL! It was mostly delicious - minus the fiber sweep! (gag) but I think I could drink it down three times a month to get these results. I'm getting closer and closer to my goal. Was I hungry? No! I felt fine all three days! Side affects? A gassy and bloated tummy on day 2. IT WAS SO ANNOYING. mainly, because I hadn't felt bloated in so long. But working out helped and then when I woke up on Day 3 it was fine! I'm tempted to continue the eating habits, lightening my lunch, downing liquids, etc. Watching how many carbs I am consuming - but also still allowing carbs to be a part of my diet. I'm really excited for the results this has brought me and I'm really hoping to have a challenge group start soon where we do this again! YIPPEE! Would I have lost more if I hadn't added a protein in at supper time? Probably! But I still wanted to be able to stick with my 21 day fix workouts :)

The 21 Day Fix: Round 2: Week 1 Results

GUYS GUYS GUYS. I'm starting Round 2 of the 21 day fix! We have maintained our weight from the first round, and now we have more goals set and we are ready to meet them! Last time I blogged about our 21 day fix experience, I divided it up into sections for each day...instead..
I thought I'd just post one huge blog about my experience throughout the week and my total results!

This week was ROUGH. Not only was it a holiday week but I didn't realize how much I had let myself have small cheats here or there on a normal week, so sticking to the routine this week was hard. I even had a roadtrip to VA for a job interview but I packed my stuff!

I always enjoy clean eating & making it creative so my food-loving husband enjoys them too  :) and then he doesn't feel like he is "chewing water" or so he says. Anyways, if you are ever, ever, EVER, in need of ideas, please check out my Pinterest page, It's So Yum board. :) MOST recipes are clean eating, except for the ones near the bottom of the page...that was when I wasn't cooking healthy. Everything that is clean eating should say clean eating.

Easter happened through this week and for the first holiday in a LONG time, I'm not stuffed, I'm not sleepy, I'm not tired or bloated or disgusting. I don't need to break out my sweatpants. I ate a plate full and that was it. AND I WASN'T HUNGRY! I will consider this an extremely huge success Day 7/21. :) And going strong!

HAPPY EASTER! Daisy says "Hi!" too!

Tomorrow morning I will weigh in to get my most accurate weight results for all of y'all. It's going to be a great next two weeks. My birthday is this coming Friday and my goal is to be 10 pounds down from my starting weight of this Round. So far, (not counting the weigh in for tomorrow) I'm down around 4 pounds. I'm hoping to reach 10 pounds by Friday for my birthday!!! HERE WE GO.

Tomorrow morning - I'm also starting a 3 day refresh program! Beachbody sells these and gives you everything you need. It's three days, cleans out your system, and gets you pumped! 3 pounds of weightloss a month - do this for a year and you'll be down 36 pounds! :) I'm doing one a month from here on out! I'll make a blog about that too!

I'm starting to see numbers on the scale that I've never seen before...and that, in and of itself, is amazing.


Monday AM Weigh In:
So...yesterday, the scale said amazing things...but today...this said that I had actually only lost like 1 pound. I'm going to go with...I didn't poop yet. and that scales are stupid. However, my clothes are saying otherwise. It looks like I might need all new pants really soon. I heard back from one of my challenge group participants and she's down 5 pounds already, another lady was down 6 pounds on Friday! :) WHAT AN AMAZING PROGRAM.

A day in the life: My typical clean eating day!

ALOT of people ask me about clean eating, what it is, and how it works! I wanted to give you a sneak peek into my life - what my typical clean eating day looks like!

--I've taken the time to take pictures of everything I eat each and every day. I even documented the times! So this is my schedule of life! :)

6:15 AM - Wake up, scroll phone to wake up, hit snooze four times...
6:30 to 7 - Get ready - I'm pretty low maintenance
7 to 7:30 - pack lunch, prep lunch and AM snack (this doesn't take long at all!!), clean up kitchen, pack up teacher bags, get ready to go!
7:30 - DRINK SHAKEOLOGY!
 7:40-10 - get to school, Teach!

10:00 AM SNACK - typically cottage cheese, and a vegetable like baby carrots or a fruit like raspberries/blueberries
10:15-12:30 Teach
12:30 - LUNCH - Everyday I eat a wheat tortilla, 6 slices of low sodium turkey lunch meat, lettuce, and sprinkle of shredded cheese with an orange
1:00-3:30 - Teach and head home
3:45 - PM SNACK - my favorite snack to make when I get home from school is baked tortilla chips. I put a tortilla on a cookie sheet, sprinkle cinnamon on it, and then bake it at 350 degrees for 7 minutes! Delicious!
4:00-6:00 - check emails, prepare dinner, play with Daisy, watch Friends Reruns on TBS, relaxxxx
6:00 - DINNER - my dinner always consists of some fresh vegetable, some grain (baked potato, cup of quinoa, cup of rice), and some meat - I love my burger recipe I posted earlier, but I also make tacos, chicken enchiladas, baked chicken, etc.
6:30-9 - Workout, shower, do some Beachbody messaging, facebooking, instagramming
9:00 PM SNACK - I love having a cup of fresh fruit before I go to bed! My favorite is strawberries!

"Wait, but Alyssa...you eat 6 times a day??" Yes, why yes I do :) I never go hungry, I'm always full, and I'm boosting my metabolism by keeping it working hard.

I can't stress enough the importance of eating 6 small meals a day, even if you have to hide in the bathroom at work to nibble it down ;) Kidding! Don't rush your food! I don't get a planning period in my morning schedule, I teach straight through from 8:15 to 12:30, however, my students know I'm on track for healthy eating and I can usually take a bite, help a student, take a bite, teach, take a bite, continue on. Do I get to sit down and enjoy my snack? No! haha, but sometimes I have to eat and keep busy!

It's so easy to eat clean! It literally takes one hour, one day to plan everything, decide your schedule, and then from then on, for the rest of your life, it's easy peasy lemon squeezy!! :) If I don't cheat and eat clean, it's easy for me to lose 5 pounds in a week. and Keep.It.Off. Because losing weight is 80% food and 20% exercise. Exercise helps to burn fat and build muscle!

I also can't stress enough the importance of Shakeology and how it's changed my life amazingly! I haven't worked out since the 21 day fix in February (I know..I'm not proud of that...) I just started working out again this week. It's Wednesday - and this morning, I was down two pounds since Monday! BUT! I haven't gained a pound because of Shakeology, if anything I've lost weight! It's true, I really can't believe it how much Shakeology curbs my appetite, and keeps my metabolism going!!

HEALTHY HOMEMADE Burgers

So, I married a man who loves food. Specifically meat. When we were completing the 21 day fix, I wasn't exactly the most creative person in the kitchen mostly because the planning process was slightly overwhelming. But then, Jared became kinda interested in the plan..and he started asking if we could add this or if we could switch it up with that...and I came to a realization...

Jared was being creative with our food...and it was actually way better....and way more filling...and 21 day fix approved!

So, I created a burger system..that to this day we still eat atleast once a week, if not twice! I decided to share this all with you!

INGREDIENTS
 - 1 lb of ground turkey meat
 - olive oil
 - minced garlic - 2 tablespoons
 - cumin
 - oregano
 - paprika
 - powdered garlic

(spices/seasonings are free game with the 21 day fix! Hallelujah!)

Mix the 2 tablespoons of minced garlic with the seasonings. I never actually measured out any of the seasonings, but if I guesstimated it'd probably be a full tablespoon of each. I just kinda put it what I feel like! Take some ground turkey meat and fill a red container with it (or about a 1/2 a cup). Take the meat out, roll it in a ball, and then form it into a patty. I usually place these in the skillet at this point and put some olive oil over them. I spread part of the seasoning on the side facing up. As it's cooking, I flip it every so often. When I flip it for the first time, I put some olive oil and the rest of the seasoning on the side I haven't seasoned yet. From there, I just flip it until it's done!

I serve this with a tortilla, some shredded cheese on top, and lettuce. A side of strawberries and a half baked potato make it the most delicious meal ever!

7 Day Clean Eating Challenge

Holy Cow! I haven't written a blog in almost a week...not cool, Alyssa, not cool.
I've had the wonderful privilege of leading a 7 day clean eating challenge for my Beachbody Team! Because of the interest, I opened it up to the other coaches on my team and we ended up having over 60 women join in our clean eating challenge! It was definitely a rough 7 days, but we made it! WE DID IT! And I am more than excited to share results with you :) But before I do that, I want to explain a little bit about the 7 day clean eating group and how it worked.

What is clean eating?
Clean eating is avoiding processed foods and using mostly organic, natural, and fresh ingredients to make recipes! It's about being more conscious of your food's journey from origin to your plate. These ladies really buckled down, focused, and stepped away from the frozen foods, the canned goods, the boxed meals, and started eating healthier! This was just the beginning, because let's be real, we can't just go cold turkey ;)

How does the group work?
Once the ladies signed up on my website (or their coaches), I'd add them to the facebook group that I created. Remember - this is FREE! All they had to do was make a free account and commit to the meal plan/participating in the group. On the Saturday before our group started, I posted the grocery list and everyone went shopping. People were posting their groceries everywhere and it was so fun to see everyone participating! Sunday, I posted the meal calendar for the week just so everyone could have an idea of how it was going to work. From then on, each day I posted twice. In the morning, it was usually something inspirational, and in the evening, it was the recipes and directions for the meal plan the next day. The participation by everyone in the group is what made it special! We had mama's, grandma's, college students, it was such a variety of women working so hard to eat clean and healthy - in the midst of crazy busy and different lifestyles.

What did we eat?
Delicious yummy awesomeness! That's what! I'm kidding..but seriously :)
Here is a break down of what our week looked like!
Monday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
AM Snack: 1/2 Banana, 7 walnuts
Lunch: Tuna Salad
PM Snack: Shakeology/Cottage Cheese
Supper: Honey Dijon Chicken with Steamed Garlic Parm Broccoli
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Berries and Yogurt
AM Snack: Shakeology/2 Eggs
Lunch: Turkey Avocado Wrap
PM Snack: Celery and Peanut Butter
Supper: Grilled Teriyaki Salmon
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Pineapple and Cottage Cheese
AM Snack: Veggies and Hummus
Lunch: Loaded Baked Potato
PM Snack: Yogurt/Shakeology
Supper:Chicken Tacos with Beans and Quinoa
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Thursday:
Breakfast: 2 eggs/Shakeology
AM Snack: Nutty Apple
Lunch: Egg Salad Wrap
PM Snack: 10 almonds and a medium orange
Supper: Steak with Spinach and Baked Potato
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Friday:
Breakfast: Strawberry Waffle and Sausage
AM Snack: Yogurt/Shakeology
Lunch: Chicken and Hummus Pita
PM Snack: Veggie and Cheese
Supper: Rosemary Pork Chops with Peas and Wild Rice
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Saturday:
Breakfast: Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich
AM Snack: 1/2 Banana, 7 walnuts
Lunch: Tuna Salad
PM Snack: Shakeology/Cottage Cheese
Supper: Honey Dijon Chicken with Steamed Garlic Parm Broccoli
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit
Sunday:
Breakfast: Berries and Yogurt
AM Snack: Shakeology/2 Eggs
Lunch: Turkey Avocado Wrap
PM Snack: Celery and Peanut Butter
Supper: Grilled Teriyaki Salmon
Night Snack: Veggies/Fruit

See?! I told you, it was yummy deliciousness and it was ALOT of food. We were allowed coffee, but just one cup with only one teaspoon of milk/sugar. But other than that, mainly water!

Results
  I will share results for the people that reported back to me! I'll use code names instead of real names, just to keep some privacy. Did all 60 women participate? No. Life gets in the way. Did the people that did participate commit 100%? No. Did everyone share their results with me? No. But for the people that did, I'll display here!
I am so proud of each and every person in our group. They are taking the first steps towards a clean eating journey and that is the most important part.
Participants:
A: "4 lbs. and a dress size! I only exercised once and that was on Saturday so it's all the food!!!"
B: down 7 pounds and 13.25 inches
C: 7 pounds and 5.5 inches
D: 2 pounds and 9.5 inches
E: 6 pounds!
F: "4 lbs and 5 inches gone!"
G: 3.8 pounds lost!
H: down 5.6 pounds
I: 3.2 pounds
J: 3.8 pounds
K: 4.6 pounds
L: 6 pounds!

There are so many more ladies (like I said 60++++) that are in my group and just haven't reported results yet! YOU CAN SEE HOW AMAZING IT IS!

THIS WAS ONLY IN 7 DAYS OF EATING! 7!! that's it?!! Imagine if we kept this up until you met your goal! :) It's possible...believe me!

In the end, this was a really really really hard week for me! Although I had been sticking to my nutrition pretty decently since the 21 day fix, I definitely wasn't staying 100% committed to it! This week makes the 21 day fix look easy. During this week, I didn't have a choice what to eat, but with the 21 day fix, I could swap things in and out as I craved them. :) I'm so excited for the next step, because so many ladies have already committed to completing the 21 day fix with me now! Jared and I are starting today with Round 2! WHOOHOO and the ladies will all start next week! I'm so super excited and pumped! It had been a fantastic, tiring, inspiring, and rewarding week!

My Clean Kitchen

If you would've entered my kitchen 2 months ago, you probably would've been shocked.
It seemed normal to me, I swear. And maybe for some of you, this is your normal. It was my normal! And it had been my normal for 21 years!

But here is what my kitchen looked like....

1. The pantry was filled with cans of vegetables and soup, popcorn, chips, snack boxes of chip bags, crunchy bars, crackers. Boxes full of cake mixes and brownies mixes that I made almost weekly. WE HAD TONS OF SNACKS.
2. The window ledge had a huge sack of potatoes and lots of Sara Lee Bread Thins
3. Our freezer was STOCKED with frozen packages of french fries, tater tots, chicken nuggets, and pizzas.
4. Our garbage can was full of fast food bags and trash. Burger wrappers, fry containers, and soda cups were thrown in the trash and stacking up rapidly. We ate at a fast food place at least once a week.
5. Our fridge, ohhhh our fridge. hahahahahhaha, I'm seriously laughing out loud just thinking about what our fridge looked like before...hahahahah I can't stop laughing. Let's start with the door of the fridge...The top was FULL of butter. I bought 2 or three boxes of butter a week because I used so much butter in all of our cooking. We also had the LARGE size of all the thick and creamy dressings, sauces, and more. We had a ton of whip cream and ice cream toppings, our fridge door was complete junk. I used a lot of fruit and veggies in my cooking so that filled the bottom drawers. Our fridge was filled with Soda, Peach Tea, Iced Tea, and Milk. We rarely drank any water because we had plenty of other drinks to drink. We ate cheese and meat ALL DAY in everything. So our deli drawer was filled to the brim with pepperoni, salami, turkey, chicken, and 4 different types of cheese sliced. Our grocery bill was $200. And I thought that was good...


When I was preparing for the 21 day fix, I knew we wouldn't be able to eat like we always did. This probably wasn't the best way to get rid of the food, but rather than throwing it out, we basically gorged ourselves on food the night before we started! We ate and drank as much as we could to get rid of as much as we could.

What my kitchen looks like now....
1. The pantry is basically empty! I have lots of rice and quinoa, healthy flours and sugars, and a few vegetable cans left over from before (but I have yet to use them!) I use this space now to store extras. We have our olive jars and our peanut butter there too!
2. The window ledge has become the resting ground for our onions, just a small amount of potatoes, and all of our tortillas. We replaced our bread with tortillas!
3. Our freezer is simply full of meat (ground turkey and chicken, the healthy kind!) that I buy and don't use right away, so we want to save!
4. Our garbage can still fills up so much! But it's mainly with the meat packaging materials, or small bags of vegetables that I buy.
5. Our fridge... no butter! We use olive oil on everything now. We still have our dressings, but it's a slow process. All we have to drink is almond milk and water! Veggies and fruits stock the drawers and all of the shelves! Our meat and cheese for our sandwiches is limited and low sodium.

...and I spent $60 on groceries yesterday!


i thought I'd include a short snippet of my typical grocery list. Some of these I buy each week, some of them I buy every other week, just depending on how much it we eat :)

My typical grocery shopping list
1. bag of apples
2. bag of oranges
3. 2 cartons of strawberries
4. 1 bag of baby carrots
5. 1 head of lettuce
6. 1 container of minced garlic
7. turkey bacon
8. container of turkey lunch meat, low sodium
9. 1 bag of shredded mexican style cheese
10. 1 container of vanilla greek yogurt
11. 4 packs of 8 wheat tortillas
12. 2 packaged of 1 lb. ground turkey
13. 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breast
14. 2 Almond Milks
15. 1 jar of Organic peanut butter
16. 1 package of 18 eggs
17. 2 cucumbers
18. three green peppers
19. 2 tomatoes
20. almonds


THAT'S IT! AND I SPEND $60!

So, if you are trying to make your kitchen a clean eating kitchen, then I hope this list helps you out! It's a process and it takes time. YOU GOT THIS!

How to Eat Clean on a Budget

With Jared and I being just married and me with a large amount of debt hanging over my head, our budget was, is, and will be tight for awhile. We felt like it was so much cheaper and faster to eat frozen foods - chicken nuggets, pizza, fries, wings, and lots of meat and potatoes.

WE WERE WRONG.

We began the 21 day fix with dread, because the first week Jared had to go to the grocery store 3 times for more fruits and vegetables. We spent over $250 the first week for just the two of us...HOW WERE WE SUPPOSED TO EAT HEALTHY WHEN IT WAS THIS EXPENSIVE?!

Then, I made it my mission. I made it my mission to buy more ingredients rather than single items (fruits and vegetables make this hard but I'll explain that later). I made it my mission to cut our grocery bill in half if not more! I made it my mission to eat clean and eat clean on a budget that we could afford! So...I went to the grocery store.

Now, you have to realize that I have a love of racing, I love timing myself, seeing how long it takes for me to do things, etc. And normally, my grocery shopping trip can be done in a half hour and I love that! However, this time around I knew I needed to look at prices and really compare in order to make our bill go down. The shopping trip where I discovered how to eat clean on a budget, took me two hours...mainly because it was hard to find things! But now, since then, I'm able to go grocery shopping in my 30 minute time period and get all clean eating foods!

Here are a few things (there's probably more that I can't remember right now..) that I did to allow us to eat clean and on a budget at our local Food Lion grocery store.

1. Fruits and Veggies - Jared and I loved having blueberries and raspberries in our fruit containers...but we each needed 4 fruit containers a day and that meant we would go through 1 box of blueberries and 1 box of rasperries EVERY SINGLE DAY. That's like 8 bucks right there...for our "snacks". And if you look at it weekly, that puts us at $56 already! So, now, I buy a big bag of apples and a big bag of oranges. When you buy them in a bag you get a better price. They typically last us two weeks and we get 1 apple as a snack and 1 orange as a snack each day! I also will only allow myself to get two containers of strawberries when there is a sale going on. Strawberries tend to be the less expensive fruit. We often grab a bag of grapes, carrots, and celery as well. It's been working out great. I now spend $25 on all of our fruit for two entire weeks!
2. Meat - Jared and I love ground beef  and if prepared correctly it can be perfect for clean eating. We also love fish like salmon. Can you say EXPENSIVE?! So, I switch to ground turkey (tastes exactly the same but even better for you) and we use tilapia instead of salmon. We also switched to turkey bacon (that's the only kind of clean eating bacon) but it saves us money as well! A typically pound of ground beef is between 6 and 7 dollars. Ground turkey by the pound is usually $3 or $4! Saving saving saving.
3. Ingredients - Main Dishes - The 2nd week of the 21 day fix, I was already tired of making what felt like "2" suppers because I felt like I could only prepare Jared's food first then mine to get correct portion sizes. BUT, on pinterest, they had these amazing recipes for more than one person that worked for the 21 day fix (and other clean eating things too!) and it told you the portion size and what containers you were using. I was able to make big meals that we could then have leftovers for. Instead of buying multiple items to make main dishes, I bought a few things and made multiple main dishes. This has worked out amazingly! And cut our cost down as well!
4. Bread - Tortillas - We used to use Sara Lee Sandwich wheat thins (healthy enough) which were $3.99 for 8. With both of us packing lunches we were going through definitely 10 a week, if not more for the weekends. Putting us at two packs and costing $8 alone for bread. The 21 day fix calls for Tortillas so we switched over. Tortillas are 99 cents for a pack of 8. NOW, I buy 3-4 packs a week (we use Tortillas for snack time as well) and spend only $3-$4. They last us typically a week and a half, depending on snack choices.
5. Make a plan - In our house, as we run out of things or as we need things we just add them to the list on the fridge. We need toothpaste? Write it down. Zeus needs some kitty food? Write it down. It's become this sort of thing so we always know what we need when we need it and I'm able to go get when I get my groceries.Every Saturday (or Sunday..depending on my busy life!) I sit down with Jared and we make a meal plan for the week. This is detailed down to our snacks. Now, this plan is completely flexible and we have never completely followed it to a T. We often change it around and switch things back and forth depending on how our day goes and if we are eating with other people. But - it helps us keep a frame of reference of what we have to eat for the week! I print these off and then take them shopping. I now have a plan and my fridge list and I'm not straying from it at all. If it's not on my list, I don't buy it! I'm serious, even if I think I need it, I refuse to buy it, I know I'll survive!
6. Brands - this brings me to my last tip. I don't know what grocery store you use, I really like Food Lion for this reason, but your store probably has similar perks. We are MVP members at Food Lion and they cater our coupons to us. I can go online before I go shopping and load my card with the specific coupons that I want. In the mail each month I get a flyer filled with coupons of things I buy (they can see what I buy often through my MVP card) AND they have their own brand of things that gives MVP members a discount. I know it looks like a knock-off but is it really that different? Go for the cheaper option, look for the cheaper (and still healthy) brand! You'll save money big!


Our first week of the 21 day fix, I think we spent $260 on food and we were cleaned out by Saturday. On week two of the 21 day fix, I spent $90 and we still had food leftover. It takes some planning, it takes time to figure out what you'll eat, how much you'll eat, and if you'll even like it. Consider these things before you go shopping! Keep in mind our grocery trip is more than just food, but it's also our pet stuff, cleaning supplies, toiletries, bathroom stuff, the whole 9 yards!

In reality, you can definitely eat clean on a budget! It takes some hunting, some scouring, and a grocery shopping trip that seems to take hours. Once you know where everything is, it helps so much more! The rumor is that the healthy foods tend to be on the outside of the grocery store, around the edges, and I'd have to agree! Look there first!

If you need ideas, I literally just typed clean eating into Pinterest, and look what came up! The images in this post are all from a pinterest page!

I'm addicted to food.....

I realized this addiction when I started my 21 day fix last week. I mean, I always knew I loved food.

The Mennonite in me knows that apple dumplings are amazing when warmed and topped with ice cream, a good chicken or macaroni salad makes a great summer day sandwich, and the carbs...oh the carbs. Mashed, baked, cheesy, goodie (these shredded cheesy potato things) - you name the type of potato dish and I was ready to consume it.

I grew up on home cooked food and home made everything. We FEASTED at supper time, every night, and I still love my mama's cooking that she'll send home with me and Jared sometimes. Our Mennonite religion is a culture and it's food life has taken over and gotten me addicted. ( I want to write a book on this as some point - I'm not kidding. Like, how to eat like a Mennonite and train like a beast. ..or something...the title needs work...)

Anyways - back to my addiction. I realized it..on day 1 of the 21 day fix. When my every.single.thought. became about food. When can I eat next? How much do I get? That's not going to enough. I really want a McDonald's meal right now. Who cares about this stupid diet? I'm hungry. My stomach is going to eat itself. When can I eat again? That's too long.

I think that night I even dreamed of food.

Let's be real people, I'm a teacher. So during the day, my brain should be on like 5,000 other things rather than food, but once I was restricted, once I couldn't have it, it consumed my being.

Starting off on this 21 day fix thing, was literally as if my body was going through withdrawal. I had (and still kinda have) headaches. I was tired, exhausted, and cranky. I was shaky.

WHAT THE HECK. The food I was eating wasn't a drug, so why did I feel so addicted, why did I feel so ashamed for missing my old food, and why was I going through all of this withdrawal?!?


Because...my body was loaded down with processed foods, carbohydrates, and heavy heavy meats. I was eating until I couldn't move anymore (at each meal!) and I was slowly destroying my body.

So...I'm still addicted to food, let's be real, that's something that will never leave. But it's a different kind of food...

 - a food that fuels my body instead of fattens it
 - a food that comes from the ground instead of a drivethru window
 - a food that has no "extras" instead of being covered in salt.

That's right kiddos - I'm addicted to organic food and I hope it can stay this way! I'm going to be honest, sometimes I still want salt, and potatoes, and amazingness of a FEAST. Those things are all okay, in moderation. I'm just hoping that I can become addicted to portioning my food and eating more organic and clean eating then ever before. My new mission: Make my husband love this too! :) It's a slow but steady start.... one foot in front of the other...