Clean Eating Detox: Day 3

Third day's a charm, right? We are three days in to our two-week clean eating challenge! For info on Days 0-2 click here or use the "Clean Eats" label to the far right.

Each day of the detox features a breakfast, lunch, daytime snack, dinner and nighttime snack. Today we ate:

A blackberry yogurt parfait with raw almonds and ground flaxseed for breakfast. Same idea as yesterday - Greek yogurt is bitter. A cup of Greek yogurt is absurdly bitter and becomes an exhausting chore to eat. However, the blackberries, flaxseed and almonds were delicious. I am amazed at how far 2 T of almonds go! This would be delicious with half the amount of yogurt or a flavored yogurt, but suffice to say, I'm tired of plain Greek yo', yo.

Asian chicken salad (napa cabbage, carrots and almonds) with leftover (theoretically - see note below) "big batch roasted chicken" tossed with a dressing made from last night's "big batch lime vinaigrette" and tamari for lunch. This was DELICIOUS and enormous. The lime vinaigrette that was very acidic and sour was toned down by the tamari (wheat-free soy sauce) and brought a perfectly balanced salt and nuttiness to the salad. Unlike some of the other dishes where flavors are extreme (above, or last night's basil), this dish was completely in sync. 

And look below at the quantity you get here - J made his salad in a gallon bowl from the restaurant's prep kitchen and it was probably manageable to eat. I tried to make do with the dishes I had at work, so you'll see I used a glass quart-sized bowl, but you can't see the pile o' salad in another cereal bowl and on a full-sized plate and it still overflowed all my vessels! Wow! 

Note: in the grocery list, when it talks about bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, it is talking about weight after bones are removed. How in the hell you are supposed to predict this, I don't know. That being said, we had to cook extra boneless/skinless chicken to complete this meal and one later in the week. We are finding several discrepancies with the recipes/shopping lists in PDF form - the day-to-day instructions (which I'm sharing in each post) are much more detailed, and so far, accurate. 

Three-fourths of an avocado with kosher salt and lemon juice for our daytime snack. I love avocados. I know they aren't for everyone. They're unnervingly creamy - which is usually the international symbol for rotten, and they smell partly bland and partly funky. I love the creamy, unique flavor of avocados, so I was thrilled to get to eat almost a whole one with just a little boost of acid and tartness and salt. One of my favorite dishes is an avocado stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic and salsa - I may have to just substitute this or try a clean adaptation. 

Cauliflower steaks with lentils for dinner. This was amazing. I love cauliflower and this did not disappoint. I've roasted florets before, but I've never cooked them in "steak" form. It's such a hearty vegetable already, prepping it in a faux beef cut just added to it's meatiness. I've only used lentils in a few dishes, mostly curries (and vegan tacos) so I was excited to have them sharing the spotlight of this meal. They're seasoned with a ton of paprika which lends a great smokiness that hearkens bacon. The flavors were spot on and I'm stuffed. I know we'll be making this again; not just for the flavors, but that it's so inexpensive, despite the fact I think this dish would easily be listed in a frou frou vegetarian/vegan restaurant for upwards of $10.

And a glass of homemade dark hot cocoa for our nighttime snack. I've been waiting for this chocolate with bated breath. I'm a milk chocolate person but at this point, I'm pumped for anything that resembles a sweet. We had our chocolate and almond milk two ways - J wanted to savor his so he broke his chocolate into tiny pieces and ate them like a delicate princess. I made gritty, gray "cocoa." If you do the challenge, opt with J's way. 

Day 3 synopsis:  Other than being beyond "over" Greek yogurt, I'm still pretty satisfied. Today was the first day I had to clean eat at work, which is the land of perpetual hunger and I stayed full and that's a big plus! I did however, look ahead and saw that we are making "big batch roasted fennel" tomorrow to incorporate into three (!) additional meals. I am not pumped. 

On another "research" point, I listened to a really interesting story today on (you guessed it) NPR Morning Edition about the farm-to-table trend talked about by hippies/pretentious foodies everywhere. To me, it sounds like a great idea, but one of the problems, I hadn't realized is how unrealistic American food expectations affect this (and the food industry in general). We are so accustomed to having a lot of everything at one time, we don't consider crop rotation or that a balanced diet does not mean equal parts meat:plants. The most interesting point the author made is that in no culture outside of America do people think expecting a 12 oz. serving of meat (say, steak) to be normal. Meat is a part of some meals but not a big-serving staple. And in this diet, I'm really appreciating the way the rest of the world thinks. We are eating mostly vegetables, and when we do have meat, it's measured out - we get a specific, reasonable amount. And turns out 4 oz (for women, 6 oz for men) is enough - it's satisfying and compliments our ample veggies well. 

Also, this non-stop cooking marathon we're on continually reminds me what an amazing husband I have who enthusiastically and blindly agreed to follow me into Fennel Purgatory and does all the heavy lifting with prep despite cooking all day. Some husbands just aren't as supportive - like this whiny, but hysterical bro whose wife "convinced" him to take the challenge too. He's my Top Chef, for sure.

This is not my "yay fennel!" dance - can't wait to see what tomorrow's Buzzfeed gif will be.