Clean Eating Challenge: Completed!

For those of you "just joining us," the hubs and I have just recently completed a  two-week clean eating challenge!! For the daily posts, click here or use the "Clean Eats" label to the far right.

Each day of the challenge we receive breakfast, lunch, a daytime snack, dinner and a nighttime snack.We did it hoping to feel better and by the end we did; we both also lost weight and have become committed to incorporating clean eating into our lifestyle. 

Here's our big picture synopsis of the experience:

Take Away Lessons

• Eating less processed food does in no way mean it's less flavorful. These salads with just 2 T of all-natural vinaigrette are more flavorful than the most processed foods ever will be. 
• We, as Americans,really overdo it with meat. Vegetables can be incredibly flavorful, vitamin-rich foods that actually fill you up! Four ounces (or six for men) of meat is more than enough and paired with hearty vegetables like cauliflower, or the ONLY whole protein plant, quinoa, you'll get full and stay full. 
• We, as a couple, really overdo it with snacks. At night, we are really bad to graze - a handful of nuts, a bowl of potato chips, a few pieces of Easter candy, some hummus before bed. And that adds up, and more times than not, it's totally unnecessary. We were able to get full on two dates and two almonds; crazy right? 
• This is do-able. It takes planning, it does take effort and when you do this challenge it is expensive. But as you find your way with recipes/ingredients you enjoy, become more comfortable with the techniques and adapt it to fit your lifestyle, it is within reach. 

Advice

• If you choose to do the "challenge," take the time to read through the recipes and add up your ingredient quantities yourself; there are a lot of errors. Also, check the online version (in addition to the printed PDF) for additional instructions; there are a lot of errors there too. 
• Try new things and be open, but be honest about your palate. If you notice there's too much basil in something, but the next recipe calls for the same amount, customize it to your preferences. Given the amount of typos and loose ends in the recipes, they are not tried and true, perfected recipes like you'd find on America's Test Kitchen or within the pages of Taste of Home - so don't feel like your hands are tied. 
• With that being said, be honest when you don't like something but don't cheat! Accidents don't happen on a diet, you don't trip and land face first in a pizza. When you're making a commitment like this (not a lifestyle by the way), don't plan to have certain bad dishes just because, or reward yourself with a treat - you're not a dog. If you don't like the fennel, make a clean swap in your salad, use cabbage. Keep it clean -- you can do this!
• They do feature an equipment list, and they aren't lying about some of them. You WILL need: a lot of plastic storage bags, airtight containers (we like Lock and Lock or mason jars), good knives (some of the best are the commercial use sets from Sam's Club - you don't need a snazzy, celebrity-endorsed product, these are good enough for restaurants, they're good enough for your home kitchen) and cutting boards, a good blender (we love our Ninja), lots of measuring cups/spoons, and a kitchen scale. Check out our day-to-day must have kitchen tools list for other helpful items. 

Top Five Best (and Worst) Recipes 

The Standouts - Rated 1 (worst) to 10 (best) (Jordan, Amanda)

Scallion omelet (9, 9) - this is so good we've made it several times since!

Pear and almond butter snack (9, 10) - actually almond butter with any fruit was great. 

Black bean chili with paprika yogurt and zucchini ribbons (10, 9) - I can't wait to eat this again, especially on cold winter days. 

Cauliflower steaks with lentils (10, 9) - It's what's for dinner tomorrow!

Tamari shrimp in lettuce cups (9, 10) - My mom is already begging for us to make this for her.

Honorable mention: I must admit, dark chocolate did get 10s from both of us, but it isn't really a "dish" all we did was weigh it and then savor it slowly.

The Dregs - Rated 1 (worst) to 10 (best) (Jordan, Amanda)

First, it goes without saying that the three fennel heavy dishes sucked (incl. kale, chickpea and fennel salad; chickpea, fennel and blueberry salad; and roasted chicken with roasted fennel and spinach). Ick. 

Snap pea salad with feta, radishes and hard boiled eggs (0, 3) - J got pretty hangry from this dish. It also lead us to reinvent the lunch that was supposed to be made from leftovers. 

Red pepper strips with hummus (n/a, 1) - Just ick. Didn't even bother to take my own picture. 

Original Buzzfeed photo

Overnight oats with blueberries and chia seeds (1, 2) - The strawberry version of this is wonderful. I love it. But with blueberries, it was too bitter to be enjoyable. 

Blackberry yogurt parfait (2, 2) - Again, tart berries and tangy yogurt.

Blackberries with yogurt (3, 1) - Are you seeing a theme here with the yogurt? 

Original Buzzfeed photo

Moral of the story being, Greek yogurt will ruin your life.