The Case FOR Clean Eating

We did the Clean Eating challenge last summer (two weeks of nothing but "whole, " unprocessed foods), I read (and reviewed) Clean Eating magazine and heck, we even have a Clean Eats label on our blog; so the concept of clean eating isn't a new or crazy idea to me.

Google gives a great definition of the recent movement.

And that's a wonderful idea! To put thought into what you're putting into your mouth. Eating things from the ground and from nature, not from factories and research & development labs. In the two weeks we were exclusively clean eating, I didn't notice a major change in health - but we did lose weight, were satisfied with the food, and stayed full and energetic; but regardless of results I really appreciated the concept of maintaining (if not improving my body) by choosing better, more pure items to ingest.

But, I'll be honest, the ideology didn't mean a lot to me - I don't have major food allergies, so reading ingredient lists has never been a real priority for me; I thought I made wise-ish choices at the market; I felt at least somewhat educated about the technicalities of words like "organic" and "whole grain;" and I was under the impression that I was an educated consumer choosing "wholesome" brands that suit my lifestyle and food expectations.

That is, until this week. This week I was utterly taken off guard and completely disgusted by a discovery on a package label - while I was eating the contents of said package, of course.

I was eating a Muller FrutUp peach and passion fruit yogurt cup. These cups feature a layer of lowfat yogurt topped with a fruit mousse. They are beyond delicious. Seriously, I could eat one of these every day. Muller (a Quaker Oats Company product) makes a variety of yogurt products including those awesome "corner" Greek yogurt cups with fruit or nut "mix ins."

Maybe it was the umlauts in the name (European products have that shishi appeal), the fact that they're a Quaker product, the inflated price tag (usually $1+/cup, I got these at GO for $0.33/each!) or that they're fucking delicious (no really, they're good enough for the f-bomb), but I felt comfortable with this product. I felt safe. I felt like this was a quality cup o' yogurt that wasn't half bad for me.

I mean, look at their online marketing.

Sweet deal. But oh, did I mention the allergy notification on the label, buried between the nutrition facts and the active cultures statement?

"CONTAINS: MILK, TILAPIA (FISH)"

Surprise! You're halfway through a cup of yogurt, yo-apia, tila-gurt, hell, whatever you want to call it,..

So of course, being an outspoken internet troll wannabe, I immediately contacted Muller via facebook. And here's their response to my plea of "Please God tell me why there's fish in my yogurt."

Really, that's fascinating and I appreciate that they make a kosher product. But it took me by surprise and kinda upset me. I understand that gelatin (used to make mousse, here, and listed as "kosher gelatin" on the label) is a problematic ingredient with a lot of animal byproducts used and can be a tricky thing to avoid for vegetarians or kosher eaters, who I assume must monitor their labels very closely.

But I don't do that. I don't have any allergies or dietary restrictions and I try to make the best choices for my body and my family. And I realized that I've failed. I've been oblivious to the fine print, so blind that I've been unwittingly eating yogurt made of fish (I still have no idea which parts of the fish are used).

I politely responded to the company that I appreciated their honest answer, but I'm disappointed that the notice was so non-descript and casual, like fish dairy products are a normal thing. I also informed them that I wouldn't be buying this product anymore, despite loving it. They held a mirror up to my fridge and my bad choices were easy to see.

So the moral of this story is, you don't have to jump on a clean eating bandwagon or become the next kale-freak, but take the time to be mindful of what you're eating. If you want to eat something funky, go right ahead, but be aware of what you're putting into your body. With the amount of processing and experimenting going on in our agriculture and food production, you could be eating your allergens, dietary restricted items or something that's just downright weird.

Dream Kitchen Renovation

2014 was a big year for us. We got married on January 19; honeymooned in Washington, D.C.; went on our first cruise (also our first trip outside of the U.S.) and on August 28 we bought our first home!

After signing the final paperwork to make us homeowners!

As insane, expensive and stressful as we thought planning a wedding was, buying a home and making it ours was (and is) that much harder! We bought a '50s ranch-style home from my great aunt (Mamaw Vergie) who was moving to be closer to her son. It's so exciting because this place was already home to me. I was running around the yard, flopping on the couch and making cakes here since I was tiny and now we can live here and make our own memories as a family. 

My Mamaw had lived here for over 30 years - first with her husband, Uncle Fred, and then on her own as a widow - and the house was in great condition. But it was so...her. Her favorite decorating color is beige, she had the furniture in the same layout for decades at a time (thus impossible dents in the carpet) and she didn't have needs for tons of outlets like us technology-obsessed kids. So obviously, we had some changes we wanted to make. 

And because I married the best man in the world - who is so patient with my musings and Pinterest'ing, so open to my wild ideas, so accepting of my inability to do anything the easy way and so flexible - we've started working on, and have almost completed my our dream kitchen.

Again, the house has "good bones" and the kitchen layout is great and roomy, with lots of cabinet space and good counter tops. It's a long galley style with what I call a "dining area" - where mamaw kept her small kitchen table and then a traditional kitchen space (sink, stove, counters etc.). 

The "traditional" kitchen area, looking into the laundry and living rooms

In the "kitchen area," we both fell in love with the recessed brick wall behind the stove and didn't change a thing except adding newer LED bulbs to the fixtures. 

The brick back splash and what our nieces call a "spanking pineapple" 

One of the funniest things about this whole renovation is that my mother and father played a big part in the original decor of the house, always helping Mamaw out with projects. So they have a lot of great insights and/or blame for some of the oddities, such as the custom kitchen cabinets that are insanely shaped. There were what I'm generously calling "old school rustic" hinges on the cabinets that were probably hammered nickel or brass with a coppery color. Because the cabinets  are so narrow, we had to continue using the same hinges, but spray painted them silver. And believe it or not, we get SO MANY compliments on them. 

We added new hardware to all of the cabinet drawers, with simple square silver handles ($1.97/handle at Lowes) and the most beautiful drawer pulls ever (around $3/drawer). I am so in love with the drawer pulls; they really elevate the whole look of the kitchen. This was a time-consuming project (painting both sides of the doors, etc.) but with just fresh white paint and new hardware, the kitchen was immediately brightened; high return on a simple investment. If you're on a budget and looking to make some changes, never underestimate the impact these two things can make in a kitchen. 

Pro tip: Higher gloss paint finishes are easier to clean and more durable; so keep that in mind when working with frequently used/touched surfaces like cabinet doors. You can use more matte finishes on walls or furniture that you won't often be sitting cups etc. on top of. 

Here you can see the new drawer pulls and fresh paint, and the original cabinet handles. 

I'd mentioned before that one of my kitchen essentials was my lime green Kitchen Aid mixer. This item was at the top of our wedding registry and I wanted it in brilliant green so badly because I was hopeful that the appliance would be a gateway into getting the green kitchen I'd always dreamed of. And, it worked! 

The "den" and kitchen areas of our home are primarily made of beautiful hardwood paneling that we wanted to showcase. But there was an area in the "dining area" of the kitchen that was just begging to be painted green. It was a bold color choice but it works so well with our collected artwork (concert posters, J's photography and some knick knacks) and with the 1960s school relief map of the United States in the next room. Again, just $20 or so in paint and brushes made a world of difference in this space. 

Pro tip: When picking paint colors, bring the samples home with you to see in your own lighting. Everything looks different in a store and at home; give it a look there before you decide. Also, your life will be much easier if you pick a wall paint color after you have some decor items instead of the other way around. It's much easier to find a "matching" paint to your favorite bedspread than having a wacky color to coordinate your life around. 

The wood needs some touch-up staining due to sunfading and I am on the lookout for an updated lampshade, but otherwise I'm really happy with this space. 

Our final project was another quick overhaul just by using vibrant paint and new knobs.

My parents have had an antique buffet and china cabinet for as long as I can remember. The china cabinet held all kinds of breakables and keepsakes and I was always terrified destroying its contents. The buffet, however, is such a sturdy (read: heavy-ass) piece that is beyond durable. I remember climbing all over it and opening and closing the side cabinet doors just for the satisfying clicking noise. Mom and dad don't use either piece anymore, so I was thrilled they gave us the buffet to make our own coffee bar. 

At our wedding, we received two Keurig machines and three k-cup carousels. We narrowed it down to one of each, but they still take up valuable counter space.  J drinks coffee a lot, and we wanted to make this more of a focal point for any guests who'd like a hot beverage; having a separate caffeine station was the way to go. The buffet is solid wood and originally was dark brown, from some ancient wood stain, I imagine. It had dark brass handles and knobs. It wasn't in bad shape but was kinda plain and dated-looking.

Before - with the drawers removed

As you can tell, we are far from plain, so I chose a jewel toned blue for the piece. We invested in a very durable paint/primer combo that would clean easily and added new knobs.

Pro tip: Home improvement stores have a wide variety of handles, knobs and pulls; but so do some trendy stores. Instead of putting lots of money into new cabinetry you could invest in hand painted knobs, like these from Cost Plus World Market. 

After! On the wall opposite the art-decorated wall (above)

I also added another family heirloom to the top of the buffet: my mother's marble slab. We've used this marble for years to cool candies, fudge and boiled cookies. Its constant temperature and smoothness makes for perfect confection textures. This also added another easy-to-clean surface; coffee cup rings wipe right off! 

Perfect for making cinnamon hard candy

We finished the coffee bar by adding the Keurig and k-cup carousel and also a six-cubby organizer on the wall for our favorite mugs, tea ball, and sugar bowl. For another burst of color and counter-savings, we added our KitchenAid mixer at the opposite end. The piece is pretty out-of-the-way and functional as a coffee bar, but for taking up so little space it is a great storage option. The top drawer has a box of assorted extra k-cups and all of my cloth napkins, napkin rings and placemats. The bottom drawer and side cabinets make great storage for our other less-frequently used small appliances including our large and mini Crock Pots, deep fryer, Food Saver vacuum sealer, fondue pot and griddle. Everything has a home, but only the most essential and frequently used items are visible. 

Pro tip: If you have a Lowes Home Improvement Center near you, sign up for a My Lowes card. It's not a credit card, but rather a way to corral your purchase data. Scanning this at the checkout with lump all your purchases together digitally. So if you forget the name of the paint color you're using or need to make a return but don't have a receipt, they can look it all up. It's been a lifesaver for us these past few months! 

Other than a few touch ups, finding a new dining area shade and my deep desire for a new, chrome French door refrigerator (a girl can dream) our kitchen is pretty much set up! Because of how much we love to cook and the sheer amount of kitchen items we'd packed up, this room was the first to be completed. Now, it's wonderfully functional and beautiful; from the little touches like a wall-mounted bottle opener to the bold paint choices. 

This has been our first chance to cut loose on something truly our own and to make into our home. And despite my daily decries of "I hate moving!" and the fact that we went to Lowes almost daily, this process has been completely do-able, for any skill level and even a minimal budget. Take my advice: don't get too hung up on how you think things should be (because so and so says...) and do them the way you want and are able to. Even quick, cheap, fixes like changing the knobs makes a big difference into turning a house into a home. 

More Bang for Your Buck at The Dollar Tree

Today I made my pre-Christmas grocery list and because I was dying to get in the holiday spirit even more, I added the items needed to make some of our favorite Christmas staples, plus some good food gifts.

I knew I wanted to make my boss his favorite linzer tart cookies, they were a big hit last year and his sweet tooth has only gotten more ferocious in 2014.

The old fashioned apple stack cake I made for Thanksgiving was requested again for our employee potluck on Wednesday.

There's no rain in sight, so the humidity is just right for J to make the old family recipe for delectable peanut butter fudge.

And it's just not Christmas until we break out two of my mom's classic recipes - peanut butter sandwich cookies (gluten-free and only 4 ingredients!) and spiced hard candy.

Mom's hard candy takes a certain touch - no candy thermometer used here, just the "feel" of the molten sugar - and is not for the faint of heart. We used to make batch after batch after batch when I was a kid and I'd pass it out to all my classmates and teachers. But as often happens, time got in the way of tradition and we haven't made any in years. So we had to initiate J into the cinnamon candy cult. 

At the "hard crack" stage

Cooling on a marble slab on our coffee bar (more on the "Dream Kitchen" later)

Our final product!

All of these projects made for quite the grocery list of ingredients, tools and containers. And I knew today's haul had the potential to be a bank-breaker; but we were able to save a ton at our local Dollar Tree.

I've been a devout customer since I started getting an allowance as a tween and realized I could buy 10x more tacky, glitter makeup there than at Wal Mart (the early '00s was an awkward time for girl fashion). But I was completely converted in college when DT started renovating their stores to carry a wider variety of higher quality goods - that were all still a dollar. I don't know if it was a stroke of genius or by necessity (what with the recession forcing more people to shop on a budget) but stores expanded to offer more food (even frozen items!), party supplies, bake wear and huge seasonal departments. Our town just renovated their location within the past two years and I couldn't be more grateful. 

DT offers great savings for so many aspects of my life: 

• As a DIY wreath maker, I'm able to get good quality silk flowers and wire ribbon for, you guessed it, a dollar. 
• I still write letters and the stationary at the Tree is wonderful and truly inexpensive; greeting cards are 2/$1! They even carry shipping supplies for when I send care packages to my adorable nieces.
• Their kitchen department carries a number of handy items, from decent dinnerware to utensils perfect for taking to the office to disposable aluminum pans in a variety of sizes (these are perfect for pot lucks!); and even legit cake pans. 
• I can't say enough good things about their food section. You can get name brand items for only four quarters! Most of the items are full-sized and obviously, a great deal - like cans of Hunts crushed tomatoes, bags of walnuts or packs of Hormel pepperoni. But, some of them are in smaller portions and are incredibly helpful for cooking-for-two or new recipes. For example, J's fudge recipe only needs 3 T of corn syrup, so there's no point in buying a giant bottle of Caro that will just make everything sticky; DT carries a little 8 oz. bottle. 
• And the seasonal section is filled with adorable containers. Tins, snack bags, pails and boxes - for all your Christmas goodies! Just look at what we bought for our hard candy. Plus, I bought a snowflake-themed cardboard box for cookies. 

Today, we were able to buy over a third of the items on our list (plus some extras) at the Dollar Tree for only $16!

If you're looking to save some money, or just looking for quality, adorable items for almost any occasion, pop in to your local Dollar Tree and explore! You'll be amazed at how much you can get for your money... but also how quickly you'll fill your cart!

International Taste Test Courtesy of World Market

Living in the spectacular mountains of western North Carolina, fall is tourist season. We're  overrun with leaf lookers trying to take in our beautiful scenery and because of that, J's restaurant is impossibly busy. With the cooler temperatures and the changing colors, we had to jump on an opportunity for a date before the hellish rush of October and we went out on the town.

Our primary goal (besides spending time with each other) was to buy a couch for our new house, which we did. However, with home renovations and the purchase of said couch (and chair!) our date night budget was slashed. Yet, there are still inexpensive ways to have fun and not miss out on any adventures. 

While in Asheville, we went to one of our favorite stores - Cost Plus World Market. For those of you that have never been, World Market is exactly what it sounds like; a store filled with international treats of all sorts - including homegoods from a variety of countries, jewelry with cultural flair, and a plethora of foreign food items. They have niche cooking utensils and hardware - like North African tajines, hammered copper pots for curry, Oktoberfest beer mugs shaped like boots and more. But to me, the most exciting part of the store is the imported food and beverage department that is filled with all sorts of spices, candies, sauces, beers and wines from around the globe. Some of the items are fairly familiar, like Toblerone chocolate bars or Nutella; and some we've heard of but never tried, like vegemite or spotted dick, but the majority of items are (to me) completely foreign. 

And for foodies like us, that makes for a perfect date night stop! For less than $12 we both got several treats to try - that's cheaper than one movie ticket at some A-ville theaters. Aside from the finances of it, this trip was partly inspired by a series of Buzzfeed videos where they give a panel of staff members food/drinks from foreign countries or cultures. These videos are hysterical - partly because we're learning about random foods ourselves, like Japan's Every Burger wheat crackers or the infamously awful malort liquor; but that also it seems each panel has completely different responses, someone will inevitably love it, and others will be skeptical if not grossed out (except everyone hated Vegemite). 

This video was our main inspiration. I knew World Market carried the Ramune soda and I was dying to try it! 

Ramune soda comes in a glass bottle with two chambers - a large one at the base and a smaller one in the neck. To open the soda, you break the plastic cap to create a plunger, push the plunger down hard on the lid to force a marble into the smaller chamber. This creates a whole lot of fizz and a very satisfying glass-on-glass noise. Apparently, the marble serves no practical purpose other than stopping the flow of soda if it were to get overturned - but for some (childish?) reason, it's a whole lot of fun! 

We tried the "original" flavor, and if I am to go by the pictures on the bottle it is cigarette-smoking pig, melon, life preserver and Japanese lantern flavored...but I think that's inaccurate. It's got a very clean taste that is very simple; it reminded me of a very weak ginger ale or lightly sweetened seltzer water. J also got a strawberry Ramune - which appeared to be a very popular flavor at World Market. It was very tasty and quite sweet, not unlike the Southern Nehi drinks. There are over two dozen flavors of these sodas (we saw about six at World Market) and I'm certainly eager to try more! These would make great stocking stuffers, too (and WM is the place for one-off single serving treats for gifts). 

Also, J grabbed a bag of chocolate covered Turkish delight which was nothing short of disgusting. This appears to be a more traditional variety of the "delight" flavored with rosewater and according to the packaging, paprika (no, we didn't read the ingredients list prior to purchase.. damn). I bit into mine and immediately spit it out. J attempted to eat two or three pieces to isolate the ingredients, but to no avail. 

We also got a bag Walker's shortbread shaped like Scottie dogs (a favorite in our house); a Nutfulle hazelnut truffle, which tasted like a Ferrero Roche treat on steroids and a dark chocolate wafer cookie which you place atop your coffee cup to get warm and gooey, this was a hit for J despite his mega coffee cup trying to swallow the cookie whole.  

If you're a remotely adventurous eater or suffering a case of wanderlust on a budget, I highly suggest hitting up a World Market, specialty store or even the ethnic aisle of your local grocery store. You can find all sorts of interesting treats and even pre-packaged items to make unique international meals. 

If you're looking for a more regular culinary trip outside your comfort zone, I highly suggest signing up for a monthly subscription service. We highly enjoyed our Goodies subscription - which sent us a box filled with 8-10 snacks per month for $7 - until the company closed. There are many other food services that fill almost any niche and price range. For example, Plated ($60) offers all the ingredients to a gourmet meal, plus instructions, delivered straight to your door; Skoshbox ($12) and Candy Japan ($25) provide Japanese candies, snacks and "goodies" monthly; Tiffin Trove ($15) sends the Indian ingredients for a meal, all you have to purchase is the perishable items; and there are so many more - from gluten-free, to healthy, to wine-of-the-month! Like our shopping excursion, they can be hit-or-miss (hopefully no one sends you Turkish delight) but the thrill of a monthly mystery package and taste-test is a great experience. 

So, never suffer from food-travel FOMO (fear of missing out) - you can easily escape the mundane by a quick trip to the grocery store. Even buying one new item can open your horizons! 

Our Clean Eating Detox: Day 0 Observations

Because we are pursuing a healthy lifestyle and love to try new things and/or are masochists, J and I are starting a Clean Eating detox tomorrow.

Clean eating is a premise we've flirted with some in our cooking, and find exceptionally intriguing. We recently had a conversation with a friend about how little legitimate food we are actually eating. As a society - if not an global era - we are eating more processed, refined food-like products rather than actual, unadulterated fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains.

Just look at the ingredients on the back of this snack pack of animal crackers. I bought them because they were inexpensive and in a low-calorie serving, but then the ingredients were pointed out to me.

Gotta love the typo too... 

Although clean eating diets do combine elements of several "trendy" diets - low carb, gluten-free, organic - it's based on the solid principal of cooking and eating ingredients that are as close to their natural state as possible. So the summer Cookout shake binge is on hold, but the recipes we're working with for the next two weeks look pretty great.

The detox is a plan we found on Buzzfeed - the black hole into which all 20-somethings fall and lose hours on end - and is thoroughly planned out. Seriously, we're talking 53 pages of menus, FAQs, equipment (paltry) and grocery (insurmountable) lists. The cleanse lasts 14 days and is planned where several "big batch" dishes are made that will be served in several meals so they've scheduled everything perfectly - even the Saturday prep days, what to pack in your lunchbox, how to store it,  and freezer packs with "when to thaw" instructions. Each day includes breakfast, lunch, a day snack, dinner and a night snack. Only a  few of the recipes repeat - only breakfasts and snacks - so it's a ton of variety.

The variety makes for an impressive fortnight menu that's heavy on the veggies and fruits, fatty proteins like nuts and fish, and white meats, but not light on flavor. For example: Day 5 includes a cauliflower omelet, quinoa and blueberry salad with lime and mint, carrots and hummus, salmon with green beans and lentils and blueberries with almonds.

We start our clean eating adventure tomorrow, so today was spent shopping and doing prep - and it was quite an educational undertaking.

First, I'd like to say that the pre-planned grocery lists are very heavy on the first week - so you can do freezer packs and make dishes late in the week, with leftovers continuing into Week 2. With that being said, List 1 had over 60 items on it -- only a few of which we had on hand at our house, spices mostly (Week 2 has 30+). So one of our first lessons was that clean eating is...expensive! 

The plan is designed for one person, so we had to double everything (quite a math struggle - especially with some units/ingredients "quart container of basil"??) and that pushed our bills (yes, bills, more on that later) even higher. Look at the sheer amount of food we had to purchase.

For perspective - this table seats two full-sized chairs per side. We thought we'd have to use the leaf to hold all the food!

This haul included, but was not limited to: 128 oz. plain Greek yogurt, 24 oz. feta cheese, 24 oz. 70% cacao dark chocolate, 4 red bell peppers, 2 lbs. spinach ...

8 oranges, 2 oz. fresh mint, 64 oz. unsweetened plain almond milk, 20 oz. bone-in, skin-on chicken breast; 20 oz. fresh salmon, 20 oz. ground turkey, 4 bulbs of fennel, 2 seedless English cucumbers...

a bottle of Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), 6 bunches (12 c.) of kale, 53 eggs (for both weeks, thank goodness), 28 carrots and so much more!

Certainly not the way to an efficient fridge... 

I won't throw out a number, but let's just say that this shopping trip was at least three times more expensive than our regular weekly, to bi-monthly trips - and this was just food, no toiletries, cleaning supplies, home goods included!

We did try to remind ourselves that this is every scrap of food we will be eating for a solid week (and then some) - we won't be making stops at the store on the way home after those "what do you want for dinner" conversations where we end up buying way too many things for one night, but not enough to satisfy the rest of the week's meals and we won't be going out to eat AT ALL.

J: "60 grocery items and not an Oreo in the bunch..."

But still, this is a cost-prohibitive menu for many; I know we couldn't do this year-round. I"m a bargain shopper - I will go from store to store and back looking for the best deal (we did that today to J's chagrin) and I was struggling to find products with suitable price tags. For example, at Harris Teeter I could hardly find any non-organic foods. They were all farm raised, free-range items that were at least 10% more expensive than their (absent) counterparts normally are.

And that's one of the biggest issues with food insecurity and health in the US. Fresh, unprocessed (read:good for you) food is much more expensive than junk food. While begrudgingly shopping (it went from fun to tiring quickly), we talked about how although it wouldn't be nutritious and certainly would lose it's deliciousness quickly, a loaf of bread, jar of peanut butter and some lunch meat would help a paycheck or SNAP (food stamps) go much further. And if you're in a tight spot, sometimes choosing between the dollar menu and organic produce has to be a choice about money.

Many areas are fighting this trend; farm gleaning projects bring fresh produce to food pantries, neighborhoods are starting community gardens and co-ops, and buying local CSAs provide reliable and less expensive produce, but in many places, these projects don't exist.

Which brings me to my next point. Clean eating is...potentially geographically biased. Another major issue with food disparities in the US is the undeniable presence of food deserts. Food deserts are places where "fresh produce is scarce and greasy food abounds." Think of big cities where the only sources of "groceries" are corner markets that are cramped and filled with non-perishable, processed items or rural areas where grocery stores are difficult to reach, especially without owning a car. This is a reality for many people and we were very aware of this while shopping. We actually drove an hour to Asheville where we knew we could find all of the ingredients we needed, and even then had to go to over four stores. There were many items we were skeptical about finding, and especially finding in good quality, quantity and pricing in our hometown. We stopped at our local grocer on the way home for goods we knew they'd have (at great prices) and saw some of the things we thought required a trip to Trader Joe's or Earthfare, but that isn't the reality for everyone.

Here are some of the items we didn't think we would find (or find affordable) in our town - quinoa, chia seeds, ground flaxseeds, tamari and medjool dates.

From the shopping trip alone, we can tell that this detox may also be... time consuming. There will be considerably more prep-time required as opposed to making Hamburger Helper or picking up a pizza. And while that can be another disadvantage for the working class, this detox plan does offer very detailed instructions for multi-tasking and make-ahead meals and freezer pouches.

But, so far, I can say my overwhelming feeling about clean eating is...excitement.  I do not doubt this will have challenging moments: some of these foods are not my cup of tea, and speaking of tea, J is already dreading going without coffee and only being allowed three cups of unsweetened green tea per day; and I think I may struggle with hunger. Yet, I'm still excited to try new things. I can honestly say that I've never made any of these recipes before and without the menu would never buy 30% of these items .


I think it's going to be fun, delicious, and most importantly, good for us!

Buzzfeed promises we'll feel like this when it's over..

We'll certainly share pictures of our moods - and dance moves - throughout the process! Stay tuned!