Day 7 & 8 Recap of the BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenge

This is the recap of days 7 and 8. See previous posts to catch up:

– Prep Day
– Days 1 & 2
– Days 3 & 4
– Days 5 & 6

So I’m officially on the second week of the clean eating challenge and down a little over 4 pounds in total. I feel the difference, and even had a co-worker tell me I looked slimmer! I sometimes curse the food holidays because if it wasn’t for them (and also for my overzealous nature), I would still be the petite Jennifer I’ve always known and loved. Truth is, even without the food holidays, everyone can benefit from clean eating for a couple of weeks, especially after the holidays. Plus, the challenge has really driven me to drink more water than usual which, as we all know, makes a huge difference in every aspect of your body.

So let’s get into how days 7 and 8 have been, shall we?

Day 7: Saturday Breakfast
Asparagus with Poached Eggs

I don’t appreciate a runny yolk as much as a foodie should. I made hardboiled eggs instead (that nearly burned because of my Pretty Little Liars addiction…I should really take up some exercise in place of Netflix binge-watching). Although the day’s recipe doesn’t call for it, I also had a clementine for breakfast while I was waiting for the asparagus to finish cooking. Oh, and I roasted my asparagus instead of steaming them.

Day 7: Saturday Lunch
Kale Salad with Tomato, Black Beans, and Feta

Noon and I still hadn’t bothered going to the grocery store for the week. Whoops. By this time, I was so hungry and an hour trip to get some groceries was not going to happen without some food in my belly. Otherwise, I’m prone to Deli meals and subs, plus frozen Snickers bars. So I ended up eating some leftover black bean chili from the night before.

Man, would I have loved a kale salad. Back to watching PLL! (Please tell me I’m not the only one obsessed with this show!)

Day 7: Saturday Snack
Clementine and Almonds

Love me some clementines! And almonds, even the raw, unsalted kind of this challenge are great. Kept me full until dinner.

Day 7: Saturday Dinner
Turkey-Basil Meatballs with Collard Greens

A hit! Although I messed up and halfway through mixing the turkey meat realized that I was supposed to ground the rolled oats so they were more like breadcrumbs. Prime example of why you should read a recipe all the way through. I had just thrown in some oats to the mixture. Sigh…

However, it ended up being fine! And this tomato sauce is really wonderful with lots of basil flavors. I made extra so my husband could have some and he asked for seconds. This will affect Monday’s lunch as I should’ve had leftovers, but that’s okay.

Day 7: Saturday Night Snack
2 ounces of Dark Chocolate

I didn’t eat a snack. The dinner filled me up and I went to sleep a little early.

*****

Day 8: Sunday Breakfast
Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie

I made my smoothie at around 9am when I started to feel a little hunger pang. The flavor is there, you guys. I love blueberries! However, it ended up being like eating Greek yogurt through a straw. As much as I wanted to finish the whole thing, the texture was more than I could handle and I only downed half of it. I substituted the other half with a lovely pear.

Day 8: Sunday Lunch
Shakshuka

For this one, it’s back to the tomato sauce from last night, hooray! And then some fried eggs, double hooray! The BuzzFeed recipe says to heat the tomato sauce in a skillet, sprinkle with some leftover asparagus from yesterday, and then create pockets in the sauce and crack your eggs into them. Then, cover and let the whites of the eggs cook, leaving the yolk runny. I don’t want my yolk to run anywhere, thankyouverymuch.

Instead, I fried the eggs in one skillet (adding red pepper flakes just because) and heated the sauce and asparagus in another. Then I combined the two to make something really wonderful. Loved this dish! Had a hard time finishing all of it.

Day 8: Sunday Snack
Strawberries with Almond Butter

YUM! It’s strawberry season in Florida! I mean, it’s not the peak of the season yet, but pretty close!!!!! My favorite. By the time of the strawberry festival, I think I can treat myself to strawberry shortcake, a strawberry milkshake, and my favorite: strawberry cookies!

Also, most things are better with almond butter.

Day 8: Sunday Dinner
Roasted Eggplant with Chickpeas, Cauliflower, and Lemon-Parsley Yogurt

First, I skipped the yogurt. Was not feeling it and I think I’ll skip all Greek yogurt portions of the clean eating challenge. I just have never liked it. It’s like torture to eat it, in any capacity. The combo chickpeas and cauliflower were great – the challenge recipe says to mix these roasted lovelies together with some hummus and lemon juice. Delightful!!

However, I burned the eggplant. Womp.

Also, I made turkey chili for my husband and had a couple of bites. Nothing too bad in here so I think I’ll take some to lunch tomorrow since my turkey meatballs ran out.

Day 8: Sunday Night Snack
Dates and Almonds

Skipped this snack too. Not hungry. It’s a foreign concept to me to not eat when I’m not hungry. I just love to snack and love food so much, but by only allowing myself to eat when I am hungry to eat, I’m feeling more energized, healthier, and just better about my conscience choices in general.

With that being said, I really want a slice (or five) of NY-style cheese pizza.