Tosca Reno on Good Morning America

If you missed Tosca's appearance on Good Morning America this morning, be sure to check out the interview here and her super yummy recipes here. Tosca was warm, vibrant and overall fabulous, as always. She has that je ne sais quoi! Congrats, Tosca, on an amazing interview that truly represents the Eat Clean mission.

Valentine's Day

I know that v-day has come and gone, but I finally downloaded pictures from our camera  and these were too good to not share with you! Also, this was one of the easiest and most enjoyable meals that we have prepared in a long time! It definitely beat going out to eat. Date nights at home are always more romantic!


This is the amazing badge that Allan hand drew on the envelope to my card (have I mentioned lately how much I love being married to an artist!)...

The two dozen roses Allan gave me that decorated the dinning room table for a week (their scent was intoxicating!)...

This is what 2.8lbs of thawed cold water lobster looks like (that is an extra large Pyrex dish and Allan's hand)...

My new Rachael Ray pasta pot that we purchased specifically to make the lobster tails, as they were too large to fit in the stock pot that we own (I have been wanting this pot for a very long time and am super excited to now own it!)...

Boiling the lobster tails (they took about 20 minutes)...

The finished product (that is a large supper plate)...

We served our gigantic lobster tails with clarified organic butter and Potatoes Anna from Tosca's Eat Clean Cookbook (the dark pieces were super crunchy and tasted the best)...

Eat-Clean Diet Recharged

I received my copy of the Eat-Clean Diet Recharged yesterday. I cannot wait to read it cover to cover!

I spent some time flipping through the pages last night before bed and look what I stumbled upon...




Last summer, I was contacted by one of the editors at Robert Kennedy Publishing and was asked if they could feature my story in one of Tosca's upcoming books. I was thrilled to accept and really excited to see how the editor's would use my Clean Eating story. I was not expecting a full page feature, but am very thankful to be able to share my story with others! So, if you would like to read an excerpt from my transformation story, turn to Page 102!

After I finish reading the book I will be back with a full review!

Tosca just launched her new website and it is very nice. It has a professional feel and features several new resources that were not available on her old site. Overall, I think that the new website really shows off Tosca's personality and is a nice Clean Eating resource.

The Eat-Clean Diet Website gets a facelift!

Check out the new Eat-Clean Diet website for a new look and feel along with some really cool new resources and features all in one spot!

Change is Coming...

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
                                                           ―Mahatma Gandhi

This was today's "quote of the day" and I really felt like it expressed the way that I am feeling this morning. I want to strive to emulate the vision that I have for the world around me - faith, health, values, etc. 

I had a great choir rehearsal last night, including an hour long rehearsal of songs that I am singing on Sunday. What a beautiful way to spend an evening... meditating in praise and worship to God!!!

"The LORD your God is with you,
        he is mighty to save.
        He will take great delight in you,
        he will quiet you with his love,
        he will rejoice over you with singing."
                                           - Zephaniah 3:17

For the last two weeks, I have hit a plateau in my weight loss - this happens every few months. Whenever it does happen, I keep my chin up and switch things up from Cooler 2 to Cooler 1. Usually, I stay on Cooler 1 for 4 or 5 days, which shakes up my metabolism a bit, and regular weight loss follows. I plan on starting Cooler 1 on Monday.

Does anyone want to join me? If you will join me, I will commit to posting my eats every day next week.

To prepare for next week's Cooler 1 challenge, I will print out my Cooler 1 Checklist and Food Journal to plan every meal that I eat next week. Then, from my Food Journal I will make a Grocery List for tomorrow's trip to Valley Natural Foods and a list of the items that I need to prep this weekend (like Cooler 1 Protein Bars, which I plan on making into muffins). I may also make an egg bake with the veggies that I pick up at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

On to some exciting news! I just received an email from Amazon that my pre-ordered copy of The Eat-Clean Diet for Men shipped last night!!! I am super excited to read this with Allan. I love reading any new information that I can find on eating Clean, Healthy, Real Foods.

Happy Monday!

It is a dreary, cold Monday here in MN. What is it like where you are? 

Allan and I had a fantastic weekend filled with clean food, the outdoors, and some much needed relaxation.

I spent Friday afternoon grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I picked up some much needed essentials and some fun and new items to try, including Maca and Chia Seeds.

On Friday night we sat outside and ate shrimp cocktail. I made the cocktail sauce recipe from Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. It was really easy to throw together and was very tasty. Next time I make it, I will ensure that have Tobasco sauce on hand (instead of using Frank's) and will probably add a bit more horseradish for a little more zip.

Then we made clean pizzas. We used some leftover pizza sauce that I had frozen and Allan tried the Trader Joe's pizza crust that I picked up and I had my pizza on an english muffin - I just love eating pizza this way! Allan liked the Trader Joe's pizza crust and thought that it was a great change of pace. I tried a slice and thought that it tasted really good. Overall, the Trader Joe's crust is a good value, at a little over $1.00 per 12-inch crust; but it was a little bit of a struggle to roll out to fit the pizza pan. Next time I will let it sit out for a bit longer and let it get to room temperature.

Allan has decided to start commuting downtown to work... heck it's only 5.3 miles! So, on Saturday we took the Fuji in to Penn Cycle for some new tires. While there, Allan and I decided to check out some new bikes. We really weren't looking for anything new, Allan is refurbishing a Fuji bike that his dad gave him and when I feel like riding, I can use Allan's sister's old bike. Low and behold I walked away with a new bike! It is a Trek Lime Light that was used as a demo bike. I am so excited to have a bike of my very own!!! Tomorrow I will have Allan take a pic of me on my new bike and post it here.

On Saturday afternoon, I was really excited to try making Kale Chips from Dani Spies. Unfortunately, they did not turn out as well as I had liked. The "chips" burnt easily and they smelled a bit funny. Oh well. Sometimes things just don't turn out the way that you would like. I always like Dani's recipes and was sad that I did not like this one. Oh well, if you check out her site, there are few new items, like the Peanut Butter Performance Pancakes, that look amazing!

We decided to brake in our new bikes and took a nice ride down to Minnehaha Falls... about an 8 mile ride roundtrip. What fun! For supper we tried a new type of Amy's Veggie Burger, Texas, which has a BBQ flavor. Both Allan and I really liked them and would have them again.

On Sunday, we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to use our 20% off coupons before they expired. I picked up a new Simple Human paper towel holder, 2 new Calphalon hard anodized omelet pans (a great deal at $49.99 for the 10" and 12" set), and a Kitchen Aid Food Processor. I will post a pic of the new Food Processor tomorrow with the bike pic. I know that I originally said that I wanted the Cuisinart model, but when I saw both models in the store next to one another, I changed my mind. Also, I was able to snag a never been used, straight out of the box "display" model for a deep discount. The Food Processor is very cool and I will give you more specifics when I post the pic.

While at Bed Bath and Beyond I peeped a very cool new stainless steel dishrack by Simply Human that I know have my eye on. If I would've had one more 20% off coupon, it would be sitting on my counter right now!

Being that I had a brand new toy to use I decided to make the Donut Holes from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen Cookbook. 

They are VERY good!!! I will take a pic and post it tonight! They kind of remind me of Lara bars.

While my batch of Chocolate Banana Protein Muffins were cooking, I made Raw Pumpkin Pudding from Gone Raw. I did not have any raw pumpkin or squash, so I used canned pumpkin - I know that it is not raw. But it was very tasty. I had a bowl after supper with chia seeds soaked in it. VERY GOOD!!! Thanks, Abbie at Foods That Fit for the suggestion. 

For supper I made meatballs from Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet Family and Kids Book with Muir Glenn Cabernet Marinara sauce and Ancient Harvest Quinoa Noodles. This was a great combination!!! I really liked the Ancient Harvest Quinoa Noodles - these noodles really reminded me of white starchy noodles that I haven't had in years. The texture was spot on and they tasted so good! Also, the meatballs were super easy to make. I baked a double batch and froze the remaining meatballs to use sometime in the future when I am pressed for time. Just pop them in the sauce to thaw and you are ready to go! What an easy and delicious meal!

2 New Clean-Eating Books

Two new Clean-Eating books are now available for pre-order through Amazon:

1. New Cookbook
2. New Companion Book

Tosca Reno on Extra TV

For those of you who missed Tosca's appearance on Extra TV this weekend or would like to re-watch the segment you can check it out here.

Happy Watching!

I was ultra busy this weekend and plan on stopping back a little later on this afternoon to make a couple fun posts. One of which is a history of how I came upon Clean Eating, my weight loss journey - in the last 3 years I have lost 45.5 pounds - and how I plan on achieving my goals - to loose 19.5 more pounds - for a whopping total of 65 pounds!

Building Your Support System

A couple days ago I was talking to my good friend, Laura, about subject matter for blog posts and she suggested that I write about the importance of having a strong support system. When I got to thinking about it, I would not be where I am today without a sound support system.

Support is crucial to success. It is essential for building character, encouragement, inspiration, and originality.

Fortunately, support can come in many shapes, sizes, and mediums and as we develop our own personal network of support we end up knowing exactly where to turn for codling, a shoulder to cry on, advice, the hard truth, or motivation. Support systems keep us accountable to our goals and facilitate conquering them.

Unfortunately, our network of support can become detrimental to our success. It is important that our support system shapes into a positive place where we can be ourselves and get advice that is significant. We need to be strong enough to identify the positive and negative places to go to for support and keep moving ourselves toward the positive type of support. Oftentimes it is much easier to hear someone tell us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear. BUT without the truth where would we be?

As I said earlier, support comes in all shapes, sizes, and mediums. What works for one person may not work for you - sources of support are not one size fits all. Many of us work on several unrelated goals at once and will need many types of support for each of these goals. Be careful not to put all of your eggs in one support basket – but don’t spread yourself thin with too many sources of support or you will run the risk of not benefit from each resource and simply becoming burnt out.

Here is a look into the support system that I have built for myself by goal/area of interest:

1. Christianity – I believe that nothing is achievable without God and it is through Him that all things are possible.

• Daily Bible Verse Subscription
  
• Church Community, specifically the Choir (I am a Member and regular Soloist)
  
• Christian Radio
  
• Family Members that are believers (specifically my husband, Allan; my parents, Al and Trish; my godparents, Becky and Jim)
  
• Close Friends that are believers (specifically Natalie and Sam, Melissa, Carrie)
  

2. Music – I am as much in love with singing as I am with Clean Eating.

• Church Choir Member and Soloist
  
• Christian Radio
  
• Sharing my love of music with family (specifically my dad, Al and my husband, Allan)
  

3. Clean Eating and Fitness – I can’t imagine my life without this beloved interest, however, it was not long ago (August 2008) that my friend, Melissa, introduced me to Tosca Reno and Alwyn Cosgrove.

• Friends (specifically Melissa, Laura, Carrie, Natalie, and my husband, Allan)
  
• Eat-Clean Diet forum members – you are ALL so wonderful, honest and supportive… I find great inspiration and innovation from you!
  
• Blogs (these are my favorites, but there are more listed on the right sidebar)
  
• Eat-Clean Diet/Tosca Reno
  
• Dani Spies
  
• Oxygen Magazine
  
• Clean Eating Magazine
  
• Eat-Clean Diet Books by Tosca Reno
  
• New Rules of Lifting for Women by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove, Cassandra E. Forsythe
  

4. The Environment, Organic Foods, Organic Cosmetics/Health & Beauty, Sustainable Food Chain, etc. – I am a huge supporter of sustainable and organic food. I think that this topic goes hand-in-hand with Clean Eating. Why spend the effort to Eat-Clean and workout if you are not actually making yourself healthier inside and out? Pesticides and chemicals will kill you.

• Do it Green! MN
  
• Twin Cities EcoMetro
  
• LocalHarvest
  
• Valley Natural Foods
  
• Organically Happy
  
• Skin Deep
• TheDailyGreen.com
  
• Simple, Green and Clean
  
• Low Impact Living

5. Design and Art – I am in love with simple, modern art of all forms… architecture, furniture, interior design, color, museums, screen printing, drama/musicals, etc.

• Allan Peters – blog and website
  
• Lovely Mpls
• Aesthetic Aparatus
• Real Simple Magazine
  
• Walker Art Center
  
• Hennepin Theatre District
  
• Guthrie Theatre
  
• North Loop Neighborhood

Tosca on AM NW

Check it out here.