Project Lean and Clean, Part 2

Ok, so I might have been putting off getting this post together.  My millions and millions of food pictures can be pretty overwhelming!  But I am currently stuck at work because my car broke down (lucky?  unlucky?), waiting for my parents to pick me up (best parents ever!!!)...and now I finally have time to work on this-yay!

Too much of an explanation?  Maybe.

So, without further ado.  Here's part 2 of Project Lean & Clean!

I hope that this helps people come up with healthy meal plans and ideas.

Here's a little blurb to remind you all what this is about:

I thought it would be fun to do a quick round up of my self-imposed January challenge that I call Project Lean and Clean.  I have been posting these pics every weekday in January on my Instagram to help me with eating healthy, balanced meals full of all the good stuff.

*Keep in mind that I may have had an ice cream cone or occasional glass of wine after some of these food collages took place...I'm human ;)

I will include links to any recipes I used.

January 16

Breakfast:  Aldi Raisin Bran and an apple
Snack: Orange and a rice cake
Lunch: Leftover Grilled salmon and grilled veggie couscous
Dinner: Cauliflower "rice", fajita veggies and chicken (homemade), smashed black beans and fresh corn

January 17

Breakfast: Toast with pumpkin peanut butter (equal parts PB & pumpkin puree with cinnamon and honey) and a tropical smoothie containing frozen mango, pineapple, splenda and almond milk
Snack: Rice cake with pumpkin peanut butter, apple
Lunch: Leftover Cauliflower "rice", fajita veggies and chicken, smashed black beans and fresh corn (and a tortilla)
Dinner: Store bought wheat pizza crust with spinach, artichokes, mushrooms and parmesan cheese; roasted cauliflower and butternut squash

January 20

Breakfast: English muffin with pumpkin peanut butter, banana slices and honey
Snack: Pear and homemade granola bar
Lunch: Salad of spring mix with roasted butternut squash, salsa and a frozen black bean burger
Dinner: Stuffed Pepper Soup

January 21

This entire day's eats can be seen on this What I Ate Wednesday post (how's that for lazy?)

January 22

Breakfast: Aldi Raisin Bran with banana
Snack: Pear, almonds
Lunch: Some salsa verde chicken soup my mom made, grilled cheese and roasted cauliflower..followed by a cookie bite
Dinner:  Spaghetti Squash Primavera

January 23

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with 1 egg, plus 1 egg white
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: This was a canned soup.  I think it was Progresso heart healthy black bean and vegetable.  Pretty  good..
Dinner: Leftover Spaghetti Squash Primavera topped with a piece of chicken that I baked with pesto on it.

 January 24

Breakfast: Whole wheat English muffin with natural peanut butter, banana and honey
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: Salad with leftover pesto chicken and veggies..followed by a Starbucks salted caramel cake pop
Dinner: Spinach Tortellini Soup (except I added zucchini and mushrooms)

January 27

Breakfast: Chocolate Toast Crunch with strawberries
Snack: apple, homemade granola bar
Lunch: salad with deli roast beef, edamame, cottage cheese and tomatoes..followed by half of a funfetti cupcake (that I made for a friend's bday)
Dinner: Taco Soup

January 28

This whole day's eats can be found on this What I Ate Wednesday post!!

January 29

Breakfast: English muffin with pumpkin peanut butter and bananas
Snack: homemade granola bar
Lunch: Leftover pumpkin enchilada casserole
Dinner: Israli Couscous with veggies and roasted pork loin (I used this recipe)

January 30

Breakfast: Overeasy egg on a half of an English muffin

Snack: Chocolate Toast Crunch cereal with almond milk and an apple
Lunch: Leftover pork loin and couscous
Dinner: Baked crusted tilapia, quinoa pasta with (jarred) butternut squash sauce and steamed broccoli

January 31

Breakfast: Over easy egg over half English muffin with tomatoes and provolone (under the egg), strawberries
Snack: Chocolate Toast Crunch cereal with almond milk
Lunch: Panda Express--I had the mushroom chicken and some sort of pepper chicken (basically the only non-fried entrees) and mixed veggies.  I did not finish this plate, just so you know.  Way too much food!
Dinner: Microwaved sweet potato topped with steamed broccoli, slices of turkey sausage and a little cheese.
__________________________

Ok, so that about wraps things up!  Thanks for sticking with me! :)  This challenge was very helpful for me to visually see what I eat and a way to mindfully make better choices on normal days (not just WIAW days).

I doubt that I'll do another challenge where I flood people's social media newsfeeds with my daily eats, but there will always be What I Ate Wednesday for a peek into my current food obsessions.

Resolutions

Hi, all!

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!!

I'm back to the daily grind until this weekend when I blast off to a New Orleans vacation.  I'm quite excited about it.

Anyways, I really enjoyed reading about other people's Christmases on the many blogs that I follow.

I'm sorry I did not post over the holidays.  Forgive me?  Here.  I made you a collage to make it all better.

Mexican fiesta on Christmas Eve/Baby the Cat in her new Christmas cape/Some cubano eggrolls/Flowers for xmas?  Yes, please/Got some heavier dumbbells/Cookie madness/Creamsicle martini/My nephew is now seven years old/Boscoe loves his new bowtie

Well, now that all that is done, I thought I'd talk a bit about resolutions for 2013.

My number one is to do a total organization on this here blog.  If you haven't noticed, I have not updated my recipe list in quite a while.  Plus I am not a fan of the format at the moment.  I may seek the help of an expert, so if you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment below.

I also need to get back to basics and get my bum in gear (again).  I have been way too loosey goosey with my workouts (or lack there of) and my intake of naughty treats.  So, yeah.  Hopefully that change will be reflected here as well.

Another thing I would like to work towards is possibly opening a restaurant in the near future with my most awesome kitchen partner.  I may introduce said kitchen partner in the coming year, as well.  So, stay tuned.

Thanks so much for reading my lil ole blog.  I love posting things that I make and  very much appreciate all the traffic I get and of course, the comments, emails and feedback that I receive!  I treasure it all. 

I am looking forward to a revamped new year with lots more content to share with you.

Have a safe and Happy New Year, and I'll see you on the flip side.