Monday, January 25, 2010

Clean Eating 2

In an effort to give my liver a break, I've been attempting to eat healthier: no sugars, no processed foods, and no alcohol.


And, so far, so good. However, I've taken my sister's approach on dessert and I'm allowing myself to indulge on the weekends. The jury's out on this: my dessert cravings are pretty severe right now, so I might have to go with no dessert for awhile. But for now during the week it's whole food, lots of veggies and lean protein.
I've been eating lots of citrus too. Oranges, grapefruits and lemon in my water. I honestly am not a big fruit person, but cutting out dessert has made me crave fruit more.

I thought my diet would be very boring since starting this, but really, you just have to get a little creative. Stuffed acorn squash was a simple and flavorful dish I threw together when I wanted something substantial.


Stuffed Acorn Squash (gluten-free, dairy-free)

1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded and baked at 350F for 35 minutes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 loosely packed up of chopped kale
1 lb ground chicken
1 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1 teaspoon red pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Add the oil to a saute pan over medium heat and add the onion and celery and cook for about five minutes. Add the chicken and cook until slightly brown. Add the rice, kale, spices and dried cranberries and cook for another five to ten minutes. Pile the mixture into the halved squash and put back in the oven at 350 for another ten minutes. They're good to eat after that!


9 comments:

Becca said...

I have been following your blog for a little while now. You have posted a few times on clean eating. I am very interested in it and would like to give it a try. When I think about it it is overwhelming, though. Basically, you stick to lean meat, fruits, and veggies. Do you do rice and potatoes? I'm assuming dairy would be out, right? Would love to hear more about it.

Kelly said...

I have been craving something like this! Thanks! I'm adding you to my Blog Roll if that's okay :-) Cheers, Kelly

Liz said...

Hi Becca! Thanks for the comment. It can be a bit overwhelming. When I think of clean eating, I think: lots of veggies (organic preferably), no processed foods, organic and/or local meat and whole grains. So I do eat rice and potatoes. And I do try and leave out dairy. I don't know if you've seen it, but Clean Eating magazine is a great resource for this way of eating. I'd definitely recommend checking it out! Let me know how it goes for you.

No problem, Kelly! It'd be an honor to be on your blog roll :)

Iris said...

That squash looks great! I feel ya on the dessert cravings!

Lisa said...

Wow,
That looks so yummy.
I love acorn squash.
And the presentation of the food is beautiful.
Have a wonderful new year.

Liz said...

And I indulged last night, Iris! I swear hormones play a huge role in what I "feel" my body needs.

Thank you Lisa! I got a new camera, so that's helping. A wonderful new year to you too :)

Linda said...

I have yet to try acorn squash. I think I'd like it, but I'm not sure about the family. I really do want to give it a try though, and your recipe sounds great.

Anonymous said...

I love acorn squash...and this looks wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to share...
live laugh and enjoy!
Fire-Eyes

Ricki said...

Sounds like you're doing great on your "clean" diet! Congrats. :) I find when I have intense sugar cravings (hmmm. . . sorta "always"?), I have to cut out sweets entirely for a few days or I just go out of control. But with dishes like that stuffed squash, that would be no problem!