Fun, Fun, Fruit!

Hello readers! Yesterday, we had on office potluck and of course I signed up to bring the only healthy dish! My wallet this past week was particularly slim but since I love my staff so much, I did not want to show up completely empty handed so I made a fruit tray. Making a fruit tray turned out to be more fun than I thought, all you need is a couple different colored fruits and you are set! Let me show you how I did mines:

1. Find a ton of delicious fruits! Luckily, many of the fruits I found were on sale
2. Clean and cut the fruit
3. Place a small bowl (I used a $1 guacamole dish) in the middle of the tray (which I found at Party City for $1)
4. Get any yogurt to place in the middle. I like to use regular, unsweetened yogurt and fold in strawberries in the middle for taste. You can also add honey for a sweeter taste since plain yogurt is an acquired taste
5. Arrange your fruit anyway you see fit! I did mines with bright kiwi in the center as an eye grabber and berries on the corners for a color contrast. The color contrast really made the yellow/orange from the mango, pineapples, and tangerines stand out!

Here is how much everything costs:
-Raspberries $1.25

• Antioxidant support, anti-inflammatory phytonurtients, Vitamin C, Manganese (defends the body against free radicals), Fiber

-Blackberries $1.50

• Known to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties; their dark color also gives them a high antioxidant factor; high in Vitamin C, and Fiber

-Kiwis 3/$1

• These tiny fruit are packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin K (a fat soluble vitamin that acts primarily in blood clotting)

-Tangerines 3/$1

• These cute little citrus fruits are high in Vitamin C and have a long shelf life; like most fruits, it has a natural antioxidant that is best for giving your body a natural defense system

-Mango .68c each

• Not only is mango one of my absolute favorite fruit, but it easily one of the best tasting things on the planet! Mangoes are packed with Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Fiber (which helps aid in digestion and elimination)

-Pineapple $1.98

• This tropical wonder is made for more than just pina coladas! Just like the other fruits above, pineapples are a great source of Vitamin C but also contain Manganese and Vitamin B1 for energy production and antioxidant support.

Total - $10.09 
Why did I name this article fun, fun, fruit? Well because fruit is a colorful and delicious way to get many key vitamins. Why would you settle for fake fruit flavored snacks and drinks when you can have the real thing for a cheap price? Processed foods, particularity those aimed at tasting like fruit, are laced with artificial sugars and ingredients that are created to mimic the taste of the real thing. Don't be fooled by the labels of many popular fruit snacks, while they claim to be gluten free, fat free, and have no preservatives don't forget the other funky ingredients who are secretly eating. This list includes:
-Corn Syrup
-Artificial Flavors
-Sodium Citrate
-Carnauba Wax
-Red 40
-Yellow 40
-Blue 1
It is almost as if you are consuming gummy bears...with marginal amounts of health benefits.
In all, fresh fruits is the best snacking choice out there!
-Eating Clean in College

My Vegetarian Week

Hello Clean Eaters! This post will outline my previous week as a vegetarian so keep reading to find out if I survived or not!
Diet:

• Breakfast: Breakfast each day consisted of eggs as a base. I like my eggs scrambled with a sprinkle of black pepper and avocado slices. Mondays and Tuesdays eggs were accompanied with oatmeal while Wednesdays eggs had a fruit salad. On Thursday, I make a protein shake in the morning because I was preparing for the leg day ahead of me. Friday morning, I enjoyed a hot cup of oatmeal with my...you guessed it SCRAMBLED EGGS! What can I say? I actually really enjoy eating eggs so I didn't mind having them every single morning.

Here is an example meal with brown rice, beans, veggies, and a fruit salad

• Snacks: Here is where I got kind of creative. On some days, I ate cottage cheese while on others I had a Lara bar. In between the two were almonds, a fruit salad, protein shakes, BeKind bars, and veggies and hummus, and spoonfuls of peanut butter. Throughout this week, I found myself snacking more than I usually would. I don't know if it was because I was afraid of not consuming enough calories but I could not stop eating. Of course, my snacks were all portioned out and clean so there was no junk going into my body. Oh and I upped my daily intake of milk to a glass a day. Although I strive to get my 8 ounces, I made it a priority during this week.

• Lunch/Dinner: Here is where things got mundane. The base of  my meals were brown rice or sweet potatoes with a green vegetable on the side. This was also the first time I cooked tofu and that was quite an experience. First, you have to soak out all the moisture from the tofu. All the online articles I read said to apply pressure for at least 30 but I didn't have enough time so the three minutes I did use seemed to suffice. Lastly, no vegetarian meal is complete without beans...and I mean lots of it!

Workouts:
Did I stop weight lifting because I was not eating meat? NO. In fact, it was the weight lifting portion that kept my going. I wanted to see if I could still lift on a vegetarian diet and I could. Although I was paranoid nearly every hour of the day, I ended up meeting my caloric goal. However, the one thing I did not like was the lack of muscle tone in my legs. After that week, I realized that my legs looked like twigs and while I still had the strength, I did not have the definition that I am used to.

So my final verdict? Being a vegetarian wasn't all that bad but being a weight lifting vegetarian is hard work. From my short experience, I saw a negative change in my overall muscle definition and size. I will go back to eating meat now but I really did love trying something new! I applaud all of my vegetarian/vegan friends who have made this a lifestyle but it certainly was hard work for me!

-Eating Clean in College