Clean Eating Meat Lovers Pizza (and dough!)

We've read so many negative things lately about food doing our whole CLEAN EATING CHALLENGE that I wanted to throw in a couple of recipes to show you how normal food is totally possible. Pizza is a favorite around here (as I'm sure it is everywhere?) that I even found ways to eat during my gluten-free season. I still have to eat it without cheese, but it's really just as delicious, believe it or not! Especially when loaded with the good stuff! Making pizza at home (dough included) is really easy. Often I make huge batches at once and freeze them in pizza sized portions. If you toss the dough in the fridge, it should that within 24h or less. I wanted to share my current favorite dough recipe and how we turned it into a meat lovers pizza that was still clean! 

DOUGH*:

4 c. organic whole wheat flour (I use either bread or pastry, which can be purchased at whole foods)

4 tsp. yeast

4 tbs olive oil 

1 tsp. sea salt + more for the crust edge

3 large cloves of garlic, minced/chopped/pressed

1 tbs. organic seasoning mix**

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1.5 c. hot water

Mix all ingredients together. Roll dough into a ball, place in a bowl and cover to allow it to rise until it has doubled in size (45-60m). 

**You can purchase organic seasoning anywhere these days, including Meijer. If you can't find an organic Italian mix, create your own by combining basil, onion powder, oregano, thyme and rosemary. 

*This recipe is enough for a large pizza to feed a family of 4. If you have less people or want a thinner crust, halve the recipe. 

On to the toppings! First, I sauteed 1/4 of a white onion and 3 large baby bellas (both chopped) in a pan with a little olive oil and ground pepper. Once they were looking good, I added 1 lb of organic ground chicken + 4 strips of Applegate Organic bacon. You don't really need this much meat, but I wanted to make extra so that half could be used for a pasta dinner the next night. Maximizing time. However- if you like your pizza super topped, use the full portion. 

You can use any meat you'd like, as long as it's organic. Applegate organics has a large selection, including sausages! Ham, turkey, whatever you want! I haven't seen organic pepperoni, though. 

Once your toppings are ready, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and roll out your dough to the desired thickness. I like to treat the edges of the dough to flavor them. Usually this means sprinkling some fleur-de-sel around the edges, but you can substitute sea salt in a grinder. Rubbing in fresh pressed garlic, ground pepper or even a little onion powder is delicious. For extra points, use a brush to put melted Kerrygold or organic butter around the edges before adding spices!

Next we throw on some organic pizza or spaghetti sauce, which can be found in most groceries these days. Meijer has their own brand that's very inexpensive! One side has cheese (organic, self shredded is the cleanest you'll get) and the other half is without because of my allergy. If you want the pizza to be more clean, omit the cheese entirely. It really is still good!

Pop your pizza in the oven for about 30 minutes, less if your dough was spread thinly and more for thick crush. Check it around 25 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.

Here's my cheese-free slice. I already miss it. Yum.
If you have any clean eating recipes to share, feel free to post below! All the best, and as always, thanks for reading! 

Clean Eating Challenge: information, recipes, plan, togetherness!

So have you been hearing a lot about Clean Eating?
So have I. I've written several times about my parents and how healthy they are, and how that has impacted my view of health and food. We were never into eating junk at our house, but these days even food that seems safe is becoming so preservative and GMO ridden that it's hard to navigate the grocery aisles safely. We have tried to eat real food and to pay attention to labels, but now it's time to really up the ante. I decided to really give clean eating a go and asked the FACEBOOK group if they'd like to join me. The consensus was YES! SO here's the promised post.
First of all, what is Clean Eating? Dr. David Katz who is the director of Yale University Prevention Research Center helps define clean eating by saying, "Food that’s clean is food that’s for the most part real food and not encumbered with things that compromise health: artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, sugar substitutes." 
When you consider that definition, clean eating seems much more attainable! Nothing is off limits, it's just a matter of making sure that everything is *real*, actual food. The problem is that a lot of our food is filled with nasty preservatives that are extremely dangerous- including produce (see my post about that HERE). And we really want to avoid GMO's, which are ingredients- especially corn related (sugar from beets, corn syrup, corn starch)- that have been tampered with. Just so you know- GMO corn has been outlawed in many countries, including RUSSIA because of the enormous tumors it causes in lab testing. Yuck.
Let's keep it easy, ok? I'll include some links at the end for people who want to go more in depth. Here's a cheat sheet for the rest of us:
DO:
1. Stick to organic. A great, easy way to eat clean is to buy organic. This is the number one way! Sauces, meats, produce, grains- nearly everything you need can be purchased organic and save you the worry of wondering. If you notice something you eat often is on sale, stock up. I'll buy several jars of organic pasta sauce when it goes on sale for $2 at Mejier because we will go through it!
2. Consider your sugars. Refined white sugar is not for us! Stick with raw sugar which is brown in color with larger granules. Other acceptable substitutes? Honey (raw and organic local is best!), agave and stevia. Be careful with your stevia brand- make sure it's all natural.
3. Look at labels. Check the box for stamps of approval- you will often seen stamps that look like the ones below. One signifies that the product adheres to standards for USDA organic food and the other shows the product is part of the non-GMO project and contains no ingredients that have been genetically modified.

4. Make big dinners. The easiest thing for lunch prep is to just make a big dinner and take the extra for lunch. Carry it in BPA free plastic or glass containers. Don't buy them from the Container Store. Right now you can get Disney/Avengers themed food containers and sandwich holders at Target in $1 section. It's also good to check the clearance at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls + Homegoods. If you're an anti-left over person, consider trying it a different way. Fish or poultry from the night before can become part of a salad. There are ways to re-work it so that you don't feel like you're eating the same thing twice. 

5. Follow blogs! I always recommend this. But here are some great blogs to follow about clean eating with lots of recipes, a quick google search of "clean eating" and "blog" will help you find the perfect blog for your personal tastes and needs. 

6. Use a tracker app. If you have a smart phone, download a free app that tracks what you eat. We will all have different goals or motivations for clean eating, but whatever they are, it's easier to stay accountable if you use a food tracker. There's something about having to record the food that makes you second guess if it's the right choice or if there's something better you could feed your body. If you want, you can join me on My Fitness Pal, my user name is aunak. That would be a great way to commit! I checked out some clean eating apps, most were generally about recipes and how-tos, but not really accountability apps. 

7. Remember: beverages count. What you drink can also be filled with a lot of yuck. Drink water, or FLAVORED WATER, organic coffee (lots of crazy pesticides in coffee beans) and organic tea. Honest Tea is a company we recently tried that makes organic beverages including lemonade. 

DON'T:

1. Eat processed meat. Avoid standard deli meat, bacon, sausage... anything like that. I read a study HERE recently that showed how pancreatic cancer rates go up in people who eat them. Yikes! At Whole Foods I did see a lot of organic bacon (pork and turkey) and lunch meat. I'd have to look into it more, but they'd at least be better options than standard deli meat and other processed yuck. I read how processed meat was produced and almost gagged. 

2. Buy produce on the naughty list. You can see that list again HERE. It's really important to avoid conventional fruits like apples, which can have up to 80 pesticides in them! Organic is the way to go in that situation, but not all situations. So it's good to check the list :)

3. Forget about dairy! Dairy can be tricky. Try to buy organic milk, sour cream, cream cheese, greek yogurt and cottage cheese. Stick to grass-fed cheese. As for butter, I prefer Kerry Gold (Sam's Club, Whole Foods, etc.) over organic because it comes from Ireland where the cows graze on fields with low pesticide risk. 

4. Ignore seasonings. Remember- seasoning is often contaminated with preservatives and other bad ingredients. Make your own by combining your favorite spices with some powdered garlic and onion! Use delicious fleur-de-sel, freshly ground pepper and home-grown herbs. Also remember to buy organic salad dressings and look out for things like Miracle Whip, which have several GMO ingredients. 

5. Stress too much. The goal is health here! Maybe you can't make all of these changes at once, so try to just make a few and see how it goes. I do promise that it gets easier as you learn more about what to look out for and how to make substitutes. You will have a healthier you and a healthier family, one change at a time. 

Favorite sweet recipes:

Clean eating granola bars

Paleo Peanut Butter Cups

Magical Paleo Brownies

Almond Strawberry Cheesecake

This is one of my favorite clean snack bases- just a few tablespoons of organic almond butter + organic raw honey and a dash of cinnamon. You won't believe how good it is! You can use it on celery, organic crackers, apple slices... the list is endless. So delicious. The picture quality isn't great- it was impromptu since we happened to be eating it late last night. See THIS BOARD for more recipes.

Favorite brands:

Late July- they make the MOST delicious organic tortilla chips. There's a mild green mojo flavor that I can't even talk about. 

Applegate Organics- they also have an Applegate Naturals, but the Organic line is awesome- bacon, deli meat, chicken sausages- you name it! SO delicious! As I said before, I'm not sure how good this is for us since there still must be some processing involved, but if you need to have these things- Applegate is a good alternative. I see it all the time at Whole Foods, but I just checked and you can get it at some Walmart locations, too, so if you haven't got a WF, there you go!

Annie's- This is a great brand for families with small children. Awesome organic shells + cheese (white and yellow cheddar), to-go snacks and more! They are a little on the expensive side, so look for sales. They also have gluten-free for those of you who are Celiac. 

Full Circle- This brand is widely circulated and even is carried at our *extremely* small grocery store in town. They have mostly canned goods (delicious baked beans), but also sell dry beans + quinoa to go. I really like the quinoa to go, you can just pop it in the microwave and eat it in a few minutes. It's delicious with just a little salt and pepper. I try not to use the microwave, so this is a rarity. They do also carry a good variety of organic milk. 

Back to Nature- they have a HUGE array of delicious crackers. 

**There's a good brand of fresh chicken sold at Walmart. It isn't as awesome as locally raised, organic chicken, but it's a good and nationally available alternative. I can't remember the name, but will update this asap. 

Further reading:

I've created a PINTEREST BOARD which you can follow for recipes, articles and information as well as pin to yourself! Community!

The Gracious Pantry is a great blog for clean eating, as well as Clean Eating Mag. 

Fit Day's article HERE.

Final thoughts:

A great way to detox your system in conjunction with this challenge is to squeeze the juice from one lemon into a cup of hot water 3 times per week. Lemon is acidic, so it isn't a bad idea to rinse your mouth with water afterwards and avoid brushing your teeth immediately. If you ever see that pin going around about using lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide on your teeth- avoid it. That's a horrible idea. 

I've just seen some really disturbing things about US grown rice on the news over the last few days. There's a shocking amount of arsenic involved, you may want to google it and decide for yourself what the best course of action is for your family.

Remember, again, not to stress! If you want to do any or all of this challenge, that's awesome. Don't feel pressured to be perfect or change everything at once. We're all about health here, and even tiny changes can make a huge impact! You can join me at my fitness pal if you want to connect that way (aunak) or pin to/follow this BOARD on pinterest. I would also love to hear any feedback or advice that you have about Clean Eating!

All the best and as always, thanks for reading! 

Random Tips, Part One

SO every now and then there are a little tips I'd like to share. They're too small to be entire blogs, so I decided we'll start batching them up and releasing them in stages. Let's go!

SCUFFED/RIPPED UP SHOES

These are my favorite boots. I love them and wear them *all the time*, but because of the way I walk, they're falling apart. The heel scratches all over them, ripping off the 'material' and exposing the fabric underneath. Sad. So as a temporary fix (I have another in the works) you can do this to make the rips less noticeable. 

Simply mix up the correct shade using fabric paint and apply it to the exposed fabric. Allow it to dry and then either apply a second coat, or wash the extra of from around the edges. 

QUICK DISTINGUISHER

I always struggle with identifying which ear bud is for which ear, so recently I painted the right side with one coat of pink nail polish. Done! Now I always know immediately which bud to grab. I use nail polish to decorate with or to ID all the time- much more often than it goes on my nails! Several years ago I worked in an office that required two keys to get into, and they would be used 10-20 times per day! So I painted one of the keys to distinguish it. It was super annoying to stand at the door and guess which key to use. 

'AS IS' MERCH

Have you ever wanted to buy something from a shop, but noticed the item had an issue? Tear, stain, etc? Give it a good look before passing it up! The above is a sweater that I absolutely loved and had been stalking at Macy's for weeks, waiting for a good sale. It's a good Spring sweater since the sleeves are shorter and it has a nice row of buttons down the back. The fit is really slouchy and cute, too. Imagine my distress when the beloved sale day came (marked down to $12 dollars!) and the only one left in my size had a major black stain thing going on. You can see it in the above picture, all in the white stripe.

I chose to buy the sweater anyway, and was given a 10% discount! If the same thing happens to you consider...

a) Can I fix it myself? It may be as simple as some stain remover or a little stitch. 

b) Can I pay someone to do it *very* cheaply, or a friend for free?

c) Where is it located?

A lot of tears, rips, stains can be easily solved with a google search. And if you can't fix it, you can patch it! Luckily, the stain came out in the wash, but if it hadn't, there was already an applique at home that was *perfect* for this! You can get appliques at pretty much any craft store and iron them right over the unsightly tear, stain, etc. 

BEST BRUSH CLEANER

Let's talk about the BEST way to wash your brushes! I used to always wash my brushes with baby shampoo, but didn't think it was the best idea. It was always too soapy and then took forever to rinse. Plus the baby shampoo was expensive at the rate I went through it (I wash my brushes after every single use). I saw an idea HERE from The Daily Quirk about using vinegar and dish washing soap that was supposed to be amazing. I subbed out the dawn for Seventh Generation Natural detergent (and would recommend using a natural/organic brand) and give it a whirl. I put about 1/2 tsp. of soap in a plastic storage bowl and then put my brushes in (about 5-7 at a time), next I filled the bowl with vinegar til the bristles were nearly covered and swirled them each around a little bit to activate the bubbles. Lastly, I let the brushes sit for for a few hours in the mixture and then take them out. The original author didn't rinse hers, but I always rinse mine. The water in the bowl is disgusting and the bristles always rinse CLEAR when I put them under running water! It's amazing. Next, I shake off the excess water and lay them flat to dry. I hear that you should lay your bristles down so that the water doesn't run into the handle and loosen the adhesive, but I don't like what that does to the shape of the brush. 

TOO SHORT SUN DRESSES

This is lovely, bright patterned skirt is actually dress. It may not seem like it would be too short, but let me tell you... it *barely* covers my booty. I mean, barely. Like... I-can't-sneeze-without-a-wardrobe-malfunction barely. I have a couple of dresses like this that either were always too short or met their fate in an accidental drying. This one started out way too short. I remember being SO excited to get it. My really cute friend, Amber, who owns a jewelry shop on ETSY happened to be wearing this dress in a picture she sent me of my pearl necklace for our wedding. She made my jewelry- that's how I met her :) And she was a saint. I was super difficult and asked her to redo it a few times til it looked exactly like the non-existent necklace in my head. You should check her out. 

Anyway- Amber was SOOO darling in it! And I immediately wanted one, too. But... Amber is like 5'1'' (right?) and let me tell you... the appropriate length on her didn't translate to me at all.

The easiest fix? Tuck the straps in and wear it as a high-waisted skirt with a coordinating tank. A lot of people end up still thinking it's a dress. I do this all the time with my too short dresses. Ruched tops like this don't require any stabilizing, but you may need to add a belt for some. 

Another option is to wear it as more of a tunic with leggings or shorts. But I like the skirt best :)

And that concludes our very first "Random Tips" post! I hope you're all geared up for the weekend and Mother's Day! I for one can't wait to get my mani-pedi with my SO awesome mom + nieces over the weekend. All the best and as always, thanks for reading!

Peanut Butter ATTACK Cookies!

I don't know what else to call these delicious treats!
A couple of week ago John really wanted cookies, so I decided to blend together a lot of his favorite sweets to create a monster cookie for him, and it was pretty fantastic! They're easy to make and really good, so clearly they should be shared with la vie readers.
You'll need...
1 package of peanut butter cookie dough + the required ingredients (we used Betty Crocker)
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of coconut (finely shredded)
1 cup of pretzel pieces, chopped

Mix up your dough, we subbed out the required oil for coconut oil to give it another boost of coconut goodness. Once your dough is ready, mix in the chocolate chips, coconut and pretzel pieces. Bake the required amount of time! They do better if you push them down with a fork instead of leaving them in rolled balls, if you leave them in a sphere the center won't bake evenly.
John ate nine (9!!!) cookies within the first 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it! The first batch that went in the oven came out about 2 minutes before the second, and they were much better. The second batch was a little burned, I definitely recommend checking these as they're so much more delicious a little under baked rather than over.
Anyway, I have a few projects to show you. A DIY ballet barre + BBC America themed wedding gifts, but both need a little pizazz and aren't ready (still!).
Stay tuned :)
All the best and as always, thanks for reading! 

DIY Compartmented Produce/Farmer's Market Bag + When Organic Matters

If you've been reading for a while, you'll know that I think organic and natural products are very important. I also feel that way about organic food!
The problem is, eating organic can be extremely expensive. For people on a tight budget, this means we'll have to make choices about when it's a good idea to go organic and when we can fudge it a little big.
EWG (environmental working group) releases a list every year of the "dirty dozen", the most toxic/pesticide filled produce on the market that year, and they also release a list of foods which are the safest.
I really appreciate the work they do, making it so much easier for me to make informed choices at the market.
Speaking of markets, our Farmer's Market opens in a few days and I can't wait to go! If you also enjoy a local farmer's market, please remember that while the food is grown locally (most nutrient dense), it isn't necessarily organic. You'll have to speak to the farmer about how s/he grows the food.
Generally, fruits + veggies with a thick skin or rind tend to have less pesticides because a) they're harder for pests to attack and/or b) the pesticides can't get through the skin to the fruit. However, to access the full list of DIRTY DOZEN and CLEAN FIFTEEN, and not just what I chose to put on my bag, from EWG click those links.
So- I can never remember what is on the list. Seriously. It drives me crazy. I thought about writing in my phone, but then a better idea came to me-- why not make a bag that has them proudly on display? The perks were numerous...
Raising awareness
Eco-friendly, reusable bag
Actually *remembering* to take my bag so that I have the list...
Totally customizable.

So that's what we did. I started with this massive tote from Hobby Lobby. It was $5. I was originally going to just write the lists on the totes, but then decided it would be even cooler to add little compartments to hold produce on the inside. I hate bringing home produce in the plastic bags from the store, so by making produce compartments, it was even more earth-friendly!

To create the compartments, start with an XL t-shirt. Cut up the sides, across the top and then through the middle to create 4 rectangles.

Cut little slits into the panels, this will give your produce breathing room. Next, pin the edges down all around and then sew. Now you have 4 clean panels, ready to attach to the inside.

Here's where it gets tricky. Turn the tote inside out. If you're going to machine sew, you need to make sure not to run the panels all the way top to bottom. Otherwise it will be really hard to attach them without sewing the bottom shut. You don't want that- it will be super frustrating. Mark where the tote folds in at the bottom (yellow pins in my picture) and don't let your pockets go down further than that. Pin in place and sew, leaving the top open.
You'll notice that there is a lot of extra room. I wanted them to be billowing so that lots of produce could fit inside, not tight against the tote. Note that I overlapped little folds all along the sides and bottom to create the billows.

Here's a close up shot of the pinning process.

And that's how they look once attached to the tote (the bag is inside out).

You can also choose to hand sew (or no-so, if you're extremely brave) the pockets and run them fully top to bottom. On the other side, that's what I did. I used Aleene's OK to Wash permanent fabric adhesive to attach the remaining two panels to the tote. I also mimicked the folding/overlapping from above, but it wasn't as drastic since these panels were being stretched more. If you're super brave, you can stop there. It does give a semi-strong bond, but I feel like it couldn't possibly last too long. You'd be better up to follow that (after allowing it to cure for a day or so) with a needle and thread, hand stitching it in place. 

Next it's time to label! I wanted to go with an interpretive look, so I made the "dirty" side a little more chaotic. Using a pattern marking pen/marker/pencil, mark out straight lines all the way across. I didn't follow the lines entirely, and make a more haphazard look by spacing the two sides differently. 

Next, stamp or stencil the words on to your tote using fabric paint (stamp) or fabric markers (stencil). I created a very, very subtle ombre look by starting with a bold green and then mixing white into it as I went along. Even that is haphazardly done, though. 

For the clean side, I repeated the straight lines across the bag with a pattern marking pencil/chalk. This time, I followed the lines more closely and kept everything straight to reinforce the "clean" idea. The ombre, while still subtle, followed a pattern this time. Top line is red, middle two lines are strawberry and bottom two lines are pink. "clean" is also done the same way.

At this point, you'll want to allow your project to cure for a few days and then clean off the pencil with water. I took the pictures pre-cure, so I just used a washcloth on the tote in open spots, but had to leave a lot of the pencil intact so that I didn't risk ruining the paint job. 

Here's the finished project! Now I'll never forget which products to buy organic and which to skip again :) I really should have done this last week for Earth Day... buuuut. I didn't, clearly.

All the best, and as always, thanks for reading! 

70's Inspired Easy Jean Refashion

I was reading an issue of InStyle recently that highlighted the return of 70's inspired jeans. They showed some patterns, some bell bottoms and a few high rise jeans. I thought it would be fun to add a little 70's to an old pair of J.Crew pants I have. While they aren't high rise or bell bottomed, they are flared- which I rarely choose over skinnies. So it's a start. I chose a paisley pattern, which was popular in the late 60's and bled into the 70's.
I did rock some serious bell's in the 90's, though.
I wanted to post a fun farmer's market/reusable shopping bag that I made over the weekend, but I'm wearing these jeans in the picture, so I figured these had to be posted first.
But seriously- you'll want to see the produce bag post, it comes with good info about organic vs. conventionally grown food (read: when to skip and when to splurge!).
This is a super quick project, it took about 10 minutes.

Here they are as is- I've owned these white jeans from J.Crew for about 4 years and haven't ever worn them. Not even once :/

I used some fabric paint to mix up a shade of light purple. Always use fabric paint when stamping- you will get the best results. Acrylic washes out, and it washes out unevenly. You can use the fabric stamp pads, but they have really light, uneven coverage. 

I brushed the shade on to a fabric stamp from Hobby Lobby ($1.99) using a sponge brush and reapplied paint after each application.

On the bottoms, I did 3 paisley stamps, alternating tail up and tail down. On top of them, I did two paisleys with the tails facing in. I repeated this pattern on the back side. 

I also put a paisley up by each pocket. Originally I was going to do the entire pant, but changed my mind. I may still go back and do them, but it seems like it might be overwhelming. If I had done an off-white shade, it would be cool the stamp the entire pant. 

Here they are!

I'm not sold on the stamped pockets, but it's too late now!

I've done a lot of fabric stamping lately; it's a fun, quick and cheap way to change up a look. I hope your weekend was fab, we had a great time celebrating with my oldest charge as she took her first communion, which I hear is a big deal in the Catholic world. Don't forget to check back soon for that shopping bag and also for a recipe for some super delicious cookies. I'm still trying to name them!

All the best, and as always, thanks for reading!