Yay, today marks two weeks on the Clean Program cleanse! I am really feeling all of the positive benefits of going without sugar, gluten, dairy, and processed foods. You can see how I am doing in my video from today:
Over the weekend I got the chance to make a homemade version of a Larabar. I have loved these raw date based bars for a long time, but I was wondering if there was a fresher version that you can make at home. Of course there is and I found this recipe for No Bake Toasted Coconut, Date and Nut Bars. Pretty simple recipe. The most time was spent preheating the oven and then toasting the coconut and cashews.
You pop all the ingredients into a food processor:
And then spread it into a parchment lined pan:
You place it in the freezer for 20 minutes, take it out of the pan, and cut into bars. I am storing mine in the freezer, but you can refrigerate them as well.
They are delicious! And only contain seven ingredients. Definitely clean eating here.
Speaking of cleaning eating, today for lunch I had a very filling and very simple to make meal. I call it a Quinoa, Black Bean, Mango, and Avocado Salad. I like to make a batch of quinoa and store it in the fridge. That way it is ready to pull together a quick lunch.
First of all I prepared the dressing. I juiced one lemon and minced a clove of garlic. I placed both into a small bowl and then added in some olive oil (I just eyeball it, aiming for a one to one ratio of lemon juice and olive oil). I put the lid on and then shake it up. Set this aside.
I then fill up a bowl with salad greens. I love the prepackaged spring mix from either Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. It is a nice blend of lettuce. Add about 1/2 cup of quinoa, 1/2 cup of black beans, about a 1/4 cup of mango, half of an avocado, salt and cumin to taste. Then pour the dressing over it all. Dig in. Yum!
I’m three chapters into the Clean Gut book and I am really fascinated so far. I’ve learned a lot about the digestive system and how much is really going on there. Did you know that there are more neurons in your gut than in your brain? Fascinating. You can order the Clean Gut from Amazon and read along with me.
Tomorrow I head into my last week of the cleanse. I welcome any questions or comments that you have. Share them below!
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