He & She Eat Clean | Healthy Recipes & Workout Plans

Turkey Eggwhite Strata

Breakfast RecipesWhitney Carlson13 Comments

Eat Clean Egg Strata

Eat Clean Cookbook, Tosca Reno

If you are anything like me, I struggle to make breakfasts on weekday mornings.  I ultimately want myself and Jim to have a hot meal before he leaves the house, but in the midst of our crazy, hectic lives, I often forget that it takes time to make food - it's not instant!

I was super excited to try a recipe from an old favorite, Tosca Reno's 1st Cookbook, "Eat Clean Cookbook." It's a Ground Turkey Eggwhite Strata.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb lean ground turkey (the 97/3% variety)
  • 1 Tbsp EVOO
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp sea salt, divided
  • 9 egg whites + 3 whole eggs
  • Dash of Tabasco sauce (I left this out because I didn't have it - try it and let me know what you think!)
  • 2 cups Skim Milk
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 loaf sourdough bread (Recipe calls for at least 16 slices - I only used 8). Make sure this bread does not contain high-fructose corn syrup. The best would be a whole wheat sourdough loaf if you can find it! Don't forget to remove the crust.
  • 1 cup grated low-fat Monterrey Jack Cheese
  • 1 small onion, peeled, chopped fine

Directions:

1. Spray a lasagna pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet. Add lean ground turkey, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp sea salt. Cook meat until no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks of meat while cooking. Once meat is cooked, remove from skillet and pour into a fine mesh sieve to drain fat and liquid.

3. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, 1/2 tsp sea salt, Tabasco (optional), milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper. Using a wire whisk, beat egg mixture until frothy. set aside.

4. Time to assemble the strata! With crusts removed, place bread in the bottom of the pan, filling any space that may be left. Add 1/2 of the cooked lean ground turkey, 1/2 of the grated low-fat Monterrey Jack Cheese and 1/2 of the small chopped onion. Repeat the layering process, starting with the bread.

5. Once your two layers are complete, add the egg mixture by slowly pouring it over the layers in the lasagna pan. Cover loosely with tin foil and refrigerate overnight.

6. After refrigeration overnight, remove the tin foil from the strata. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven is preheated, place the mixture in the oven for 60 minutes and bake to a golden brown. Allow the strata to sit for about 10 minutes to cool and thicken slightly.

7. Enjoy!

Tip: Refrigerate the left overs and you will have breakfast for multiple days!

Servings - 8

Approximate Calories per Serving - 400 (depends on size of eggs and choice of bread)

It's amazing! You will not be disappointed!

Our Story: Scott & Whitney

Most Popular, Getting Started, EducationWhitney Carlson105 Comments

We are very excited to finally be able to put all of our information and thoughts into one place and hopefully help others! We are often asked what we eat or what workouts we do, so what better way than a blog to help as many couples (and individuals) as possible discover the joys of eating clean?!

We decided for our first post we would basically just tell our story. So, here it goes….

We are Scott and Whitney and we are high school sweethearts. We got married in December of 2007. We were both at a healthy weight when we got married; however,

We gained a lot of weight in the first year we were married

(around 20 lbs each) by dining out frequently at places like On The Border, Chick-Fil-A, Zaxby’s, and McDonald’s, just to name a few.  In September of 2008, we took a trip to see the Cubs in Chicago and once we saw the pictures from that trip we knew that something had to change. Scott started going to the gym in the evenings and after making it part of his daily routine – he was then hooked. Typical of anything he becomes interested in...

He started reading EVERYTHING he could about nutrition and weightlifting.

A few years later, Whitney started paying attention to what she was eating but still was not eating clean enough or following a consistent workout routine. She would do workout videos at home because she was too shy to go to the gym. 

He finally convinced her to the gym and she has been hooked ever since!

Clean Eating Transformation | He and She Eat Clean

What have we been able to accomplish with eating clean (combined with lifting weights)?

  • He went from a waist size of 38” to a waist size of 32”
  • She went from a size 10 to a size 4

The most important results are that we are both much happier, much stronger, and have much more energy.


Frequently Asked Questions

What do you eat?

The best (and easiest) way to describe it is that we eat clean, natural, whole foods that have not been modified or altered once they have been harvested or slaughtered. No fried foods, no GMO foods, no chemical preservatives, no refined or added sugars, and no highly processed foods (limited processing is sometimes necessary – e.g. Greek yogurt). Or, for those familiar with the concept,

We eat clean.

Both of us eat every 2-3 hours (6-8 meals a day). Our meals consist of protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and vegetables. You can view a sample of our meals here.

The second most common question we are asked is...

What workouts do you do?

We do weight training with a mix of cardio & HIIT. Excessive cardio is not the answer if you want a lean body...you MUST lift weights!  

UPDATE: We now have our very own 12-week transformation plan available!

Eating clean is definitely a team effort for us and the mission is to help other couples (and individuals) with tips and tricks to achieve this lifestyle. 

Both of us work full time and spend about an hour in the gym five days a week and several hours in the kitchen each week. We don’t watch much television but to us, it’s worth it! Whitney does most of the cooking and Scott does most of the cleaning. ;-)

Sundays are the days that we normally prepare all of our food for the week. Remember, this is a lifestyle and not a diet! Good luck with your journey!

- Scott & Whitney

Sports Drinks - When do I REALLY Need to Refuel?

EducationWhitney CarlsonComment

If you watch TV, you have probably seen the ads for the suped-up water or that famous Florida swamp drink, featuring uber-healthy and attractive athletes zipping around the track, the football field and even the ski slopes. And... have you thought to yourself, "Wow! I wonder what type of athlete I could be if I was properly fueled?" Thankfully, as I was renewing my Personal Trainer certification recently, I had the opportunity to take a course in Sports Performance and got the answer to this very question.

First of all, fueling your body the right way is REALLY important! That doesn't necessarily mean that you should be intaking sports and performance drinks on a daily basis to do that. It means eating the proper nutrients to make sure your body can convert those and your fat stores (not your muscle! see this post on maintaining a high metabolism for more information on that) for energy. It also means eating enough (yes - I want you to eat calories!!) to fuel your body through your daily functions and through your workouts, practices and games. That's for another day, but make sure you are eating right (lean proteins, whole grains, veggies and fruits and good fats) before you even think about adding a supplemental sports drink.

Here are some simple hydration rules for liquid fuel before and during workouts:

ALWAYS drink 17-20 oz of water 2 to 3 hours prior to exercise. This is an incredibly important step in preventing dehydration and allowing for optimum performance throughout your workout.

If your workout lasts less than 60 minutes, generally, you need to hydrate with ONLY water. H20 is enough unless you are sweating profusely or you are working out in the Mohave desert or somewhere with super high temperatures.

If your workout is 60 to 90 minutes, you will need to hydrate with water and electrolytes. This is not the same as many sports drinks. To accomplish this, consider one of the enhanced waters, such as smartwater by Glaceau.

When your workout is more than 90 minutes (think 1/2 marathon, marathon, etc.), you will want to refuel with water, electrolytes and a carbohydrate source. This is when you would need the sports drink!

Of course, we are not fans of the sugary, syrup-like sports drinks to refuel that 90+ minute workout. Since the sugar is not making a large impact on your performance, try making your own sports drink and use natural fruit to sweeten and tweak the taste. Experiment with all types of your favorite fruits for a yummy, clean and healthy sports drink, starting with this base:

  • 12oz of Water
  • 3 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Pinch of Finely Ground Sea Salt
  • Add in your flavoring (smashed fruit, etc...)

What is your favorite flavoring to the do-it-yourself sports drink?