Clean Eat Education: Clean Food to Keep at Your Office

If you are like us, you work full-time, mostly in an office (except for Jim since he is normally traveling all over the country) and ALWAYS crunched for time.  Working in this type of environment actually makes it pretty easy to eat clean since you have a place to store your food.  All you have to do is prep your food and you are good to go, right?  Not exactly...meetings randomly pop up, you get busy with a client, you forget to pack all that food you prepped...what are you going to do?  Grab what you have on hand and put together a "clean convenient meal"!

The picture above is a list of the items that we keep with us at all times while in the office.  Even if there is not enough room in your refrigerator to store all the items listed you can at least keep a few in your desk!

Here are a few examples of quick and easy clean meals (all should be combined with veggies):

• Rice cake with almond butter and a protein shake (about 30g protein, 20g carbs, 15g fat = 430 calories)
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese) with some dried fruit (no sugar added!) or sliced apple and a few walnuts (about 25g protein, 20g carbs, 5g fat = 325 calories)
• Tuna (or canned salmon or canned chicken) on a piece of Ezekial bread or rice cake (about 20g carbs, 30g protein, 5g fat = 250 calories)
• An orange or apple with a Quest bar (about 22g protein, 25g carbs (the bars are high in fiber, so use total carbs minus dietary fiber) = just under 200 calories)

The key is to make sure you're getting some protein (at least 20g for active individuals) and fiber. Always try to get some veggies in (some good veggie sources that stay fresh in a fridge for a while are celery, carrots, and raw broccoli...just make sure you put them in the "crisper" drawer).

Now you are thinking, what do I do if I ABSOLUTELY don't have anything at work.  Skip the drive-thru and head to the grocery store.  You can purchase hard boiled eggs, rotisserie chicken (not my first choice but not the worst thing you can eat), nuts (almonds or walnuts), fruit, vegetables, etc.  There are many options that are just as fast as "fast food" and you can keep those items handy for when you are in a bind again.  

Here is a link to our Shopping List that may help you with where to purchase these items!

What clean food do you keep handy at your office?

- Whitne

Clean Eating with Kids!

This is Whitney: We have a guest post from one of my friends, Edna, who also happens to be a clean eating momma! We have received a lot of questions from mothers so we thought we would share a mother's perspective with you! Below are a few of Edna's transformation pics! She looks awesome!

Updated: 01/26/18 to update links

We now have a Baby Eats Clean (and toddlers too!) eBook!

This is Edna: Clean eating can be very overwhelming for a beginner! There are so many options of healthy food and eating every two to three hours can seem like a ton of work.  On top of that, most of us have very limited time for cooking. I started clean eating six months ago when my son was exclusively eating table foods...In the beginning, it seemed impossible to keep up. As soon as I cooked something, it was gone. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was cook! After sticking to the meal plan for a few weeks, I came up with a few ways to make this lifestyle a little easier.

The most important factor in your success is food prep. Spending one or two days in the kitchen cooking will make the entire week go so much more smoothly. Now given that I am doing two food preps, (one adult and one child) mine takes a little longer. Below is a glimpse into my weekly food prep for me, my husband, and my one-year-old.

I spend one or two days on the weekend making the following:

• 2 batches Egg White Frittatas
• 4 pounds shredded chicken (you can boil this chicken, make it in the Instant Pot, or the crockpot. We all like different flavors on our shredded chicken, so I make it plain and season it as we eat. (put half in the freezer)
• Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins (put half in the freezer)
• Jaime Eason's Chocolate Protein Bars
• Veggies (cooked & chopped) for my 1-year-old
• Fruit (cooked & chopped) for my 1-year-old

With these meals, I am able to quickly throw together four out of five meals for the day. My one year old eats most of what we eat, with the exception of raw veggies. It is so nice to know that he always has healthy meals and snacks ready for him. I still cook a few nights a week and have leftovers the other nights, but every other meal is taken care of.

Having everything planned out in advance takes so much stress out of the week and keeps me from eating something unhealthy! Being a mom and a full-time graduate student, I have very little free time during the week. Add clean eating to exercise and weight lifting and you are on your way to a great lifestyle!

- Edna

How to Choose a Personal Trainer

Does the free weight section of the gym make your heart pound just thinking about it? Are you new to working out all together? Never fear! There are certified, knowledgeable people that can help you. You just have to find the right one for YOU!

Finding a Personal Trainer that you click with is not an easy task! You will not only rely on this person to help you reach your goals, but to motivate you when you are at your lowest, to encourage with out discouraging and to celebrate your successes with. Don't just call a gym and sign up with the first person they offer - here are a few tips for making sure this relationship is beneficial for both parties involved.

1. Find a Gym

- If you don't already have a gym, you definitely need to find one! If you do, you can skip this section. You will need to determine what type of gym you are interested in spending at least 5 hours of your week, each week in. There are a few types of gyms that offer personal training:

• The Chain Gym (Bally's, LA Fitness, Gold's, etc) - These gyms are typically lower in price and have pools, aerobics classes, childcare and plenty of people for you to make friends with. 
• The Athletic Club - These are typically full-service facilities. Want to be treated like a rock star? At these, you just might! They typically boast spas, cafes, and host a myriad of sports tournaments like tennis, swimming, racquetball and more. 
• The Personal Training Gym - Do you have a gym that specializes only in personal training in your area? The trainers at these gyms tend to be more experienced as they have to have their own clientele to start training - they do not have a pool of interested clients waiting in line at the front desk. Beware: MOST personal training specific gyms require that an individual work out ONLY with their trainer during their time in the gym. You will likely need an additional gym membership if you are not working out with your trainer four to six times per week.

2. Observe the Trainers at Your Gym

- Once you have picked a gym, observe the trainers. Do they pay attention to their clients? Does one trainer's style of coaching seem to be more motivating to you than others? Are they playing on their cell phone the entire session and leaving their client? Are they simply taking the client through exercises utilizing machines? Are the workouts something that you would be excited to try? Do they look different from client to client? Start to develop an opinion on the trainer that you think may work best with you - you are both their to get results for YOU! Remember that!

3. Schedule a Consultation

- Now that you have a trainer in mind, schedule a consultation with one. Here, you will likely go through a "free" workout and discuss pricing options. Here are some questions and/or items to discuss with your potential trainer: 

• Availability - What times can they make? Does that work with your schedule? What happens if you are late? What is their cancellation policy? Do they train more than one client at a time?
• Goals - Have a specific weight loss target? An event that you want to be in prime shape for? Tell them! They MUST know prior to starting so they can structure your workouts to meet these goals. 
• Medical Conditions - Do you have a medical condition that may impede your training? Back injury? Knee injury? Shortness of breath? You MUST disclose this information or you run the risk of further injuring yourself and putting your health at risk. If your trainer DOES NOT ask about this, RUN FAR, FAR AWAY!!
• Workouts - If you enjoy a certain type of workout, ie. circuit training, tell them! Trust me, as a trainer, we would much rather take you through an exercise you enjoy vs. one that you can't wait to end. Be realistic about your current abilities. Know your comfort level with weights and cardio machines and don't be afraid to suggest that you need a lighter or even heavier weight. 
• Pricing - This can definitely stun quite a few people! Gyms often take a hefty percentage of the monies made by personal trainers. Don't run as soon as you hear the price - really think about what is best for your life goals and your wallet. Do you need to cut back in another area of your life to afford the personal trainer? Check into packages - it's often much less expensive to purchase a larger amount of sessions. Your gym may also offer a payment plan. 
• Group Training - All of this making your heart pound? No problem! Perhaps your trainer of choice is willing to train you and a friend - this is often cheaper and a buddy is a good support system. (Watch out though. this can also be a detriment to your workout at times.) The trainer may also host their own larger training classes at night or on a weekend - it can't hurt to ask!

Do you have a personal trainer? What advice would you give to someone looking to hire a trainer?