It’s not that I look down on people who do this, it’s just never been my thing.  Please do not think I’m trying to brag, for this approach has a price:  I stay in shape with intense workouts and yoga.  Work hard, play hard, eat hard.  Sleep tons.  That’s how I roll.

Does this make me feel great?  Not all the time, since I do know that diet really does affect mood and energy.  I know my choices could be much better.  I’ve taken a Peter Gibbons’ approach to diet: it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s just that I don’t care (obscure movie quote alert!).

Recently I had to rethink my approach.  One of my favorite fitness instructors, Chalene Johnson, said that even though we don’t like to balance our checkbooks, we have to do it anyway, and the same goes for counting calories (I’m paraphrasing here).  That comment had me thinking for some time.  Last night, I received some news that solidified the need for me to really clean my diet up.

I’m using my website to announce that for at least a month, I am breaking my rules.  I am becoming a calorie-counting, clean-eating, health-food-loving fanatic.  My purpose is twofold: one, to make sure I’m fueled properly for a grueling workout regimen I have planned.  Second, to shed a few pounds before the end of the month.  For now I won’t give my motives, and if you’d like to know then ask me in person.  There’s a perfectly legitimate reason that I’m sure you would agree with once you find out.  I’m really excited about it, though, and will let the cat out of the bag when I can.

***Disclaimer*** I do NOT advocate crash dieting, and never have, never will.  This is not what I’m doing.  In fact, I’m eating more than I’m used to, just better.  I’m also keeping track of my food intake, something I have avoided doing for over 10 years.

In the interest of accountability, here’s a basic outline of my “new rules” and even some of my old rules thrown in for good measure:

1. Eat every two hours
2. Drink water, lots of water.
3. Complete my workouts (I’m currently using TurboFire and Chalean Extreme and they’re AWESOME for high calorie burn and toning up!)
4. Take my supplements
5. Get plenty of sleep
6. Follow my customized diet plan (I won’t give out details just yet)
7. WRITE IT DOWN! 

How does this new approach fit in with my blog?  This challenge allows me a chance to explore more recipes for my Clean Eating section.  I have already found a few recipes to try, and plan to post along with a review.  Perhaps I will even come up with a few winners along the way.

I have stated that I plan to do this for a month.  After the month is over, I will reevaluate and decide how well it’s working.  At the very least, it’s an experiment and the scientist in me LOVES experiments!

Stay tuned.  Great things are ahead!

To make this kid-friendly, I leave out onions and extra spice that you might find in traditional enchilada recipes.  You could amp up the heat factor by using medium-hot green sauce as the topping or even throw in some salsa verde in the filling. 

One more note: I use cilantro in the filling because, shock of shocks, my kids will actually eat this green leafy herb with pleasure.  I’m still working on broccoli and spinach, but for now I take what I can get. Feel free to leave it out if cilantro does not float your boat.

One last note, I promise: I included some leaner options for the filling.  Sour cream has tons o’ fat, so I like to use a particular brand to save some calories.  Same goes for the cream of chicken soup.  You can also cook the chicken breast using non-stick spray instead of sautéing in oil.  Have fun trying the different options out!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

makes one dozen

• One dozen 8” flour tortillas
• Filling
  • 1-15 oz. can refried beans
  • 1 + 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese (around 6 oz.)
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup (lean tip #1: use Campbell’s Healthy Request)
  • 1 cup sour cream (lean tip #2: use the fat free Naturally Yours in the cow container)
  • juice of 1/2 medium lime
  • Cilantro, a small handful chopped fine to around 1/4 cup
  • 1-4 oz. can of diced green chiles
  • 1 lb chicken breasts, diced and cooked in seasoning salt
• Topping
  • 1 can green chile enchilada sauce
  • 1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese

Instructions: combine ingredients for the filling.  Smear a spoonful of refried beans in each tortilla.  Next, scoop a couple of spoonfuls of filling in each tortilla and roll.  Place the filled tortilla in a 9×12 baking dish alongside the others.   Get them nice and friendly next to each other to accommodate all 12 tortillas.  Once packed in place, empty enchilada sauce on top in an even pattern.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake in 375 degree oven for around 30 minutes.

One more suggestion, since I’m full of advice today: this recipe is easily doubled, and you can freeze the extra batch for later. 

Happy eating, amigos!

What do I mean by “natural?”  Basically anything that is bio-degradable, non-toxic, and pretty safe in case my preschooler decides to become even more adventurous and say, spray some into her mouth.

You could use a vinegar-water solution and do pretty much the same thing, but that sure stinks to high heaven.  Plus I like to get some aromatherapy while I clean so I can feel at peace in the world.

In this corner we have the method cleaner.  Yep, don’t capitalize that name.  I like most of their stuff alright, but it’s never been anything spectacular.  Their advertising is pretty fun, though. 

This particular spray featured here smells like lavender, my favorite, but the smell doesn’t linger very long.  Maybe you like that, though?  Also check out the pink grapefruit if you’re feeling citrus-y.

And in this corner we have the biokleen all-purpose cleaner (what’s up with the lowercase usage for proper names?). 

I actually like this one.  It doesn’t have a fancy smell, maybe a faint verbena but other than that it does surprisingly well for a natural-based counter spray.

And the winner?  Actually, it’s a tie in my opinion.  I like the method for a light clean and some happy smells.  The biokleen works for when I have a little more dirty work to do.  As always, I use a microfiber cloth to loosen up that grime.

But wait, there’s another contender!  And to be honest, it’s my all-time favorite:

Oh, Mrs. Meyers, I do love your lavender countertop spray.  For when I use it, the lovely smell of lavendar wafts through the kitchen for hours.  I have finally found you again on Amazon!  We shall be reunited soon.

I have not been able to find this at the local health food store or the natural food sections of regular grocery stores, but if you click this here handy link you can have it sent to your door with no extra shipping costs.  Get together with five other friends and it only costs you $4.95 a piece.  Or be stingy and buy the whole case for yourself.

Disclosure: I buy everything myself with my own money.  And yes, I get a teensy little bit of a kickback if you buy from the Amazon link, but this keeps my blog ad-free.  So  you don’t get those blinky lights all in your face when you check out my website.  Thank you!  And you’re welcome!

Happy cleaning!

I’m always excited when I find a new grocery store item that brings new life to an old dish.  But I’m even more excited when that item is produced locally here in Utah.

Case in point: Papa Pita Wraps.  I was introduced to these last week by a dear friend who served them with hummus.  Normally I eat my hummus with pita chips, but this bread helps any old hummus reach a new level of “yum.” 

The Papa Pita company here in Utah makes these thick flatbreads.  Maybe it’s the Greek blood that courses through my veins, but it’s like this bread was meant to be in my life.

Front view.  This picture doesn’t do it much justice.

Bottom view.  Ditto the last comment.

If you remember only one thing about this product, it’s the thickness.  Not too thick to fold in half, not too thin to hold your favorite toppings.  A lot of toppings.

There’s about a million things you can do with this flatbread, or “wrap” as they call it on the package.  I hear they make excellent grilled pizzas (gonna have to ask my friend for the details on that).  I would use this to make a gyro, a taco, or even a substitute for sandwich bread.  Of course, you could just tear up little pieces and dip them in hummus.

Disclosure: I picked this package up at Costco and paid for it with my own dinero.  Or χρήματα.  I am related to these people only by heritage but do not personally know the fine folks who make this bread.  But I imagine I’ll do my part to keep them in business.

You can find out more info on their website, www.papapita.com. 

ευτυχισμένος φαγητό!

Once my site was up and running, I began to look for ways to improve my blog.  It’s nothing fancy, I’ll admit that.  When I check out other blogs, mine looks like a preschooler’s effort.  I checked out ways to drive traffic to my site, to “monetize” (fancy blogger talk for earning money), and otherwise attract readers. 

Somehow this effort began to feel empty to me and distracted me from my original intent.  While I respect all the fancy bloggers out there, I quite simply do not have the time to build a fantabulous site with all the bells and whistles.

This whole process has led me back to the origin of the name for my site, The Distilled Life.  To me, living a distilled life means focusing on doing activities that reflect my priorities. 

I began thinking about all this while listening to a presentation given by a respected woman in the fitness industry, Chalene Johnson.  I could write a separate post about this wonderful gal.  If you have ever tried TurboJam at home or TurboKick at the gym, you can thank this great instructor.  I also use her ChaLEAN Extreme series at home and love it.  [Disclosure, I am a certified TurboKick instructor although I currently do not teach any regular classes]  Chalene also has a line of way cute workout clothing, and recently released a series of motivational talks on CD. 

Chalene’s Facebook and Twitter posts are unique: rather than tell us all of her fabulous existence (which would be well-justified), she instead reminds people how they can better themselves. She frequently asks others thought questions such as, “What have you done to improve your confidence?”  I love that she makes it about others instead of herself.

Awhile back,  I found one of her lectures on YouTube entitled, “11 Steps to Low Stress and High Rewards.”  This clip shows step 1, so you’ll want to find the remaining steps on YouTube on the "suggestions” side bar.

If you have time, I highly encourage taking a listen.  Actually, even if you do not have time, you need to listen to her or anyone else who would have you think about the way you spend your time. 

Basically Chalene encourages you to make a list of your five priorities, and make daily task lists that honor those priorities.  It sounds simple in theory, terribly difficult in practice. 

But it’s so important.  Now, more than ever.

Why? With social networks, websites, blogs, texting, emails, and a well-apped iPhone, our time becomes easily wasted.  So much can get in the way of our accomplishing our goals and honoring our priorities.  It’s easy to become distracted when there’s so much vying for our attention. 

I began listing my priorities after hearing her lecture and really thinking about how I can meet them on a daily basis.  One of my personal priorities centers around making my house a home and this blog helps me accomplish that.  Somehow it seems less important to spend time chatting on social networks (although I admit it’s a blast!) and instead developing a recipe my kids loved so I can repeatedly make it.

In short, to live a distilled life that reflects what matters to you: write your priorities down!  And do those daily tasks that reflect these priorities.  

Happy living!

I remember having this version of pizza growing up.  Today, it’s a nice way to reconnect with my childhood without spending all night in the kitchen.  When I’m too tired to make anything else, a quick trip to the store for some French bread makes this a quick meal.

It’s easy, yes, but once again you have to pay attention to the process to have a good result.  So read carrrrefulllly……

French Bread Pizza

makes a decent amount for 3 kids, one very hungry adult and one not-so-hungry adult (you may want to double for a larger crowd) 

• one loaf french bread
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• 8 ounces mozzarella
• some butter
• whatever toppings you like (I used  4 slices of this here ham)

Step 1: slice open french bread and lightly butter.  Throw in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 3-5 minutes for a light crisp.  **The magic is in this step.** 

Step 2: spread a light layer of pizza sauce.  I used about 1/2 of a 12 ounce jar.  Use more if you like it saucy.  Read that one, “saw-say” for added dramatic flair.

Step 3: sprinkle cheese and any toppings. 

Put back in 375 degree F oven and bake for another 8 minutes.

You know you want to try some.

Happy eating, you saw-say person you!

I invented this version that my kids love even better that the fast food version.  Okay, maybe that’s stretching the truth a little bit although I feel a little better feeding this to my kids.  While I would not put this on the “clean eating” list, it makes a nice substitute for whatever-the-heck they put in normal chicken nuggets.

Chicken Nuggets

makes around 30 pieces, depending on how they are chopped

• 1 pound chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• Vegetable oil for frying, 4-ish cups

For the breading, in three separate bowls:

• 1/2 cup flour (toss in some salt and pepper if you’d like)
• 2 eggs and 1/4 cup milk mixed together
• 1 sleeve buttery crackers pounded into crumbs with 1 tsp. seasoning salt mixed in (or 2-ish cups seasoned breadcrumbs)

Process: dip bite-sized pieces first in flour mix, then egg/milk mix, then cracker mix.  Set aside until ready for frying.

Meanwhile, heat around 1 to 1-1/2 inches of oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Cook pieces in oil for a couple minutes each side, or until sides are a nice golden brown.  Place cooked pieces on a paper-toweled plate to absorb excess oil, then place on cookie sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes to give them a nice crisp.

Detailed description:

First, place a layer of plastic wrap over the chicken breasts.  This keeps the water from splattering all over creation as you pound them silly.  Using the flat end of a meat tenderizer, pound them flat.

There we go.  Yes, it looks lovely for sure, but you get the idea.  At this point they are ready for chopping.

I like to use a boning/utility knife, but whatever floats your boat will work.

My geologist friends can appreciate the spoon added for scale reference.  This gives you an idea of size.

The line-up: first dip pieces in the flour mix (left), then the egg/milk mix (center), then the cracker crumb mix (right).  I know the flour-before-egg mix seems counterintuitive, but trust me, this helps to keep the breading intact.  You will thank me later. 

I usually dip the entire batch at once and let them sit on a plate…while they await their fate…

In an awesome pink pan like this, preheat about an inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Okay, you can use a boring gray pan if you insist.

Place each nugget in preheated oil using tongs.  The germ freak in me says to only use the tongs for this first step.  Let them cook up about a minute or two each side.

The germ freak in me also says to use a separate spatula/turner to flip those babies and move them onto a paper-toweled plate when they’re all done.

At this point you could eat them up yum.  I won’t say anything if you sneak a few morsels in your mouth.  But to crisp those lovely nuggets of tastiness, I recommend putting them on a cookie sheet and tossing them into a 350 degree oven (not literally, silly).  Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

<—Definitely not shaped like a boot.

Happy non-McEating!

For my daughter’s birthday, I recently stopped at Dippidee in American Fork so she could pick out her very own cupcake (and give me an excuse to not make a cake this year).

Doesn’t this look heavenly?  Almost too good to eat, in my opinion.  This red velvet cupcake tastes as good as it looks here.  Of course, I had to sneak a nibble or five when my daughter wasn’t looking.

Out of fairness, I purchased some for the rest of the family.  Out of cheapness, I took advantage of the BOGO special this week on their rocky road cupcakes. 

What you do not see in this picture is the creamy white filling tucked inside the chocolate cupcake.  What a sweet surprise!

These were so delicious I would have paid full price.

Seriously.

For more information and exact location, check them out at http://dippidee.blogspot.com/.  

For the record, I paid for all the cupcakes myself and I do not know the woman who owns this store (but I hear she’s a lovely person!). 

Happy local eating!

The culprits? Three kids, including a grabby toddler.  Also to blame: dirty feet kicking the dishwasher shut (don’t ask).

Maybe you have used an ammonia-based window spray on your stainless appliances.  It was my go-to solution but it somehow never looked very nice.  Clean, but streaky.

See?

While I was searching online for a stainless steel appliance cleaner to purchase, I found a $15 aerosol spray from a major chemical corporation (Maybe Many Might know who they are?  You get a gold star if you figure out my nebulous reference).  It sounded a little steep to me, so I was off to search for a good homemade cleaner. 

I found one!   I call this a “Home Run” cleaner since I love it for four reasons. 

1.  It’s inexpensive

2. It’s just as effective or more effective than the product it replaces

3. It’s simple to make

4. It’s much safer for the environment than its market counterpart

Keep in mind, however, it still has a mild toxicity, so please keep it away from small children and animals.  Since it also contains alcohol, it’s a wee bit flammable, so be careful with that as well.

The recipe for this wonderful stainless steel appliance cleaner is so simple yet incredibly effective.  Here goes:

Home Run Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaner

• one part rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol
• one part mineral oil (or baby oil)

Mix together in a small container.  I like to use mineral oil since it has no strong fragrances, but feel free to use baby oil.  You can find mineral oil near where you would find rubbing alcohol, in the first aid section of most stores.  You can choose the amounts depending on the size of container you use.

Make sure to give it a good shake every time you use it.

To make it all fancy-like, I put it in a cute little 2 oz. travel container.  Don’t forget to label it!

That’s it.

Phew.  Now I’m done.

Okay, okay, I know I still need to show you how to do it.  There is a method here.  You have to use a microfiber cloth to make this work correctly.

Procedure

Step 1: pour a small amount of cleaner onto a microfiber cloth and rub around using a circular pattern.  There will be streaks left behind, but no worries.

Step 2: use a dry portion of the same cloth and polish dry. 

Exhibit B: “B” is for Beautiful.  Would you like to see a side-by-side to again witness the sheer awesomeness?

Fine, then:

Before.  Yuck.	After, using window cleaner.  Yuck part 2.	After, using homemade cleaner. Wowie Wow!

Happy cleaning!

In our house, we also call this lovely dip/spread/random snack, “Mexican Butter.”  While this treat packs a hefty caloric punch, it also contains a lot of really good fats. And I’ve heard from the experts that we need good fats, as opposed to the delicious but nefarious fats found in steak, butter, etc.

On that note, I remember reading a story once where a woman traveled to Jamaica and observed the women there eat an entire avocado in one sitting.  And these were slender, strong gals who ate this calorie-laden treat in abundance.  This surprised the visitor, since she and most dieting women back in the states avoided this fruit like the plague.  This made her think that these lovely Jamaicans were onto something. At that time, many of those Jamaican women had probably never seen the inside of a western fast food restaurant, or had a spongie yellow cream cake.  This phenomenon does make a good case for eating a less processed, whole foods diet.

With all the fresh produce available at the store during these summer months, I like to make a really large batch to store in the freezer.  Just scoop in freezer safe plastic baggies, squeeze the air out and store in the deep freezer. In the middle of a dreary winter, you will thank me.

Guacamole

makes approximately 3 cups when it’s all smooshed together

• 3 avocados, peeled, pitted, mashed up real good
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced (I used regular tomatoes here since the Romas at the store looked pretty rough today)
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 T. white vinegar
• 2 large garlic cloves, run through a press or minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 handful cilantro, diced

Directions: place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir.  Let sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator to let the flavors marinate.  Then serve with whatever your little heart desires.  I love guacamole spread thin on a chicken breast.  Yummy yummy!

Ever wonder how to peel, pit, and mash an avocado?  Check out this handy tutorial.

Additional notes: you may notice the vinegar and ask, “what the…?”  Never fear, I put that in for a reason: to keep the avocados from browning too quickly. 

[boring technical explanation alert: avocados eventually go brown because of a chemical process called “oxidation.”  They may taste fine when this happens, but it sure looks unappetizing.  Even I won’t eat brown guacamole and I should know better.  By adding more acid (lime juice and/or vinegar), you can help slow this process down.  You may want to experiment with the amount of lime juice/vinegar mix, since too much of either will give your guac a funny aftertaste.  But now you know.  And knowledge is, well, knowledge.]

One last comment and I’m done: even with the addition of lime juice/vinegar, this will still start to darken after a day or so.  So you best eat this up (or store in the freezer) pronto! 

Happy eating!