The Clean Eating Challenge: Tuesday

I've challenged myself to go cold turkey on my beloved junk food and eat 100% clean for seven days straight. Well, maybe 95% clean... but I think that's close enough for a beginner. Here's what I ate today.

Breakfast
1/2 cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
2 tablespoons coarsely ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
1 teaspoon honey
3 dashes ground cinnamon

Spinach egg white omelette (3 egg whites)

Coffee with organic half-and-half and sweetened with a 1/2 teaspoon honey

Morning Snack
1 red delicious apple

**Today's workout was a 4 mile run instead of the P90X Cardio X workout.**

"Lunch" (Post-Workout)
1 cup organic skim milk
3 tablespoons chocolate soy protein powder
1 cup frozen strawberries

Afternoon "Snack"
2 cups spinach and spring mix greens
5 oz. cooked shrimp
1/4 cup local grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped local cucumber
10 Kalamata olives
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and vinegar dressing

Dinner
4 oz. slow cooker BBQ chicken
     Sauce:
     1 cup ketchup
     1/3 cup packed brown sugar
     1/2 cup honey
     1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
     2 tablespoons ground mustard
     2 tablespoons paprika
     1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup steamed green beans
1 serving baked sweet potato fries
1/2 banana (I had to bribe John to eat his green beans but he didn't need a whole banana)

Evening Snack
Clean Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt (recipe here)

Nutritional Breakdown: 2021 calories (46% carbohydrates, 26% protein, 28% fats)

Summary
Today I did well, but also kind of crappy. I made the mistake of not eating enough water this morning before my workout. I took Piper for a 2 mile run and then went back out for another 2 miles right after. I started to really feel the heat and had to really slow down. Then I started feeling light headed and got the beginnings of some chills (which you'll learn in next month's health ministry newsletter as a symptom of HEAT EXHAUSTION). Muy malo! So I walked a lot of the last mile, came home to hop in a cool shower, and felt totally wiped out for the rest of the day. I ended up eating my shake for lunch because I was so tired and had the salad for an afternoon "snack." My energy level did bounce back a little bit later in the afternoon. I managed to wash all the linens on our bed and two loads of dishes.

On a side note, cookie dough Greek yogurt is awesome! Thanks for the recipe, Melanie Mitro. I didn't have any mini chocolate chips, though. I had a whole Hersey bar leftover from when we made s'mores on the fourth. But I didn't trust myself to only eat a little bit of it. So I crumbled up some cinnamon graham crackers instead. I like the crunchy texture. I'll have to add mini chocolate chips to my pantry staple list.

And may the peace of the Lord be always with you.