FUCK YEAH CLEAN LIVING

My experiences with a clean living lifestyle, often with gluten-free and bento adventures thrown in. I am interested in keeping everything simple.

[bornw1ld]

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Improvised Tzatziki Sauce

A year or so (when this was a slightly different blog) I posted about stirring pomegranate seeds into Greek yogurt. Now that my focus is on clean living, I am mostly dairy-free, but I do still eat yogurt in moderation -- I use it occasionally in smoothies and keep it around to make small portions of easy dips, dressings and light sauces. A note on Greek yogurt: to keep it clean, be sure you get the plain variety that does not contain added sugar, flavoring or sweetened add-ins like fruit or syrup. Read your labels!

One of my favorite yogurt-based quick sauces is an improvised tzatziki sauce. Traditionally used on gyros, I use this refreshing sauce in all sorts of ways.

My recipe: I stir several generous grinds of lemon pepper, a small spoonful of soft goat cheese (the only cheese I keep in my kitchen) and the scooped-out insides of a small/persian cucumber into about a half a cup of Greek yogurt. That's it. It's very simple. You can add more cucumber if you want a "wetter" sauce, more yogurt if you prefer a thicker consistency, and you can easily vary the spice if you want stronger or different flavors.

I use this most often as a veggie dip or spoon it lightly over an avocado and spinach salad, and sometimes make it as an accompaniment to chicken when I'm helping my parents cook (they often grill meat, whereas I don't prepare meat at home).

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Whole Foods' take on apple sandwiches with granola and peanut butter is simple and attractive. Just cut out the chocolate chips, opt for gluten-free granola and use a different nut butter to make this a clean recipe. Almond butter is my clean nut butter of choice -- and if you're at Whole Foods you can grind it fresh!

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A new direction...

From here on out, the focus of this blog will be clean living. Though it started as a general blog about living healthy, it has morphed into a clean living blog because, in my effort to live in a healthier way, I found that I prefer/get the most benefits from a clean lifestyle. For more information about what clean living means, take a glance at the About page.

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I ran in a small nearby park today. It was beautiful and I was so pleased to finally explore the interior after driving by it for months. Autumn is in full swing and there were leaves crunching beneath my feet and sunlight filtering through a spectrum of oranges and reds over my head. It was gorgeous. Inspired, and having already gone once around the park, I rounded my last 10 minutes doing sprints on the historic private side streets off the park.

Photo by me

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Some good points about hydrating, sunlight and staying active in this Lifehacker article: How to Winterize Your Body to Stay Fit and Healthy in the Cold Months Ahead

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I stirred fresh pomegranate seeds into some Greek yogurt for a snack tonight. Amazingly good! I have a whole bowl of jewel-like arils in my fridge after learning how to properly seed a pomegranate via a supermarket pamphlet from Pom Wonderful. It's a bit of work but well worth it since you get so many arils, but I could do it once a week while pomegranates are in season (October-January). You can also freeze the arils for use in the off-season. The thick texture of the Greek yogurt and the flavor of the arils made this simple snack almost like a decadent ice cream. Yum.

Photo via the Pom site.

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The Ottolenghi recipe for Cauliflower and Parmesan Cake is truly awesome. I've made it three times in the last ten days -- once for a party, once for home and once with my mom (using an alternate flour to make it gluten free). Steam the cauliflower instead of boiling it to keep more of the nutrients. You can also use Pam instead of butter to line the pan. It's been a smash hit every time I've made it, is amazingly good, and it keeps for several days. A small slice is surprisingly hearty and goes great with a big salad, a cup of hot soup or a glass of V8. View the recipe on Smitten Kitchen.

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Health Tips | Correct timing to drink water will maximize its effectiveness to the human body.

2 glasses of water 30 minutes before meal will help digestion.

1 glass after waking up helps activate internal organs.

1 glass before going to sleep avoids stroke or heart attack.

1 glass after taking a bath helps lower blood pressure.

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