Clean Mean Mom Machine!

Alright...so some of you have seen some random pictures of food I've posted and probably wondered what has gotten into me? Well about a month ago a friend approached me about doing the Advocare 24 day challenge. I could do an entire post on exactly what that is...and maybe I will someday, but basically its a weight loss/health gain challenge in which  you eat "clean" and take some supplements along side. If you know me, I'm a complete diet pepsi addict!!! But the part that frustrates my husband so much is that I never actually finish a can. So he will come home to a house with 6 partial cans of diet pepsi laying around....anyway back to the point. My friend mentioned that this is a good way to get off of Diet Pepsi and lose the last 5 lbs of baby weight gain some health. I knew I needed to do something because I was failing for months at getting the last few pounds off. So off I went..... bought lots of stuff at the grocery store that was on my approved "list", swallowed some cleanse tablets, and proceeded to drink the entire Lake Erie lots of H20!

Well something happened right away besides lots of trips to the bathroom (kidding). I started feeling sooooo good. The weight was just falling off even though I was eating the same amount of calories that I was before. I always knew how to eat "healthy and clean", but what I didn't know was how to get started. Once that part was figured out...I almost became obsessed about what I put into my body. I also started working out a little more consistently just because the weight was coming off and my muscles were starting to show a lot more. It was just a beautiful thing all around. If you want to know how to eat "clean", I highly recommend Tosca Reno's books. But basically you cut out all the processed crap, eat tons of veggies and fruits, lean protein, eat 5-6 times a day, drink Lake Erie once a day, and voila! Weight loss! Its everything we've always known to do...yet we just get stuck on how to start. The challenge ended....I lost about 8 lbs and 10 inches, but really it was just the beginning of my new healthy lifestyle. Now each night I spend about 20 minutes packing everything I'm going to eat the next day and it just feels great to load my body with healthy and nutritious food. So like anything....the minute you start a new hobby the next place you look for inspiration is..........Pinterest!
I began pinning a billion healthy and clean eating ideas (and some snickerdoodle blondie brownies...whoops). I decided I was going to try something new and make some raw and vegan protein balls! Sounds crazy right??

Well there were all kinds of different recipes for these "balls" of sorts. Some had dates, some had nuts, some had coconut, some had almond butter, some had quinoa etc. etc. etc. I couldn't decide which recipe sounded the best so I decided to make a "hybrid" of sorts and make up my own recipe. NOT. A. GOOD. IDEA! Do Not Make Up Your Own Recipe Of Protein Balls Period! basically what happened was ...I decided all of the sticky stuff sounded really good...bananas, peanut butter, dates, etc. And some of the other stuff I omitted....was more dry. It turned into a sticky mess.....see Exhibit A

It was a big ole sticky mess. Everything was stuck to my fingers....I couldn't get them to roll in balls. I tried freezing them first...that didn't work either. Basically I had to live forever and ever with "protein balls" as fingers. No...actually I licked my fingers because it tasted delicious. And my husband licked the foil clean of protein ball goo (true story). Then what happened next is even better......some of the lake water I was drinking spilled all over my "protein ball" assembly station. See exhibit B..

 

Ewwwww yuck right? Watery almond meal! But somehow despite all odds...mission was accomplished! And behold the glory of "protein balls"!! Tah Dah!!!

*tear* aren't they beautiful? Next time I will definitely stick to one recipe. I plan to make some more this weekend. They are great to keep in the freezer for a sweet craving attack quick little protein snack before or after a workout. Have you ever had a major pinterest fail? or tried to make a hybrid of recipes and it turned disastrous??