Katie's Clean Eats

The following are a few products that I CANNOT live without. They are staples in my diet and I consume most of them on a daily basis.  

1) Oats: I eat some form of oats every single day for breakfast. I find they keep me satisfied the longest and they are very versatile. I eat them in pancake form, stove-top form, smoothie form and overnight oat form. My mom also uses them as a filler in her ground turkey/chicken/sirloin burgers. I enjoy my oats more than I enjoy anything else and am pretty sure that I am slightly… more like majorly addicted to them. Good thing they’re so healthy for you!

2) Sunwarrior Protein Powder: I just recently started ordering this protein powder off the internet (iHerb.com has the best prices and their shipping is by far the fastest I’ve ever had) and I absolutely love it! It tastes great in smoothies, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, you name it! I also love making a frosting out of it just by slowly adding water. My favourite uses for this frosting are on top of my oatmeal pancakes or mixed with frozen blueberries. 

3) Chia Seeds & Ground Flaxseed: These seeds are rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and I consume both of them on a daily basis. Flax has a delicious nutty flavour and I love sprinkling it on my oats, yogurt, blending it in my smoothies, and my mom also adds it to her ground turkey/chicken/beef burgers. It keeps you regular and has numerous other health benefits. The same goes for chia seeds. I use chia when making my oatmeal, pancakes, and overnight oats as it helps to thicken them up. 

4) Yogi Egyptian Liquorice Tea: This tea is absolutely to die for. I was very surprised at how delicious it was the first time I tried it since I was expecting more of a black liquorice taste. This is the only tea that I ever buy and always make a huge thermos full of it and add 2 teabags, a splash of milk and about half a pack of stevia. I also love the inspirational quotes that each teabag has on the tag. 

5) Oikos Fat Free Greek Yogurt: This is my all time favourite Greek yogurt out there. It has a thicker consistency and is lower in calories than the other brands I’ve tried. This type has 100 calories per 3/4 c. serving, while all other Greek yogurts I’ve seen have 120 calories for the same amount (both have 18g protein/serving). I love Greek yogurt because there are are an infinite number of ways that you can dress it up and make it taste amazing, whether it be on the sweet or savoury side. 

6) Raw Almond Butter: I eat either almond butter or some form of nut (usually almonds or walnuts) every single day. Gotta get in my healthy fats! I’m very careful with portioning when it comes to almond butter as I could easily sit down with a spoon and eat about half a container. I always limit my serving size to one tablespoon which is more than enough. I like the raw almond butter way better over the roasted variety. I think it’s the texture that I love so much, it also has a slightly different taste to it as well. My favourite uses for almond butter are drizzling it over steaming hot oats or pancakes or spreading it on toast or in a wrap with banana. So delicious. 

7) Frozen Wild Blueberries: I have just recently fallen in love with frozen blueberries. Since fresh ones are not in season right now and are pretty expensive at the grocery store I had to resort to the frozen alternative. I love these little guys straight out of the bag, with protein frosting, and in oats (it turns them blue!)

8) Egg Whites: I use egg whites almost every day. I discovered adding them to oatmeal about a year ago and will now eat my oats no other way. The egg whites give them so much more volume and not to mention an added dose of protein which makes for a much more satisfying bowl! I also LOVE making veggie egg white omelettes. My favourite combo is spinach, broccoli and onions. So yum. I also thoroughly enjoy egg whites on toast or a brown rice cake with tomato and avocado. If you have never tried this combo before, I seriously suggest you do, it is to die for.

9) Unsweetened Almond Milk: When I first started drinking almond milk, I didn’t know to get the unsweetened kind, and always bought the regular which I found very unnaturally sweet. I checked the label and there it was: “evaporated cane sugar juice” a few ingredients down. I switched to the unsweetened and like it a lot more, plus it’s half the calories. I use almond milk, along with water to make my stove-top oats. It is also a star ingredient in my overnight oats bowls. (Are you seeing a trend here… Most of the items on this list have to do with oats. I told you I’m addicted). Ps. My almond milk is not expired, this is just an old photo!

10) Spinach: I eat spinach almost every single day. I love making spinach salads for lunch since you can basically add anything you can find in your kitchen to a spinach salad and it will still taste divine. I also love tossing a handful into my smoothies. It turns them an awesome green colour which rocks since green is one of my favourite colours! Sorry I don’t have a picture of my spinach, although my mom did just buy a 10lb bag. I guess a love of spinach runs in the family. 

11) Bananas: Almost forget about these!!! Bananas are definitely consumed on a daily basis. They are a star ingredient in my oats and pancakes. I also love them just by themselves, in smoothies, with almond butter, or mashed up on a slice of ezekiel toast. When we get a bunch of super over-ripe bananas my mom takes them and makes these fantastic banana blueberry bran muffins that are only 70 calories per muffin! They’re not huge muffins, but they’re not teeny either. I’ll usually snack on two of them topped with a wedge of light laughing cow cheese spread on a friday night as a little treat.