Breakfast Ideas on the Clean-Living Diet

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked when talking to clients or friends about the Clean-Living Diet is what to eat for breakfast.

There are a wealth of opportunities when it comes to breakfast on this diet. Most importantly though, is that you remember to eat until you are full.

I love breakfast and in our home, we choose to make the most of this time together as a family.  We start our day together for a minimum of an hour, this time is very special to me and we often enjoy engaging conversations in the morning.

I know not everyone has this possibility, you might have an early morning job or choose to sleep longer. This means you will not always have a lot of time to prepare your breakfast. Do not worry – on the Clean-Living Diet there are loads of options to choose between and they do not have to require a lot of time.

One of my “go to” breakfasts

It’s my impression that most people are creatures of habit.  We tend to reach for the same foods every day as they often tend to be quick and easy.  Think about it, do you always eat the same or do you change it around?  A lot of people tell me that they eat the same foods all through the week, however, they also say that they tend to vary it more at weekends as they have more time.

I am defiantly like this. During normal weekdays my “go to” is often a couple of raw slices of zucchini topped with avocado or some cheese. I accompany it with a soft-boiled egg and a cup of bulletproof coffee. This fills me up until lunch and I have no cravings in between.

On this plate you also see some of my Homemade Vegetable Buns – recipe will be posted very soon.

Another version is a quick omelette – one slice of cheese on the pan and when it starts to bubble, I add 2 eggs whipped together. A little salt and pepper and I am good to go. Again – I have a bulletproof coffee or an Egg Latte Coffee to go with this.

 

 

CAULIFLOWER PIZZA WITH PARMESAN AND GREEN PESTO

This is officially the first recipe on the blog – I have been completely lost as to what recipe to post as the first. I have so many I want to share with you, and it feels like a big thing to pick the first.

Scrolling back and forth between all of my delicious recipes that I now am going to type up and post here, almost made me lose my mind. In the end I picked one – the Cauliflower Pizza – a absolute favourite amongst our clients at The Performance Retreat.

Even the biggest meat lovers often end up choosing this one as their favourite.

Pizza with cauliflower – will it be the same?

First of all, you have to know, that when choosing to nourish your body with the Clean-Living Diet, you say goodbye to traditional ingredients like flour, starch, additives, yeast etc. These are all ingredients that are very difficult to replace. So, to answer that question – “No, it will not be the same”. In my opinion it will be better 🙂

Once you have gotten used to living without these ingredients, in the first instance you will feel so much better. Your digestive system will love you for choosing this anti-inflammatory way of living. Your taste buds will also adjust, and you will feel fuller for longer periods of time.

As said earlier, our clients at The Performance Retreat have given us great feedback on this different version of pizza and here in our house, even my daughter Anna likes it.

Use it as bread substitute

Whilst this recipe calls for pizza, you can easily make an extra batch of the “dough” and use them as sandwich bread. I like to have them either cold or warm with some avocado, fresh spinach and a dash of homemade aioli. Another great version is to toast it with cheese.

Well, let us get back to this pizza recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Approximate 6 small pizzas Pizza base:

• 1/2 cauliflower
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of almond or coconut flour
• 75 g parmesan cheese (save some for serving)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Pesto:

• 1 large handful of basil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 chunk of parmesan
• 1 handful of pine nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

 

Marinated onions:

• 1 red onion
• 2-3 cups of vinegar
• 1tbs Sukrin Gold (you can choose not to)
• pepper

 

HOW TO COOK IT STEP BY STEP:

Pesto:

1. Give the garlic cloves a quick boil in a pot of water. It takes the top off the sharpness, this way a more mild garlic flavour emerges.
2. Roast the pine nuts slightly on a pan until they turn a little brown.
3. Mix everything together in a mini-chopper or blend it.
4. Taste with salt.

 

Marinaded onions:

1. Cut the onions into thin slices and put them in a clean container preferably glass.
2. Pour Vinegar, Sukrin and pepper over the onions. Close and keep cool until serving as a topping on the pizza. I always do a minimum of 4 hours or make them the day before but even 30 minutes will do miracles for your onions.

 

Pizza Base:

1. Turn on the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Grate the cauliflower fine – on a grater or in a food processor.
3. Add eggs, almond or coconut flour, grated parmesan cheese and salt.
4. Mix it all together well.
5. On a baking sheet lined with baking paper, spread the dough to 4 or 6 small pizzas.
6. Bake in the oven until they are golden approx. 15-20 minutes.
7. Take them out and top them with pesto and grated parmesan cheese.
8. Bake again for about 10 minutes until they are a little crisp on the top. Keep an eye on them – you do not want them to get too dark.

 

Serve:

1. Serve with the marinated onions and some herbs for decoration.
2. I often serve with a salad on the side – on the photo it is the “Green Hulk Salad” – recipe will follow soon.

 

ANYTHING SPECIAL TO REMEMBER?

• For a quicker version buy cauliflower already shredded and good quality peso ready-made.
• The longer you marinate the onions the more intense the colour will be. Remember we do not only fill our tummies but also our eyes.

 

BENEFITS FROM THE DISH:

Cauliflower: is high in fibre and a good source of antioxidants.

Basil: is an excellent source of vitamin K, manganese, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It is also a good source of calcium, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

 

WHAT IS THE CLEAN-LIVING DIET?

Clean living is first of all about choosing to live clean. Meaning choosing to nourish your body only with clean ingredients and making an active choice to take out anything that is not naturally produced or added.

First of all, choose ingredients that are as close to nature as possible, eat Vegetables, Meat & Healthy Fats, that`s it! Preferable organic, local grown. This way you eliminate toxins from pesticides, leftover medicine and other nasty stuff, that you do not want to end up in your body.

 

Limiting your intake of carbs

Low Carb, High Fat, known as the LCHF-diet, the paleo diet and Keto diet is very similar to the Clean-Living diet. The difference is choosing to eat only clean ingredients, and nothing added.

The similarities to these very popular diets is that you eliminate sugar and your intake of carbohydrates (carbs), especially starch. When doing so, your body’s metabolism will switch from using glucose (carbohydrates) as your fuel into burning fat (and ketones). It is called getting in a state of ketosis.

On the Clean-Living Diet, you do not have to be in ketosis – the most important thing is to take away the main “normal” carb group like bread, potatoes, rice, legumes and so on and focus on eating organic Vegetables, Meats and Healthy Fats.

If your goal is to lose weight, you can choose the “stricter” way of Clean-Living where you eat a very limited intake of carbs, for men this will typically be around 40-50 grams a day whereas for women around 20-30 grams a day.

On the Clean-Living Diet I do not always stick to these numbers, meaning I will sometimes post recipes that will add up on carbs more easily. For instance when we talk about vegetables and lowering your intake to these extreme amounts you have to be very aware not to eat vegetables grown under the soil and mainly eat green vegetables as they contain less carbohydrates.

There are times when I enjoy a few more carbohydrates (from vegetables) and therefore you will see recipes with sweet potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers etc. Often the amounts are not that big, and you should still be able to continue your weight loss, if this is what you are aiming for. Once your body has adapted to this way of living, the additional amounts should not be so big as to affect any weight loss, even if you’re not in ketosis.

Clean Living and weight loss

Whilst my intention by promoting the Clean-Living Diet is mainly to help you to stabilise blood sugar and feel more comfortable in your body, a lot of people do start to lose weight.

Switching into burning fat instead of carbs is what makes the difference. The reason why, is because your appetite will automatically be reducing, you will feel full for longer and your sugar cravings will disappear. You see – the completely opposite to what normally happens when going on a weight loss diet.

The body now has free access to absorb energy in the body’s own fat stores and therefore does not interpret the situation as hunger, the outcome is that a lot of people who have weight to lose, start to lose it.

Clean Living as a lifestyle

I choose and recommend Clean-Living as a lifestyle. Once you adapt to it you will feel great, your blood sugar will become stable and you will know that you treat your body with the best of the best. Saying “goodbye” to sugar, starch, additives, pesticides etc is the best thing that I have done for my body.

Diving into micronutrients

Another thing that differentiates the Clean-Living Diet from other diets is the fact that you dive into the micronutrients. You will get enlightened and learn what foods contain, what vitamins & minerals. With time this will change the way you look at food.

Vegetables, Meat & Fat

The Living Clean diet is mainly eating organic Vegetables, Meat and Healthy Fat as your main food source and eliminate everything else.

Vegetables

In this diet vegetables is your main source to carbs. I recommend that you chose mainly to eat vegetables grown above ground because these contain less starch and carbs. This does not mean that you should never eat potatoes or carrots, I just recommend you eat less of them.

Want to loose weight?

Organic grown, green vegetables is your number one. If you aim to get into ketosis you have to keep your carbohydrate intake as low as 20-30 gram per day if you are a female and 40-50 gram if you are male. If you do a lot of exercise you can exceed these limits.

Green salads, vegetables and cabbage is the best choice. You can easily eat 500g of these a day, if you feel like it and stay low in carbs.

 

Meat

On the Clean-Living Diet you can choose to eat meat or not. Choosing not to can be a lifestyle choice or because you also want to take your blood type into consideration. Being a Blood Type A you do not really need meat because you take up proteins well from vegetables.

Though I recommend eating animal protein, ie. white meat like, fish, poultry, eggs and partly also dairy products such as cheese. Dark meat I recommend you use very rarely – I do so, in small amounts, on special occasions.

Animal protein is the most saturating macronutrient and sufficient protein is important to succeed when nursing your body on the Clean-Living Diet. If you start to lose fat it will also make sure that you do so without losing muscle mass.

Animal protein is opposite to plant protein (beans and lentils, for example) complete protein, which means that it contains all the amino acids, including the essential amino acids that we need covered.

Animal protein contains no carbohydrates, which makes it possible to succeed in eating so few carbohydrates. The exception here is eggs, which actually contain a little carbohydrate, depending on the size of the egg it is around 1 carb per egg.

Fat

Healthy fat that is.

When eating the Clean-Living way, fat turns into your body’s energy source. With too little fat, it is difficult to feel really full. You get fat through meat, but most people will need to add some extra fat.

You will need to eat the amount of fat that makes you saturated, this will help you feel satisfied and keep you away from other foods like sugar.

What is enough fat?

You get enough fat when you do not feel hunger between breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you feel fatigued and slightly nauseous and your weight goes up, you may be eating too much fat.

Healthy fat

10 healthy fats to include in your diet:

1. Avocados 🥑

2. Cheese 🧀

3. Gee & Butter 🧈

4. Whole eggs 🥚

5. Fatty fish 🐟

6. Nuts 🥜

7. Chia seeds

8. Extra virgin olive oil

9. Coconut oil 🥥

10. Full fat yoghurt

Remember the “living CLEAN” way, meaning that you get the product from the cleanest source possible. Preferably organic, local and without additives.

I recommend limiting the intake of the omega 6-rich plant oils (sunflower oil, thistle oil, corn oil, soybean oil, grape seed oil and ‘unnamed’ vegetable oils) because of their inflammatory effect.