Clean eating - Our Adventure

My original plan was to post what we are eating each day.  Haha... That is just not gonna happen.  So below is an overview of some of the stuff I have made. We have also made some basic changes:

• We use olive oil...and only in small amounts
• We use coconut oil and also make popcorn only on the stove top in coconut oil
• We only eat wheat, rye or whole grain bread...bakery fresh when possible
• We limit sugar, but when we do bake a treat we use organic cane sugar
• We try to use whole grain or veggie pasta whenever possible but if we use white noodles we buy organic.  and we use lots of quinoa.
• We eat lots of fresh veggies and fruit
• We eat pretzels and all natural crackers and bagel chips.
• We eat only all natural cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream.
• We use real honey and real maple syrup.
• We use white unbleached flour and substitute in as much whole wheat flour as possible.

I am still trying to figure out how to make good whole grain bread in my bread machine.  I have not had good luck.  everything comes out like a brick!

1) You gotta have a little fun...pear beer.  The only ingredient is pear juice, that has fermented  2) chocolate chip cookies made with whole wheat flour dark choc. chips and organic cane sugar. 3) Veggie sandwich with fresh mozzarella, avacado, garden veggies on marble rye

1) All natural alfredo sauce from a jar, with shrimp on brown rice and sauteed onions, mushrooms and squash  2) hamburger patty with mushrooms and onions on marble rye and fresh beans from the garden 3) a hotdog with natural casing on a whole wheat bun with cucumber salad and homemade baked olive oil and sea salt fries.

1) grilled chicked breast with romaine lettuce and parmesan cheese,  grill corn on the cob and red skin potatoes with olive oil and seasonings cooked in foil on the grill.

We live in a very rural area and finding fresh ingredients that aren't processed has been hard.  I tend to shop almost every day after work.  Not a big trip ...just a quick stop at the local grocery store to grab fresh ingredients.  Bread has been a real challenge... everything is processed, even the "fresh bread" made in the bakery at the grocery store.  It is really made from packaged dough with preservative ingredients.  We have a small restaurant that makes bakery bread but it is too soft and we don't like it. Hopefully I can figure out the bread machine and get a good healthy recipe.  If you have any whole wheat or multi-grain bread machine recipes please share them with me. I also am constantly stalking Pinterest for clean recipes.  Our other issue has been fresh juice with out added sugar or preservatives.  We have found some but for any type of selection we have to drive to the next larger city which is about 35 minutes away.  We usually make a weekly or bi-weekly trip out of town, but with fresh ingredients and no preservatives there is no stocking up unless you can freeze it. We try to eat organic, food that hasn't been genetically modified, and food without chemical preservatives added.  This is basically a complete change from the way we have been eating and the way most of america eats.  It is really sad, all the junk we used to eat.  We have learned that real food fills you up better, you can eat surprisingly more than you think and still loose weight and that we just feel much better.