Happy New Year 2017 to you and yours! 🎉🍾

Hope you had a safe and peaceful transition from one year to the next….

Today’s post is about the popular topic of New Year’s Day “Lucky Foods” with a peak into what’s on my “lucky New Year’s Day” Dinner plate 😂🍽

Now I don’t believe in superstition, but I do like the idea that most all of these “lucky foods” are consequently “healthy foods” or in my case for bodybuilding  they would be considered “clean or lean  foods”! 

So here’s a quick look at what I consumed from the New Year’s  Lucky Foods list on this lucky 1st day of the year 2017: 

Fruit: 

Not just any fruit a “round” fruit. It’s symbolism represents coins (money) and prosperity. This “lucky apple” was my post workout snack today! 💪🏃🏋🍎💱

So aside from its “lucky New Year ” benefits it’s jammed packed with fiber and vitamins to fuel a very productive and prosperous year! 

Greens:

Leafy green foods are said to represent money or a year of financial gain. So my leafy green of choice on this “lucky New Year’s Day” is Spinach steamed into the shape of round balls to symbolize bank rolls (ok not really: they just come out like that) 😂

However,  I may not be able to spend my spinach or save it in the bank, I can reap the health benefits of the abundance of healthy nutrients found in spinach, I’ll be able to enjoy the financial fruits of my labor for many years to come 💸

Beans:

Beans, like round foods and fruits, are also said to represent coins (money) 💱 , prosperity and longevity. 

My lucky beans of choice today were black beans,  known for their high fiber content and bad cholesterol fighting, healthy ❤ and healthy  weight management benefits. I think that’s enough to qualify these little guys for the longevity award. 🏆

Grains:

Aah the grains….yeah I know any paleo followers out there, it’s ok. I won’t dwell on this one very long.

Grains are said to symbolize abundance because they swell when they are cooked,  unfortunately they tend to swell elsewhere for most folks as well (dear carb bloat do not visit me this year). Any who,  my grain of choice is a gluten free ancient grain: quinoa. Packed with all its protein and fiber goodness, it’s a grain I can safely say I am ok consuming in a reasonable abundance.  🍲

Fish:

Last but not least,  the Alpha and Omega of everything I love about life in general is symbolized by fish. Aside from fish scales representing silver coins, but the concept of progression and moving forward as well as abundance in such activities is said to be symbolized by the forward swimming motion of fish and the fact that they typically travel in groups called schools 📚😂 Talk about forward thinking and progression for the year ahead! 

My lucky fish of choice this New Year’s Day is salmon, one of my all time favorites. Jam packed with protein and Omega-3 fatty acids for a strong and healthy start to a very productive and forward thinking new year!

Happy New Year 2017🎉🎉🎉

Bon a petite 


Until next time…. I AM Candice Maria 

So yesterday, I was out to lunch and had a delicious slice of spinach and artichoke quiche! However,  it was restaurant style and quite greasy, salty, and heavy. Not really my thing when it comes to food. It’s been quite some time since I’ve eaten quiche, which is what promted me to order it, which however, reminded me that at most occasions the restaraunt style, boxed pre made processed style of any dish, goes against everything I currently believe in putting into my body!

So today, I felt inspired to experiment. Never having tried my hand at making quiche,  I looked up the general basics and added a holistic twist as I do with everything I cook these days!

I juice regularly, which inspired the vegetable medley pie filling for the dish. If you juice,  try saving the pulp once in a while after you clean the juicer, that stuff can be utilized for cooking, baking, smoothie mixes, and more!

The crust was of course inspired by my detest for refined sugars, plus also considering my gluten free friends.  I used a combination of coconut and almond flour, along with flaxseed meal. Giving the the final product a delicately sweet,  yet nutty taste.  Not to mention the iron, fiber, and protein richness of the ingredients themselves!

Lastly on my quest to win the battle on heart disease and diabetes for the sake of people such as my father, is what inspired the egg white and unsweetened almond milk factor. Got to keep cholesterol and excess simple sugars low!

All in all it turned out well! See my step by step photos below! This is definitely something I will be adding to The CLEAN NUTRITION PROJECT Meal Prep and Planning Menu in the future!

Step 1: Preparing the Made from Scratch Pie Crust

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Step 2: Prepping the Filling, the Vegetable medley

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Step 3: Putting it all together

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Step 4: Bake and Enjoy

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Step 5: Bon Appetit

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Until next time, EAT CLEAN,  STAY ACTIVE #TheCLEANutritionProject

~I AM CANDICE MARIA ~

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