Clean Eating Archives | Joyful Messes

Clean Eating April 1, 2021

Meal Planning Made Simple and Bonus Printable

Do you love the idea of meal planning but find it overwhelming? Look no further! In this post, I offer a handful of tried-and-true tips to simplify your meal planning. What is meal planning? First, it’s important to understand that meal planning has a broad definition. It looks different for everyone, and that is exactly the point. Meal planning is a method of preparing food for you and your family that simplifies the process, alleviates stress and worry about what to make for dinner, and even keeps you on budget. Meal planning can be applied to any preferred method of cooking including the crockpot, Instapot, or lunches only. Why are you meal planning? Once you understand what meal planning is and what that may look like for you and your family, decide your purpose for it. Is it to save money? Eat healthier? Save time? Being able to identify your…

Clean Eating February 15, 2021

How to Use Your Instant Pot to Help With Weight Loss

With the fattening holiday season just over, I’m sure a lot of you are wondering how to shed those extra pounds. Well, your personal kitchen assistant, a.k.a. Instant Pot, is the best way to help you lose weight and stay slimmer. Besides being healthier, the food also retains most nutrients and flavor – so is more flavorful. You could even experience the happiness of seeing your kids eat their veggies without a moan! So, let’s get started on how you can use the Instant Pot to help you lose weight. How the Instant Pot Helps The instant pot saves you time, energy, and nutrients. Even the medium to tough cuts of beef can be ready to eat in hardly any time. For example, check out this Instant Pot London Broil recipe from Corrie Cooks. Made from the top round cut, the cooking time is just 20 minutes. That’s less than…

Breastfeeding Diet Plan October 1, 2019

Breastfeeding Soups For Healing, Milk Supply + Weight Loss

Soup season is here, and soups are an amazing meal for breastfeeding mamas because they offer a lot of nutrients. Soup is also so simple to make and throw together, as well as being cozy and comforting on those long, tired days with a newborn. I had all my babies in the fall or winter, and lived in the Seattle area during that time. I LOVED soups in the fall and winter because of the comforting, delicious meal that makes the whole house smell good. I also eat most of my soups out of a mug, so it was an easy, one-handed option while breastfeeding. If you make your soup with bone broth, the healing benefits after birth are AMAZING! I equate my quick weight loss while breastfeeding to the protein shakes I drank and all the soup I drank! I LOVE both, and both are amazing for nourishing postpartum…

Breastfeeding May 1, 2019

How To Lose The Baby Weight Naturally, Without Working Out

After you have a baby, you may think that breastfeeding will cause the baby weight to just fall off naturally. You can eat what you need, and before you know it, you are back to your pre-baby weight with no major effort. Actually, losing the baby weight while breastfeeding can happen naturally, with no workout plans or fitness regimens. I know exactly how to lose weight while breastfeeding, without working out because that is exactly how I lost the baby weight fast after my first two pregnancies. Here’s a quick run down of my experience, what I’ve learned, what didn’t work, and how you can do it too! Eat as CLEAN as possible for every snack and meal (more on what this looks like below) Use protein shakes for fast nutrition Walk as much as possible Don’t eat unless you are hungry (intermittent fasting can work really well!) Use milk…

Clean Eating December 22, 2018

How To Lose Weight After Pregnancy Naturally

Losing weight naturally after pregnancy is possible with the right postpartum diet plan, postpartum workout plan and some supplements to help you combat those pesky cravings that can make losing weight naturally after pregnancy difficult. To lose weight after pregnancy naturally, there are a few things you need to focus on: A nutrient-dense diet Daily activity calorie burn like walking + breastfeeding Fiber and protein intake Water consumption Quick and easy healthy meals Notice that I don’t mention an intense workout plan. In my experience as a Pre/Post Natal Fitness Specialist and founder of The Postpartum Cure, mamas need to focus more on nutrition, rather than workouts. After pregnancy, many mamas believe they can’t lose weight naturally because they don’t have time to workout. This isn’t the case at all. Your diet after pregnancy is what is going to have you losing the weight completely naturally, with out a lot…

Breastfeeding November 2, 2018

5 Steps To Drop 10 Lbs While Breastfeeding

Most women have a goal to lose at least 10 pounds while they are breastfeeding their new baby. Some women want to lose more than 10 pounds, depending on how much was gained during pregnancy, but I think 10 lbs is actually a realistic goal for breastfeeding mamas. Katie Pickett, a certified Pre/Post Natal Fitness Specialist, has listened to the concerns and struggles breastfeeding mamas are enduring and has created this breastfeeding-specific diet program. I am very passionate about helping mamas lose weight while breastfeeding because I’ve been able to do it. Let’s go over these 5 steps you can take to lose 10 lbs while breastfeeding. If these don’t work, feel free to see what other mamas have said about the program. Here’s the quick list of the 5 tips for losing 10 lbs while breastfeeding, then I will go into detail on each one: Switching to a Nutrient-Dense…

Breastfeeding October 14, 2018

Protein Smoothie Challenge For Breastfeeding Moms To Increase Milk Supply + Lose Weight

Breastfeeding and losing weight is a difficult task for almost every mama. The goal is to keep up your milk supply, while also losing the extra baby weight gained during pregnancy. This is exactly what your body is supposed to do after having a baby: use stored fat to help produce a healthy supply of breast milk. START THE CHALLENGE NOW! But, with all the processed and yummy treats available today, it is so easy to survive off a less-than-nutritious diet. We fill our plates with foods and dishes that are created for flavor and comfort, rather than nourishment. This is where breastfeeding mamas can have some issues because if your body is in a nutrient-deprived state, it won’t want to let go of fat as easily. You can force it to do so by eating too few calories, so it has to burn fat cells, but you can also…

Clean Eating September 24, 2018

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake with All The Feels of Fall

Pumpkin pie starts coming on my mind as soon as Starbucks releases the Pumpkin Spice Latte. I love pumpkin pie, and a pumpkin pie protein shake is such a delicious, healthy way to get in your pumpkin pie cravings! The protein powder I use is super clean, safe and full of extra nutrients and vitamins. I discovered the company and fell in love with them. I also suggest this protein powder for all my mamas in my postpartum weight loss and recovery plan. The meal plan incorporates protein smoothies as a super quick and efficient way for mamas to get nutrients in that are so necessary for breastfeeding! Since I created this recipe, I’ve launched Milk Dust, a breastfeeding protein powder that helps with weight loss and lactation. So many mamas are loving it because they are increasing their milk supply, and not craving so much sugar! I highly recommend…

Clean Eating August 17, 2018

Two Week Clean-Eating Challenge For A Belly-Only Pregnancy

Eating clean during pregnancy is so important, and it will do wonders for managing your weight gain and cravings. Eating a healthier diet while pregnant also has major benefits on your new baby because they will be given lots of nutrients to grow and thrive. I find that a clean-eating challenge is a great way to jump start better eating habits. There’s something about a time-frame, so I know I get to eat foods I love again, yet I can practice more self control, and develop better habits. I have a very popular eating clean challenge for breastfeeding mamas, and in light of my new Belly-Only Pregnancy Fitness program, I wanted to create a clean eating challenge for my pregnant mamas too. I’ve been requested more than I can count to create a program like this, and now that I am almost done with my certification to become a Pre/Post…

Clean Eating July 3, 2018

The Best Watermelon Pizza with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Glaze

This watermelon pizza is so good, and so perfect for your Fourth of July festivities. It was husband and kid-approved, which actually means a lot in our house hold because everyone is picky. The watermelon salad is also super, super simple! The hardest part is cutting up the watermelon. I really don’t like to cut watermelon up. It is just hard and messy. The other wonderful thing about this watermelon pizza is that it is super healthy!! Literally all super foods, full of amazing ingredients to have you feeling light and fresh on your holiday. Watermelon is full of water, which will help you flush out any of the extra calories, sugar or alcohol that may or may not be consumed underneath the fireworks. Let’s get into how to create this magic, which doesn’t take much at all: Here’s what you need: 1 watermelon (small or medium) makes 5-6 pizzas…

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