Once again, reading your comments was a high point in my day! You all have the best naming stories!

The first day of The Cleaner Life Month was a success! I left work a little early because I needed to go to the market to pick up food supplies for our last day of school party. I stopped at home first and had a nice juicy and crisp apple at around 5:30. 

I got all my shopping done and made a delicious and nutritious dinner. Salad and a carrot & hummus flower.

My salad contained:

• Lotsa lettuce
• Trader Joe’s Sprouted Mix (lentils, peas and something else)– can you see ‘em?

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Broccoli
• Black Beans
• Topped with Dijon Mustard and Apple Cider Vinegar

It took me so long to eat this while blogging. Yes, I am guilty of multi-tasking while eating. Shame on me.

For a sweet treat, I had a small bowl of (Greek and non-Greek) yogurt with almond butter and an agave squirt.

Perfection in a bowl!!!!

In other news …

Monica and Allison started their own versions of The Cleaner Life this month! If you’re doing it too, please comment on this post and let me know!!!!!

Last day to enter my Element Bars Giveaway. Don’t forget that there are three ways to enter!!!!

Boys and girls. Don’t ever pay full price at the Gap. Things go on super sale too quickly for that. Remember these shorts I tried on two weeks ago? Yep, half price yesterday. Yippee! I used to only get shorts that came to my knee, but I tried these on in a moment of spunk and kinda liked ‘em.

What else?

My chocolate breakfast yesterday didn’t hold me over very long (not a lot of substance there), so I soon assembled a big bowl of Greek Yogurt, strawberries and flax. My favorite thing about strawberries is how each one, each bite of one even, has a unique taste. Some bites are super sweet, some a little tart. I just love it! 

I’ve also become obsessed with Dijon mustard and broccoli. I’ve been putting loads of (microwave) steamed broccoli on my salad and loading up on Dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar. It’s fantastico!

Many people commented on the sugar content of the NaSoya Silken Creations from my breakfast smoothie yesterday. Specifically, everyone noticed the large amount of sugar and small amount of protein in a serving. I completely agree, but wanted to point out that a typical 6 oz. container of fat free flavored yogurt has more sugar (about 26 g compared to 18 or 20) and only about 4 more grams of protein (7 g compared to 3). Interesting, right?

That said, I it is probably better for a treat or dessert, so I embraced that thought and made some brownies with the rest of the package. I followed the recipe online, but reduced the amount of sugar, used whole wheat flour and used 1 T of oil instead of butter. They were similar to No Pudge Brownies – a little cake-like. Mark really liked them – there are only 3 left!

Mark and I snacked on these while completing the Firefly series. The last episode is ridiculous. There’s a creepy spaceman in a red leather suit and it’s just awesome! And yes, I watched the entire hour long 14 episodes in 3 days. Don’t judge, I’m tapering!

Some other notes:

• Check me out – I’m Mara’s Guest for Dinner, which means I revealed a “recipe” for this delicious dinner.

• Because I finished Firefly now I can watch the movie, Serenity.
• I am picking up my race packet for the Brooklyn Half Marathon today – definitely a first! Are you running this race? Let me know!!!!!

Finally, thank you for the positive feedback on my previous post. I like to be honest and open because I am just a normal person who had these problems and I figure someone reading might relate.

I would love to hear your story of self-acceptance regardless of where you are in that journey.