Daniel Plan Chef Mareya shares her favorite 14 Clean Eating Kitchen Hacks she created to save time on busy days.  Eat Cleaner and get leaner without spending all day in the kitchen!

1) Green eggs and ham: Puree ½ cup of spinach, kale, chard or combination and add to egg whites. Roll up with a couple of pieces of nitrate and nitrite-free ham, turkey or feta cheese; even sautéed shrimp or crab for an elegant brunch.  Make extra and freeze in foil for easy reheating.

2) Egg muffins: Make a high protein breakfast in a flash in your muffin pan with my egg muffin hack.  Wrap the rim with a piece of nitrate free turkey bacon, crack and egg in the middle and throw in some grated zucchini and a dab of feta cheese.  Bake for 11-14 minutes and you’re ready to eat.  These freeze beautifully, too.

3) Muffin pan snacks: The perfect way to set up an after-school snack or pre-dinner tray.  Fill a muffin pan with different clean treats like cut-up veggies, edamame, nuts, trail mix and just cover it up after grazing.  Kids can also pack their lunch from these.

4) Baked Mexi-shells: Mexican food just got a healthy facelift.  Spray an organic corn tortilla with non-stick cooking spray and a sprinkle of cumin and paprika. Drape over the side of a baking dish to form a baked shell, or place in a large ramekin and bake until crisp.  No frying required!

5) Pudding for Breakfast or Dessert: Make overnight zero sugar CocoChoco Chia Pudding with five ingredients that makes itself in a mason jar.  High protein, rich in EFA’s and nutrient dense with unsweetened cocoa. Serve with berries or layer with coconut whipped cream for an elegant dessert.  For another spin on Chia Pudding, check out the recipe for Madagascar Vanilla Chia Pudding below.

6) Better Breaded Chicken: Instead of white flour, use flax seed meal made with ground sunflower seeds and goji berries for a superfoods punch.  Dip in egg white wash then place in a plastic bag with coating and shake to coat.  Place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes at 400F. Wash and pound thin to cook in half the time.

7) Fit Bites: Instead of expensive protein bars or rich truffles, make a batch of fit bites, power packed with rolled oats, protein powder, stevia, pumpkin, powdered peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa or shredded coconut that tastes as decadent as candy but is super nutrient dense.  Roll up a batch and freeze until you’re ready to eat.  Drizzle with chocolate to serve as an elegant after dinner treat.

8) Zoodle Your Noodle: Instead of regular pasta, add more veggies to your plate with a handheld zoodle (zucchini) or squoodles (yellow squash) maker.  Lightly blanch or pan sauté and top with veggies, shrimp and pine nuts for a meal in less than 10 minutes.

9) Freezer Cubes: Use an old school ice cube tray to freeze extra smoothie batches for popsicles later.  It’s also perfect for freezing extra chicken and veggie stock, or herbs with olive oil or coconut oil.  Just chop or puree and freeze for easy cooking.

10) Savory or sweet grains Most people are used to eating grains as a savory dish but how about for breakfast?  Make a pot of it and do both. Quinoa, farro and wheat berries are all delicious hot cereals, low in sugar and full of protein and slow burning carbs to keep you feeling fuller longer.

11) Turn your fridge into a salad bar: By washing all your veggies and fruit and chopping them up, you’ve just turned your fridge in a ‘fast food’ convenience hub of goodness.  eatCleaner® Fruit + Vegetable Wash not only removes up to 99.9% of the bacteria, pesticides and wax, it extends produce shelf life up to 5 x longer.  You can’t do that with water!

12) Make veggies portable: Put it on a stick or in a cup!  This makes snacking on fresh stuff easy and convenient – plus a lot more fun for kids. Caprese skewers feature cuke, grape tomatoes and part skim mozzarella for balanced nutrition.  Crudite Cups have a yummy avocado hummus dip on the bottom. So, go ahead and prep ahead!

13) One sauce, 3 uses: Every week, I’ll grill or bake wild caught salmon, organic chicken, shrimp or pork tenderloin and I’ll use the same sauce as a marinade, a salad dressing and as a condiment for veggies, eggs and quinoa.  It makes it super simple to keep it streamlined and multi-purposed.  Some of my favorites are Rosemary Citrus, Tahini Garlic and Cilantro Pesto.  Also check out the Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Spread recipe below!

14) Pureed veggies for sauces, baked goods and soups:  Don’t let those veggies go to waste! You can steam, puree and freeze them to add to all kinds of dishes later.  Also,  you can swap one cup of pureed beets, sweet potatoes, avocado or butternut squash for every cup of butter or oil in baked goods.  Freeze them in half cup portions in plastic bags or reusable containers for easy usage.

Madagascar Vanilla Chia Pudding
By Mareya Ibrahim

This is perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Serves 4

Ingredients: 
2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk
6 tablespoons Chia Seeds
1 teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract
Vanilla scraped from one pod (I love Madagascar Vanilla)
1 tablespoon Pure Local Honey or 8-10 Liquid Stevia Drops (such as SweetLeaf Stevia English Toffee Drops )
Fresh or frozen Raspberries
Fresh Mint Leaves, for garnish
Dark Chocolate Squares, for garnish (optional)
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, for garnish (optional)

Directions: 
In a big bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well and cover overnight, refrigerated.
Mix a couple more times if you can to keep seeds from setting at the bottom. Spoon into pretty dessert cups and top raspberries, fresh mint, dark chocolate squares, and a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut, if you’re feeling crazy.

Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Spread
By Mareya Ibrahim

This versatile spread can be used as a sandwich spread, a topper for pasta and pizza or as a filling for chicken.  This version is cheese-free. (V, GF)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted until golden brown
5 sundried tomatoes (add boiling water to plump them up and let them sit for 5 minutes)
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan or Sea Salt
2 cups fresh basil leaves, remove stems

Directions:
Combine pine nuts, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until coarse meal like consistency.  Add broth, salt, pepper and fresh basil and process until smooth.

For more delicious recipes from Chef Mareya, download her free Clean & Lean 15 Recipe Book with quick and easy recipes you can make in 15 minutes!  Click HERE to download!

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