My 3 Favorite Clean-Eating Recipes + Loving the Journey

My summer challenge has been going pretty strong so far! I've resisted the urge to eat warm sourdough bread and fresh baked cookies for several weeks now. I'm gonna be super honest right now: this challenge is strict, but not inflexible. I decided before I started that it wasn't going to make life harder for anyone except me. If someone offers me food, and it would be rude to decline, I'll eat it gladly without asking questions about the ingredients. Being healthy is certainly on my priority list, but it's not at the very top. But as far as it depends on ME, I'm going sugar-free and gluten-free this summer.

Obviously, I've had to be a little creative when it came to food....especially on pizza nights, and these are the recipes that came to my rescue.

#1 Overnight Oats

Mango-Coco Overnight Oats
from www.helloveggie.co

#2 Oatmeal Pizza Crust

Oatmeal Pizza Crust Recipe by Health Nut 101 on Genius Kitchen

#3 Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Banana Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
from www.thewholesomefork.com

 Making good food decisions can be hard, and miserable, and annoying, but it's also an opportunity to try new things, experiment, and laugh at all of the mistakes you make along the way. Just last week, I decided to make cookies without flour or sugar, so that I would have something special for Family Night. I had a blast baking them with my sis as we pretty much disregarded the recipe entirely. We laughed and teased, but we were pretty hopeful about the end result.

How did they turn out, you ask? Well, let's just say there is a reason I did not take a picture of them. Baking is definitely NOT my forte, and somehow we managed to slightly burn the bottoms while keeping the tops nice and doughy. Obviously we had to flip them over and stick them back in the oven, so you can see why they would have lost their photogenic nature.

Despite the uniqueness of my snack, they really brought joy to my life. No, it did NOT taste like the peanut butter cookie that it ought to have been, but if you can only enjoy the end product, I think you have missed out on much. In this respect, clean-eating and life have many similarities. Life is a long, difficult road, but if you only enjoy what comes at the end, you have missed the point of life on earth, the here, the now. Rejoice in the Lord always, right? Being healthy is also a long, difficult road, but if you are only concerned about the end result, then you miss out on countless opportunities to enjoy the ride. It will be bumpy. It will be messy. You will take wrong turns, but it's an opportunity to sing in the rain.

-Kae-