The last great benefit of Greek yogurt is its versatility. Read on to find out all the ways to use it.

1. The obvious-eat it
2. Substitute  it for sour cream. Making a taco salad, use nonfat, plain Greek yogurt mixed with salsa for a dressing.
3. Recipe call for buttermilk? Use Greek yogurt instead just add a little water to thin it out.
4. Use it as a marinade like this recipe here
5. Use it instead of oil when baking. Next time you make banana bread skip the oil and use the yogurt.
6. Replace the fattening mayonnaise. Try this lighter version of a chicken salad sandwich.

The best part of a salad in a jar you can add anything you would like. Follow these steps for a delicious 17 day diet approved taco salad-in-a-jar or substitute any ingredients to create the salad of your dreams. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO. 

Start with a clean 32oz glass jar or a couple.
Layer 1: Salsa or any other 17 Day Diet approved dressing you prefer
Layer 2: Ground Turkey or ground chicken
Layer 3: Tomatoes, bell peppers, or any 17 day diet approved cleansing vegetables
Layer 4: Lettuce, kale, spinach, or your favorite leafy green
Layer 5: nonfat cheddar cheese.

Place each layer in the jar staring with the dressing and ending with the cheese. Place the lid on the jar and store in the refrigerator. Make multiple salads at a time to save time during the week.

http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2012/09/13/taco-salad-jars/

• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I love BSN Vanilla Ice Cream)
• Zest from 1 key lime
• 1 tablespoon key lime juice (about 3 key limes)
•  5-10 ice cubes
• 1 cup almond milk, water, or coconut milk, unsweetened
• 1/2 teaspoon stevia
• 1 teaspoon sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup spinach (to make it green)

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into an large glass or mason jason and top with a crushed graham cracker and nonfat whipped cream (optional).

On the 17 Day Diet? Use water not milk and Greek yogurt in your smoothie.

On the Flat Belly Diet? Add a tablespoon of chia seeds before you blend to get your MUFA’s in.

Photo courtesy of skinnymom.com

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup Agave sweetener
• 1 tablespoon stevia
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup egg white subsistute or 3 egg whites
• 1 ½ Tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Toppings: fresh berries, Maple Bananas, or apples

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spray liners with coking spray to prevent any sticking.
2. Combine oats, cinnamon, stevia, and baking powder in a bowl and mix together.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together Agave, egg, egg whites, water, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
5. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the mix into the muffin tins. **The ice cream scoop ensures that all your muffins will be the same size and cook evenly.
6. Sprinkle the desired topping over the cup and press the topping into the mixture slightly.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes just until the edges turn golden brown and the cup no longer looks wet.
8. Remove from the oven and enjoy. **Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 2 months (they wont last that long) and reheat in the microwave or toaster oven.

Photo Credit www.pamelasalzman.com

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup quinoa, washed
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

1. Whisk together first four ingredients with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Bring 2 cups water and 1 cup quinoa to a boil in a medium pot with 1 tablespoon salt. After it reaches a boil reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove pot from heat and remove lid. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
4. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Optional: Beef this up with a little extra protein. Dice up a block of firm tofu and add it to the mix.

Benefits of Kale

1. Low calorie, high in fiber, and has 0 fat. 1 cup only has 36 calories! 
2. High in iron: not sure what Popeye was thinking eating spinach.
3. Packed with antioxidants
4. Anti-inflammatory: 1 cup has 10% the RDA of omega-3 acids
5. High in vitamin A which is great for your skin, vision, and mouth health.

Not only are these chips a friend to your waistline and packed with nutritional benefits, they are a cinch to make. It takes about 25 minutes to whip up a batch and they will hold for 3-5 days in an airtight container. But trust me they wont last you the day. Think of them as the perfect diet snack. If you are on the 17 Day Diet, these chips will get you through cycle one.

STEP 1: You want to remove the leafs from the stems before you begin. To do so hold the bottom end of the kale with one hand and take your other and slide it along the stem pulling the leafs up with you. Now tear the kale into bite-sized pieces, wash, and dry throughly. I filled the sink with water, rinsed the kale, and dried it using a Salad Spinner. You want to dry completely to avoid steaming the kale when you put it in the oven.

STEP 2: Place dried kale in a bowl and toss with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Toss until the kale is well coated and the leafs are shiny.

STEP 3: Lay kale flat on a baking sheet but make sure it isn’t overlapping. If the kale overlaps too much, you will just steam it and it will not get that crispy texture.

STEP 4: Optional: Sprinkle kale with grated parmesan cheese. Sprinkling it over the kale works best. If you toss it in the bowl, all the cheese ends up on the side of the bowl and not on the kale or in your mouth.

STEP 5: Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-13 minutes. After 10 minutes, keep an eye on it. You don’t want the kale to burn.

STEP 6: Remove from oven and enjoy!

As you see they shrink up a great deal. I used a large head of kale and it took me about 3 batches in the oven to use all the kale. You can also place a couple different baking sheets in the oven at once and you don’t have to worry about rotating them.

Tip of the day: make sure you have floss handy. The crispy kale can easily get stuck in your teeth.

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I love this clean eating recipe because you can adapt it to fit any eating style. There are variations for Gluten-Free , Paleo, and Vegan diets.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (oat flour, almond, or coconut flour)
• 1/4 tsp. each baking powder and salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 tablespoons Coconut Oil (melted)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tsp. pure Vanilla Extract
• optional: 1/4 cup mini chips or vegan chocolate chips

Instructions

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1. Preheat oven to 330F.
2. Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.
3. In a small bowl combine the Coconut Oil, vanilla extract, and applesauce.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir lightly.
5. Pour in the almond milk and stir well.
6. Pour batter evenly into a greased 8x4in. Loaf Pan (for a 13x9in. pan try doubling the recipe).
7. Bake for about 20 minutes. (They’re ready when a toothpick or fork stuck into the middle comes out mostly clean.)
8. Enjoy!

Delicious 70 calorie Protein-Packed Lemon Bars 

Clean eating lemon bars – that taste just like the naughty lemon bars you love!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 8 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1/2 cup instant nonfat dry milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4 cup low-fat vanilla protein powder
• 3/4 cup stevia
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. whisk egg and egg whites in a small bowl
3. combine cream cheese and all the remaining ingredients in a Ninja Professional Blender .
4. When mix is smooth, add eggs and blend.
5. With nonfat cooking spray, spray a 8 x 8 Pyrex Square Baking Dish.
6. Pour batter into pan and place in preheated oven
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick come out clean

Looking for more clean eating recipes? Try this clean eating meal plan. 3 meals + 1 snack planned each day. Hundreds of extra recipes to swap with, too!

Making your own popsicles is an easy and healthy option to store bought products with artificial ingredients, colors and sweeteners. Check out this awesome cookbook for making many different types of popsicles at home. All you’ll need usually is some Popsicle Molds and a freezer. You might also need a Ninja Blender, it’s the best – most powerful blender you’ll ever own! The best investment. I promise. Check out the book here for tasty & healthy Popsicle Recipes
.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 
• 1 scoops chocolate protein
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (optional)

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a Ninja Blender (it’s the best!). You must blend them otherwise you will have cocoa and protein chunks. 
2. Pour mixture into Popsicle Moldsleaving about 1/2 inch room (as the mixture expands it will expand).
3. Freeze or at least eight hours.
4. Enjoy

Follow these steps to create a more environmentally friendly diet. 

Eat Less Meat

Eating more plants and less meat is possibly the single best thing you can do for the environment. Livestock accounts for 20% of greenhouse gases according to the United Nations. That is more then all the cars, SUVS, trailers, planes, ocean freighters, and any other transport activity combined.

Eat Real Food (minimally  processed foods)

The less processing a food undergoes the less energy and resources are required to manufacture, package, and ship the item.
Read more on how to eat foods that are best for the planet here in this book The Planet Friendly Diet.

Buy Local 

Or at least close to home. Clearly, the closer you source your produce from home the less travel is required. This also applies to super foods. The Acai berry is sourced from the Amazon and is rich in anthocyanins, fiber, potassium, and magnesium. Blueberries and pomegranates found in America are also rich in those nutrients. The closer we get to home the better.  Visit www.localharvest.org to find a farmers market near you.

Eat Foods that are In-Season

Eating in-season foods means eating fresher foods. They have just been harvested and have spent less time traveling and in storage.

Learn to Preserve 

Preserve fresh fruits and vegetables by canning, drying, and freezing them for future use. That way when you crave strawberries in the middle of December, you have access to local and “in season” produce. Do your own canning at home with this Canning Kit and Set of Canning Jars .

Buy in Bulk

Buying in bulk means less packaging. 30% of consumer waste is packaging material. Buy meat, cheese, fruits, and vegetables in bulk and preserve what can’t be used in reusable containers.

Use Reusable Bags 

Replacing cloth bags for your grocery needs, reduces the amount of paper and plastic bags found in landfills each year. In New York City, one less grocery bag per person would reduce waste by 5 million pounds. Try these Mesh Reusable Produce Bags for your produce, and these Colorful Eco Shopping Bags for your groceries.

Buy Organic 

The largest green benefit from eating organic is the elimination of fossil fuels needed to produce, manufacture, ship, and apply fertilizers and pesticides to crops.

Drink Smart 

Use a reusable water bottle and drink from a tap or filter. It is estimated that only 20% of water bottles were recycled and the rest ended in a landfill. The production of plastic bottles also requires 50 million barrels of oil annually which doesn’t include the transportation. I like these Soft Squeeze Filter Bottles by Brita or this Reusable 24-Ounce Cold Tumbler for when I am just around the house or want to go to Starbux or Jamba Juice for a smoothie – don’t be shy to bring your own cup to these places.

Plan, Plan, and Plan 

Save time, energy, and gas. Planning meals ensures less trips to the grocery store and less food waste.