Clean Eating takes Chicago

Hello Clean Eaters,

I have finished my two appearances in Chicago. They both went splendidly and were totally packed. I hope I was able to enlighten some attendees with the magic that is Eating Clean. I am now about to take in some sites with my husband before heading back to snowy Toronto. I have been neglecting the blog this week because of my insanely busy schedule, but I have some info for all of you below including Q & As. Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend.
- Tosca

The Eat-Clean Diet has been written up in Elle UK. Check it out here.

The Eat-Clean Diet has been included in AOL's list of diets. Check it out here.

The WINNER of The Eat-Clean Diet Body Makeover Challenge is Melanie Nevins. Read her story and winnings here.

Q & A:

Q: I am also looking for a protein powder that doesn't contain whey, what are some other options that are clean and pleasant tasting?

A: I like Living Harvest Vanilla Spice and Raw Power. They both relatively clean and good tasting. By the way, I am not endorsed by either of these companies.

Q: My question is why you recommend Bison over lean beef? I bought a package of ground bison and compared it to 96% lean beef and the lean beef had a gram less fat per serving. Is fat the reason for the recommendation or is it for other nutrional values?

A: I recommend bison as a way to switch it up and attain a new set of nutrients. It’s good to have variety in order to avoid boredom.

Q: Hi Tosca! When you talk about Cal Mag is it liquid form? How do you know what dosage, mg, grams to take? If it is liquid do you mix it or just down it? I've looked at it in health food stores, but too overwhelmed by all of it. Thank you so much for your time!

A: I take Cal-Mag in liquid form. I take 2 giant tablespoons straight out of the bottle. I don’t know what dosage it is for this particular supplement. I would recommend chatting with someone at a health food store or a complementary alternative medicine professional.

Q: I have a question...how do you improve your posture if your shoulders curve in? What weight training execise will help this the most.

A: You need to stretch your pectoral muscles (chest muscles) and strengthen your upper back muscles. Seated rows, one-armed dumbbell rows, and standing barbell rows will all help.

Q: Do you get sore muscles after every work out?

A: There is a good level of soreness I call “sweet pain”. This indicates you have challenged your muscles. Too much soreness, however, can indicate you are overdoing it and need to take it down a notch. Epson salts and post-workout stretching are excellent ways to reduce the pain. Glutamine prevents muscle loss when you’re dieting for comp, not sore muscles, but when I take it gives me a stomachache.

Q: Oh, where did you get the black coat that you were wearing when getting out of the car at QVC?

A: My husband bought that for me for Christmas about 5 years ago. He spoils me. It’s from Fendi.

Q: I like to work out @ 6am when the gym opens, less busy, get it out of the way for the day, etc. Should I be eating before I work out? I usually come home and have a smoothie (1/2 cup 1% milk, 1 banana, 140 grams frozen strawberries, 175 grams fat free vanilla yogurt and 1 scoop vanilla whey protein). Should I be having this before I work out? I also like to have a serving of the Morning Hot Cereal Mix. Should I eat this before I work out? Any suggestions would be great!

A: This really depends on how you feel in the morning. Personally, I either wake up and do my cardio on an empty stomach, or eat my breakfast and wait an hour until I work out. If you are really hungry in the morning but don't have an hour to spare before your workout I would recommend having an apple and some nuts, a banana in a wrap with nut butter, or a small serving of the morning hot cereal mix before the gym. A smoothie post-workout is excellent for muscle recovery.

Q: Are you competing in the Arnold?

A: No… just appearing.

Q: How do you eat clean in the airport & on the plane? Do they allow a cooler of sorts on the plane? I've never flown before and will be taking my first trip soon.

A: Excellent response from a fellow blogger below sums it all up:

"I travel a lot and certainly have some tips for long flights. Here is my emergency kit: raw almonds, apples or any other fruit, hardboiled eggs, oatmeal and protein powder. I keep them in my purse or in a small cooler and do my best to eat regularly throughout the flight. Sometimes, this doesn't always work, but I do the best I can to stay on track with my Clean Eating.

What else I pack depends on when I might get a chance to eat it. I might back chicken breast wraps and eat them before my flight, if they come out of the fridge and I put them in my cooler even without an ice pack, I know they will be okay for a few hours.

It's inevitable that at some point I will have to eat out when traveling. When that happens, I just get food that I know is safe - every airport has a salad somewhere, for example. It may not be the very best meal, but it beats french fries."

If you can, find Dry Roasted Edamame by Seapoint Farms; 1/4 cup has 130 calories, 4g fat and 14g protein; with an apply and some carrot sticks, you can't go wrong.

** I would add onto this: if you’re taking an international flight and can’t bring fruit and veg through customs I would recommend oatmeal that you can add boiling water to once you are through customs and a protein bar.

Q: My husband gave me the Eat Clean Cookbook and a subscription to Clean Eating Magazine. Love them!!! He is enjoying the meals too. My question is I saw on your website you have a Clean Eating Book and a Clean Eating Expanded edition and I would like to know if both are different or if the expanded if the exact same as the first, recipes, workouts, rules etc with more information added?

A: The Eat-Clean Diet Expanded edition is a revised version of The Eat-Clean Diet. It contains lots of added extras, expansions on confusing topics such as the coolers, success stories, information for vegetarian and gluten-free clean eaters, revised menu plans, and lots of other added extras.