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    Day 7 Of BuzzFeed's 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge

    This is part of a 7-day healthy meal plan that will make you feel awesome. You should definitely start at the beginning, which is here

    BuzzFeed Life’s 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge is a healthy, delicious meal plan designed to make you feel great, without making you feel crazy, stressed, or hungry.

    There's no processed food allowed—instead there's lots of lean protein, healthy fats, and fresh produce. Every meal is homemade, but don't be scared! There are step-by-step photos to help you with the recipes, and nothing is too difficult for a beginner cook.

    It's important that you follow the meal plan in order starting with Day 1 since most of the recipes call for leftover ingredients from previous days. But you can start any time and find full instructions here. Aim to eat every 3-4 hours and try not to eat within two hours of bedtime.

    Eggs Baked in Kale and Turnip-Sweet Potato Mash

    Makes 1 serving


    INGREDIENTS

    2 teaspoons olive oil

    2 cup kale leaves, ribs removed, thinly sliced

    ½ recipe Turnip-Sweet Potato Mash (leftover from dinner last night)

    2 large eggs (Men: 3 large eggs)

    Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

    2 tablespoons salsa (optional)


    PREPARATION

    Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat the olive oil in a small, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and cook, stirring often, just until the kale is wilted, about a minute. Add the mash and cook, stirring often, until the mash is very hot throughout, about 2 minutes more. Make 2 craters in the middle of the mash in the pan, and crack the eggs on top of the mash. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, and bake in the preheated oven until the egg whites are cooked but the yolks are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with salsa.


    408 calories, 19.4 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat), 37 g carbohydrate (8.9 g dietary fiber, 7 g sugars), 22.4 g protein, 372 mg cholesterol, 267 mg sodium

    Heat olive oil in a small, oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and cook, stirring, until it's bright green and wilted.

    it should take about a minute.

    Add the mash and cook, stirring, until everything is hot. Then, make two craters in the vegetable mixture and crack the eggs on top. Season with salt and pepper.

    Bake in a 400°F oven until the egg whites are cooked but the yolks are still a little runny.

    Flank Steak and Asparagus Cauliflower Rice Bowl

    Makes 1 serving

    INGREDIENTS

    1 teaspoon canola oil

    1 scallion, thinly sliced, greens and whites separated

    4 ounces seared flank steak (leftover from dinner last night), (Men: 6 ounces seared flank steak) thinly sliced

    ½ bunch steamed asparagus (leftover from dinner last night), cut in 2-inch pieces

    ½ recipe cauliflower "rice" (leftover from Wednesday's dinner)

    PREPARATION

    Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the scallion whites and cook, stirring, until the whites start to soften, about a minute. Add the sliced flank steak and asparagus and cook, stirring often, until everything warm, about a minute. Add the cauliflower rice and cook, stirring, until the rice is hot, about 2 minutes more. Serve in a large bowl, garnished with sliced scallion greens.

    445 calories, 22.8 g fat (5.6 g saturated fat), 25.8 g carbohydrate (9.4 g dietary fiber, 2.2 g sugars), 34.1 g protein, 56.7 mg cholesterol, 856 mg sodium

    Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add scallion whites and cook until they start to soften, then add the steak and asparagus and cook until everything is warm.

    Add the cauliflower rice and cook, stirring, until the rice is hot.

    Broiled Blood Orange with Pistachios

    Makes 1 serving


    INGREDIENTS

    1 blood orange (or 1 small navel orange)

    ½ teaspoon honey

    20 raw pistachios (Men: 40), chopped


    PREPARATION

    Preheat the broiler of your oven. Cut the orange in half and use a knife to slice all the way around the orange flesh where it meets the pith, to loosen it. Place the halves cut side-up on a baking sheet or in a skillet and spread the honey over the top of the orange. Broil directly under the heat source for 3-5 minutes, or until the top of the orange is beginning to brown and caramelize. Let the orange cool for at least 2 minutes, then sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and eat.

    143 calories, 4.9 g fat (0.6 g saturated fat), 21.2 g carbohydrate (4.2 g dietary fiber, 16 g sugars), 3.5 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium

    Slice all the way around the edges of the blood orange halves, where the flesh meets the pith. This will make it easier to eat. Then, drizzle each half with honey, and spread the honey into a thin layer.

    Set the broiler of your oven to high, then put the orange halves in a small, oven-safe skillet and slide it directly under the broiler. Cook until the top of the orange is starting to brown and caramelize.

    It should take 3 to 5 minutes.

    Let the blood orange cool a little, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios and serve.

    Spiralized Parsnip "Noodles" with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Tempeh, and Goat Cheese

    Makes 1 serving


    INGREDIENTS

    1 large or 2 small parsnips

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    4 ounces plain tempeh, crumbled

    Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

    2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

    1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

    ¼ cup basil leaves, roughly chopped

    ½ tablespoon tomato paste

    ¼ cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock

    1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

    PREPARATION

    To make the parsnip noodles: Peel the parsnips. If you have a vegetable spiralizer, use it to make fettuccine-sized noodles. If you don't just use your vegetable peeler to shave the parsnip into strips.

    Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the crumbled tempeh, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until the tempeh is browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds more. Add the parsnip "noodles," cherry tomatoes, basil, tomato paste, and stock, and toss to combine. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is evaporated, the parsnip noodles are cooked but still al dente, and the tomatoes are soft, about 3 minutes. Add the crumbled goat cheese, toss to combine, and serve immediately.

    500 calories, 20 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 46 g carbohydrate (17.8 g dietary fiber, 13 g sugars), 34 g protein, 414 mg cholesterol, 90 mg sodium

    Peel the parsnips, then spiralize them!

    If you don't have a spiralizer, it's really worth getting one. Order it here. We used the "fettucine" setting on our spiralizer, but you can do whatever feels *right* to you.

    If you don't want to get a spiralizer, that's fine. Just use your vegetable peeler to peel the parsnip into thin, noodle-like strips.

    Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the crumbled tempeh, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the tempeh is browned on all sides. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is fragrant.

    It should take about 4 minutes to brown the tempeh, and another 30 seconds or so to cook the garlic.

    Add the parsnip “noodles,” cherry tomatoes, basil, tomato paste, and stock, and toss to combine.

    Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is evaporated, the parsnip noodles are cooked but still al dente, and the tomatoes are soft. Add the goat cheese, toss to combine, and serve immediately.

    Baked Pear with Greek Yogurt and Cinnamon

    Makes 1 serving


    INGREDIENTS
    1 small pear, halved and cored

    Sprinkle of cinnamon

    ½ cup plain, 2 percent Greek yogurt

    Splash of vanilla extract

    ½ teaspoon honey

    PREPARATION

    Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the halved pear cut side-up in a small skillet and sprinkle with the cinnamon. Bake until soft, about 20 minutes.

    In a small mixing bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, honey, and another sprinkle of cinnamon. To serve, garnish the hot baked pear with the yogurt.

    169 calories, 2.5 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 25 g carbohydrate (3.6 g dietary fiber, 18 g sugars), 12 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 43 mg sodium

    Cut the pears in half, lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds and sprinkle with cinnamon.

    Bake in a 400°F oven until the pears are soft.

    Combine Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, honey, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl, then spoon it on top of the baked pears to serve.

    AAAAAAAND, THAT'S A WRAP. YOU DID IT!

    You finished BuzzFeed's 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge. If you're doing this in January, congrats on getting 2016 off to a truly fabulous start. If you're doing this another time — or for a second time, or a third! — that's awesome, too. You must feel GREAT.

    Hopefully, you've learned some good recipes and clean eating tricks that you'll continue to use, even though the challenge is over. If you need a little guidance, here are some great recipes to peruse:

    34 Clean Eating Recipes For A Healthy New Year

    34 Clean Eating Recipes That Are Perfect For Spring (or whenever!)

    25 Healthy Recipes from BuzzFeed's 2015 Get Fit Challenge

    25 Meat-Free Clean Eating Recipes

    And, here are the two previous BuzzFeed Clean Eating Challenges. Both last 14 days and are easy and delicious:

    BuzzFeed's 2014 Clean Eating Challenge

    BuzzFeed's 2015 Clean Eating Challenge

    Happy eating! And seriously, NICE WORK!

    So, you took the Clean Eating Challenge? We’d love to see how it goes! Post your photos to Instagram or Twitter and tag them #BuzzFeedCleanEating

    BuzzFeed Food editors tested the entire Clean Eating Challenge and can vouch for the validity and deliciousness of every recipe. If you have questions about the challenge or any of the dishes, you can email Christine Byrne.