First Steps to Clean Eating - Broccoli and White Bean Mac 'n' Cheese

Who says clean eating is about starving, eating things without flavor or just veggies? I'm sure many people do, so as the little voice in my head (:

Well, I've got news- IT ISN'T!!!!! All week I've been trying (successfully..) to eat clean, you may be asking, what is clean eating? For me is a new lifestyle. I have eliminated from my diet all things processed, with trans fats, everything that has "hydrogenated" in its label, processed sugars, etc. I drink more water, more lean protein, less carbs and as always, I exercise, why? Because its better for my body and it  makes me feel good. 

Alright, this is no easy task, I have to admit that I've cheated a bit. I had a big package of chocolate chip cookies, so I've been eating them, no  more than 2 a day, I don't know if it's a good number, but I do it anyway. Also the last time I went to fill my refrigerator I found Cinnamon Pop.Tarts at half its prize, so I bought them, but really... I've been sharing them. 

Let me tell you it has been a long way to get here. At my 19 years I'm starting with this, you know? I was vegan as a kid, but something happened that I turned into a complete carnivore & sugar freak. Yes, I'm still eating meat, and as a future pastry chef, I'm still eating sugar, but not the processed kind, I try to be as natural as possible.

So... let's get to what we want: recipe!!! Today I did my first clean meal, from scratch. Cutting pieces of pineapple and making oats in the morning are not considered fancy cooking, right? Not even with sliced strawberries? Okay, this recipe isn't fancy cooking either. Actually it's very simple, quick and tasty.

my styling is not as good, I know, but isn't mine cute?

I have to say some things first: I made a lot of changes to the original recipe, didn't follow quantities or times. I used coliflower and broccoli, yellow bell peppers instead of red, refried beans, Oaxaca cheese, etc. Sorry, I'm in college student's budget = really limited. Feel free to make the recipe and follow instructions to a T, so I may know if it is as good as I thought in the first place (;
Here is what inspired me to do it Clean Eating Magazine, this mag is great, even with the clean eating stuff the pics will keep you drooling page after page.

Broccoli and White Bean Mac 'n' Cheese. The recipe is as .jpg so you just click it and save it (: [It has nutrition facts, awesome, right?]