Well, I want to tell you that it is easier than you think. The health benefits are innumerable! It is definitely worth a try, and what a better time to try that Spring! With Easter ending and Memorial Day still about 9 weeks away, there should be no holiday excuses to not try this NOW!
Simply put, clean eating is eating food as close to its natural state as possible. Go ahead and saute, grill, bake and cook your meats and vegetables however you want! Just keep things pretty natural. Avoid foods that have been refined or have preservatives. You have probably heard before that if the ingredient list has words that you can't easily pronounce then not to eat it. That is basically what clean eating is. I will share a basic menu at the end of this post...
Here is my family's personal experience with clean eating. We eat "clean" about 80% of the time. Treats are definitely allowed and when we do eat them, they are consumed in their refined sugar and preservative-full glory. I am more likely to substitute cream for milk than an avocado or something when I am baking a treat. However, because the huge majority of our diet is not like this, I don't feel guilty. The 80%+ of the time that we are eating clean is more of a lifestyle and habit now. Go ahead and share you excuses for using "time saver" or "cheaper" foods that have preservatives, refined flours and sugars in them and I will reply the how's and why's for you to try to make the switch.
Last October we decided to really and truly "eat clean" 100% of the time for 28 days. The rules were:
- No chocolate
- No candy
- No biscuits, cookies, donuts, cakes, muffins or pastries
- No white bread
- No chips
- No fast food
- No refined or bleached sugars or flours
- No excess preservatives
It was amazing! Okay, honestly it was hard the first 10 days. I kept thinking about pizza, pasta, garlic bread and donuts...and then my husband and I kind of just got over it. The cravings were gone. My husband would say something like "Wow, pizza sounds good right now." and I would reply "Yeah it does!" but it never became anything more. We didn't dwell on it or count down our days and my mouth didn't fill with saliva at the thought.
The results:
My husband lost about 20 lbs (be advised he was also exercising about 3 hours a week as well) and I lost my sugar cravings (which were excessive before this and I would have to deny myself daily knowing I had already had too much). Day 29 we decided to reward ourselves with pizza (if you haven't figured it out, we really, really love our pizza) and we ended up throwing most of it away (which is unheard of for us). We each felt sluggish and slightly ill after eating our first slice and just couldn't will ourselves to continue eating it. *some pizza will be fine for "clean eating". The pizza I am referring to is one famous in my husband's hometown for being super cheesy, greasy, and preservative-y...we always considered it delicious until we realized how it truly made our bodies feel.
I hope you try it! Eating a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruit and lean meats will help to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol , improve digestion and bowel functions, reduce your cancer and disease risk, and more!
Breakfast:
Smoothies and "whole" juices (whole meaning you still have plenty of fruit fiber, not just the juice)
Eggs
Whole wheat or oatmeal waffles and pancakes (seriously, oatmeal mixed up with some egg, or egg white, and a little milk or water make a great pancake!)
Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat (a new favorite for oatmeal for me is to eat it cold and raw with Almond Breeze Almond Coconut Blend)
Lunch:
Egg, Tuna, Chicken or Quinoa Salad sandwiches
Nut Butter and Honey Sandwiches
Green Salads with plenty of nuts, beans or eggs (I even put some brown rice in my spinach salad the other day and it was great!)
Leftover dinners
Dinners:
Tacos
Burritos
Lettuce Wraps
Chicken and garlic soup with whole wheat breadsticks
Garlic roasted cauliflower with parmessan (paired with your favorite protein)
Steak Carnitas with chips and salsa or pico de gallo
Fajitas
Quesadillas
Enchilladas or smothered bean burritos
Whole grain pasta with favorite sauce and meat, add favorite steamed green vegetable
Broccoli and Chicken/Quinoa caserole
Chef Salad
Chinese Chicken Salad
Crockpot Chicken Salad
Strawberry Jicama Salad
Spinach Feta Salad
Broccoli Salad
Café Rio Salad with Pork or Chicken
Cranberry turkey rolls
Pizza Stomboli or Calzone
Potstickers With Thai Cucumbers and Fried Rice
Teriyaki chicken and vegi rice bowl
Hawaiian meatballs
Roast beef/pork and potato with rolls
Pork barbacoa burritos
Pork barbacoa casserole
Ground beef burritos/tacos
White bean chili
Chili
Southwest chicken wraps
Tomato Basil Soup with Ricotta dumplings
Grilled cheese sandwiches, try these with spinach or avocado!
Lettuce Wrapped Hamburgers
Pizza
Sloppy joes
Grilled chicken whole wheat ciabata sandwiches
Hoagie sandwiches
Walking tacos
Roll up Lasagna
Manicotti- Marinara
Pesto Parmesan Chicken With Angel Hair Pasta and Marinara.
This should give you a pretty good idea of the wide variety of "clean" foods you can be enjoying every day and continue on your path to living a happy and healthy life!
As always, I invite all comments and questions...Let me know if you want any recipes!
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