Any Hardcore 'Clean Eaters' Out There??

haleighallen

Hi guys, my name is Haleigh and I would love to hear about how clean eating has affected your life

I've been thinking about going 'clean' for a while now and have done a some research, but I still feel a little lost when I'm at the grocery store. Could anyone recommend some of their 'clean' diet staples, and where to find them? Maybe even tell me some of your favorite recipes? I would be so grateful!!:flowerforyou:

lordofultima

My diet at the moment is the most bare unexciting thing on the planet. I am carb cycling, which means that for three consecutive days I eat very low carb, and then on the fourth day I load up on carbs. Because of this zig zag in my macro-nutrients, I have to make sure I get the best complex carbohydrates, as well as isolated protein and only healthy fats with omega 3 and 6.

So what that boils down to is:

- Raw, old-fashioned Oats
- Whey Isolate Protein Powder
- Fish Oil
- Ground Flaxseed or Flaxseed Oil
- Quite a few Vitamin/Mineral Supplements

Not sure if that's "clean" eating, but I definitely have plenty of energy even with the calorie/carbohydrate deficit, and get a good sleep at night! No recipes from me though, closest thing I have to that is wheat toast and peanut butter.

SouthernBell86

In full disclosure I am not a 100% clean eater. What my family eats at home is clean, but I usually end up eating 2 or 3 meals a week out that I really can't account for.

One of my favorite staples for clean eating is brown rice. I LOVE it, and it can go in or under so many clean dishes. We cook a lot of our dishes just using a meat, some veggies, and some herbs and spices. Beans are great too, as are nuts! Fruit is great, but I limit my sugar intake so usually not a lot of that for me

If you know how or are willing to learn, you can probably make most your favorite dishes 'clean' by cooking from scratch. You have to think ahead of time for that, but once you get used to it, there's no problem!

A crockpot can really be your best friend for this since it can transform randomly thrown in items into delectable dishes with very little work.

When I lived by myself I would prepare a lot of brown rice at once to have in the fridge ready to use for the next several days. Lots of bulk cooking and eating leftovers.

Rather than eating "just salads" I frequently work the salad veggies into my main course. Serve fajita meat on top of rice, mexican seasoned squash, shredded lettuce and baby spinach! That way I didn't miss the tortilla's as much and I didn't more myself by eating ' a salad' every day.

I really enjoy eating this way. You can eat a much larger variety of foods while trying to lose weight for one thing. I know exactly what has gone into my body, so adjustments are easy. I don't get post meal slumps anymore, and most of my carb "gimme now!" cravings have vanished. If I do have one it is way easier to resist.

A great starting point in the grocery store is to read labels. If a simple item has too many ingredients, something is wrong. If have no idea what an ingredient is, write it down, don't get it, then look it up later.

I avoid all HFCS, MSG and Soy so I look for that first. If either of those are listed, I don't need to read any further. Eliminating those three things wipes out almost all junk food.

Anyway, I love eating clean foods, but I know some people don't for whatever reason. A lot of organic food is expensive, but I find that the basics like meat and veggies are reasonable and frequently on sale.

Organic prepared foods tend to be the most expensive, but I don't buy much of that either. There are certain things which are more crucial to be organic than others. Spinach, apples and strawberries are three of the most important to buy organic. Things you will peal like bananas are not as critical. (Apples have so much goodness in the peal! Eat it!) I try to buy organic meat when I can, and it really does go on sale a lot. Organic eggs and dairy are good too.

Okay, well it's really late, but I hope you can make an informed decision!

Wtbyerdoc

The book by tosca reno is all about this and has a grocery list but here are some of my favorites - ezekiel bread, hummus, all natural nut butters especially almond, quinoa, cottage cheese, greek or iceland yogurt (siege), sweet potatoes, egg whites, steel cut oats, flax,

I supplement with CLA and fish oil too

Hotbottom

I love eating raw for 75% of my day and lots of fruit and veg. I
personally love tahini. Breakfast: Mix a tablespoon of it with banana and apple and a dash of agave. Its great for calcium and protein and has such good oils. When I was pregnant I ate jars of it and didn't get any stretch marks
learn to make stir frys and hardy cook the veg.
learn new exciting salad dressings
buy some Raw food cook books and be inspired.

jessmomof3

I'm a *clean* eater. I avoid high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, MSG and other preservatives (it's a migraine trigger for me). I feel sooooo much better since cutting out the junk. I also now am avoiding wheat and gluten as I've found that is also a trigger for my IBS.

It's really not hard to eat clean once you get used to it and figure out what to buy. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store instead of the aisles. Watch the ingredients and read labels!!!!!!!!

I'm not as much into organic eating, although I'd love to buy all organic I can't afford to. I buy a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. We hardly ever eat fast food and if I do eat in a restaurant I'm very picky about how I order. Restaurants are very good at accomodating to your needs if you just ask. (aka, a lot of times veggies are cooked in butter but you can ask for them to be steamed, order a plain grilled chicken breast or salmon w/out the extra sauces and seasonings).

Let me know if you need any more suggestions!

mmtiernan

The crux of clean eating is really very simple: eat food as close to its natural state as possible.

No processed foods (read the ingredient label - if it sounds like a high school chemistry class, it is not clean). No trans fat (read the label and reject anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils). Limit saturated fats. No refined sugars. No high fructose corn syrup.

jessmomof3 is right - stick to the perimeter aisles of the grocery store.

Most clean eaters eat 5-6 times daily with meals that include a lean protein, veggie and/or fruit and a whole grain where possible.

If you are looking for good, clean recipes check out Clean Eating magazine.

jbootman

what is clean?

my diet consists of:

raw tomato
lowsalt lowfat cottage cheese
egg whites
very low sodium tuna
low sodium rice cakes
raw celery
raw apples
carrots
sugar free jello
Fiber One original cereal
almond milk
nonfat cow milk
banana
instant coffee
splenda or equal
crystal light
water

with small exceptions, occasional cooked veg or 1 oz meat, I have devised my own 'diet;, because I am home all day I can prepare and eat meals that you are welcome to look at,

I am a Chronic Conditioned Hypereater as defined by Dr. Kessler and while I have more than 100 pounds to lose this 'diet' is satisfying.

I would absolutely fail if I was supposed to eat eggplant or beets, ugh,

also for now I just cannot have so many choices, so my diet is rather boring some might think,

my greatest challenge now is portion control, I am very disgusted with prepared foods (after reading 'The End of Overeating')

I am losing on average .4 pounds per day every day, but I have been lowering my calorie level after each pound I lose, it is now about 900 calories per day, and before those who would freak out about the unhealthiness of this level---think about how unhealthy it has been to be carrying around so much fat all these years,

this is my diet, it is working for me

modernfemme

I'm a clean eater, but I had no idea there was actually a term for that - so thanks!! I am, however, guilty of eating processed fake meats because I'm a vegetarian. I've cut it down to only a few times a week, getting my protein elsewhere.

I avoid high fructose corn syrup if at all possible and no trans fats. If you eat out, all bets are off unless you eat at a natural foods place.

You should check out Dr. Weil's site: http://www.drweil.com/ and sign up for his daily recipe newsletter. He is very into clean foods, including an awesome broccoli soup I just made for lunch.

Have fun!!

jbootman

went to his site could find no broccoli soup???

haleighallen

Wow, thank you to everyone This is all really helpful!!!

modernfemme

its a part of the email recipe a day thing. I can forward it to you if you message me with your email address

missyhse

Just to add on to what everybody else is saying, eating clean is pretty easy once you get used to shopping differently and cooking/preparing most of your meals at home versus processed foods or restaurants. Like everybody else I'm happy to help if you need suggestions/recipes.

Beebee78

I am definitely a clean eater then! I had no idea what it was!!!

I eat no processed food at all 6 days a week and have done for just over 6 weeks now. I love it. I actually find it hard to eat processed food on my spike day so am thinking of just stopping it altogether xxx