Trying to eat clean

hotpickles

I'm going to give this a try. I'm not much for counting calories/carbs/fat/protein so I decided this is probably the easier way to go about things. There's two big reasons I want to try this, and they are to feel better and have more energy, and to learn new recipes.

I also want to try and be as frugal as possible. Maybe that's a third reason for trying this, to see what I can come up with without spending a fortune on food. The more I think of it, the more I realize it's possible to eat clean and not spend a ton of money.

Is anyone out there currently following a clean eating plan? I think my overall goal is to eat clean about 90% of the day. I'm a sucker for morning coffee with cream or a nice strong espresso!

L.

mtizy

Are you talking about eating organic? I try to eat "clean" and eat things without preservatives and stuff, but I think that's pretty much common sense right now. But clean doesn't mean less calories/fat, so I would suggest you still watch what you're making.

hotpickles

I'm thinking more or less along the lines of natural and raw foods. Or foods that I prepare myself as opposed to buying a low fat/low calorie salad dressing with tons of ingredients, most of which I can't pronounce!

I know that there are natural foods that are high in calories and fat. I think an avocado would be a good example of this, but I'd rather be eating more fat from that then less fat from a factory prepared granola bar with tons of preservatives

L.

TheNewJessieMae

Good fats, are good for you!!! Eating clean is awesome! Items with a long shelf life are very harmful to your body. I am trying more and more of this everyday!

DC_Veg

I think of it like this...the longer the shelf life, the less nutrition it has. This is because if it is nutritious, bugs and molds will be all over that thing if you don't eat them! There are vitamins and minerals in there, and you need them, so go get them!

Pandemonium

I totally hear you on eating better and staying on a budget. I have found it a little difficult sometimes because I used to buy groceries for 2 people on 150 every other week. But I find that now I spend about 200.

I buy a lot of produce and proteins. I shop at least 2 times a week to make sure I use all of my fresh vegetables before they go bad. But it has me get up and shop more often, and it's better for me because I know exactly what is going into my body.

In my opinion, don't let the cost of the healthy foods put you off. Sure, I can buy a medium pizza for $5. But when I think about how much I have to do to keep that off on the treadmill, I think I would rather keep to my $6 chicken breast with $1 worth of asparagus.

I hope that gives you some ideas.