I want to eat clean BUT

sarah307

*My "excuses" aka challenges:
but i love my ice cream.
but i am seriously a DIRT POOR college student.
and I don't know how to cook ....anything.

*My reasons for wanting to eat clean:
get rid of toxins/chemicals in my body - overall health!!
mood balance (i struggle w/ anxiety and depression)
clearer skin completion
increased energy and better sleep
I know that eating clean with help with all of these things!!

BUT HOW?!??!!? what foods do I eat?!
again.... cheap, easy to make, fast, etc.

EDIT:
wanted to add that I am thinking about slowly "eating clean" 5 days a week to start to ease myself into it so I don't FLIP OUT and binge on a million freaking calories!!!

Goal_Seeker_1988

It's really hard when you start eatin clean. I did it for bout a week and a half and ended up bingin on pizza. I haven't tried eating strickly clean since. Now I eat healthier.

Clew

Eating clean takes diligence and effort, but it's not as hard or expensive as you think. And it's very worth it.

Don't be too hard on yourself - If you can manage it about 80% of the time, you won't go crazy and you'll notice immediate benefits. I promise you.

Best wishes!

annabellj

veggies and fruit arent that expensive if you quit buying the processed stuff. whole grain pasta of any kind with some ragu is cheap and healthy and easy to make. and processed foods will make you more depressed, anything with sugar that isnt natural sends me into a tailspin!
salads are easy of course and oatmeal, yogurt, any of that isnt that expensive. cheeseheads, apples, etc. you can still eat ice cream but in moderation. skinny cows are yummy and not that many calories

speedy001

I agree! I don't eat clean either but I will usually eat clean for Breakfast and lunch that way you day is 2/3 done. I started with lunch as a salad is cheap easy to make and works well for lunch.

Rain_Howard

search the google thing for recipes. You can even find some on youtube that walk you through step by step. Look for community gardens that will trade labor for produce. But most importantly, learn to cook. The computer and library are your friends.

aliann30

I'd like to know how people eat clean too.

I'm also on a budget and have 2 kids and a very picky husband who hates almost all vegetables and believes that a dinner should always consist of meat, a huge pile of some kind of fried potatoes or instant-already-flavored rice, and either corn, pinto beans, or green beans.

skb32881

I've considered eating clean too but haven't totally committed. I'm like you and have been kind of easing into it.... Even just by staying away from most packaged/highly processed products I feel much better!

Kymmu

Hi! eating clean is easy.
Before you buy or eat a food ask yourself does it look the way nature intended?
i.e. a piece of fruit v's a fruit roll up or fruit flavoured object.
Has it been covered in artificial colours flavours preservatives?
i.e. some marinaded meats.
Does it come from the cool/ refrigerated section of the supermarket?
i.e. vegetables/ fruit, dairy &meat,
lol not the icecream dessert section either!!
Most clean food ( not all) has a limited shelf life because it's not full of preservatives so sticking to the outside of the supermarket is a big help.
when you stop buying the rubbish food and just shop at he grocer, butcher and dairy you can do very well with the same amount of money!
Google recipes, it's a good time to learn.....a salad needs no cooking expertise, boil some eggs, grill some meat. You can do that!

agentscully514

for what it's worth, if you eat truly clean, it can be CHEAP! When I was a dirt poor grad student, I lived on vegetarian food. I bought lentils or beans, and brown rice, and made a lot of different recipes with that. Soup or stew. Then I bought fresh vegetables. You don't need anything else. seriously. no sweets. Don't spend money on things to drink. If you drink coffee, either get it for free or brew your own. You can live for PENNIES if you stick to it. I was able to stick to it by thinking of how much money I was saving.

BarbWhite09

It's actually not as expensive as you think. I'm a broke *kitten* college kid & have partially figured out how to do it. Fruits & veggies aren't THAT expensive. I shop at Aldi for a lot of my fruits & veggies, idk if you have one near you or not, but if you do it's super super cheap, you just have to double check what you're buying. The Wal-mart Market Fresh veggies aren't super expensive. I get their spinach and it's like $1.50 for a big bag

Elzecat

I was eating "fairly" clean for about 6 months and it really helped my weight loss as well as my overall health. However, the cost of organic foods has been prohibitive so I do the best I can with a few basics: fresh and frozen fruits and veggies, brown rice and whole wheat pasta, plain oatmeal (not the instant kind with all the stuff in it, just the "quick cooking" plain oats that are really quite cheap) I also buy packs of chicken and lean ground turkey on sale whenever I can find it...canned beans and rinse them to get rid of the sodium (or buy dry beans and cook them myself)

Start with a few changes at a time...you can start with frozen veggies if fresh are too expensive...generic brand brown rice is cheap...you can get packs of lean meats (like chicken) at Walmart or other grocery stores on sale for pretty cheap...

ice cream isn't necessarily "bad." Look for a brand that has a limited number of ingredients and they should be words you can pronounce (milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, etc) so they won't be full of all those chemicals...there's a particular brand that is all natural ingredients but of course I can't think of it while typing this...

good luck. I can definitely say that eating healthier made me feel better and did clear up my skin...things I've noticed since I kinda fell off the wagon recently

sarah307

oh my gosh!! all of these answers have helped me out a lot!!

for the past month, i already have focused on eating less refined sugars and more fruits/veggies.. so that is a start!

I like keeping the mindset I am eating clean/healthy most of the time, but deserve some treats so i don't go insane!! I think motivation enough for not eating high sugary stuff is that it causes me to get super hyper and then crash into a depression and sometimes i can't get out of that depression - but yeah! I just think... "do i want this pint of ice cream?? i will have a few bites (yummy) but do i want to be lazy on the couch and be all sad and lethargic?!"

this is going to help!

TDGee

Great resource: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=clean+eating
You are in college, learn to cook
Good luck!:flowerforyou:

ziesergirl_66

BUT HOW?!??!!? what foods do I eat?!
again.... cheap, easy to make, fast, etc.

whole, natural foods.

fresh fruit
fresh vegetables
whole, unsalted nuts
100 % whole grain......cereals, breads, tortilla's
I eat real cheese, nothing low fat, fat free.
milk, I eat almond milk
proteins....beans (red, black, etc.) buy in bag and cook yourself; tuna; frozen boneless/skinless chicken breast; eggs

if you really want to eat clean, buy mostly organic, but that can be costly.

start reading nutrition labels...if it has a huge paragraph of words you cannot even say DONT EAT IT. it's processed (fake food)

Kymmu

Oh, and for clean ice cream:
whip up some cold whipping cream.
Add some pureed fresh strawberries.
If you wish ( you may not need it) a tiny bit of sweetener of your choice.
Try a little vanilla.
mix and place into small portion glasses.
Freeze till soft serve consistency.
Enjoy! No chemicals :drinker: :drinker:

taso42

well you definitely don't want to eat dirty butt....

Rorofitgirl

Find the nearest Walmart and shop there! They have the best prices! If you're just starting out take baby steps. You're setting yourself up for failuer if you do it all at once.

Try egg whites...you can either buy them in a carton or buy eggs use the shells seperate the yoke from the whites.

Frozen bag of chicken breasts.

Whole wheat bread instead of white bread.

Sauces, avoid them as much as possible!! If you can't see through them they are most likely not good for you.

WATER! WATER! WATER! Drink it Think of it this way, wouldn't you rather eat your calories?

Stay away from packaged foods as much as you can, being a college student I know it must be hard because they are the cheapest but this is vital.

As for the ice cream and the goodies....there's nothing wrong with them every now and then (smal portions, of course) but don't make them part of your normal eating habits.

The key to eating clean and being healthy is all about HOW BADLY YOU WANT IT! You need to make a commitment to yourself to really give it all you have. Do something great for yourself. You deserve and are worthy of living a healthy life. But you are the only person who can make that happen.

"While someone is saying how hard something is, there is someone out there doing it"

You CAN do it! You WILL do it! Hang in there and never give up on yourself

-Rosie

lloydmel

veggies and fruit arent that expensive if you quit buying the processed stuff. whole grain pasta of any kind with some ragu is cheap and healthy and easy to make. and processed foods will make you more depressed, anything with sugar that isnt natural sends me into a tailspin!
salads are easy of course and oatmeal, yogurt, any of that isnt that expensive. cheeseheads, apples, etc. you can still eat ice cream but in moderation. skinny cows are yummy and not that many calories

Totally agree...
any yes, you can have skinny cows and sugar free pudding; if you are gonna do a cleanse, I wouldn't eat those everyday or anything but once a week won't kill you

agentscully514

So if you eat clean most of the time, one luxury isn't going to hurt y ou. Eat clean but keep eating your ice cream. That way you will be able to stick to it.

mea9

Iced cream: frozen mango, frozen peach and one banana - blend) If you want texture add fresh blueberries (pop when you bite) or nuts ...

EDesq

*My "excuses" aka challenges:
but i love my ice cream.
but i am seriously a DIRT POOR college student.
and I don't know how to cook ....anything.

*My reasons for wanting to eat clean:
get rid of toxins/chemicals in my body - overall health!!
mood balance (i struggle w/ anxiety and depression)
clearer skin completion
increased energy and better sleep
I know that eating clean with help with all of these things!!

BUT HOW?!??!!? what foods do I eat?!
again.... cheap, easy to make, fast, etc.

EDIT:
wanted to add that I am thinking about slowly "eating clean" 5 days a week to start to ease myself into it so I don't FLIP OUT and binge on a million freaking calories!!!

Why eat "clean" Why not eat RIGHT!? "Clean" is some IDEAL that someone has come up with for "Whatever" THEIR PURPOSE. To Eat Right just BEGIN by EATING Your BEST. I was a College Student and it was more about CHOICES than Money! On or Off Campus...Like, Buying salad fixings, whole wheat bread, fruit, peanut butter, choosing salads, fruit, grilled/baked fish/chicken at the dinning hall instead of FF and BURGERS. Heck even NOW, when I go to Campus and eat in the Faculty Lounge, the OPTIONS are THERE and even many Faculty Do Not Choose the Baked or Grilled Fish or Chicken!

The Choices are on YOU...It's NOT a matter of Finances...It costs twice as much to eat at a fast food joint than it does to pull together a good, quick meal from the grocery store...FORGET the labels like "Clean" Go for eating RIGHT or the Best you can, where YOU are!

sarah307

thank you everyone!!

i have been reading through everything and have been doing my own research for about a month now anyways but wanted to see what you guys ate !!

I'm super excited about this because I know I can do it

getsveltEagain

This is a great thread. I have been incorporationg more "healthy/clean" foods as I can. I just need to taper off on the eating out. It is an expensive habit hat doesn't help weightloss. Learnign to cook is great even if it is a few simple meals and invest in a crockpot.

:bigsmile:
wishing us both good luck!

sarah307

yeah!! i bookmarked this thread so i can refer to it for motivation and remember that i really do want to eat cleaner!!!

Ocarina

Hey! I totally used to be in your shoes. I'm a broke @$$ college student that eats home cooked meals, home made lunches, and healthy breakfasts EVERYDAY for very cheap. And I shop at Walmart. I do not have to buy organic to be healthy.

I avoid all processed/preboxed/packaged foods like the plague. It can and will be more tastier and cheaper if you make it from scratch. The best thing is to think of the things you like to eat. Or if you have a grandmother you were close to, what did she make? (That is, if she was a home cooker using stuff from the garden like mine LOL)

All my stuff is very basic... All you really need is chicken broth, beef broth, brown rice, all purpose flour, boneless/skinless chicken breasts, some ground hamburger/steak, a few bags of sliced cheese, some squash/potatoes/carrots/onions, teas, TONS of spices (build these up as you need them... not all at once), mustard, salad dressings, canned beans that you drain, frozen vegetables like green beans/corn/brocolli, cans of diced tomatoes, whole wheat noodles of all kinds, canned tomato sauce, peanut butter, sauces like Worcestershire sauce, OLIVE OIL, balsamic vinegar, egg whites/eggs, string cheese/yogurt/cottage cheese and some milk. Seriously... sounds plain Jane and like a lot but it's not. You throw it in your cart and invest in a crock pot, a good couple sauce pans, and a few skillets and you are good to go. Eating clean shouldn't have special rules. All it is is basic, non processed or close as can be, and you know ALL the ingredients.

I live like this and have not eaten the same meal in one day since. It's VERY easy!! It will take you some time to build up your supply of stuff but over time you will save money and become happier. Even excited to cook.

Also my other HUGE tip is to look online and preplan your meals from a good source for the whole week and get some variety in your lunches. Then you should put all the ingredients on a grocery list and stick to it!!!!!!!!! You will never look back!

Katbaran

>>. Seriously... sounds plain Jane and like a lot but it's not. You throw it in your cart and invest in a crock pot, a good couple sauce pans, and a few skillets and you are good to go. Eating clean shouldn't have special rules. All it is is basic, non processed or close as can be, and you know ALL the ingredients.<<

^^^^This! What Ocarina said. She said it simply, and explained it fully. We eat clean about 80% of the time. It really helps and feels great. The easiest way I found to describe it to others is:

If it comes in a box, if it says: Shelf stable, heat n eat, freezer to table, or has an ingredient list with more than 3 items, I leave it alone. That goes for frozen and canned veg too. Read your labels. Fresh is best, frozen is next and canned anything only in an emergency.

Good luck.

sarah307

>>. Seriously... sounds plain Jane and like a lot but it's not. You throw it in your cart and invest in a crock pot, a good couple sauce pans, and a few skillets and you are good to go. Eating clean shouldn't have special rules. All it is is basic, non processed or close as can be, and you know ALL the ingredients.<<

^^^^This! What Ocarina said. She said it simply, and explained it fully. We eat clean about 80% of the time. It really helps and feels great. The easiest way I found to describe it to others is:

If it comes in a box, if it says: Shelf stable, heat n eat, freezer to table, or has an ingredient list with more than 3 items, I leave it alone. That goes for frozen and canned veg too. Read your labels. Fresh is best, frozen is next and canned anything only in an emergency.

Good luck.

great!! i am going to the grocery store today and i'm excited to shop around for some new, cleaner foods

KenziesMomma11

well you definitely don't want to eat dirty butt....

^^this made me LOL

sarah307

Clean Eating Grocery List

almonds
nuts
protein powder
almond butter
yogurt
eggs
fruit ....*unlimited!
veggies ....*unlimited!
greek yogurt
stevia
cinnamon
grilled chicken
sweet potatoes
natural peanut butter
salsa
beans
swiss cheese
kashi cereal

... this is where I have started out !! how do those things sound?!!

thetiwi1890

Bump this :drinker: