Eating clean for beginners

makemeover428

I just got the Best Of Clean Eating 2 cookbook. I use to get the magazines all the time but love the cookbook because you get more than 200 recipes and cuts out all the adds etc. It cost me 26$ CAN. LOVE IT!

aippolito1

Lean meats (chicken, fish, turkey, pork)
Whole grains (oats, wheat, quinoa, brown rice)
Veggies
Fruit
Healthy fats (avocados, nuts, seets)
Healthy carbs (peas, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.)

becoming_a_new_me

I heard Jillian Michaels say... "If it doesn't grow in the ground, and it doesn't have a mum, you don't eat it." (paraphrasing)

I want to eat clean.. my biggest issue is I cook for my husband and kids and my husband, while supportive of my healthy lifestyle, wouldn't be happy if i forced my eating onto him

My daughter isn't happy about it right now, but it is being forced. She will thank me for it when she is older and has established healthy habits and is healthy herself. I'd be doing her a disservice if I did not make her eat clean.

mea9

Is cheese, yogart, milk, and white/brown rice processed? I guess all breads would be considered processed, right?

Bread can be fantastic! If you don't like making your own find a really good bakery. I have a recipe that uses cracked wheat and wheat berries. Making your own can be really fun, very healthy and worth it just for the smell.

Dairy really depends on what kind, where it's from and what's in it. I can get yoghurt from the chain grocery with cornstarch and jam made very far away or I can get goats milk yoghurt with real organic fruit made down the road a bit. They are different things. Same with cheese. White rice is one thing but brown rice is a grain. I don't like GMO's.

clankp22

I'm a student and so I'm always on the go. Does clean eating include granola bars as well? Like Kashi, Fiber One or Special K's?

Clean eating means having to read all ingredient labels. You will find that those granola bars may be processed and contain ingredients that we don't necessarily know what they are or where they come from. If you do eat packaged foods, make sure the ingredients are whole, real, and few. Try Larabars. They only have fruit, nuts, and sometimes chocolate chips in them and they are still edible!

For anyone that wants more info, try these sites:
100daysofrealfood.com
thejoyofcleaneating.com
thegraciouspantry.com (as previously mentioned)
Clean eating magazine
Tosca Reno books and websites
and the MFP group

I have been eating this way for a while now and feel so much better...and have lost weight, too

HonkyTonks

I heard Jillian Michaels say... "If it doesn't grow in the ground, and it doesn't have a mum, you don't eat it." (paraphrasing)

I want to eat clean.. my biggest issue is I cook for my husband and kids and my husband, while supportive of my healthy lifestyle, wouldn't be happy if i forced my eating onto him

My daughter isn't happy about it right now, but it is being forced. She will thank me for it when she is older and has established healthy habits and is healthy herself. I'd be doing her a disservice if I did not make her eat clean.

I think I could get my child to eat clean, but my partner? I have a hard enough time working with him to eat healthier in general :P

Nikki582

I heard Jillian Michaels say... "If it doesn't grow in the ground, and it doesn't have a mum, you don't eat it." (paraphrasing)

I want to eat clean.. my biggest issue is I cook for my husband and kids and my husband, while supportive of my healthy lifestyle, wouldn't be happy if i forced my eating onto him

My daughter isn't happy about it right now, but it is being forced. She will thank me for it when she is older and has established healthy habits and is healthy herself. I'd be doing her a disservice if I did not make her eat clean.

I think I could get my child to eat clean, but my partner? I have a hard enough time working with him to eat healthier in general :P

Bingo!

clankp22

Is cheese, yogart, milk, and white/brown rice processed? I guess all breads would be considered processed, right?

Bread can be fantastic! If you don't like making your own find a really good bakery. I have a recipe that uses cracked wheat and wheat berries. Making your own can be really fun, very healthy and worth it just for the smell.

Dairy really depends on what kind, where it's from and what's in it. I can get yoghurt from the chain grocery with cornstarch and jam made very far away or I can get goats milk yoghurt with real organic fruit made down the road a bit. They are different things. Same with cheese. White rice is one thing but brown rice is a grain. I don't like GMO's.

I agree. I stay away from GMOs, too. Bad stuff! I found a bread that only has 5 ingredients in it...fresh ground organic whole wheat, yeast, water, oat bran, and salt. They sell it at Whole Foods here and it is made by a local baker. Delish! It can be very challenging to find clean bread...especially if you are at big chain grocery stores. Try a health food store if you can.

Dairy- I have to read all labels...there is always some funky ingredient in things! I am eating plain greek yogurt at the moment. That is the cleanest I can get for now. Rice- read the label...brown is better than white Hope this helps!

AlabasterVerve

I've been trying to get rid of all of the boxes, jars and packets I used to cook with for awhile now and thought I was doing pretty good but just tonight I realized I'm really not doing that well at all.

I made calzones tonight but I might as well bought a box of hot pockets to be honest. The cheeses I used are processed, my ham is full of chemicals, I used white flour and the second ingredient in the can of tomato paste was high fructose corn syrup! I think I'm doing a good thing by making the pizza dough and sauce from scratch (it tastes freakin' delicious don't get me wrong) but the reality is my "homemade, from scratch" calzones are still processed crap. It just cost more and took quadruple the time to make--I have a long way to go. *sigh*

shakybabe

It makes me laugh when people talk about clean eating like its something new!

I was brought up in yorkshire village and we didn't have microwave etc (didn't even have TV until I was nearly a teenager).

My dad had an allotment we grew our own vegetables and strawberries. My mum went to village butcher for fresh meat. Takeaways were holiday treats and we'd get fish and chips to eat on the sea front!

My weight on when I ate convenience foods cos I was busy working and socialising and travelling by car or bus rather than riding my bike everywhere.

and many years later I've come full circle and back to living on the foods I grew up on to lose weight again! (with a few adaptions)

smilebhappy

this is one of my goals this year......eating clean
(gotta start small & work into this w/my hubby though)

I think the only things I'd have troubles with sometimes are bread, pasta & ice cream

There is alot of really good info here....I'm going to check it out....thanks!

hbart500

bump

firefliesmaria

thats great!

Xandralexa

I've been thinking about this lately. Thanks for bringing up the topic, these are some great tips.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Is cheese, yogart, milk, and white/brown rice processed? I guess all breads would be considered processed, right?

Bread can be fantastic! If you don't like making your own find a really good bakery. I have a recipe that uses cracked wheat and wheat berries. Making your own can be really fun, very healthy and worth it just for the smell.

Dairy really depends on what kind, where it's from and what's in it. I can get yoghurt from the chain grocery with cornstarch and jam made very far away or I can get goats milk yoghurt with real organic fruit made down the road a bit. They are different things. Same with cheese. White rice is one thing but brown rice is a grain. I don't like GMO's.

I agree. I stay away from GMOs, too. Bad stuff! I found a bread that only has 5 ingredients in it...fresh ground organic whole wheat, yeast, water, oat bran, and salt. They sell it at Whole Foods here and it is made by a local baker. Delish! It can be very challenging to find clean bread...especially if you are at big chain grocery stores. Try a health food store if you can.

Dairy- I have to read all labels...there is always some funky ingredient in things! I am eating plain greek yogurt at the moment. That is the cleanest I can get for now. Rice- read the label...brown is better than white Hope this helps!

Thanks to you both! What is GMO's??

IsMollyReallyHungry

I'm a student and so I'm always on the go. Does clean eating include granola bars as well? Like Kashi, Fiber One or Special K's?

Clean eating means having to read all ingredient labels. You will find that those granola bars may be processed and contain ingredients that we don't necessarily know what they are or where they come from. If you do eat packaged foods, make sure the ingredients are whole, real, and few. Try Larabars. They only have fruit, nuts, and sometimes chocolate chips in them and they are still edible!

For anyone that wants more info, try these sites:
100daysofrealfood.com
thejoyofcleaneating.com
thegraciouspantry.com (as previously mentioned)
Clean eating magazine
Tosca Reno books and websites
and the MFP group

I have been eating this way for a while now and feel so much better...and have lost weight, too

Thanks!!

MaximalLife

Hi Everyone,

I've been hearing lots on posts about eating clean, so where as a complete beginner or newbie to the idea of clean eating can I find more information as I'm struggling to find information online,

Thanks
Nikkei x x

Lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts and whole grains and fresh fruits and veggies.
If man makes it, don't eat it.

That's eating clean.

clankp22

GMO= genetically modified food

carlie_carl

clean ad green foods are just full of flavour, they dont make me miss bad foods at all, nothing better than a colourful plate :-)

crunkpunch

I've recently started getting into clean eating as well. I have Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet cookbook and love it! I haven't found a recipe that I don't like. She has many books, some of them strictly recipes and others explain how to get started on the diet.

I'm trying to slowly get there. I used to never eat packaged foods or fast food, until I met my boyfriend! I'm working on my nutrition first, then I'll slowly start feeding him better foods!