Kind of a Stupid Question

AleksD3

But where do you even begin with eating clean?

We don't drink soda at all and try not to buy anything with HFCs but organic food isn't affordable for this household. We have 2 adults and 3 boy, two of whom are teens and eat all the time an done who's heading that way.

I'm not even sure when to begin. Do we start with one meal at a time, do we jump into it feet first...what do we do?

MindyG150

When feeding a family, keeping it simple is easy, cook at home. Pasta and sauces go a long way and throw those veggies right on top of the pasta. There are so many casseroles you can make that go a long ways and cost far less than any pre-packaged dinner foods. A whole chicken is so much less than a bag of chicken it just takes more work.

Oatmeal or eggs for breakfast is far less than boxed cereals and way better for you.

Good rule of thumb for shopping is to stay on the outer wall as much as possible. If you just think about shopping like that, you'll find that with each trip you are on the outer walls more and more.

Remember: A banana costs less than a candy bar!

jeniferdawn6

I had the same problem. Go to fatsecret.com. You can search for low calorie recipes. Kids don't always like it at first so you might have to be sneaky. I think it is fun sometimes to fix them things and not let them know what is actually in it until they tell me they like it. The diet coke chicken was really good and they were shocked I put soda in their chicken.

chachadiva150

Everything doesn't have to be organic. Just cut out most of the processed food and eat real natural food. Want a chicken sandwich? Don't get frozen, breaded chicken patties. Get real chicken, cook it and make a sandwich.

djohansen

Make small changes with your family, rather than a complete overhaul all at once. Try to buy less processed foods. I started out with oven fries made with olive oil, lightly seasoned. Find a healthy flatbread recipe online and make personal flatbread pizzas, everyone adds their own toppings, we have roasted garlic, mushrooms, onions, spinach and whatever cheese or meat you want. Fruit and yogurt smoothies. Substitute low fat ground chuck or turkey for hamburger. Pitch the cheap white bread for wheat or whole grain. Make fresh tossed salads. Frozen yogurt , peach is our favorite. Buy an air popcorn popper for popcorn nights. Have a loaded bake potato bar night include salsa, cheese etc. The ideas are endless, you might be surprised at how much your family will enjoy eating well! Bon Apetit!

AleksD3

Thanks!

I'll definitely start with small steps. It sounds so overwhelming when i think about it.

lsapphire

fresh fruit and veggies, as little processed as possible.

aallison85

I wouldn't call "diet coke chicken" a clean recipe...

ChristyP0303

Thanks!

I'll definitely start with small steps. It sounds so overwhelming when i think about it.

It is very overwhelming when you first start. We would spend hours in the grocery store comparing labels and trying to figure out what to buy. We now buy very little processed foods. Nothing frozen (other than plain veggies) or anything that comes from a box. We shop mostly around the outter edges of the store. I buy organic ketchup, salad dressings, mayo, pickles, wheat thins, some no salt added canned goods, and some cereals. Everything else is from the outter two isles. We now know exactly what to buy, we get in and out. Organic does mean clean eating. We don't buy organic. When you eleminate all the other foods, it doesn't cost much more to eat healthy. Just takes time and planning.

pat6250

You cannot change everything all at once, so take steps. Like, try one new vegetable every week. Add vegetables to something that formerly did not have them once this week. For example, add chopped celery and a carrot to marinara sauce. If you chop it fine enough, they won't notice. Or put green peppers or mushrooms on a pizza. And once this week, substitute ground chicken or turkey for ground beef in a dish. Buy one 2% dairy fat item instead of full fat this week. You are not just changing what you will have, you want to make subtle changes in what the whole family is eating. It will mean less work for you, and better health for them. Use pan spray instead of a tablespoon of butter to fry eggs. Little changes, subtle things they won't notice much. Most families won't go from white bread to whole grain bread. But they will accept "wheat" bread that has white and wheat bread. Keep upping the percentage of whole flour until they begin to enjoy the whole grain bread. It took me about a year to get hubby to get there, now he loves whole grain bread. And now, years later, his diabetes and high blood pressure are under control, and he is happy I fed him properly. Add oatmeal to the chocolate chip cooky batter for the kids! Reduce the sugar and chips slightly. They won't notice if you are subtle. Good luck!:flowerforyou: :drinker:

AuntieMC

This is NOT a stupid question at all! It is a very smart place to start!

I began my weight-loss and health seeking journey at 355 pounds in August, as a major junk food junkie who drank coke all day. Today, I weigh 226 (I have lost 129 pounds since August), and I went off ALL sugar cold turkey in August. Now I drink green tea all day instead of coke, lol! I eat WAY more vegetables and a LOT less meat. I have made many other changes as well. It just happens that I have done a great deal of nutritional research over the past several months, because I was diagnosed with cancer in July, and I am putting every effort into defeating it!

You mentioned not being able to afford organic vegetables, since you have a big family with teenagers. According to the books I have been studying, organic food is best BUT the nutrtional content of vegetables is more important than whether or not they are organic. Just don't skimp on vegetables! I have read that it is moe important to get your MEAT products organic and either grass-fed or free-range (or, in the case of fish, wild caught). Talk about EXPENSIVE! Fortunately, it is also recommended in the books I have been reading to greatly reduce meat consumption, and instead, eat a lot of plant based proteins like beans, lentils and quinoa. I am still making that transition, because it involves learning all new recipes!

It is wonderful that you don't drink sodas! How about other sugar consumption? Besides baked goods, there is sugar added to everything from "healthy" breads and yogurts to spaghetti sauce! Getting rid of refined sugar is tough to do, but I think it is important for good health, and in my case, I have learned that sugar actually feeds cancer, so obviously, I don't want any of THAT!

If you would like to hear more about the changes I have been making, feel free to drop me a line, or send me a friend request!

angeldaae

I may be wrong, but I don't think "eating clean" is the same as eating organic.

Eating clean just means eating fresh food, not processed and pre-packaged food. The fresh food does not have to be organic to be "clean."

AleksD3

Thank you!

I currently do WW and check in here. I really love counting points (not surer why I prefer it over calories but i seem to do better with points at this time) but I love the message boards and the people over here so I pretty much track at both places right now. Just want to make that disclaimer to people I'm friending :laugh:

AuntieMC, my husband was diagnosed with throat cancer almost 2 months ago. They think they got it all in surgery but we're in for five years of 6-week, then 8-week and so on checkups to make sure it stays away so that's another excellent reason for going clean.

We do have way too much sugar in some food, especially the kids' cereal and yogurt. My youngest is on the Autism spectrum and has a lot of sensory issues, especially around sound and taste so it's really, really hard to have him eat new foods but i also know that changing our diet could well help him too.