The rules of vegan clean eating

kennie2

Okay I want to start eating clean but I dont really know what I can and can't have

can i have rice? brown rice? what about pasta?
sugar? flour? and which types

but yeah so on, if anyone could tell me what is classed clean and unclean that would be great!

tomatini

There aren't "rules" per se. It's really about eating as many whole foods as possible. From Clean Eating Magazine:

"The soul of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. It is not a diet; it's a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life - one meal at a time. "

I know a lot of people who eat "clean" try to limit their refined sugar but do consume natural sweeteners like maple syrup. Same thing with limiting white flour but still eating things like chickpea flour and other grains (like brown rice). Those are just examples though, what you do is really up to you! If you're looking for a vegan clean eating-type cookbook to get you started, I recommend "Clean Food" by Terry Walters:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1454900105/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1454900105&linkCode=as2&tag=theb0a4e-20

veganlisa

Many cane sugars (like C& H) are not vegan because of the way they process it (with bone char). There are sugars out there that are vegan. I use Florida Crystals- which says it is vegan certified.

As for rice, pasta, etc. just try to limit how much you eat. I am a carboholic, so I can't cut them out completely! Also, I think people tend to make a much bigger serving of pasta than what an actual serving is! I try to eat whole grain when possible.

For breads, I try to eat ones that don't have High fructose corn syrup and additives. I recently found a bread brand that is organic & has many vegan choices. It's called Rudi's (and it looks like real bread) but there are others out there too!

For me, "clean eating" means eating little to no processed food (ex. making my own sauce for pasta vs. a canned sauce). I am making an attempt this year to eat mostly clean- I just can't break away from those Luna bars though!

ThriftyChica12

for me, foods that exist in nature (fru, veg, beans, nuts, grains) and foods that are MADE FROM this natural foods with MINIMAL processing (juiced veggies, tofu or hummus, nut butters, healthy oils, breads from WHOLE grains, etc etc)

for me, refined sugar, vegan versions of junk foods (soy ice cream or prepackaged onion rings or fries or chips) tend to trigger me to binge

i enjoy nut butters and oils in healthy portions. my food is rich and satisfying. snoop my diary to see what i mean

jezama77

I agree with most people who have posted so far. I need to be able to pronounce the ingredients. Food needs to be as unprocessed as possible. My diary is open to anyone. It's kinda fun to snoop! I definitely try to limit processed 'vegan' type foods. I ate a boca burger tonight, but I try to not do that often. I mostly eat beans, veggies, fruits, whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice, but I love starting the day with a protein shake! That's the most processed I get as of late... I have recently cut out dairy and eggs and I still have a bag of whey protein that I'm using up, but I'm trying to find a good plant based protein powder. I tried Vega One and like it, but it's expensive...I'd like to find an alternative!

tomatini

jezama77, I've seen Sun Warrior protein powder on a few people's diaries and have been scoping out prices myself... it's not "cheap" but it's cheaper than Vega One. Here: http://bit.ly/YwCiKv

Evachiquita

I use the Sun Warrior Raw Protein powder, natural flavor. I think I have to say that it is my favorite powder so far. Not the cheapest, but reasonably affordable. It doesn't taste like much, which I like. Some of the flavored ones, even vanilla, are too sweet and fake tasting for me. The natural flavor blends nicely with pretty much any other flavors I've mixed it with (chocolate, vanilla, fruit, peanut butter). It is very fine too and not as chalky as some powders that I've tried. Check out Vitacost.com for protein powders and supplements.

Here is a comparison of protein powders and prices from Vitacost.com. It is by no means complete so only contains the powders I was interested in ordering. It's simply a cost comparison so see which powders provided the most bang for the buck (the last column shows the cost per gram of protein).

tomatini

Great cost comparison table, thanks for sharing!

jezama77

I agree! I am going to put this info to use when I get paid next! Thank you both so much!