June 2010 - Clean Eating Challenge

lulabellewoowoo

So today is the first day of the Clean Eating Challenge.

If you have never tried clean eating before, then be kind to yourself. Each person can define their own clean eating. For me, it means no processed foods. Learn to get my sweetness from things like honey and agave and fresh fruits and vegetables. Cut out all the processed boxed stuff and go for the clean, healthy, fresh stuff.

Out of 30 days, I'm going to make it a goal to eat 20 of them clean. Hopefully more, but I need to start somewhere. I did it last month, but kind of fell off the wagon. I think this will help me to be more accountable.

Join if you wish. We can help encourage each other throughout the month.

UltimateLover

I would like to do that as well. However, my clean eating will be no sugary snacks...I'm aiming for 20 days.

kelly_a

hey clean eaters! here's to a great week of eating less crap! I'm aiming for 20 days as well! Let's clean it up! :bigsmile:

spaul82478

I will join, My clean eating challenge is NO FAST FOOD for at least 20 days (I already know on the 5th I will) .... thats a huge problem for me... I will work on processed foods later, fiber one bars are a life saver for this college student.

pmjsmom

I'm going to try this also--I need to cut out the crap and I'm going to try for at least 20 days! Here's to Day 1!:drinker:

athenafl

Count me in. I like your definition and 20 days out of 30 sounds challenging, but possible.

chgraham

I have been eating clean for a month now and I have never felt better. I have found that when I eat something really processed, it doesn't agree with me, so for me that is a good reminder of what is good for me. I would like to join more for the encouragement, as sometimes it feels a bit lonely and I want to go back to eating the way I was. So maybe this will give me that boost to keep it up.

NewImprovedCnbethea1

i will be happy to join this challenge and my plans as far as clean eating for me is to eat no processed or boxed foods. Mainly eating fruits, veggies, yams, potatoes, oatmeal (sweetened with cinnamon), chicken, fish, and lean beef. Will that be ok to satisfy the term clean eating. I am going to try to make the whole 30 days. Should we post daily what we ate?

urbanchic

I'm def in.. this sounds like a good challenge for me.

urbanchic

NO sugar no bread 20 days

roadchic18

I'm in. I just joined a June weight loss challenge and clean eating is one of my weapons. I will shoot for 23 out of 30 days. Maybe we could share some suggestions, recipes, etc. I'm always looking for ways to make chicken breast more interesting.

Thinwithin2010

Clean eating is what my husband and I have been doing and we haven't felt better..Lots of water and raw nuts, chicken, fish, lean beef and turkey. Real meats nothing from a deli. All those meats you get sliced for sandwich's have crap in them.. I worked in a deli before I was married.. YUK We try to have our fruit before noon so we have the day to burn off the sugar. We precook everything and we put it all in 9 oz containers. Ladies are allowed 3 containers of protein, 2 containers of carbs, 2 fats and 1 fruit. a day. All the salad and non sugar veggies we want and if we use sugar veggies like carrots we count that as a carb.. When we started this all I thought was I'm gonna starve. Well let me tell you we sometimes have trouble getting in our food... We also do not use dairy.. I had always thought I felt crummy after a big bowl of icecream or glasses of milk as I am a big milk drinker.. But after a few weeks in Europe ( I wouldn't drink the milk because it was awful) I learned I felt so much better. Of course until now doing this I have so found it to be true!!! Again no dairy and I feel better.. We get our calcium from the veggies and salads we eat.. Also we use different vinegars and spices. No more prosessed salad dressings or sauces.. We learned to taste the food not all the crap we pour on it.. By having our food in the container's we have learned portion control and it seemed so difficult but now it is really easy to set them up. The biggest thing I have learned is that I am not hungry!!! and I don't crave sweet's. Just bought a cookbook for clean eating.. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Moolieloo

I'm in! Instead of a certain amount of days, I'm going to set a goal of having 80-90% of each day be clean for the whole 30 days. I like to have whole grain cereal or oatmeal for breakfast (which is techically processed, since it comes from a box), but hopefully the rest of the day I can do this! I want to stay away from sweets, as well as continue to avoid dairy...dairy doesn't like me anyway! Good luck everyone!!

roadchic18

So here's a recipe I wanted to share, it's what I'm having for dinner.

Big Kahuna Recovery Burger
Serves 2

10 oz ground turkey breast, divided into 2 patties.
4 tbsp teriyaki sauce
2 slices fresh pineapple
2 thick slices red onion
2 whole-wheat buns
1/2 jalapeno sliced thin
2 slices swiss cheese (or skip the cheese).

You can either add the teriyaki sauce to the turkey before shaping into patties or you can baste the burgers as you grill. I like it added right in. Grill 3-4 minutes a side. Grill pineapple and red onion slices until lightly charred. Put each burger on bun and layer on onion, pineapple, jalapeno and cheese.

My favorite turkey burger of all time!

NewImprovedCnbethea1

So here's a recipe I wanted to share, it's what I'm having for dinner.

Big Kahuna Recovery Burger
Serves 2

10 oz ground turkey breast, divided into 2 patties.
4 tbsp teriyaki sauce
2 slices fresh pineapple
2 thick slices red onion
2 whole-wheat buns
1/2 jalapeno sliced thin
2 slices swiss cheese (or skip the cheese).

You can either add the teriyaki sauce to the turkey before shaping into patties or you can baste the burgers as you grill. I like it added right in. Grill 3-4 minutes a side. Grill pineapple and red onion slices until lightly charred. Put each burger on bun and layer on onion, pineapple, jalapeno and cheese.

My favorite turkey burger of all time!

This sounds delicious!!

lulabellewoowoo

WELCOME EVERYONE. Awesome how many people joined. I hope your first day was successful.

I am off to a great start.

1 day me/0 day to junk. Here is to day 2! :drinker:

pmjsmom

I did well yesterday--no junk foods and no mindless snacking! Here's to my second day!

hdelamore

I'm going to try this too =]
for me clean eating is no chocolate/sweets/unnecessary calories

lulabellewoowoo

:mad: Two kids home sick, which means I made some bad choices. But that's okay. I have a great month of healthy eating ahead of me.

Me 1/Junk 1

samzmom69

I'm in..My husband,son and I have been doing this for awhile.. MY husband and I feel great and my son's grades and mood have improved at school... it is def the way to go.. when my son wants a sweet treat I make it homemade or I get him some candies from the natural candy store online, made with no artificial colors or flavors he loves it... keep up the good work everyone

cina409

I would love to join you all! I bought the Clean Eating book recharge two weeks ago and love it. I feel so much better had have less cravings for sweets. This will help keep me on track.

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

kmarowski

Count me in too! Eating as many organic foods as possible & avoiding processed, sugary foods, etc.... - 22/30 days. LOVE this challenge. FYI - if any of you are near a Kroger, Kroger has an organic section with lots of clean foods. Otherwise, a whole foods is a great place to shop!

kelly_a

HI there everyone!

Doing pretty good so far. My first day of June was unclean with one meal ( Chinese buffet ), but that was planned and I'm ok with it. I sometimes go the route of 80 - 90 % of my day clean too. Yesterday was right on. Feeling amazing and CLEAN!

Keep at it all!

1 clean ~ 1 crap

Nlongenecker

Count me in. This will be my 3rd attempt. I love how I feel when I eat this way. It's just easy to fall into convenience eating. So I'm going to try to resist. They say you can form a new habit doing it for 30 days, so hopefully this does it for me.

badrianne

I would like to try this. Maybe I can actually get that 5lbs for June! I am still learning about clean eating. It's a bit new for me. I cook most of my food at home...salmon and veggies for example, but I still do not know EXACTLY what makes a food "clean".

I was looking in the clean eating mag online and their meal plan had those kashi chewy bars in it. I didn't think that was clean. Oh, I don't know! I guess like the OP said it is how you define it. But if left to my own devices I will define it as homemade peach cobbler and pound cake...I have a SERIOUS sweet tooth.

OK, off to trader joe's tomorrow and making my shopping list now! :happy:

pmjsmom

I am doing the 80% clean eating, too. It just seems like an easier way to ease into this way of eating! I did well yesterday.
I do have a question--where does the occasional glass of wine fit in to this--the 80% or the 20%?

pmjsmom

Silly thing posted twice! Oh well--have a wonderful day, all!

NewImprovedCnbethea1

So far for me things have been great I don't know how you all view dairy but I drink ff milk and eat ff greek yogurt. Those are my only two things because I have done a vegan challenge and I tried rice milk and soy milk neither worked for me but I didn't try Almond milk. I may try that next but for now I drink ff milk. All the other choices I make come from lean meats, fruits, and veggies!!

urbanchic

This is day three for me and not having any bread or sugar is killing me:grumble:
Hopefully it will be easier in the next couple of days,I'm hanging in there guys:drinker: to us for making a change.

melaniejewell204

I started Eating Clean on June 1st with my husband! I just found your post today. Kind of a cool coincidence. I've read Tosca Reno's books and have gotten all the food I need. I don't think her ideas are revelatory but I like the way she lays things out. And her suggestions make things easier for those of us trying to make such a big change.Things are going well so far. I'm having to cook a lot and plan ahead but I think that it will get easier with time. I haven't really been challenged yet. No gatherings or celebratory pieces of cake shoved in my face. I want to allow myself a little wiggle room in those situations so I don't go completely crazy.

And for all of you guys out there having sugar cravings...Make these! They're delicious. I found myself licking the spatula clean!

Frozen Chocolate Banana Delight

Ingredients

5-6 medium ripe bananas
1 1/4 C. natural peanut butter
1/2 C. natural honey
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Put all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups, sprayed lightly w/ cooking spray. With spoon, scoop batter into muffin cups.

Place in freezer and let freeze for at least 2 hrs. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and let thaw for 10 min to soften slightly.

Nutrition

Per Cup (muffin cup)-187 Calories, 6g Protein, 10g Fat, 22g Carb, 3g Fiber, 5mg Sodium

Nlongenecker

Frozen Chocolate Banana Delight

Ingredients

5-6 medium ripe bananas
1 1/4 C. natural peanut butter
1/2 C. natural honey
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Put all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth.

Line muffin pan with muffin cups, sprayed lightly w/ cooking spray. With spoon, scoop batter into muffin cups.

Place in freezer and let freeze for at least 2 hrs. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and let thaw for 10 min to soften slightly.

Nutrition

Per Cup (muffin cup)-187 Calories, 6g Protein, 10g Fat, 22g Carb, 3g Fiber, 5mg Sodium

I think I burned up my blender the last time I made these (don't have a processor). But they are AWESOME!!