June 2010 - Clean Eating Challenge

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!!

Nlongenecker

For tips & recipes, check these sites out:

eatcleandiet.com (official site)
cleaneatingclub.com
eatingcleanworks.com
cleaneatingmag.com

kelly_a

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!!

I do eat dairy..... organic ff milk, and eat ff Greek yogurt, natural Swiss cheese, and Laughing Cow cheese wedges. I have tried rice, soy and almond milk in the past and it was ok.

lulabellewoowoo

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.

Whenever I go without bread and sugar, it takes like four days before it kicks in. I actually sometimes feel like I have the flu. But it will work itself out. Keep at it

lulabellewoowoo

For tips & recipes, check these sites out:

eatcleandiet.com (official site)
cleaneatingclub.com
eatingcleanworks.com
cleaneatingmag.com

Hey stranger, welcome back. These sites are great. Thanks for posting.

lulabellewoowoo

2 for me/1 junk

Sick yesterday (son was kind enough to share). Husband bought me organic ginger snaps, which I am not going to count as junk as it was the only thing I could stomach and the success is in the effort. Let's see how we can all do through the weekend. We are stronger than our weaknesses.

pmjsmom

For tips & recipes, check these sites out:

eatcleandiet.com (official site)
cleaneatingclub.com
eatingcleanworks.com
cleaneatingmag.com

Thanks for these. I am saving them as I am always on the lookout for new recipes!

I'm still doing well at 80 %/day eating clean. I think I was already eating pretty clean because the transition is a bit easier than I thought it would be!

lulabellewoowoo

3 for me/1 for junk

Doing good. How is everyone else doing? Weekends are toughest for me as it is the time to "go out". But we can make wise choices, or even use one of these days as our "cheat days". Just remember to make it a "cheat" snack or meal. Doesn't mean we have to scrap the whole day. Our bodies will thank us for it tomorrow.

pmjsmom

I was doing some reearch on clean eating and have found that opinions vary widely. I even found one person who thinks that if you cut up your food you are eating "processed" food!

I did, however, come across this definition which I think is more appropriate for most of us.

"In a nutshell, eating clean is the practice of eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. It also means staying away from the junk that typically makes up the Standard American Diet (S.A.D) These types of food include man-made sugar, bad fats (hydrogenated, trans-fat), preservatives, white bread, and any other ingredients that are unnecessary. An easy way to remember if a food is clean is: "if man made it, don't eat it."

A person that eats clean generally practices the following:

Eliminates refined sugar
Cooks healthy meals
Packs healthy meals
Makes healthy choices when dining out
Drinks a lot of water
Eats 5-6 small meals per day
Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
Always eats breakfast

Eating clean can be a major transition for a majority of people due to addictions to sugar, white bread, and fast food. It takes discipline in order to make eating clean a habit but it is possible and has so many long-term health benefits.

What do you think? According to this definition I eat clean most of the time already!

kelly_a

I was doing some reearch on clean eating and have found that opinions vary widely. I even found one person who thinks that if you cut up your food you are eating "processed" food!

I did, however, come across this definition which I think is more appropriate for most of us.

"In a nutshell, eating clean is the practice of eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. It also means staying away from the junk that typically makes up the Standard American Diet (S.A.D) These types of food include man-made sugar, bad fats (hydrogenated, trans-fat), preservatives, white bread, and any other ingredients that are unnecessary. An easy way to remember if a food is clean is: "if man made it, don't eat it."

A person that eats clean generally practices the following:

Eliminates refined sugar
Cooks healthy meals
Packs healthy meals
Makes healthy choices when dining out
Drinks a lot of water
Eats 5-6 small meals per day
Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
Always eats breakfast

Eating clean can be a major transition for a majority of people due to addictions to sugar, white bread, and fast food. It takes discipline in order to make eating clean a habit but it is possible and has so many long-term health benefits.

What do you think? According to this definition I eat clean most of the time already!

Thanks Kathy! I agree with all of your post! lol, I *chop/process* most of my veggies! I am glad to say that I do most of the things listed as to what a clean eater practices. I cook healthy meals for myself, but my family (dh and sons 18 & 20) are not clean eaters, which is where a challenge can arise. I do really good most days, and am lucky enough that I have the time that allows me to be able to cook 2 different ways at least 1-2 times a day. We might eat out once a month or every other month. I try to eat as clean as I can when eating out, or it may be that I am having 'a favorite in moderation'..a cheat meal. When I have an unclean meal, my body is not happy for about 1/2 a day. Sometimes it just isn't worth that!

I am 2 clean & 2 junk. should do good from here on out. On my junk days it is usually only 1 meal. so, still, that is progress to me! planning and prepping is what helps me be successful. whenever I go to a ballgame, get groceries or any road trip, I always take clean, healthy snacks. mostly finger food, but easy to grab and go!

keep it clean folks!

NewImprovedCnbethea1

Hey everyone I ate 2 slices of pizza today and I really didn't even want it. I am going to be right back on track tomm so that put me at 4/5 for the month!!!