Eating Clean

This may help you.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/eating-clean-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Try eating fresh, basic food, something that wasn't processed. So for example milk, joghurt, cheese are ok, but chocolate milk, strawberry/ frozen joghurt and low fot cheese are not. Strawberries are great, but strawberrie jam is not. Marinate meat yourself. ALWAYS know what's in your food. Try to make meals yourself. Don't eat anythink with colours, preservatives etc.

It sounds hard but if you just make meals yourself using only fresh foods, you don't even need to think of that. And keep it simple.

Of course you can have tea and coffee. Just go for the natural ones. You can have juice, but rather a fresh one.

I hope it helps.

Based on my appointments with a Nutritionist from Jan - Aug this year, I'd recommend:

Lean proteins
Complex carbohydrates
Fresh fruit
Fresh veg
Dairy
Water
Decaf drinks
Plain, unsalted, unroasted nuts

Go for Whole Earth peanut butter, it has no added sugar to it.

Aim for three meals and 2-3 snacks a day too.

Cut out the processed stuff like meals, junk food, pop, and basically, refined sugars.

It depends on what you mean by "decaf drinks". If you mean drinks made from things that don't naturally contain caffeine, it seems ok, but coffee naturally contains caffeine, so decaf coffee is highly processed. If you're trying to cut back on caffeine, it's better to limit your coffee intake and drink white or green tea instead of black.

Bump - looking for ideas )

Ill tell you this: Ive been clean eating for a good many years. When people at work bring in foods for a potluck - I am damn near ready to vomit because I can EASILY tell who is the real cook, and who works with prepackaged/processed foods...

Seriously - get your youtube.com going for free cooking lessons and just stop purchasing convenience foods... you will need to retrain your palate but once its trained, you will never ever go back....

Variety of dishes to try, a great recipe website is www.recipesource.com - just find the recipes that are all whole foods, no artificial junk, no name-brand items.. they have TONS... and if you think of a country, its definitely going to be there!

bump

I agree with what many of the posters have to say. Avoid processed food. People now are trained to think a snack comes out of a package or a vending machine. A snack is an apple, or some raw nuts, or maybe a little organic yogurt. Build your big meal around the veggies (instead of a slab of meat), and that will automatically help eliminate a lot of the junk. The good news is that clean eating really doesn't take much time. Example of last night's meal - main dish salad included romaine, tomato, black beans, avocado, chopped peppers and grilled shrimp. My one indulgence was a whole wheat pita toasted on the grill with a little olive oil. With my better half grilling the shrimp and me handling the salad, we pulled this together in 30 minutes (this allowed us to get in our run after work without being stressed about having to come home and make a big meal). Good luck. Say no to processed food!!!

It seems to me that the definition of "clean" eating varies and often depends on people's notion of the definition of "processing." Honestly though, even running a knife through a piece of meat is a process of cutting meat.

Really it's a personal preference. I wouldn't get too worried about it. Just eat what makes you feel comfortable, and don't eat anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Build your big meal around the veggies (instead of a slab of meat), and that will automatically help eliminate a lot of the junk.

Until I am wealthy, following this would never work. Hmmm, what meat goes best with asparagus? Whtat? It's not on sale? It umpteen million dollars per pound? :laugh: :laugh:

I do quite the opposite. Since I shop on a tight budget, I find out what meat is on sale, then build meals around the meat, adding veggies and fruit, pasta or rice, etc. I can't figure out how building the meal around vegetables works unless you are vegetarian/vegan. :huh:

I'm not into eating "clean," but I do prefer to eat food that I've purchased in as close to it's natural form as possible. IE, boneless skinless chicken breasts rather than chicken nuggets with "meat" that most closely resembles medium density fiber boards. Cheese from the deli instead of a spray can. Fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned because canned are quite high in sodium. Fruit instead of Pop Tarts with "fruit" filling.

Frozen meals are handy in a pinch. But for the same money and same calories, I can buy and eat a lot more if I cook it myself. Most are just a tiny portion of meat, a tiny portion of vegetables, a tiny portion of rice or pasta, with a sauce or marinade. Cook a pile of chicken ahead of time (grilled, baked, cut up and stir fried), add some frozen veggies, a little bit of rice or pasta, and a sauce, and you have the same thing.

Many foods are processed to a certain extent. Extra virgin olive oil still has to be extracted from the olive. The concern comes when the process strips the food of its nutrients and fibre and adds sugar, salt and chemicals.

For example, I've got two jars of peanut butter here, one from the health food shop and one from the supermarket.

One contains peanuts (96%) and palm oil.

The other contains peanuts (91%), peanut oil, cane sugar, vegetable oil, salt.

Now having a spoonful of the second one isn't going to kill you, but it's clear which one is the healthier choice.

That to me is what eating 'clean' boils down to: making healthier choices.

I still eat refined grains like pasta and rice. I just eat less of them, less often. It's not the healthiest, but it is healthier.

My tips would be

1. If you're not already doing so, monitor your sugar intake. It may come as a shock.

2. Look at it as an experiment. Have fun with it. Don't just cut out foods, add foods, too. And pay attention to how you feel.

3. Don't be afraid of fat. Most low-fat and fat-free products are laden with sugar and additives. Healthy fats in moderation fill us up; sugar makes us want to eat more and more and turns directly to fat in the body anyway.

4. Cook for yourself. This is the best way of knowing what you're eating. Cook in bulk and freeze extra meals, if you can. Then you know you've always got nutritious, filling meals at home, just ten minutes in the microwave away. No need to order take out or buy a ready meal.

5. Be kind to yourself. This is the most important one. I've suffered from depression for most of my life and self-care has been a struggle at times. When I'm eating healthily, I feel like I'm taking care of myself. Sure, it's more expensive to buy organic peanut butter (for example) and I have to find time to cook my own meals - but that time and money is an investment in my health and well-being. Whenever I have a bad day now and begin to berate myself (you know, 'Oh, I should have sent that e-mail earlier; now they won't get it till tomorrow morning and it'll probably be too late by then and everyone will think I'm a screw up and they'd be right, I'm no good for anything') I go and buy myself a packet of herbal tea. It's like a hug in a mug. Because we all have bad days - it doesn't mean we're bad people. I used to eat bad food because I felt bad, but it only made me feel worse. I didn't think I deserved any better, but I do and so do you and so does everybody.

Feel free to add me if you want to look at my diary for ideas.

Thanks for the advice people .. i am a bit concerned hat buying fresh will be more costly .. does anyone else find this ? and also it doesent last as long? x

If you are a diehard bargain hunter, it should not be more expensive... plus, if you are fortunate to live in a region/country where its warmers for longer periods of time, growing your own garden is definitely a bonus!!!!

A farmer's market is quite cheap comparatively. buying frozen come very close to fresh.
I bag of frozen quality vegetables is much cheaper than a bag of chips. same with a bunch of carrots/celery.

The one thing that will be more expensive is lettuces, so buy it when on sale. (except spinach)

I think one problem many people have is they don't have a good grasp on cooking.

Also skip "white foods" such as white rice, white bread, that sort. foods with ingredients that are hard to pronounce. fructose corn syrup and blended veg. oils.