Clean Eating- Dr. Oz's orders

fitinyoga14 · February 2010

This post is kind of long, but i'm in need of some assisstance here.

I saw on Dr. Oz that you should not be buying anything at the grocery store that contains multiple ingredients (a few is okay). Instead, you should use recipes in order to make your own meals and control what gets put into them. It also steers you away from all processed foods (which I 'try' to limit) . So then I thought to myself- "wow, that's a smart rule to live by- the one ingredient thing. i'm sure anything with sold with multiple ingredients can be homemade and a lot more healthy! i should look into this."

This is my question: Does anyone have any tips on how to keep a fresh food only diet?

These are the difficulties I envision: The cost of this sort of diet- Produce is way more expensive than non-perishables, not even mentioning the cost of organics. I know that you pay for good quality, but are there tips out there to beat this? Another difficulty I see is that i can't be slaving away in my kitchen chopping veggies, cooking grains, and roasting meat ALL the time. It comes to the point where i'm going to be in need of some fast on-the-go meals that don't require a half hour of preparation and 5 different kinds of tupperware and utensils. So what do i do when keeping up with eating only fresh becomes too much?

mvl1014 · February 2010

Two tips for you:
1) Canned veggies - with no salt added. Cheaper and stay fresh until you need them.

2) Prepare meals beforehand (the night before in the fridge, or the weekend before in the freezer).

johnporcaro · February 2010

Stuff I keep going back to in our fridge (even my wife and four kids are sticking with the plan, it's pretty cool):

cottage cheese
fruit, like apples, bananas, plums
frozen veggies
frozen fruit (especially in protein drinks)
squash (one spaghetti squash can be in a container for a week)
eggs
lean lunch meat (sliced turkey)
tomatoes
cheese, string cheese, cheddar, mozerella
fish, cooks fast, and we like imitation crab
chicken breasts

None of these really require any real cooking, except maybe the eggs. We're sticking to low carbs, otherwise we'd eat more oatmeal, Grape Nuts, etc.

All in all, actually seems a bit more up front to buy lots of fresh fruit, but we spend a LOT less on other things, so it's not bad at all.

Laceylala · February 2010

I think the two "processed" foods we eat in our house is Trader Joe Pad Thai and Trader Joes Gluten Free Mac and Cheese. And even with the thai I add eggs, and a ton of veggies to it so it is a one pot meal.

Don't get overwhelmed at the cost. Pick your food battles. Just transitioning to fresher foods is enough to begin with. Second, make a list of a weeks worth of meals and buy your groceries accordingly. I find that if I make a list, I can get a weeks worth of food at WalMart for my family of 3 for between $60 and $100 depending on how much we need that week.

Buy some of these: http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/forevergreen_containers_ontv.html?gid=KITCHEN, they truly do keep fresh veggies longer. That way if you don't use them up immediately you can use them over several weeks. I've had asparagus stay good for over two weeks in these.

I take three hours over the weekend and cook most of my food for the week so everything is easy to eat at night. I plan to make a couple of larger dishes so that there are left overs for lunches for at least a few days a week. Then I either freeze the dishes or put them in the fridge. It makes getting home later from the gym easier because dinner is essentially ready but the heating up and I don't feel as guilty for taking more time "for me."

If you don't want to do a big weekend cookfest2010 like I do, then start small. Take one meal a day and make it a goal to eat fresh. Cooking like this gets easier as you go, it really does.

Planning for it is key. Make a list of the food you want to eat, then what you need to buy with that in mind.

ivykivy · February 2010

In addition to what others posted.

I go to the grocery every other day if not every day since I pass by it.

There are packaged foods with only one ingredient to - like old fashioned oats which only take a minute to cook.

I buy frozen fish which only take a 15 minutes to steam frozen and you can throw broccoli (frozen) in the same pan also (I'm a one skillet girl).

Buy fresh veggies to eat the first couple of days (I skip the organics for most things) and buy frozen to eat the rest of the week or month or however you shop. Same with fruit. Oranges keep for a while but my favorite are frozen berries. But make sure there is no added sugar. Stick to those in cardboard boxes they tend to have nothing added.

Lentils are beans that cook quickly. Other beans I always use the quick cook method.

I eat a lot of yogurt especially greek when I can. Just watch the labels for added sugar content. For example chobani 2% only has 7g of sugar so there is definitely nothing added.

Nuts. No cooking required.

gracefullyjenn · February 2010

This is basically how I have been eating. I have the book The Clean Eat Diet by Tosca Reno. Her books are awesome

catherine1979 · February 2010

I find it's a lot easier to do this if I go to the store 2-3 times a week. This is easy for me because there is a supermarket on my way home from work and a smaller market within one kilometer of my office, so a great excuse to step out at lunch.

I like to cook, and I cook almost every night. I have a well stocked pantry (beans, lentils, pastas, multiple varieties of rice, canned tomatoes) and a well stocked freezer (full of frozen veg, berries, and organic meat) so throwing together a meal is usually pretty fast. I prefer to cook every day, it's how I decompress after a long day at the office.

It is tough at first, it's really a total shift. Honestly, though, our grocery bills have actually gone down rather than up since I started getting serious about cooking at home, no more $10 frozen pizzas (that's like 10 pounds of bananas, 6 pounds of grapes, 10 pounds of flour, and so on), or $20 take out pizzas, or whatever.

At first I promised myself I'd cook on weekends, and two meals during the week. Now I am a pro and we rarely get takeout, like maybe once or twice a month.

ETA: some time savers: when you get fresh meat, pre-portion it, so freeze it in single-meal servings. This saves on thaw time and waste, so you don't end up with a ton of leftovers that might go to waste.

You can do the same with veggies, or buy frozen, or use a mandoline or food processor with chopping blade attachment. After a while though you'll be so fast at it, it will take you more time to set up the processor than do it by hand.

questionablemethods · February 2010

I agree with the comment about picking your battles with food. I decided that eating cleaner and eating more sustainably was very important to me and my food budget is skewed to reflect that. I would rather stay healthy than pay later (in doctor's bills) for a diet of cheap, cruddy food.

One of my biggest tips is to try to research food co-ops in your area. I don't know where you are located, but do a search for co-ops in your area and, if there are any nearby, check them out.

I have found that co-ops often have lower prices for the higher quality/organic things than the "health food" section of many regular grocery stores. Secondly, most co-ops that I've been in have HUGE bulk sections. I'm not talking Sam's Club type bulk, but bulk bins where you can buy exactly the amount of nuts, grains, dried beans, etc. that you want and need and save on the packaging.

Frozen veggies, canned beans and tomatoes can go a long way and really cut down on time. Same with frozen berries.

Organic produce is going to cost more, but it is really worth it for a lot of things (not everything). You can look up lists of which crops are the most likely to be full of pesticides and then pick and choose if you want to buy some organic and some not.

I cook a few meals ahead of time. Several chicken breasts, a bunch of brown rice or quinoa and a bunch of broccoli or brussel sprouts or whatever.

questionablemethods · February 2010

Ooops. Duplicate.

noseovertail · February 2010

I try to buy organic whenever I can, but it can be very expensive. For produce with a thicker skin (oranges, pineapples, avocados, bananas) I sometimes buy non organic, because I feel like the pesticides and other junk are concentrated in the skin (this is just my theory, I could be wrong, lol). The thin skinned stuff (strawberries, apples, pears, grapes) I always buy organic. I always buy organic heirloom lettuce for my salads, though. Hope that helps a bit, it always saves us some money when I shop that way. Oh also, if something is not in season I buy it frozen if I can.

leavinglasvegas · February 2010

I go to the market often. When I buy fresh, I bring it straight to the sink and wash it and cut it if needed. I make sure whatever we need is ready to go at all times. When I cook, I cook big. Freeze the leftovers and make your own "TV dinners"

Also, when I catch a sale on frozen fruits and veggies, I stock up. The only thing I buy in a can is beans or tomatoes and thats not very often. Everything else is fresh and about 80% organic.

I manage to shop and cook for myself and my daughter on a very small budget. I clip coupons, stock up at sales, go to multiple stores... I also get alot of peppers and tomatoes and other stuff from friends and family in the gardening seasons. I'll be starting my own garden this summer. When I say small budget, I'm not kidding. I'm talking less than $200 per month and sometimes less than that. :noway: (We don't eat meat though, so that helps the wallet quite a bit.)

Look into organic farms in your area, check localharvest.com
I found one in Michigan, when you buy a "membership" for $400, you get 2 bundles of fresh food every week for the entire farming season. (20 weeks) Thats $20 per week! For FRESH, ORGANIC, LOCAL food!
Also look for farmers markets, etc.

It can be done! And more importantly, it can be done without Wal-Mart. LOL ( I have a thing against them,:grumble: no offense to anyone who shops there):laugh:

Good luck!
Holly:flowerforyou:

LauraSko · February 2010

It is so tough. Very hard to keep up with, but worth a try. I'm no expert but I know that I watch for sales of any vegetables that do well in the freezer (onions, peppers, even eggplant, etc) and I usually do all of my chopping and dicing and preparing in one day and then store up. This is where purchasing one of those instant-dicer devices would really help. I am terrible with meat.. I almost never buy fresh.. I have Tyson's boneless skinless chicken breasts in my freezer, as well as market pantry chicken strips.. either way, I usually toss the chicken (or sometimes frozen shrimp) into a baking dish with a bunch of vegetables and pasta or rice, and usually concoct my own sauce using whatever juices are there, plus a little water or stock or wine or spices. I try to make enough to refrigerate the rest for the remainder of the week.

innerhottie · February 2010

anorther tip to keep cost down... eat what is in season!
Not only is it fresher, it is cheaper. Look into joining a CSA (community supported agriculture) this Spring. You can have fresh, local and sometimes even organic produce delivered right to your neighborhood!

The magazine "Clean Eating" is really good too. Lots of great recipes.

Bob Harper from the Biggest Loser has some great tips in his book "Are You Ready":

If it had a mother, it is probably ok to eat. If it grew from the ground or was picked off of a tree, it's ok.
Look for foods that have NO labels... fresh fruits and veggies!

fitinyoga14 · February 2010

thank you for the tips everyone! clean eating doesn't seem so difficult anymore now that i know some tips. thanks again for the support! :flowerforyou:

Clean Eating- Dr. Oz's orders

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