Clean Eating
antitek
Posts: 121 Member
What brought this post on is the amount of packaged foods listed as possible selections when I go to make a food diary entry. I was absolutely floored that there are like 50 options for a scrambled egg white.
Take a look at the McDonald's oatmeal sometime. 21 ingredients. In oatmeal. Really? No way I'm eating THAT. I've been gradually switching to clean eating for the last year and love the creative process of cooking. I do still buying some convenience foods but, overall, the changes I have made are healthier and saving me money. Here are the general ideas I follow and some tips that make it easier.
1- If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
2 - Keep it simple. More than 5 ingredients is too much hassle.
3 - Menu planning is vital. (lack of planning = food rotting in fridge. A financial waste.)
4 -Have prep time set aside the day after shopping. Everything is cut and portioned for each meal. Need onion..it's ready for the pan.
5 - Freeze a few meals for those days you just want to shove something in the microwave.
Take a look at the McDonald's oatmeal sometime. 21 ingredients. In oatmeal. Really? No way I'm eating THAT. I've been gradually switching to clean eating for the last year and love the creative process of cooking. I do still buying some convenience foods but, overall, the changes I have made are healthier and saving me money. Here are the general ideas I follow and some tips that make it easier.
1- If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
2 - Keep it simple. More than 5 ingredients is too much hassle.
3 - Menu planning is vital. (lack of planning = food rotting in fridge. A financial waste.)
4 -Have prep time set aside the day after shopping. Everything is cut and portioned for each meal. Need onion..it's ready for the pan.
5 - Freeze a few meals for those days you just want to shove something in the microwave.
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Replies
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I've been working on 'cleaner' eating for the last 1 1/2. It's hard and it's definetly a journey to better health...but I'm getting there....Good for you for working at it too!!! All the best! :flowerforyou:0
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***1 -1/2 Years!!0
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I just came across this post and it's certainly something to ponder. I have been slowly realizing how much better it is to eat cleaner. I'm a fast food junkie and although I've never had the oatmeal at McDonald's, it doesn't surprise me there's all that unnecessary junk in there! I'm trying to give up the fast food, knowing how altered it is and how it's gotten me to be like this in the first place.
When I shop I have to get real butter, the kind with only 2 ingredients, maybe 3 with the canola or olive oil additions. I try to avoid the stuff that has things I can't pronounce as you mentioned in the original post. It's hard to completely abandon processed food, it is definitely a work in process. Being aware and looking at labels will help a lot.0 -
I haven't been a deliberate clean eater until this year. I still buy some processed stuff and don't turn my nose up at a an occasional pizza but overall the food is fresh. At the moment I am seeing how I can do with completely clean eating on a vegan diet. Honestly it's mainly to experiment with food because I like to cook. I'm working on some recipes because my vegetarian nephew was complaining about how most veggie/vegan cook books are asking for stuff that is hard to get or overly complicated. So, until the 28th I'm fooling around in the kitchen and even stricter than most. No dairy, meat, processed foods, and nothing to drink but water. I am eating like a horse to make my calorie goals. *glee*
I have discovered that diced butternut squash and kale are friggin fantastic when I steam the squash then finish it off by frying it with the kale and a little curry with olive oil and salt. The olive oil and salt taste surprisingly like butter!0 -
My biggest problems, try not to faint now lol, I don't like veggies. I've tried, but I feel sick when I eat them which surprises me considering how much junk I've put into my body. I eat a salad every night and I do like carrots, but that's about it. I have gotten much better at eating at least 2 fruit servings a day so that department has gotten better, I just cannot get on board with the veggies. I have 2 vegetarian relatives and I admire that way of eating so much, and I'm very impressed that you can experiment and come up with wonderful ways to eat without the dairy and meat! About 6 years ago, my old boyfriend and I ate mostly organic. I didn't lose weight then but I just felt better overall. It was expensive though, and I don't think I can afford to go back to that, but I would like to cut out some processed foods and of course the fast food, and eat a little cleaner!0
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My biggest problems, try not to faint now lol, I don't like veggies. I've tried, but I feel sick when I eat them which surprises me considering how much junk I've put into my body. I eat a salad every night and I do like carrots, but that's about it. I have gotten much better at eating at least 2 fruit servings a day so that department has gotten better, I just cannot get on board with the veggies. I have 2 vegetarian relatives and I admire that way of eating so much, and I'm very impressed that you can experiment and come up with wonderful ways to eat without the dairy and meat! About 6 years ago, my old boyfriend and I ate mostly organic. I didn't lose weight then but I just felt better overall. It was expensive though, and I don't think I can afford to go back to that, but I would like to cut out some processed foods and of course the fast food, and eat a little cleaner!
Good job making the effort to eat more fruits and veggies! When you have salad do you use iceberg lettuce or something that's darker (romaine, spinach, etc)? Salads are a great way to get in veggies especially if you go for spinach and the darker veggies. Have you tried making smoothies with fruit and kale or spinach. It doesn't sound good but it's really tasty. The sweetness of the fruit covers the spinach or kale taste.0
