For me it is a process. I am slowly moving to more and more clean foods. I can't afford to just throw away everything in my pantry. Plus I am pretty sure I would be overwhelmed having to change everything about the way I cook and eat all at once. For me eating clean is not eating processed foods, as much as possible. It's cooking from scratch, most of the time.

When I do "need" to choose a packaged item, I look for as few as ingredients as possible. For instance, basic Triscuits have wheat flour, soybean oil, and salt. Wheat Thins have flour, sugar, soybean oil, cornstarch, malt syrup, salt, invert sugar, leavening agents such as calcium phosphate, vegetable color, and BHT added to packaging material to preserve freshness. So, I choose the triscuits. Would I be better off making my own crackers or substituting homemade kale chips? Sure, but right now I can't invest that much time, so I am choosing the cleanest option I can find.

You should be able to pronounce all the ingredients, and recognize them as foodstuff.

That's a great list, astylla!

One thing I would say is that if money is a concern, I wouldn't spend the extra money on organic bananas or onions. They are usually touted as part of the "clean 15", and very unlikely to be contaminated with pesticides (along with asparagus, avocados, pineapple and a few others). Not that there aren't other reasons to buy organic if its in your budget.

The "dirty dozen of 2014" to always buy organic if possible

Potatoes
Celery
Strawberries
Cucumbers
Blueberries (Domestic)
Spinach
Sweet Bell Peppers
Apples
Lettuce
Peaches
Nectarines (Imported)
Grapes

The environmental working group that publishes the list of dirty dozen and clean 15 said:

•Every sample of imported nectarines and 99 percent of apple samples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
•The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other food.
•A single grape sample contained 15 pesticides. Single samples of celery, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.

Kale and Collards on the "plus" list, as are hot peppers. Those do not meet traditional Dirty Dozen ranking criteria but were frequently contaminated with insecticides that are toxic to the human nervous system

--
I am a red meat eater. I can barely tolerate chicken breast anymore. At one point in my dieting history I ate 2-3 ounces 6 times a day and it got to the point where I couldn't even gag it down anymore. So a lot of my make ahead meals are based on red meat. This is one of my favorites in the summer when the pineapple is really sweet and juicy.


Teriyaki Skirt Steak with Pineapple Relish

2 tablespoons pineapple juice (from fresh pineapple)
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
11/2 lb. skirt steak (or use flank steak). I get grass fed beef from my local market
1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
2 green onions, chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Combine pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger, vinegar, and oil in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; add steak. Seal and refrigerate 30 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade; sprinkle steak with salt and pepper. Boil marinade in a small saucepan 5 minutes or until thickened. Grill steak, covered with grill lid, 4 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness, basting with cooked marinade. Combine pineapple, green onions and jalapeño; serve with steak.

Notes:

There are probably things that are “cleaner” than reduced sodium soy sauce. This is one of those times when I don’t have the time or energy to futz around making my own version.
I omit the added salt; it’s plenty salty for me with the soy sauce.
I just broil the meat because I don’t have a grill right now.
I also add cilantro to the salsa because I like cilantro.

This makes plenty to serve my family dinner and then I have extra to gobble down for lunches. I make brown rice to go with it for my family, but I don't like brown rice, so I usually just have extra pineapple relish as my carb for the meal. And of course I add a veggie or two to the table

oo thanks for the recipe Shalara! My guy will love that one. Thanks for posting the dirty dozen too, finally putting it into my phone so I have it while shopping.
I usually go to the store with a couple of meals in mind. I grab what ever produce I need plus whatever looks the freshest. I have been buying whole wheat bread (use half, freeze half so it lasts 2 weeks) but just got a bread maker, so I'm hoping to make our bread from now on. Each week I've been buying at least one new thing to try, a new whole grain or a new veggie usually. I pick up some other stuff from the inner isles ( I too buy triscuts, and also plain pop corn kernels). I still get cheerios too. Then I hop back out to the dairy section and around last to the meat.
One thing I've wondered- whenever I notice a product is produced locally I usually opt for that (ie theres a hummus that's made 20 minutes from where we live), but I'm still buying from a chain supermarket. Does that defeat the purpose? Is this tub of hummus still shipped all over creation before it gets to me?

I like to keep it simple. Just a few things I like to make sure that I have handy...
I keep a bag of chicken breasts in the freezer
oatmeal
Spinach (for smoothies)
Fruit ( love strawberries and fresh pineapples) for my smoothies
Tuna
Almonds
Sweet potatoes
Big carton of eggs (breakfast and boiled for a mid day snack)
Plain rice cakes
Cucumbers
Ground turkey
Red,green peppers.


Just to name a few.

I stay mainly to the outside aisles, it helps since it's less processed. Here's a recipe I really like, white fish and salsa.

Total Time: 19 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 9 min.
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium red tomato, finely chopped
1 medium yellow tomato, finely chopped
5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
4 (4-oz.) each white fish fillets (like cod, halibut, or tilapia)

Preparation:
1. Preheat grill or broiler on high.
2. Combine tomatoes, basil, oil, and vinegar in a medium bowl; mix well.
3. Season with salt and pepper if desired; mix well. Set aside.
4. Top baking sheet with foil. Top with fish and tomato salsa. Pull up sides of foil and close, leaving a small opening at the top.
5. Grill or broil for 7 to 9 minutes. Open foil carefully (steam will come out). Fish should flake easily when tested with a fork.

ok, here's a couple recipes we've been playing with recently-
Black bean sweet potato burritos (this is also the basically the same as mr's favorite veggie burger, hold the jalapeño add some corn and a table spoon or two of any flour, mash a bit, form into patties and cook on medium til they start to get a crust )
http://www.foodiecrush.com/2013/10/sweet-potato-black-bean-burritos/

Spinach feta quinoa cakes- and these are my favorite veggie burgers! I crave these ones. Great crumbled over a salad too. I don't have a Panini press- just cook them in the pan.
http://paninihappy.com/spinach-feta-quinoa-cakes-plus-5-quick-dinners-on-the-panini-press/

Also, since its summer and we don't have AC we're continually reaching for popsicles/ ice cream. We've found pretty much any frozen fruit can be tossed in the food processor to make a really tasty "ice cream" or "sorbet". It feels like a special treat and isn't just empty calories and artificial color. Its fun trying new combinations too.

Hi, not sure if anybody uses Pinterest but Clean Eating Magazine is on it with tons of recipes. You can go to the website http://www.cleaneatingmag.com or the Pinterest sight and look up Clean Eating Magazine . The recipes above look yummy!