anyone eat clean?? advise please

hi there!

Fresh vegetables are always better than canned. If you must buy canned, then, as silly as it sounds, rinse the vegetables off before you prepare them. it heps remove the preservatives and such that are in the "juice" from the can. at least thats what my fitness coach tells me.

meats- stick with lean turkey brests, lean skinless chicken, and fish. Beef generally has a lot of fat in it, even the "lean" beef has more than these other options.

breads- as for a loaf of bread, i always go with the heart healthy 35 calorie per slice wheat bread. it's in the same isles as any other bread and costs the same amount. some breads are up to 110 calories a slice!

My goal is clean eating as well. Fresh veggies are preferred, followed by frozen veggies and then canned. There is a lot of added sodium and preservatives with canned veggies.. I typically go to the farmer's market on Sat morning and get my veggies for the week. A typical meal for our family is a fresh veggie, usually steamed or grilled, a grilled meat and fruit. Sometimes we also eat brown rice. I love to cook but find that keeping it simple without adding lots of ingredients works well for us.. Lots of water...Lots and lots of water.... I fix a big glass of water with fresh lemon and lime juice and sometimes add truvia...VERY yummy... Blessings to you:)

bump

fruits and veggies all the way! Canned veggies should really be avoided because they quickly lose their nutritional value. If it's the convenience you want, I would recommend frozen veggies instead. They now make them in steamer bags to just pop in the microwave. Fruits are wonderful because they are just "grab and go," although I do love having a prepared fruit salad on hand for snacking or dessert fixes. Frozen grapes are a wonderful sweet treat! I highly recommend finding your favorite brand of hummus or organic teriyaki or other sauces to help mix up the flavors of your veggies and make them seem more satisfying.

I would like to eat more clean, however have several questions
do you buy and prepare all your veggies fresh? ever ok to use
a can? what about meats? breads? any help will be great
thanks

I don't eat very clean but I try to more. Clean Eating magazines is great for recipes and info. As far as veggies go, my opinion is fresh or frozen, not canned(i think they get mushy anyway). For breads, just read the ingredients and get ones with 100% whole grain and the least amount of ingredients. Nothing enriched, additives or things you can't pronounce. I think the idea of clean is to eat food in it's most natural state, no additives or preseratives. Don't buy processed meats. Just read your lables, the list of ingredients should be very short. It's best to make things yourself instead of buying the easy, processed ones.

Excellent question and the very best place to start on your road to health. I believe in health first and the pounds will come away. Over the years I have changed our household over to clean eating. Fresh veg. and organic as much as possible. As much as I don't like frozen veg. they are the next best thing to fresh and in some cases better because they are frozen quickly and retain their nutrients etc. Canned veg. are dead food and are never in my home. I buy organic frozen corn and peas at Costco. Google "the dirty dozen and the clean 15 and you'll get the recommendations of what foods absolutely need to be organic and those that don't.

We only eat poultry and fish, no beef, pork, lamb etc. You want to only eat wild fish never farmed. Locate a good fish monger and he or she will know exactly where their product has come from and if they practice sustainable that's even better for our environment and our children's future. I also suggest locating a good butcher where you also know where the meats come from how they are fed and slaughtered. If you eat beef, grass fed-no grain is best.

About bread. I know some people only look at calories not content and in this I disagree. A high fibre bread has many more calories but also is so much healthier and will keep you fuller longer and satiated. It usually will not affect blood sugar levels like lots of other breads do which makes you crave and tells your brain to eat when in reality you are not hungry. Depending on where you live there are two breads that I by and are the only ones that do not have a negative effect on me. One is Ezekial bread. It is organic sprouted grain bread that has no flour. You will find it in the frozen section in any health food store. The other one is the same sprouted grain and called Silver Hills Bread and they have a half dozen different kinds..ie flax, 16 grain, steady eddy, squirrely etc.

This time of year is wonderful for local fresh veg. which is always so good and you can speak to the growers at the market to find out what sprays they use or not so organic isn't always needed. I find in the winter is where I mostly buy organic at my local health stores.

I hope this helps and if there is anything else I can help with please feel free to write me. Good on you for digging in to your better life!!!:flowerforyou: