In need of complete diet overhaul

shelst1
shelst1 Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I am used to cooking old fashioned style. Using a lot of potatoes, flour, gravy’s, and fried everything. I am wanting to start clean eating for me and my family of four,however, I don’t even know how to go from what I am doing to clean eating. I don’t know where to start. The first thing I have done so far is quit drinking pop. But that is all. Any help would be appreciated

Replies

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Look at recipe websites, like allrecipes.com Try some low-fat or reduced-calorie versions of your favorite dishes. Try baking instead of frying. Try some new veggies without gravy. Use more herbs for seasoning.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    There's no one definition for clean eating. What does the term mean for you?

    I eat healthy-ish. I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian, but I still consume processed foods and make recipes from scratch and semi-scratch (by which I mean, I'll use canned diced tomatoes in a sauce. I make my own vegetable stock, but if I'm pressed for time, I'll use a carton. I eat vegetarian fake meats and use them in recipes with whole grains and fresh vegetables.)

    In moderation, there's nothing wrong with potatoes or flour unless there's a medical reason to watch your intake. There are healthy gravies. As for frying, it doesn't have to stop, though it likely wouldn't hurt to reduce.

    If you can clarify what you're trying to get to, I can try to help.
  • shelst1
    shelst1 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you, I have been looking up recipes, it is definitely going to take some getting used to lol I will have to learn to cook all over again.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Is the goal more nutritious meals? I am guessing you are a good cook.

    I think you can make small changes to the plating of your meals to make them more nutritious.

    For instance, here is steak and potatoes.

    https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipe/miso-steak-with-green-beans-and-baby-potatoes/

    Note how the veggies play a stronger role. You don’t get rid of the steak and potatoes but the portioning is different.

    You can reduce the amount of oil in your cooking using different techniques. Hubby loves fried chicken but I make a Schnitzel that is baked in the oven instead. It still has the lovely crispy coating but at a fraction of the calories. Similarly potato wedges can be brushed with oil and dusted with seasoning salt before they are baked in the oven. I use an Actifry for my fries now.

    If you are a master at gravy try making a reduction with a little wine or an au jus.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Try weighing and logging everything you eat, using the recipe builder, for a week, without changing anything. Then you can look at your diet and see where you're at. Some of your favorite foods may not be that bad after all, or may be able to be improved by just a few simple tweaks, such as reducing the amount of butter or oil.

    A couple of more traditional protein sources which fit with an old fashioned diet but are healthy and low calorie include pork tenderloin, roasted, and roasted or grilled chicken. I do a large pork tenderloin in the oven once a week and use it for sandwiches, after eating it as a meal the first night. Try eating more greens. Since it's winter, vegetables such as turnips and butternut squash are good.

    Instead of having a cake or pie for dessert every day, only have a rich dessert for special meals, and eat fruit more often. Or have smaller amounts of dessert and fit them into your calories.

    Best of luck to you!
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    Yeah, clean eating doesn't really have a definition. Some people may say I eat clean because I cook from scratch and rarely eat prepackaged foods. Others would say my love of lard, red meat, and white flour is not clean. If your idea of clean eating is to eat less sugar and fat, then reducing your soda intake is a good start. You can also look up recipes for low-fat and baked versions of your favorite recipes.
  • raspuller
    raspuller Posts: 35 Member
    Rather than trying to overhaul everything all at once (which rarely works) I would try making small changes over time. Giving up pop is a great start. Consider swapping out butter with olive oil in cooking. Replacing fried foods with steamed or roasted. Replacing white rice, white bread, white potatoes with long grain wild rice, whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. Making small changes over time and building on that is more sustainable and less overwhelming, meaning you’re more likely to make them stick.
  • shelst1
    shelst1 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you all for the tips
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    raspuller wrote: »
    Rather than trying to overhaul everything all at once (which rarely works) I would try making small changes over time. Giving up pop is a great start. Consider swapping out butter with olive oil in cooking. Replacing fried foods with steamed or roasted. Replacing white rice, white bread, white potatoes with long grain wild rice, whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. Making small changes over time and building on that is more sustainable and less overwhelming, meaning you’re more likely to make them stick.

    Doing that will make negligible difference...

    OP, could you start to add to meals, rather than seeing it as things being taken away? Still have potato, but add salad or other vegies so you eat less potato? Learn to make your meals in different ways - baked is a great option instead of frying. (I bake crumbed foods too, like has already been mentioned - it reduces the need for oil to almost nothing)
    Swap full fat ingredients for lower fat - cheese, milk etc.
    Use less oil or butter in your cooking - changing your pots and pans to non stick if you don't already have them?
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
    One pot cooking in a slow cooker, overnight

    count in everything you want in and let it cook

  • raspuller
    raspuller Posts: 35 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    raspuller wrote: »
    Rather than trying to overhaul everything all at once (which rarely works) I would try making small changes over time. Giving up pop is a great start. Consider swapping out butter with olive oil in cooking. Replacing fried foods with steamed or roasted. Replacing white rice, white bread, white potatoes with long grain wild rice, whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. Making small changes over time and building on that is more sustainable and less overwhelming, meaning you’re more likely to make them stick.

    Doing that will make negligible difference...

    OP, could you start to add to meals, rather than seeing it as things being taken away? Still have potato, but add salad or other vegies so you eat less potato? Learn to make your meals in different ways - baked is a great option instead of frying. (I bake crumbed foods too, like has already been mentioned - it reduces the need for oil to almost nothing)
    Swap full fat ingredients for lower fat - cheese, milk etc.
    Use less oil or butter in your cooking - changing your pots and pans to non stick if you don't already have them?

    I think I was making similar suggestions - It’s just my opinion that it’s more sustainable to replace current practices with healthier options over time rather than in one fell swoop.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,698 Member
    For my taste - which may be idiosyncratic ;) - we get used to using lots of what I think of as "filler foods" - pasta, rice, large amounts of potatoes or bread and such.

    It's not that those foods are "bad" - carbs are tasty and useful - but that we've sort of learned to over-rely on large amounts of filler, sometimes augmented by optional (high calorie) fats - think potato chips or crispy chicken or cookies.

    Sometimes those things, when we experiment with alternatives, turn out not to be as satiating as we assume, or to be the only delicious methods.

    Think about increasing (the lower cost) high fiber veggies, and considering different cooking methods for variety: Roasting, braising, steaming, poaching, etc. You may be surprised at the world of flavor and satisfaction that's out there to try.

    In the veggie front, this is happening now/soon, and it's fun ;) :

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10521320/10-a-day-800g-veggie-fruit-challenge-participants-check-in
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