Clean Eating Club ~ March 2009

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  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    I've heard of people using this stuff called Stevia, too. Would you guys suggest the Agave nectar and stevia rather than honey? If so, why?

    Stevia is an herb instead of a chemical like Splenda. I used to use a LOT of Splenda and have tried to cut it out as much as possible. I use liquid Stevia (Truvia brand now makes packets) for sweetener really only in green tea. I drink my coffee black, but for some reason don't care for plain tea. Stevia has no calories also.

    I do use Agave nectar sometimes, but honestly I just don't need much of a sweetener in foods now, I prefer them in their natural state. Agave is a lower glycemic sweetener than honey.
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    I do not use stevia or agave..I do use honey sparingly...I feel much better the lower I stay with any sugar...I can't avoid the high sugar fruits but with the fruit fibers, the sugar gets slowed down a bit and I always combine sugary fruit with a fiber rich food to slow the sugar even more....have you read sugar busters? a real eye opener
    hth

    Yep, I eat my fruit with yogurt or high fiber cereals. Good info! :bigsmile:
  • Zara11
    Zara11 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    I was drinking diet coke while I read this, and I just got up and put it away. Guilt trip! What would you suggest for someone who's out of the house for at least 12 hours everyday? It's such a hassle dragging textbooks/gym clothes, sneakers, etc. to school, class, work... it also means I rarely cook and go for long hours without eating, though I really try to remember to pack apples, bananas, and snack bars. I rely mostly on buying prepared food, and aim for salads.
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I was drinking diet coke while I read this, and I just got up and put it away. Guilt trip! What would you suggest for someone who's out of the house for at least 12 hours everyday? It's such a hassle dragging textbooks/gym clothes, sneakers, etc. to school, class, work... it also means I rarely cook and go for long hours without eating, though I really try to remember to pack apples, bananas, and snack bars. I rely mostly on buying prepared food, and aim for salads.

    Hi Zara.............

    Things like

    String Cheese
    1 ounce packages of nuts
    Apples
    Bananas

    Those are good on the go snacks..............
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I'm in on the clean eating. i'm already trying to give up on the refined sugars, so I figure why not combine the two -- starting today.

    Perhaps you guys can help me along the way because many things do not grow on trees or come from the ground, but (I always thought) are still good for you.

    For instance, today's breakfast:

    oatmeal, cinnamon, vanilla extract, honey
    banana
    coffee

    For lunch:
    mango salad: black beans, mango, onion, cilantro, bell pepper, italian seasoning

    Some of it is clean, some, like the seasoning and extract likely not?

    Forgive my igornance.

    I am not a 100% whole foods clean eater. I wish I could be, but I just do my best and have found things that work for me. I use extracts and spices, for sure! Vanilla is natural, it comes from the vanilla bean. :wink: I use Agave Nectar instead of honey, you can find it at a whole foods or in the natural section of your grocery store. That mango salad sounds yummy! :bigsmile:

    I've heard of people using this stuff called Stevia, too. Would you guys suggest the Agave nectar and stevia rather than honey? If so, why?

    I do not use stevia or agave..I do use honey sparingly...I feel much better the lower I stay with any sugar...I can't avoid the high sugar fruits but with the fruit fibers, the sugar gets slowed down a bit and I always combine sugary fruit with a fiber rich food to slow the sugar even more....have you read sugar busters? a real eye opener
    hth

    Fruit should always be eaten with protein...................

    I use raw honey on occasion and stevia..................

    Depending on the honey, it can be quite processed, that is why I purchase raw honey straight from a bee farmer and it is local. So, I am stimulating my local economy at the same time!!

    :wink:
  • vegrunner
    vegrunner Posts: 42
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    Good for you Zara. Aspartame or Nutra Sweet becomes formaldahyde inside your body. It took a lot of pressure from beverage companies for the FDA to finally approve it. Once you give up soda for a while you hardly miss it! If you miss the fizz, there are plenty of brands of sparkling water out there. Just read the labels to make sure they don't contain artificial sweeteners or preservatives.

    I'm vegan so there are not too many prepared foods out there I can buy. Amy's is a great, all natural frozen food company. I usually bring an Amy's frozen dinner to work with me. Kashi also has good prepared food (including vegetarian and non vegetarian) but a lot of their crackers and cereal have too much sugar.

    Nuts are great to keep on hand as well. Almonds and walnuts are my favorites. Nuts are indeed high in fat but it doesn't take many to satisfy you and they keep you from snacking on junk!

    Another recommendation is to pack sandwiches in an insulated lunch box. I use a healthier mayonnaise alternative called vegenaisse(available at most health food stores) because I'm not a big fan of mustard.
    Beware low fat/low calorie mayo because its usually packed with sugar.

    Best of luck to you, be strong and stick with it, you'll be glad you did:)
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 16,997 Member
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    :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: I am inspired by all of you.

    I just read the ingredients on my favorite cereal----Fiber One----and discovered that it has aspartame :sad: :sad: :sad: so now I'm on my way to find something else. They fooled me by saying 0% sugar in big letters on the package.


    What about soy milk? does soy milk fit in with clean eating?
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: I am inspired by all of you.

    I just read the ingredients on my favorite cereal----Fiber One----and discovered that it has aspartame :sad: :sad: :sad: so now I'm on my way to find something else. They fooled me by saying 0% sugar in big letters on the package.


    What about soy milk? does soy milk fit in with clean eating?

    MANY many corporations sell junk and are able to label it as "natural" or "no added sugar" or even "healthy" when in actuality it is just man made junk....always read labels...too many ingredients and I pass on it...

    I am personally anti soy for me and men in general because of the phytoestrogens that are not suggested for men..,,you can find toms of info on soy on the web....

    what I can say for sure....eating clean will make you feel so much better....I thought I was feeling good but when I cut out processed junk and sugar I am feeling real good!
    welcome
    Dave
  • danigirl
    danigirl Posts: 17
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    Hi All!

    Mind if I join? I've been working on this eating clean lifestyle for awhile and I think I'm finally in a place where I can stay committed and my body is responding well!

    For myself, clean eating is 100 times more difficult than the workouts! Each week I try to focus on one thing that I feel I need to improve in regards to my diet and getting where I want to be. This week my challenge is to drink a gallon of water everyday. When I'm really good about my water, I can get down 2-3L,but that hasn't been in awhile. I have a pitcher that holds a gallon of water so I'm using that instead of 10 water bottles.

    I look forward to hearing more from the group!


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  • danigirl
    danigirl Posts: 17
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    Hi Barbie

    I like to eat Kashi Golean Crunch when I'm eating clean cereal. I think the best clean eating cereal though is good old fashioned oatmeal.

    I'm not a big fan of soy milk, but I'm lactose intolerant, so I usually buy fat free lactose free milk at the store. Mind you, I'm still not drinking too much milk, but this stuff keeps well and for a long time, so I can use it when I really need it.

    Hope that helps!

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  • rungirl28
    rungirl28 Posts: 16
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    Hey CEC, I'd like to join this club! My trainer recommended I start eating clean for better race times and run results. I've been given some additional information from other posters and I'm excited!
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Hey CEC, I'd like to join this club! My trainer recommended I start eating clean for better race times and run results. I've been given some additional information from other posters and I'm excited!

    Glad you joined in! I'm a runner also, what are you training for? I have a half marathon coming up in May, and a sprint tri in June! :bigsmile:
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Hi Barbie

    I like to eat Kashi Golean Crunch when I'm eating clean cereal. I think the best clean eating cereal though is good old fashioned oatmeal.

    I'm not a big fan of soy milk, but I'm lactose intolerant, so I usually buy fat free lactose free milk at the store. Mind you, I'm still not drinking too much milk, but this stuff keeps well and for a long time, so I can use it when I really need it.

    Hope that helps!

    Yeah, old fashioned or steel cut oats are a great choice. I like Kashi GoLean or GoLean Crunch and Nature's Path (Pumpkin Flax Granola is my fav!). I drink light soymilk because I also have tummy issues drinking regular milk.
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    And the rest of my day...

    Meal:
    Broccoli & mushrooms + 1/2 c. eggbeaters
    La tortilla small low-carb tortilla + Laughing cow light cheese = 240

    Meal:
    3oz chicken breast
    House foods tofu spaghetti + 1/4 c. pizza sauce + 1/2 c. fire roasted tomatoes
    Laughing cow light cheese + 1/4 c. cottage cheese (kind of like a mock lasagna) = 280

    Meal:
    1/2 T. crunchy Almond butter (48 )
    SF hot cocoa (139) = 187

    Total: 1,638
  • cherapple
    cherapple Posts: 670 Member
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    Wow, there's so much to respond to here, and it's 10:30 pm and I need to get to sleep! I want to make it to the gym in the morning. Today was another day with no workout because my daughter had a terrible migraine when she woke up and I had to take care of her. I haven't been keeping track of my meals, so I don't remember everything I ate today, but it was clean! For now, I'm trusting that I will be fine not counting calories and nutrients, as long as I eat healthy foods in good portions.

    :flowerforyou: Welcome to all the new CECer's! :happy:
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Hey Cheryl! Great to see you post! Hope your dd feels better. I can relate to the migraines, NOT fun!
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    OK, I went to lunch at Flat Top Grill, if anyone is familiar with it, it is a make your own stir fry type place! I LOVE it! I loaded up w/ veggies, a little brown rice, chicken & tofu, and YUM! :bigsmile:

    Ran 5 miles this morning and swam 600 yds. It'll definitely be a higher cal day today! :bigsmile:
  • cherapple
    cherapple Posts: 670 Member
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    Hey, everybody. I worked out today. Yay! :laugh: I did chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs, and then I ran just over a mile on the TM (trying to work back into running slowly). The irony of not working out for almost three weeks and not counting calories is that I've lost weight. :noway: So I'm just going to keep going with not counting -- it saves time, and The Clean Eating Cookbook is anti-calorie counting anyway, but I was always too afraid to try it :huh: :laugh: -- but of course I'm not going to quit exercising. :tongue: It feels too good! Amazingly, I've suffered very little muscle and strength loss.

    Enjoy your extra calories today, Jess. I don't think we have Flat Top Grill around here. Sounds yummy!
  • RiverRatChick
    RiverRatChick Posts: 115 Member
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    So I'm at Costco yesterday... I'm heading down the isle where the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts are since that is pretty much what we live off of. Something caught my eye and I moved in for a closer look. Naked Nuggets. Hmm, sounds fun, I think to myself:laugh: . As I'm opening the freezer to grab a bag and do the obligatory flip to the nutrition info and ingredients, a lady next to me asks if I've tried them before. No, i tell her, and she proceeds to grab three bags while telling me that her sister, who is a nutritionist, loves them and says they are very healthy. I buy a bag and can't help but be a little skeptical because, lets face it, most stuff that is really this healty just doesn't ever measure up in the taste department.

    After my P90X plyometrics workout I pop 7 (a serving size) of these suckers into the microwave. I'm even more skeptical when I pull them out of the microwave and see their pale color and begin planning what I am going to do with a Costco bag full of these things. 120 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams carbs, 0 sugar, 25g of protein and they taste EXACTLY like the over-processed, fried, death-bomb chicken nuggets. YUM!!! I can't remember the last time I actually had a chicken nugget since that kind of stuff just grosses me out now, but damn skippy these are awesome! Their website lists the Costco stores where they can be found. Anyway, just thought I would post this as I am always excited to find something to break up my eating routine!
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
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    Hey, everybody. I worked out today. Yay! :laugh: I did chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs, and then I ran just over a mile on the TM (trying to work back into running slowly). The irony of not working out for almost three weeks and not counting calories is that I've lost weight. :noway: So I'm just going to keep going with not counting -- it saves time, and The Clean Eating Cookbook is anti-calorie counting anyway, but I was always too afraid to try it :huh: :laugh: -- but of course I'm not going to quit exercising. :tongue: It feels too good! Amazingly, I've suffered very little muscle and strength loss.

    Enjoy your extra calories today, Jess. I don't think we have Flat Top Grill around here. Sounds yummy!

    Good for you! If it's working for you, then stick with it. I've done both... calorie counting and then other times I just watch portions and I pretty much know everything that I'm eating anyway. It is awesome! My favorite place! :bigsmile:

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