Clean Eating

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If you "google" clean eating you'll find a lot of information on the internet.

I got to being a mostly clean eater by taking baby steps and making small changes with my goal of getting to eat a lot of healthy food with fewer calories.

My lunch today was 5 ounces of grilled chicken with half a zucchini, half a yellow squash, half a green pepper, and an ear of corn for just under 350 calories

best wishes in your search for information :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Hello I'am with you on that boat !!! I just joined this website a few days ago and have received great info in just the few days. i was recommeded to check out jillian micheals books heard there great. I have tosca reno book and she is very clean and I find it hard, but hear is what i was also recommended and started today if you just change 1 of your meals to clean a day , then change it to 2 clean meals a day and so on I' am the type to think its all or nothing and when I think diet I tend to eat more of the junk..its a mental thing and when I screw up I just give up instead of moving on

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What is clean eating?

In a nutshell, eating clean is the practice of eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. It also means staying away from the junk that typically makes up the Standard American Diet (S.A.D) These types of food include man-made sugar, bad fats (hydrogenated, trans-fat), preservatives, white bread, and any other ingredients that are unnecessary. An easy way to remember if a food is clean is: “if man made it, don’t eat it.”

A person that eats clean generally practices the following:

* Eliminates refined sugar
* Cooks healthy meals
* Packs healthy meals
* Makes healthy choices when dining out
* Drinks a lot of water
* Eats 5-6 small meals per day
* Eliminates alcoholic beverages (or significantly limits it)
* Always eats breakfast

from http://www.eatingcleanworks.com

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I don't follow this exactly but besides eliminating a lot of unhealthy toxic things in my diet clean eating allows me to eat a whole lot more food for the number of calories I'm allowed for the day. :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Oh I so want to comment on this! But I'm packing for a week long trip so I'm just bumping it and will comment next week. Check your "my topics" then! lol

Clean Eating is amazing! Seriously, let me note just a few reasons:

- Health. Well duh--you're eating food in its natural state

- Taste. Once you start eating clean, your palate becomes SO much more sensetive. It's wonderful to
taste all the subtle flavors in pomegranate...and makes clean baked goods so much more delicious!

- Volume. I admit, I get bored and like to chew things at work. I can slice up a bigass zucchini, get a ton of delicious crunching and chewing, all for around 40 calories. Some people worry about feeling hungry when trying to lose weight. Pfft. People at my office say I eat like a horse. No, my food just takes up 3 times as much space as their little hamburger and fries, and still clocks in way lower in calories.

- Community. Many clean eaters I know have made the farmers market a routine stop. You get to know so many interesting people, and learn so much about what you're eating. I've sampled 15 kinds of tomatoes this summer. You haven't lived until you've eaten a ripe Lemon Boy or Arkansas Traveler..but they taste completely different.

- Properly Working Body. Your body does not process all this processed garbage that one finds in a Happy Meal or 100 calorie snack pack. Yet people can gobble them down because it's what they've been doing all their lives and their bodies just stagger through it. Eat clean for awhile and these garbage foods will seriously screw with your stomach. But think about it--it's basically poison, and isn't it good when your body recognizes poison?

- CHEAP. Organic is good, but it isn't mandatory--just stick with veggies and fruits that are on the "Clean 12" list, along with fruits and veggies that have thick skins and don't get sprayed much. When you stop buying stuff in boxes, your bill magically shrinks. Hitting up the bulk bins OWNS ALL. Get two weeks' worth of beans for two bucks! People ***** about clean eating being expensive, but that's only if you take the hipster-hippie route. Meat, coffee, dairy, and eggs should ALWAYS be organic (except seafood), but still, there is no need to kill yourself if you're eating a conventionally-grown papaya.

- Creative cuisine. You gotta get creative when you're not dumping on salt and butter. Clean eating can easily bring out your inner culinary adventurer.

I googled clean eating and saw tons of great information. I have been trying to eat this way for the last few months and realized the few mistakes I have made. But I do have a question what is the best type of pasta to buy. I have basically eliminated it from my diet over the past few weeks which hasnt made my family very happy they were used to having it once a week. there are so many different brands out there i am really confused.
The person who asked about peanut butter- sorry I dont know how to paste your comment on to mine- Trader Joes makes all natural peanut butter and almond butter they both only have one ingredient and taste great especially the chunky variety.