Clean eating...where to start?

KJanae87
KJanae87 Posts: 54
in Food and Nutrition
Im interested in clean eating but i do not know where to begin! Does anybody out there have any resources or suggestions to help me begin this journey?

Also, I was wondering if its 100% clean or do some people "cheat" at it? I think at first I am going to have to "cheat" a little before i get the hang of it all.

Any help is appreciated thank you!

Replies

  • BlondeQtTexas
    BlondeQtTexas Posts: 97 Member
    Look up Tosca Reno. She has some very good books. My favorite is "Tosca Reno Recharged".

    She also has a website with great recipes.

    http://www.eatcleandiet.com/


    p/s: I also have a cheat day every now and then. I love Mexican food. We go every other Friday....... mmmmm chile rellenos.
  • Journalartista
    Journalartista Posts: 84 Member
    My inspiration has been Tosca Reno! Check out my diary to see what I eat :)

    I sometimes treat myself, but every time so far I have either not enjoyed it or felt like crap. The forst few weeks for me were pure hell, but now two months in and feeling awesome!
  • OSUalum
    OSUalum Posts: 449 Member
    Look up Tosca Reno. She has some very good books. My favorite is "Tosca Reno Recharged".

    She also has a website with great recipes.

    http://www.eatcleandiet.com/

    ^^^^ What she said!
    Tosco Reno's books are wonderful! There's also a clean eating group on here.
    Just throw out bags and boxes of pre-made foods. Nothing with more than 5 ingredients. It can be challenging at first....but so worth it!
    Good luck!
  • laflint
    laflint Posts: 5
    I've been clean eating for quite some time now. A great magazine to help with recipes is Clean Eating. I don't eat any processed foods anymore. And I make my own marinades/dressings vs buying them in the store. However, I do like "Just add Lettuce" salad dressing. My fave is the Italian. It is higher in fat, but it is the good fats.
  • sarahkatara
    sarahkatara Posts: 826 Member
    I started a few weeks ago and this website has been my constant go-to! Start with her "Clean Eating Shopping List" for beginners. also read clean eating 101, and recipe substitutions. the recipes are AMAZING and beyond easy. i made homemade bread and pie crusts. it's been so fun and delicious!Enjoy! (thegraciouspantry.com)
    and edit to say: i also do an 80/20 split. i try for 80% clean and allow 20% not clean. this allows for the "little" things and it's more than an ample amount of calories to eat (i eat about 1600).
  • Jbarbo01
    Jbarbo01 Posts: 240 Member
    Like everyone said, Tosca Reno lays it out for you in her book The Eat Clean Diet. Which is the in my opinion the best diet book available, and I have a shelf full. You will probably need to "cheat" a little in the beginning to get used to the foods. If youre used to sugary food, plain greek yogurt will taste disgusting to you. Once you start eating clean more often your taste buds will get used to it, and regular yogurt will taste like dessert to you just as an example. Give it some time, but its well worth it. Once you make a habit of it you wont go back. Good luck!
  • melbaby925
    melbaby925 Posts: 613
    Eating clean means different things to different people, so you might want to start with what your ideal eating plan might look like. Over time, and by that I mean a year and a half or so, I've gone from a fast food lover who hardly cooked at home, to someone that eats organically most of the time and cooks ALL the time. Here's my definition of eating clean:

    - Grass fed, or pasture raised no chemicals, no antibiotics, locally sourced meats
    - Veg box from the local organic farmer co-op in town, they source only from organic farms within a 700 mile radius
    - Only healthy fats - no man made fats - so macadamia nut, coconut, and avocado oils
    - Organic cheeses and dairy whenever possible

    I've also found that I have severe wheat, oat and corn allergies - so I've gone grain free as well.

    I would recommend not doing this overnight. You want to just target one or two things at a time and eliminate them from your eating plan. It took me 4 tries over 6 months or so to finally quit drinking soda. But I did that until I was good at it and then moved on. It made the reality of quitting grains easier to tolerate (as in I didn't throw myself on the floor like a 2 year old and wail).

    Good luck - if you have questions, let me know!
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    Going to check out the website. I've been curious about clean eating for a while (so many people here talk about it) but I have no idea what it really means.

    Thanks guys!
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    I'm going to be the rebel here and say I'm not a big fan of Tosca Reno, though I'm sure she has some good tips. She just comes across as inauthentic to me. The two authors that inspired me to clean up my diet were Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food", "Food Rules") and Nina Planck ("Real Food: What to Eat and Why").
  • KJanae87
    KJanae87 Posts: 54
    Im not sure how this is going to go, bc my husband is not on board with this...he will support me, but he will also buy and eat whatever foods he wants to, the same with my son, he eats so little i am happy if he eats anything whether clean or not.

    What is the difference in clean eating and a Paleo diet?
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
    It depends on what your definition of eating clean is, there is a hardcore version then a just clean version.

    To me eating clean in no refined carbs, processed foods, refined sugars or wheat.

    I gradually weined myself off all these items over about a 2 month period. I really don't miss them at all now 6 months into things.
  • BlondeQtTexas
    BlondeQtTexas Posts: 97 Member
    I'm going to be the rebel here and say I'm not a big fan of Tosca Reno, though I'm sure she has some good tips. She just comes across as inauthentic to me. The two authors that inspired me to clean up my diet were Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food", "Food Rules") and Nina Planck ("Real Food: What to Eat and Why").

    LOL, she is verrrrry full of herself, but she does have some great recipes.

    I'm going to look up the books you mentioned. I love clean eating and appreciate new ideas.
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    I'm going to be the rebel here and say I'm not a big fan of Tosca Reno, though I'm sure she has some good tips. She just comes across as inauthentic to me. The two authors that inspired me to clean up my diet were Michael Pollan ("The Omnivore's Dilemma", "In Defense of Food", "Food Rules") and Nina Planck ("Real Food: What to Eat and Why").

    Will check those out also!
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    What are examples of stuff that you can't eat?
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    What are examples of stuff that you can't eat?

    Off the top of my head:
    Almost all fast food (unless you are a purist, there ARE exceptions, but not many)
    Processed junk food like Doritos
    Processed food that tries to resemble real food like Kraft Singles and margarine (there is a lot of crap in this category)
    Anything with preservatives (blech)
    Anything with artificial colors or artificial flavors or artificial sweeteners
    Overly sugared bakery products like grocery store cakes

    I also include dairy products from cows given rBGH, and foods with things that just don't belong in them. Like bread with twenty million ingredients, or peanut butter with anything in it but peanuts and salt (and flaxseeds, but that's the specific pb I buy).

    It is nearly impossible to eat 100% clean. I don't. I go by an 80/20 rule (80% clean, 20% whatever I want), because if I could never just relax and go out for Italian or Mexican or Thai or Indian or Greek food without going nuts about what's in it, I would be miserable. But I only do it once a week, twice tops, and I buy literally no groceries with additives or preservatives.
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    What are examples of stuff that you can't eat?

    Off the top of my head:
    Almost all fast food (unless you are a purist, there ARE exceptions, but not many)
    Processed junk food like Doritos
    Processed food that tries to resemble real food like Kraft Singles and margarine (there is a lot of crap in this category)
    Anything with preservatives (blech)
    Anything with artificial colors or artificial flavors or artificial sweeteners
    Overly sugared bakery products like grocery store cakes

    I also include dairy products from cows given rBGH, and foods with things that just don't belong in them. Like bread with twenty million ingredients, or peanut butter with anything in it but peanuts and salt (and flaxseeds, but that's the specific pb I buy).

    It is nearly impossible to eat 100% clean. I don't. I go by an 80/20 rule (80% clean, 20% whatever I want), because if I could never just relax and go out for Italian or Mexican or Thai or Indian or Greek food without going nuts about what's in it, I would be miserable. But I only do it once a week, twice tops, and I buy literally no groceries with additives or preservatives.

    Thank you for responding! I am really just getting into reading about it and everything I find is generalized and I haven't figured out exactly what they are talking about.

    I had doritos this week. :grumble:

    ETA: I love the 80/20 rule you're using.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    Thank you for responding! I am really just getting into reading about it and everything I find is generalized and I haven't figured out exactly what they are talking about.

    I had doritos this week. :grumble:

    This is one of the reasons I love Michael Pollan's little "Food Rules" book. It's really more of a booklet, but it's very straightforward. He does not use the phrase "clean eating" but that is basically what he advocates, with a less-meat slant that clean eaters don't all take. EIther way, two of the rules (paraphrased):
    - Don't eat anything with ingredients a third grader could not pronounce
    - Don't eat anything with ingredients no ordinary human would have in the pantry

    Simple.
  • Fairy_Farts
    Fairy_Farts Posts: 166 Member
    Wow!... okay, I'll try to go slow with this....

    -Buy some shower gel and a shower scrunchy
    -Go home, go to your bathroom & get nakey
    -Turn on the shower and step inside...make sure you've brought your new supplies into the shower
    -Use as directed
    -If you are asking this question, then it's probably a good idea to rinse and repeat
    -Turn off the shower, step out and dry off
    -Get dressed if you want to
    -Head to the kitchen and make yourself a sammich... Now eat it!
  • deniselynn13
    deniselynn13 Posts: 120 Member
    Great question!

    I personally love Tosca Reno. I am a huge fan of Oxygen Magazine which was the first real proponent of clean eating. Actually, RK Publishing, the Publisher of Oxygen, developed a magazine devoted to this topic, Clean Eating Magazine.

    I began learning about clean eating through Oxygen, Ftiness Rx and Muscle and Fitness Hers magazines years ago. I have all of the books by Tosca as well as all of the Best of Clean Eating Cookbooks (compiled from the Clean Eating Magazine). The websites have already been mentioned here a few times. I also have a cookbook called Superfoods Cuisine that is very good. Basically, every recipe contains at least one superfood. I just learned by reading as much as i could and researching on the internet.

    I subscribe to a 90/10 rule: eat clean 90 percent of the time and 10 percent can be less restricted. Usually my 10 percent is in alcohol! I don't eat processed anything. Everything i eat is all natural, mostly organic. I cook everything, make my own dressings, marinades, nut butters, jams/jellies with chia seeds, etc. The only thing I really don't make myself which i eat is Greek Yogurt and Ezekial Sprouted Grain bread. I have a huge garden and whatever i don't grow i buy locally.

    I have cheated a few times and each time i have gotten extremely physically sick. My body is very accustomed to clean eating. I have very strong willpower and an all or nothing mentality so it was easy for me to give 100% to this.

    There is also a Clean Eating Group on MFP - you should join!!!!

    Feel free to add me as a friend and look at my foods everyday. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

    Good luck!!!

    Oh and one last thing!!! A principle of clean eating: if your food can't go bad, it's bad for you; if your food can go bad, it's good for you!!!!!!
  • jlcl119
    jlcl119 Posts: 51
    I don't necessarily eat "clean" but I try to keep my diet minimally processed.
    I just wanted to chime in and second the recommendation of the Michael Pollan books. I really liked "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Basically he followed each of our modern food chains and ate a meal from each. It really highlights the differences between the triumph of the industrial food system (processed) and what we are actually designed to eat (whole).
    It's a bit of an eye opener to realize that everything from interior grocery aisles are all just corn and soybeans and the picture of variety we're presented is just an illusion.

    Edit: Also, look into Alice Waters. Her recipes are amazing. "The Art of Simple Food" is very good. Great food, easy to make, all real ingredients.
  • jldunn713
    jldunn713 Posts: 41 Member
    Don't be worried. It is not complicated. Shop mostly in the produce department and not so much in the middle aisles of the store. Stay away from things like pop tarts, chips, candy (0bvious) But also "diet" items that have health claims on the label and weird ingredients that aren't real food. Grab fresh fruit or nuts when you want a snack. Build meals with vegetables and whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, or barley. Whole wheat items like bread and pasta are still processed so be sparing with those. Although sprouted bread is a decent option.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    *Snip*
    Eating clean means different things to different people, so you might want to start with what your ideal eating plan might look like. Over time, and by that I mean a year and a half or so, I've gone from a fast food lover who hardly cooked at home, to someone that eats organically most of the time and cooks ALL the time. Here's my definition of eating clean:

    I would recommend not doing this overnight. You want to just target one or two things at a time and eliminate them from your eating plan. It took me 4 tries over 6 months or so to finally quit drinking soda. But I did that until I was good at it and then moved on.

    This 100%

    Making huge changes and drastically cutting everything "bad" out all at once, for me personally, was just not doable. For the most part I eat salads, sandwiches, eggs, cheese and canned vegetables for the simple reason that I live alone and I don't want to cook a whole meal just for me.

    One of my favorite things, that your man should enjoy and hardly even notice a difference, is make your favorite fast food meals at home.

    Tacos are my favorite but I substitute turkey meat for ground beef and you can't even taste the difference with the taco seasoning. I just steer clear of cheese and sour cream to cut back on calories, load with lettuce and salsa.

    Fajitas. Anything cooked with fresh chicken breast is going to be great. Load up with peppers and onions.

    Burgers. These I still can't quite do with the turkey meat but I buy the leanest ground meat I can. Mix in a bit of salsa for a nice juicy flair and do up on the grill or Foreman, something that they won't be sitting in their own fat while cooking. Great for summer time cooking.

    Salads with fruit. There's nothing better during the hot summer time then a cool crisp salad with yummy strawberries or mandarin oranges. There are hundreds of great recipes for these kinds of salads and light dressings to compliment them perfectly.

    Decadent Desserts. Restaurants make some delicious desserts but cooking them at home with fresh ingredients and portion control will help cut down on calories while satisfying your sweet tooth.

    I use these concepts everyday, watch my calories and still enjoy great food because I know what is going into my meals. I think that is the biggest first step one can take in taking control of their diet. Knowing what they are eating. Hope this helps!
  • strongnotskinny121
    strongnotskinny121 Posts: 329 Member
    Im interested in clean eating but i do not know where to begin! Does anybody out there have any resources or suggestions to help me begin this journey?

    Also, I was wondering if its 100% clean or do some people "cheat" at it? I think at first I am going to have to "cheat" a little before i get the hang of it all.

    Any help is appreciated thank you!

    Read Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" I also read Paleo diet, but that was a bit too far for me to still be able to eat meals with my hubby. I just incorporate as many unprocessed food as possible.
  • mmtiernan
    mmtiernan Posts: 702 Member
    Another website with some excellent clean eating recipes is the Gracious Pantry : www.thegraciouspantry.com.
  • sbrandt1
    sbrandt1 Posts: 9
    bump
  • pursuitoffitness
    pursuitoffitness Posts: 45
    Okay well I'm just gonna say my personal experience and a few others....
    Starting off clean eating can be EXTREMELY difficult!! If you are used to eating cookies, chips, soda, etc... It can be real pain in the *kitten* when you have to pick the apple and milk over the cookies and soda. I only ate like crap before. You have to realize that clean eating isn't a diet... It's a lifestyle. Start substituting your foods. Slowly cut out the unhealthy ones. It took me two months to quit soda and I haven't had it in five months coming up this Sunday. MFP will really help you keep track of your net calories so that's no biggie. Remember that this new lifestyle takes time! I still binge and I've been working at this since October. I would say for a month have a day that is your cheat day. Then the next month only have a cheat meal. Then cut those out. Make everything a smooth transition. Going cold turkey on junk will most likely result in horrible binges. Good luck to you and add me if you like :)
  • MinglewoodBlues
    MinglewoodBlues Posts: 24
    Bump.
  • th83
    th83 Posts: 3
    i love that site! I've found a lot of helpful things there. I really like www.livestrong.com also. I've been spending more time at the health food/organic grocery stores and its like foreign territory to me! I recently discovered the health benefits of chia seeds, hemp seeds and bought some coconut manna. Its fun experimenting with this new stuff! I've noticed I really don't miss the junk food.

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