What is clean eating? Clean eating basically means eating foods closest to their most natural whole form free of additives, preservatives, or anything artificial. With clean eating you want to consume foods that are minimally processed, if processed at all. The basic concept is food should not come from a box, package, mix, or bag. Therefore, food should come from nature and not a company. If you do purchase prepackaged food then it should have minimal ingredients and you must be able to pronounce them all. A good rule of thumb is the more ingredients a food has the less clean it is. For example, if you want applesauce the less clean option would be to purchase a general jar off the shelf. This most likely would have additives, preservatives, and of course sugar or high fructose corn syrup. The clean(er) option would be to purchase a jar of applesauce (organic or not) that only has 1 ingredient – apples. The 100% clean option would be to purchase organic apples and make the applesauce yourself. Make sense? Other simple clean eating guidelines I follow-Eat smaller more frequent meals throughout the day. I eat 5 times a day and that really works for me because it keeps my appetite, portions, and calories under control. Drink lots of water. Most of us do not get enough water and often times mistake our need for water for hunger. When that happens we can end up eating when we really are not hungry. Reduce or eliminate low-fat, light, reduced fat, or any other “diet” type food. A lot of people ask me why I don’t use these ingredients in my cooking. I use them sometimes but more often than not I use the real stuff. When companies remove fat or calories from a food they need to fill it with chemicals, additives, or other fillers to keep the same taste and texture. Using real ingredients is better for you and always taste better. Eat whole grains and stay away from or limit the amount of refined white flour you consume. If you are not sure if it is really whole grain just read the label. Bread that is whole grain will have whole grain as the first ingredient. Same with pasta. A lot of bread and pasta’s are disguised with “healthy packaging” but if you read the label you will find out they are no better then there refined counterparts. Don’t forget about brown rice, bulgur, quinoa, and other whole grains – they are nutritious, filling, and cheap! Eat beans, nuts, and seeds. All of these are packed with nutrition and very affordable. Of course, be careful of added salt and sugar. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Try to purchase organic when you can but if you can’t then don’t worry because eating more fruits and vegetables is always better than not. Reduce or eliminate sugar. I could never give up sugar completely but I try to keep it under control and substitute healthy alternatives (sucunat, maple syrup, and honey) when I can. Again if is manmade and not nature made I try to limit it. These are the basic clean eating guidelines that I follow when choosing foods for myself and family. Again, this is how I interpret and choose to follow the clean eating lifestyle. When you fuel your body with a reasonable amount of healthy foods, a side effect is for fat to come off as well. The important thing is not to necessarily eat less, but to eat more fruits, vegetables and healthy lean proteins.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 18:49:51 +0000
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