Why We Love Clean Eating

We've already converted our household into a gluten free one, (please take a moment to read my post on how gluten relates to you) so doesn't adding one more "diet restriction" just serve to complicate things further? No! In fact, inviting the clean eating spirit into our home rather simplified our life as it eliminated the need to scour dozens of food labels and decide if a new product which boasts the slogan Gluten Free! is actually healthy or not.

Why I love the idea behind clean eating:
Clean eating promotes loving the food you eat- all of it. We cut the crap and go straight for the good stuff. The stuff that not only tastes good, but nourishes your body with every bite you take. Don't waste time with pretend foods, you know- preservative laden, high sodium, fake colored, overpriced junk like a bag of chips, that won't ever do the human body any good and instead, indulge in the treats nature prepared especially for us- and that our bodies are wired to depend on!

What is clean eating?
Clean eating is a back to the basics way of thinking made famous by Tosca Reno. Her website has a ton of information on the lifestyle that promotes fast fat loss that lasts forever. I'm also a big fan of the Clean Eating Magazine (the print edition is far better than their website in my opinion.) Basically, live and eat by these standards and you will have embraced the clean eating lifestyle:

• Be sure to eat fruits, vegetables and lean protein in six small meals throughout the day- include a complex carbohydrate with each meal.
• Drink water! A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
• Eat breakfast. 
• Stop eating 1 to 3 hours before bedtime.
• Eat within proper portion sizes.
• Eat slowly- enjoy your food! 
• Only buy foods at the grocery store with one, two, or maybe three ingredients listed on their food label.
• Avoid processed and refined foods.
• Avoid anything high in saturated and trans fat, fried, or high in sugar. I like to avoid anything high in sodium too, but that's pretty easy to do once you start avoiding processed foods. 
• Choose to buy organic when possible.
• Make an effort to reduce carbon footprint.
• Do consume healthy fats! (Fatty acids or EFAs)
• Take clean snacks on the go to avoid hunger induced "bad" food choices.

Got all that? I didn't... Google search helped to clarify though. Here is the list again with a little bit of explaining along the way.

• Be sure to eat fruits, vegetables and lean protein in six small meals throughout the day- include a complex carbohydrate with each meal. Examples of lean proteins include quinoa, egg whites, nut butters, oatmeal, black beans, white meat chicken and fish. Complex carbohydrates convert into energy slowly helping the body stay full longer and avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. Examples of these include whole grains, apricots, oranges, many vegetables, beans, low fat yogurt and milk.
• Drink water! A good rule of thumb is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
• Eat breakfast. 
• Stop eating 1 to 3 hours before bedtime.
• Eat within proper portion sizes. Fruits and Veggies portion size is the size of your fist, a portion of meat is the size of your palm minus the fingers, and a portion of cheese is the size of your thumb.
• Eat slowly- enjoy your food! 
• Only buy foods at the grocery store with one, two, or maybe three ingredients listed on their food label.
• Avoid processed and refined foods.
• Avoid anything high in saturated and trans fat, Saturated fats include coconut, butter, shortening, dark chocolate, cheese, processed meats, egg yolk, ice cream and sour cream. Trans fats include margarine and butter, processed soups, fast food restaurant food, processed foods like cereal and salad dressings, fried, or high in sugar. I like to avoid anything high in sodium too, but that's pretty easy to do once you start avoiding processed foods. 
• Choose to buy organic when possible.
• Make an effort to reduce carbon footprint.
• Do consume healthy fats! (Fatty acids or EFAs) Our bodies need essential fatty acids; we can get them from flaxseeds, spinach, salmon and nuts.
• Take clean snacks on the go to avoid hunger induced "bad" food choices

Need ideas? Both websites mentioned above have recipes posted to them. Tosca Reno has several books published with recipes in them and I've checked a couple out from the library before.

My number one tip: One thing at a time. Pick one guideline from the list above and focus on it each day until you master it and then add in another one. Pick one thing that you eat each day, and figure out how to change it to make it clean. For example, we wanted a cup of hot chocolate the other night. The store bought canister obviously boasted more than three ingredients, is clearly a processed product, and high in sugar too. So- we made a clean cup of the hot beverage by heating a mug full of milk, stirring in a spoonful of cocoa powder, and sweetening with honey. Delicious!