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Clean eating–what does it mean?
By workoutmommy | October 4, 2007
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You’ve heard the term before but are you still left wondering what your trainer is talking about when he/she says you need to clean up your eating? It is a pretty simple process that will definitely help with your weight loss plan.
Clean eating refers to cleaning up your diet by getting rid of all the JUNK that is in it. Food today is very processed and full of sodium and sugar. Look at the back of the box of crackers in your closet–how many of those ingredients do you recognize? How many of them can you pronounce? Is one of the main ingredients high fructose corn syrup–which is just a fancy way of saying SUGAR!?
This is the JUNK in our diets and it needs to go!
When you think about clean eating, you need to bring everything back to basics. Choose foods that are closest to their natural state such as fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes (beans), and lean meat.
Avoid foods that are processed and fried.
Still confused?
Here are some tips for a “cleaner” diet:
- When it comes to grains, think brown. Switch to brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, etc.
Whole grains are better sources of fiber and other important nutrients. Make sure to check that the label says “whole wheat“. If it only says “wheat” bread, then put it back on the shelf because it is an imposter! - Get rid of the processed snacks such as crackers, chips, pretzels, etc. Snack on fresh fruit and vegetables instead. Carrots and celery are just as crunchy as chips and pretzels!!
- Keep a bowl of fresh fruit available for when hunger strikes. The same with fresh vegetables. Have them cut up and ready to eat in your refrigerator.
- Say NO to fruit juice, eat the fruit instead. It has more fiber, less calories and no added sugar. Again, stick with the source rather than the man-made alternative.
- Get rid of soda, both regular and diet. Drink water instead. Soda is full of chemicals and has no nutritional benefit whatsoever.
- Always eat the skin of fresh apples, pears, and peaches, etc. This is where a lot of the fiber can be found.
- Choose lean cuts of meat and poultry
- Instead of regular nuts, make the switch to soy nuts. You will cut out 1/2 the fat.
- Drink skim milk and choose low fat cheeses.
These are just a few ideas on how you can make your diet “cleaner” and remember—you don’t have to change everything all at once. Make small changes and work toward a lifestyle change.
It’s worth it–I promise!
Topics: nutrition |
October 4th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
You know, this is the first time I’ve heard of switching out regular nuts for soy nuts. Have you tried the soy nuts? I’m just curious if they taste anything like regular nuts.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
[...] brown….These are just a few ideas on how you can make your diet cleaner… source: Clean eating-what does it mean?, [...]
October 4th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Ashley–yes, I have tried soy nuts and they are pretty good!! They taste similar to regular nuts but a lot crunchier. Give them a try and let me know what you think!
October 5th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
[...] Mommy discusses what clean eating means. I totally agree with this, although for me it’s difficult to eat all natural foods, learn [...]
October 8th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I’ve switched to whole grain pastas and the family doesn’t see the difference. Most of our bread is whole wheat. I’m having a hard time switching the rice though. We prefer the white over brown most days. I try to keep both on hand, but we go through white more quickly than the brown. The textures are just so different. Soy beans are great too when steamed. We didn’t know how good they were until we lived in Japan. It’s a regular over there.
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:13 am
[...] Druid Journal wrote an interesting post today on Clean eatingâ??what does it mean?Here’s a quick excerptIt is a pretty simple process that will definitely help with your weight loss plan. … It’s Wednesday and that means a quick 10 minute workout to [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 3:26 am
[...] order to whittle down our middle, we will also need to combine clean eating with consistent exercise. And even then, we might still have that leftover stretchy skin that I [...]