Clean Eating 101

 What is clean eating? How much am I allowed to eat?  WHAT do I eat? How often? 

These are questions I had when I first heard about clean eating. 

The primary principle of eating clean is to replace processed foods with fresh and natural foods. To me, this means foods that haven't had anything added to them, and haven't had anything valuable taken away. So for ex: instead of a banana nut muffin, eat a banana and some nuts!

Here are the Clean Eating Principles: ( Cooking Light Magazine does a great job of summarizing this. You can check out more info here)

1. Choose whole, natural foods and seek to eliminate or minimize processed foods.
Processed foods are anything in a box, bag, can, or package, and although there are always a few exceptions to the rule (like a bag of fresh green beans), the majority of your foods should be fresh.
2. Choose unrefined over refined foods.
While it may not be possible all the times, you can up your intake of whole grains like brown rice, millet, amaranth, and quinoa. Beans and legumes are also important. Clean sugars include honey, maple syrup, and dehydrated sugar cane juice.
3. Include some protein, carbohydrate and fat at every meal.
Most of us typically do well with carbohydrates and fat, but we often lack protein, especially in the early part of the day, like at breakfast and lunch. Protein is an important muscle-builder, and it can also help curb your appetite. When eaten throughout the day, it keeps us feeling full longer. Be aware of the kinds of meals you put together and space out your protein.
4. Watch out for fat, salt, and sugar.
This is easier than you think, particularly if you’ve cut out processed foods, which are responsible for most of our excess calories and high levels of fat, sugar, and salt. Clean foods are usually naturally low in all of these ingredients.
5. Eat five to six small meals throughout the day.
This usually pans out into three main meals and two or three hefty snacks. Eating this way prevents you from skipping meals and overeating. It also keeps your blood sugar levels steady so energy doesn’t lag.
6. Don’t drink your calories.
High calorie drinks like specialty coffees and soft drinks, on average, tack on an extra 400 to 500 calories a day. Choose water first, or my personal favorite, unsweetened tea (any flavor). Other clean drinks: low-fat or skim milk and 100 percent fruit juice diluted with sparkling water.
7. Get moving.
Regular physical activity is a must for many reasons. Not only does it decrease fat, strengthen and build muscle, and help you burn more energy at rest, it keeps your heart, lungs, and bones healthy and strong.

What are the proper portion sizes you ask?

Below is a great way to think about portion sizes.

OR:

I like this way because you always have your hand with you :-)

So what DO I eat? 

Protein: 6 portions a day.

• Boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast
• Egg Whites
• Fish such as salmon and tuna
• Protein Powder
• Tofu
• Turkey Bacon
• Nuts such as unsalted cashews, peanuts, almonds, walnuts
• Hummus
• Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• Greek Yogurt plain with no fruit on the bottom
• Almond butter
• All natural peanut butter
• Beans of all kinds
• Avocado

Complex Carbs:  6 portions a day.

An appropriate serving of complex carbs would be would be two cupped handfuls.

• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Celery
• Tomatoes
• Green Beans
• Peas
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Apples
• Bananas
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Oranges
• Pineapple
• Pears
• Raspberries and blackberries
• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Brussels Sprouts
• Leafy Greens
• Spinach

Starchy Carbs: 

These are carbs that are essential to keeping your metabolism up but also can be very dangerous if you don't use in moderation or follow the correct portion sizes.  A portion of starchy carbs is one handful.

• whole grain bread
• oatmeal
• whole grain pasta
• brown rice
• couscous
• quinoa
• whole grain tortilla
• amaranth

Let’s not forget our water!!!!!

What to avoid? (the basics)

• ·         All over-processed foods, especially white flour and sugar
• ·         Artificial sugars
• ·         Processed cheese slices
• ·         Saturated and trans fats
• ·         Sugar loaded beverages ( cola, juices, etc)
• ·         Limit alcohol intake

In addition to knowing what foods to eat and what foods to avoid it is imperative that you pre-plan your meal. The biggest mistake people face is NOT planning in advance. Whether it is for a week, or a few days at a time – you NEED to be ready. You have to know what your meals are and what you are eating so that you do not fall into the trap of “I’m hungry now, let me grab some junk food to get me through the next few hours”. Instead, take some time on Sunday, or any day that you know you will have time to devote to meal planning. Figure out what you will eat and prep your snacks, your veggies, and your meat for the week. It will save you time and you will not sabotage your efforts!

I promise you. Clean eating works!!!  If you stick to it and exercise regularly, you WILL lose weight! 

If you would like to join my next Clean Eating Challenge, please fill out the application.  

I will contact you within 24 hours.  

Feel free to ask me any questions!