Drinking clean…

Did the title of this post grab your attention? Drinking clean is super simple: DRINK water and plenty of it: approximately 2 liters (9 cups) for women and 3 liters (13 cups) for men.. Not only will this keep our bodies well hydrated, it will also cut back on the urge to eat. Water keeps the stomach full and if our bellies are full we are less likely to snack on junk. 

Don’t like water? Try this recipe for cucumber water! 

In addition, purchase in inexpensive cup that will hold the amount of liquid you need to drink each day. Add some ice cubes and water…now, you can sip all day long! 

Easy clean eating tips: How many times a day do I eat?

When you are eating clean, it is a good idea to eat 4 to 6 meals a day, leaning on the smaller size.  By doing this, you will keep your blood sugar regulated and your metabolism will increase…making it easier to lose weight if that is one of your goals! 

Don’t forget: NO SKIPPING BREAKFAST! We have the obvious: if we skip breakfast we are starving by lunchtime. When we are feeling super hungry, we tend to eat anything in site! Nooooo! Eat breakfast to prevent that from happening. See our post for: Overnight banana bread oatmeal for a healthy breakfast idea...this post also includes a simple how to video! 

Cooking clean...how do I do it?

One of the key parts to clean eating is to eat your fruits and veggies raw whenever possible. They do have many vitamins and nutrients in them and eating them raw will not alter anything that they have to offer.

Cooking your veggies is not a bad thing, as long as we stay away from deep frying and soaking them in animal fats. It is good to keep our food interesting by adding different spices, eating them raw at times and cooking them at times. It is hard to stick to any type of healthy lifestyle if we get bored with it!

Steaming veggies is the healthiest way to cook them. It maintains most of the vitamins and nutrients. We can also, stir fry them, but remember not to add lots of unhealthy oils and salts!

How to Shop Clean

A great tip to remember is: If we shop the perimeter of the grocery store, we will find more foods geared towards clean eating than if we shopped the center isles. The center isles tend to sell items that are processed and in most cases highly processed.

Tips to buying foods geared towards clean eating:

• Ingredient lists should be short
• Ingredients should be easy to pronounce and easily recognized 
• Check for additives such as flavors, colors, corn starch and imitation sugars
• Where do the ingredients come from…how much is it processed?

Remember:

Shop Organic as often as possible

Choose foods labeled "NON-GMO"

Eat as fresh as possible

Eat this and not that...it's really simple!

Need some examples of what to eat?
Here is a quick, yet thorough list of foods that make for good eating:

Un-processed foods:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts
• Dried beans
• Organic / cage free eggs

Mildly processed foods:

• Frozen fruits and vegetables
• Organic (hormone-free) dairy products
• Whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice, popcorn, steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa (Unrefined grains)
• Un-processed meat; wild, however, pastured over grain-fed meats
• Wild caught seafood over farm raised
• Oils

Good advice is to choose organic foods when they are available. Olive oil is a fantastic oil to use in cooking and in salad dressings. You can bake with Extra Virgin Olive oil as well, though it makes for denser baked goods.

The key is to choose foods that are free of chemicals and hormones. 

This is a good definition of what clean eating truly is. 

Are ALL processed foods bad for me?

Are all processed foods bad for me?

Milk is pasteurized and instant oatmeal is processed. Does that mean we should stay away from them? No. Always shop for organic, that will help. In addition, milk and instant oatmeal are not categorized in the same group of foods such as packaged cakes, doughnuts, cookies, diet drinks and so on.

“Ultra-processed” foods are foods that are heat and eat and food “like” products such as Velveeta cheese. These are foods that our bodies will be happy we stay away from consuming.

What are some health benefits of eating clean? 

Research has shown us that clean eating (eating whole, un-processed foods such as fruits and veggies) can prevent diseases and harmful conditions. Diabetes (type 2) and high blood pressure are just two examples of what can be prevented by eating clean.

Clean eating can also help to improve skin as well as our hair and nails. It is a healthy way to control our weight too!

What is a GMO and are they bad for me? See how this ties into clean eating...

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. The easiest way to explain it is: Farmers inject plants with chemicals that modify their genetics (GMO’s). The foods that we buy that are not labeled as non-GMO have been known to cause cancer, infertility and many additional health problems. These GMO’s that are consumed actually stay in our bodies as well as in the bodies of our children!

I encourage you to research this for yourself; don’t simply take my word on it.

How does this apply to clean eating?

Processed foods are stripped of important nutrients that our bodies need to obtain optimal health.  They also contain additives that overstimulate our bodies. This is how the constant craving for “junk” food is created.
We should not be adding extra chemicals to our bodies for best possible health, whether it be through processed foods or foods that contain GMO’s.

What is the bottom line?

Choose “live” foods! Choose to consume foods that are labeled as Non-GMO. If you choose to do this, you will easily live a clean eating lifestyle.

Clean Eating...what exactly is it?

Clean eating. What exactly is it? 

Clean eating is: eating whole/real food.  Food that is not processed, minimally processed or refined. Food that is as close to its natural form as possible.

What Are Processed Foods?

 Additions:  salt, sugar, and fat, preservatives that keep food from spoiling, and vitamins to “enrich”…from beverages to cereal.

Changing the form of natural food:  which generally happens when food is cooked.

Foods manufactured in a lab: any ingredient you cannot pronounce!

Processed foods include everything from canned meat and jarred pasta sauce to boxed cereal and Pop Tarts!

Check back regularly to learn more about Eating Clean and why it is good for you!