You have probably heard of clean eating, but you may not know what it is exactly or how to go about cleaning up your diet. Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things i.e consume fewer calories or more protein, the idea is more about being mindful of the food’s pathway between its origin and your plate. To further simplify it for you, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or “real” foods – those that are minimally processed, refined, handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible.
The Perks of Clean Eating
Many thanks to extensive research that has linked eating whole foods with good health, multiple studies have shown that diets that are heavy on fruits and vegetables can curb or prevent certain life-threatening conditions and diseases, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Plus, there’s research linking diets high in fruits and veggies to healthy weight management and glowing skin and hair. Guess these factors are convincing enough? ;)
How to Eat Clean
Let me further break it down for you. Since you don’t have to count calories or give up whole food groups, here are some easy to follow and helpful tips to get you started on this amazing journey on Clean Eating.
1. Limit Processed Foods
This goes to the top of the list. Many processed foods are full of excess sodium, sugar and fat. Try to make homemade versions of your favourite foods, like macaroni and cheese, tomato sauce or granola instead of getting the boxed version from the shelves. Remember, not everything that comes out of a box, bag, or can is bad for you. You just have to pay extra attention to the ingredient list on packaged foods. For example, whole-wheat pasta, chickpeas are all “clean” packaged foods as they are minimally processed and provide good-for-you nutrients like fiber and vitamins.
2. Bump Up Your Veggies Intake
Vegetables are full of vitamins, which is essential for healthy vision, immune function and strong bones. Vegetables are also high in heart-healthy fiber, which helps you to feel full. Plus, veggies are low in calories, so you can eat lots of them without worrying about damaging your waistline. Fresh vegetables are as clean as they come since they are unprocessed. (Just don’t forget to wash them before you eat them) To make sure you get your daily dose of veggies, try carrots or cucumbers and hummus for a snack, start your meal with a salad, or begin iyour day with veggies by adding diced peppers and onion to your omelette!
3. Cut Down on Saturated Fat
You don’t have to cut out fats completely when you’re eating clean; instead just focus on healthy fats. It is as simple as swapping out saturated fats i.e butter, cheese and meat in favour of healthy fats like olive oil, and the kind found in nuts and fatty fish. These fats are good for your heart. To cut back on saturated fat in your diet, try these simple swaps: top your salad with nuts instead of cheese, use peanut butter instead of cream cheeses and replace mayonnaise with avocado on a sandwich.
4. Reduce Alcohol Intake
Now this is very important so hear me out. Having a cleaner diet also includes cleaning up what you drink. I’m not saying that you should stay off alcohol completely; you still can, but stay within the recommended limit – one drink per day for women. Alcohol in moderate amounts may be good for your heart, but too much alcohol dehydrates you and adds excess calories to your diet. Steer clear of mixed drinks with lots of added sugar; perhaps stay away from Ladies Night at the clubs and invite all your girl friends to your home for a cozy Taco Night with healthy guacamole dips and pressed juices. Oh boy I love the sound of it already!
5. Un-Sweeten Your Diet
Most people eat too many added sugars. To clean up your diet, cut down on added sugars in your diet by limiting sweets like soda, candy and baked goods. Do also keep an eye on sugars added to healthier foods like yogurt. I strongly recommend choosing the plain varieties with no added sugar. Look for foods without sugar as an ingredient, or make sure it’s listed towards the bottom, which means less of it is used in the food.
6. Watch the Salt
Eating too much salt can increase your blood pressure. Now back to the first point, cutting back on processed foods will help you reduce your salt intake, as most packaged foods contain more sodium than homemade versions. To help minimize salt while you cook clean, flavour your food with herbs and spices, citrus and vinegar.
7. Choose Whole Grains
Whole grains contain more nutrients than refined grains because the bran and germ are not removed. Just keep a lookout for the word “WHOLE” with the first ingredient in breads and pastas. For example, make sure it says “Whole Wheat”, not just “Wheat”. Other whole grains like quinoa, oats and brown rice are great too.
8. Eat Less Meat
Eating clean does not mean you have to give up on meat entirely. Eating less meat can help eliminate extra saturated fat from your diet. Try serving vegetarian proteins like beans or tofu or have smaller portions of meat in your stir-fries.
9. Up Your Fruit Intake
Ahhh, Nature’s Candy. Fruits are naturally sweet and delicious, rich in potassium, which can help keep blood pressure in check, and vitamin C, which is important for a healthy immune system. Just like vegetables, fresh fruits are whole, unprocessed foods. To make sure that you get the added heart-health and weight-loss benefits of fiber, choose whole fruits over fruit juice.
10. Nix Refined Grains
Cutting out refined grains is an easy way to eat cleaner. Typically found in unhealthy packaged foods, like baked goods and junky snack foods that may also deliver added sugars, saturated fats and extra sodium. Skip the packaged refined carbs like cookies, crackers and cakes altogether, and swap white rice, white bread and white pasta for brown rice and whole wheat bread and pasta.
These 10 tips are not hard to follow, and I hope these have inspired you to clean up your diet and be more mindful when you’re clean shopping and eating!
Fierce and Love,
Joyce Roxanne