Everyone talks about it likes it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Funnily enough, clean eating means no bread at all!
PUT SIMPLY clean eating is the eating of whole, natural foods or those that have had minimal to no processing, making them as close to their natural state as possible. Last we checked, bread doesn’t grow on a tree. Eating clean is often assumed to be a complex process of weighing food, including and excluding various macronutrients, counting calories and the list goes on. Not to say these methods don’t work, they really do, however for the everyday mum/dad of three who has to cook big family dinners every night, it may not be all to realistic. The following is a quick, simplified do’s/don’t of clean eating!
‘CLEAN’ FOOD includes both unprocessed and minimally processed foods
- Unprocessed food – fresh fruit and veg, dried legumes, Nuts, Eggs.
- Minimally processed- unrefined grains, frozen fruits/veg, unprocessed meats (Wild>Pastured> Grain-Fed)
On top of this it is also important to take notice of your portion sizes. If you’re eating half a kilo of meat and a kilo of vegetables for dinner every night, sure, it’s clean food, but they still have calories! Imagine dividing your plate into ‘fifths’. three-fifths should be fruit/vegetables, one-fifth protein (meat) and one-fifth healthy carbs!
For some specific clean eating ideas head HERE
The danger foods are those that include Salt, Fat and Sugar! If you switch to clean, whole foods, then you wont find these foods hard to avoid. A lot of ‘clean’ food is naturally low in these ingredients.
Finally, a big one that a lot of people can struggle with – don’t drink you calories. specialty coffees and soft-drinks can add on 400-500 extra calories a day. Stick to water or if you need some flavor, naturally flavored sparkling water (i.e. small amount of 100% fruit juice mixed in) is a personal favorite!
If you’re interested in going to the next level – have a read on the ups and downs of the PALEO DIET here!
