Do you want to start eating cleaner and healthier? This post will tell teach you a few ways to start do so.
Growing up, fruits, vegetables, home cooking were a hefty part of my diet. I grew up in the Caribbean and Growing up in the Caribbean is a natural way to eat natural. Got that?! I didn’t know about GMOs and HMOs and what-nots until I moved away, owned my own home and started taking control of meal prepping. Say what? It’s true! How there is so much un-real foods out there baffles me. The amount of sugar in foods, the amount of packaged and processed, ready-made frozen meals packed with 100 ingredients that I have never heard of, the level of salt content to preserve these foods, etc., is beyond me. I’ve never been one to really enjoy these types of foods and I certainly want my family to eat whole and healthy too.
Real Foods Vs Unreal Foods
But you know, despite the amount of what may seem like unreal foods that’s on the market, there are also a ton of real foods too. It may be easier to reach for the unreal because they are usually 5x cheaper and more convenient. You don’t have to cook after a long tiring work day? Why wouldn’t you buy that boxed meal that is so easy to just throw in the microwave and and call it dinner? Makes sense to me. But. . . . . is that the correct way to eat all the time? Nah. Let me remind you that it’s not:) Eating real foods will help you eat healthier, cause less health problems and overall, you’ll feel better about what you put into your body.
Deciding to Eat Clean
About 4-5 years ago, I decided that it was time to make a change in the way we eat. I sat down and did some research on what it meant to Eat Clean. And you know what I found through it all, we weren’t far off in our diet at all. I attribute that to my up-bringing. My parents laid the foundation well and that has had a high impact on the way I eat.
In our own home, we ate a ton of good foods but while we were NOT far off, or eating junk on the whole, I felt there were a few areas we could possibly brush up on.
- Breads didn’t always need to contain sugar unless I was making a sweet bread
- Canned foods like beans didn’t need to contain Salt or Corn Syrup
- Syrup didn’t need to be made with 90% Corn Syrup
- Fruits and Vegetables didn’t need to be sprayed
- And so forth. . . .
So I made a decision to brush up on what needed to be brushed up on. I did some research and made some adjustments in the way we ate. Read on to see what we’ve been doing and how you too can eat clean.
5 Ways to Eat Clean
- Add Whole Fruits and Vegetables to your Diet – Growing up fruits made up about 95% of my snacks. It was just the natural thing to reach for since we had so many different fruits growing around us. Vegetables were always presented on our plates. In fact, now that I think about it, most times vegetables made up the entire dish along with some meat. Soups would contain peas, potatoes, green bananas, yams, etc. Sometimes when rice was served, vegetables were presented as a side. It was heavily plant-based and I got to say, that has an impact on the way I eat as an adult.
Now my own family eat so much fruits and vegetables. I remember back in Illinois, our carts would be high with so much that others use to stop and ask if we were Vegans. Our fruits and veggie bills for 2 weeks used to be around $40-$60. I’m talking, full cart not like skimmed at all. I don’t know what’s happening these days, but that price seems to be long gone. Everything is so high-priced these days.
Note: If I could grow my own foods, I would but that is not possible where my house is located. As a result, I purchase everything. When purchasing fruits and veggies I look for organic but if that is not an option for you, then go with what you’ve got.
Going to a fruit and veggie farm is a great option for fresh and real plant foods. That was great for us when we lived in other states. Here, I find it hard to find anything. Farmers markets are also great for all things fresh. I love them! Now I hardly even see them anymore.
2. Eat Less Processed Foods – Processed foods are not whole foods. Clean Eating will require a step to eating less Canned foods, frozen breakfasts, dinners and other foods containing highly processed ingredients. If you are in a position where you need to purchase these quickly-made foods, look for labels with less sodium, less sugar, less corn syrup, etc. less grounded meat in cans, and less ingredients you don’t even know how to read. Instead look for labels with just the desired ingredient: beans could be beans + water, frozen food could be more of the foods themselves and less processed ingredients, etc.
3. Eat Less Sugary and Salty Foods – As I buy prepared food spices, I notice that many of them contain some type of sugar. I don’t know if it is for preservative measures but I tend to skip these types of spices. There are variety out there so you don’t have to settle for the first thing you see on the shelves. Also, foods with high sodium content is no good. There’s ingredients to substitute for many of the foods you prepare.
- For example, Agave Nectar, Honey, Raw sugar can be used in place of refined sugars in foods.
- Pink salt or sea salt is a great substitute for regular table salt.
4. Eat Whole Grains – Whole grain foods are not processed and come in their raw form. That’s why things like whole rolled oats, whole wheat flour, brown rice and such foods are recommended over white foods.
5. Drink Water instead of Sugary Juices – It’s easy to add juices to every meal. There’s no need. If you find it difficult to not have juice with let’s say dinner, try switching out days. Plan for a few days with drinks and a couple others without. You can start there and see how it goes.
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I hope these tips on Eating Clean would help you as you endeavor to eat healthier.
