Thursday, March 19, 2009

Our Clean Eating Guidelines

NOTE: I am not a dietitian or a nutritionist!!

Hello All!

First off, thank you for all the support on my new undertaking, a month of clean eating, which will officially start on Saturday. So what IS clean eating? According to Clean Eating Magazine, “Consuming food in its most natural state- or as close as possible to it—is the soul of clean eating. It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to health, well-being and a lean look.”

For me, this will be a focus on lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The elimination (for the most part) of processed goods and the redirection towards more REAL foods. I would love anyone who is interested to join Josh and I on our challenge. My general food list during this month will include some of the following items (I will be buying organic when possible):

  • Fresh Veggies
  • Fresh Fruits
  • Chicken, ground turkey, lean beef, tilapia, shrimp (if you are vegetarian or vegan, make the appropriate replacements but try to keep it as “real” as possible)
  • Oatmeal, potentially another whole grain cereal
  • Milk
  • Tuna
  • Applesauce (unsweetened)
  • Peanut butter (only natural peanut butter/nut butter made from just peanuts or peanuts and salt)
  • Whole grains- rice, quinoa, bulgur,etc
  • Tomato Sauce (no added salt)
  • Beans (black, kidney, pinto, chickpeas)
  • Olive oil
  • Yogurt
  • Frozen veggies/fruit
  • Nuts
  • Eggs
  • Spices
  • Other ingredients to make homemade bread
  • Protein powder(I realize this is not “clean”)


So, how will my meals look? Here is my sort of general outline:

Breakfast:
Coffee (with 1% milk, no sugar…I will not be eliminating coffee but will be eliminating sugar/syrups,etc) with one of the following-Oatmeal, Apple/fruit with Peanut butter, Other whole grained cereal

Lunches
(mixture of some of the following):
Applesauce, Yogurt, hard boiled eggs, veggies, fruits, cooked chicken breast, tuna (note: I will probably continue to make Josh sandwiches on homemade bread only)

Snacks:
Fruit, homemade bread with nut butter, yogurt, nuts, protein shakes

Dinner:
Lean protein (chicken, beef, tilapia, shrimp, turkey, egg whites) either baked or broiled, vegetable (steamed or roasted), whole grain selection
Other potential dinners include chili and turkey meatloaf


Outside coffee in the morning, the only beverage that will be consumed is water. So there ya have it. Let me know what you think (but be gentle)!! Josh and I eat somewhat clean now, but still do depend on quite a few processed items (store made soups, granola bars, protein bars, store bought breads, etc). I will also be taking more pictures of ALL of my meals vs. just dinner (at least at first), so you can see my clean eating in action (plus it will make me more accountable). I have also started tracking what I eat in FitDay, to make sure I’m getting enough PROTEIN, carbs, fat, etc. I have never been a calorie counter (although I think everyone should do what works for them), but since my tummy issues, tracking my protein intake has become important.

Any questions?

Kelly O turned me onto an awesome quote (not sure if this is the EXACT quote) from Become a better you by Joel Osteen:

“Bad habits are easy to start, but they make your life miserable. Good habits are hard to start, but they make your life wonderful.”

62 comments:

Heather said...

ahh! i don't see red wine on there! i couldn't do it ;)

good luck :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

HELL YES FOR CLEAN EATING!!

itsawrap said...

Good luck! We'll support you all the way. Man, you have some willpower.

The Purple Carrot said...

Sounds good to me! : )

I think I would have to add hot tea and Ezekiel bread to my list. ; )

My husband is a very clean eater already so he doesn't often "let" me get many things that are otherwise, lol (and I let him not let me, I like it that way!!)

I'm sure you guys will do great at your more clean eating month and I'm excited to hear more about it as the month progresses!! : )

Anonymous said...

LOL, like Heather, I was wondering where the vino was?!
Yay for you for trying out Clean Eating! I would just suggest taking it 1 day at a time. It's an ambitious goal, and try not to beat yourself up if you eat some processed stuff.
We eat clean here, probably 75% of the time, fyi. It's a nice balance.

Anonymous said...

how excellent, good luck to you!

Anonymous said...

sounds great er! This is a great and healthy plan :D I like that you posted what you CAN eat, and not what you CAN'T..who needs that right!? Good luck to u and josh

Pearl said...

I think that looks great! I may join you :D

Anonymous said...

looks great!! I try to eat clean the majority of the time. I think my biggest shortfall is chocolate!!

I Run for Fun said...

Sounds like a great plan. But alas, like you, I am not a disciplined person. Have to make some adjustments to my diet first before I can join. I would die without chocolates!

Anonymous said...

Totally love this post with great information! Good luck!!!

Becca said...

I'd love to join you but I have no idea what meals are going to be like now! I do know I'm going to have to be mindful of my portions and choices though!

Anonymous said...

oh wow, so I am still really interested in doing this with you! the best part: Jeff is interested in doing it too! he has a tournament he wants to get in shape for and I want to just "clean up" I feel.

my problem is everything on your list is what I already eat.
I think the big thing for me is that I have been "not clean" by not caring too much about alcohol intake OR dessert intake ( both probably a few- several times a week).

What do you think about that? No / Limted alcohol? Desserts?

this is awesome though- i am really excited!

Anonymous said...

GREAT challenge! Can't wait to see how it goes and the funky recipes you come up with.

Em said...

That sounds like a really good plan! I will be anxious to see how it goes, if you give it good reviews I might just follow it myself!

Hope you have great weekend dear <33

Anonymous said...

That looks great Erica! You know, literally every athlete in Oxygen magazine uses protein powder so I think it's probably okay. I'm excited to hear how it goes!

HangryPants said...

Sounds quite delicious! Good luck.

Nutritious is Delicious said...

What an awesome quote! I can't wait to see how this all plays out with your meals! :D

Esi said...

I love that you're doing this. I am definitely going to keep up with your progress and hope it works well for you! This is something I would love to try sometime.

Anonymous said...

thats totally how I eat as well...in fact can I just link this post instead of writing one next week? :)

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

I think your guideline is pretty much the healthy lifestyle that many of us follow. What would you eliminate from your current diet? cereals? bars? and what else? I thought you were already consuming pretty clean! :D

Jen (Running with Food) said...

I think this is wonderful! Kudos to you + your hubby for striving to eat CLEAN! There are so many natural foods out there, so you really can't go wrong. I look forward to following along with your journey. Enjoy your weekend, girl!

K from ksgoodeats said...

I think you two will be fabulous - GOOD LUCK :)

Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point said...

i like that quote. :)

i think the possibility of us moving is very strong... it would rock to meet you!

Anonymous said...

I'll join you! I'm gonna shoot for 10 days beginning today.

I'm gonna allow a few glasses of RED wine (for antioxidants) and some clif/luna/gnu bars to boost my calories since I'm training for the 10 miler and have to do 5 today and 10 tomorrow :)

Anonymous said...

oh and Ezikiel b/c its sprouted its damn close to nature :) might sub toast w/ pb for luna/clif bars to replace those cals/protein :) yayyy

Anonymous said...

Good luck! I know that I don't have the willpower to cut out chocolate, bread and red wine :)

Anonymous said...

hey I was just thinking about your soy question, and realizing that since I became vegan I eat way too much soy - most of it processed. I still try to stick to edamame & tofu but man this week has been insane.

that being said, i'm still waiting on blood tests (to make sure my thyroid is ok)

was wondering if you wanted to do a Soy-Free challenge with me? We could do the month of April soy free??/ what do yuou think/ too extreeme? first 2 weeks in April soy free? hmmmmmmm let me know!

altho with you eating meat and stuff its easier for you to get your protein in, but man your post did highlight how crappy i've been eating lately!

Maria said...

Good luck. We eat a really clean diet, we do eat store bought cereal, is that out? What about canned beans? Everything else I eat is pretty clean, except for when I bake treats, I am assuming those are out. I can't wait to hear more. I went to the Doc yesterday. I will email you!

Krista said...

Can't wait to follow you through your month!!

Lori said...

Good for you, Erica! This is great. I am right there with you. My journey started when I started my blog. I really look forward to reading about your challenges and successes along the way. What you described is how I try to eat and I've found there are three main things that have been hard to break - tortillas (b/c I don't have a maker yet), peanut butter and the energy-type bar when I travel. I still put sugar in my coffee, but often use honey as well. Looking forward to your posts!

The one thing I thought of though within the next month is Easter. I do usually have my favorite Easter candies around that time and considering I gave up chocoloate for Lent I'm counting the days. :)

Michelle said...

Hooray! I find that by eating clean, I can eat as much as I want. It's as soon as I open that bag of Oreos that I gain weight and feel crappy.

Think about green tea instead of coffee by chance?

lauren said...

oh man - I am so interested to see how it goes. I dont think I could ever do it! :)

Anonymous said...

I am so looking forward to seeing how this goes for you and Josh. This is a great challenge.

Diana said...

Sounds ambitious! I admire your resolve.

I was happy to see that I eat similarly to that already - if I turn healthy practices into a habit and don't have to think about it, i'm much more likely to stick with it, so I've tried to accumulate as many as possible over the years. I would have to really make an effort to cut things like a bit of added sugars here and there though. Good luck!!!

Anonymous said...

oh tilapia is farm-raised- Salmon ( wild caught) and other wild caught fresh fish would be "cleaner" I suspect...

Tyler said...

i love that quote! and good luck with the clean eating...i think your plan looks great! can't wait to see how it goes!

Diana said...

I love that quote about habits -- so true! I need to start back with some good habits... maybe I'll let you inspire me a little! ;)

Julie said...

What a fun quote :) Good luck on your clean eating challenge!!

Anonymous said...

Good luck, I'm sure you'll do great! I'm really excited to hear how this month goes!

Holly said...

Girl, you are so good! I can't wait to follow you on this. I've definitely been eating SO much cleaner after my CFW, but could definitely stand to improve. I might attempt some clean eating here in a few weeks. You go first, lol. :-)

Happy Friday!

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Good for you! I am trying some healthy eating myself. I am trying to cut out white flour and sugar, no processed foods, etc. Similar to what you're doing but with an occasional treat here and there.

Anonymous said...

I'm pumped to hear/read about your clean eating. GOOD LUCK!

I'm a long-time lurker of the blog and wanted to finally say hello! I just started a blog of my own and I hope you check it out! ;)

Trying To Heal said...

yay for clean eating! i'm sure you and josh will do great! i wish i could do it with you but field work is too hard to do that with! boo!

Anonymous said...

good luck with clean eating!! your doing your body a great thing!

Nicole said...

Good luck! I eat pretty clean, except for dessert :D

HEAB said...

Erica,
I'm going to join you on your month of clean eating as I've been trying to eliminate processed foods where I can. I'll be sticking with Jay Robb just because I love him so, and at least his protein powder contains no artificial ingredients.

You should totally make the spelt tortillas. Beyond easy and delicious. I felt so good eating them, and this is not the case with the Flatout wraps that I normally eat (somewhat long and scary ingredient list). Thanks for sharing your plan with us. I'm excited to begin our clean eating adventure together!

Anonymous said...

Great challenge! I would like to try this also, but maybe instead of a whole month, I would just do two or three days a week.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the clean eating! I'm excited to see how it goes!

Chef Jeena said...

We try our best to eat natural foods too. :-)

Aggie said...

Hi Erica!! I love eating clean. I am going to refocus with you. I try for the most part to keep it clean...but I tend to stray at times. Good luck with your challenge!

This was a great post to read...

Unknown said...

great quote :)

Paige@ RunningaroundNormal said...

Yay! Loved this post! I'm a huge advocate of clean eating, too:)

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Your Foodie Friend said...

use agave nectar in your coffee. it's considered a clean food.

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