"Clean Eating?" What's that?

What is clean eating? The concept of clean eating is basically consuming foods as close to their natural state as possible, without additives. For example, baked or grilled chicken is more close to its natural state than fried chicken which has a lot more added ingredients & calories.

Moreover, by eating foods that are cleaner, you are decreasing the number of calories in your meals and many times eliminating unwanted calories from fat. This explains why clean eating assists greatly in weight loss.

An apple would be an example of a clean food (fruit), while a tasty cake would be an example of a "dirty" food. The tasty cake isn't natural. It's processed, has additives, artificial flavors, and food coloring, etc. The tasty cake also has more calories but is less nutritious; so it is said to have empty calories because these calories serve no nutritional purpose to your body. Some use the rule, the fewer ingredients, the more natural or, the "cleaner" the food.

In closing, cleaning up your diet leads to healthier food choices which will lead to a healthier body. Clean eating also decreases the number of calories you consume in meals which is a major contributor to weight loss in addition to exercise.

Tip: An easier way to make a "clean food" transition is by cleaning up one meal at a time. For example: cleaning up breakfast for 2 weeks and during the 3rd week clean up both breakfast, and Lunch. Continue until all 3 meals consist of "cleaner foods."

Question (please comment): What are your personal challenges with your diet?

Below you will see a few "clean foods" that I eat. What are some of your clean food (comments) suggestions? 

4 oz Chicken Breast (seasoned & sautéed in non-fat olive oil cooking spray)

Salmon (seasoned & grilled or sautéed in non-fat olive oil cooking spray)

Turkey Burger (seasoned & grilled or sautéed in non-fat olive oil cooking spray)

Brown rice (seasoned to my liking)

1 Sweet potato mashed (boiled or baked then mashed with 1/4 cup of non-fat skim milk & cinnamon)

Asparagus (seasoned & grilled or sautéed in non-fat olive oil cooking spray)

Broccoli (seasoned sautéed in non-fat olive oil cooking spray)

Almonds- great source of protein & healthy fats. 28 almonds are approximately 170 calories

Wheat Bread (light):  45 calorie per slice

Fruits (bananas, grapes, strawberries): Higher in nutritious value while lower in calories.

Oatmeal: (high fiber and 10 grams of protein in 1 cup)

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Kids Snack Attack Bootcamp!

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. "(Proverbs 22:6). Our children can be taught to make healthier food choices, and this lesson will last them a lifetime.

My son has a sweet tooth as most children his age. I try to monitor his junk food intake and replace many of those items with healthier snack choices. Its not perfect. In fact its both an art and a science. According to the American Heart Association 1 in 3 children in America is obese. This is triple the amount of obese children in 1963.

As a parent of a young child, these statistics concerned me. Although, I limit the amount of junk food my son eats, I also allow him to have cheat snacks. For instance, we bake chocolate chip cookies and enjoy them with no regrets. During the rest of the day the goal is more nutrient dense snaking. Below you will see a few of my son’s favorite snacks, feel free to share (comment) some healthy snacks of your own.

1. Kid size bottle water- hydration

2. Grapes- nutrient dense fruit with vitamins and minerals. 15 grapes is approximately 39 calories. 

3. Applesauce with nutmeg. Nutmeg helps with detoxing the liver and kidneys

4. Fruit snacks- with 100% Daily Value Vitamin-C per serving, 80 calories per serving

5. Apples and Bananas- nutrient dense fruits with vitamins & minerals.

6. Yoplait Gogurt (Yogurt)- portable low fat snack. Vitamins A & D, Calcium. Tip: You can freeze the Gogurt pops & have frozen yogurt pops!

Cheat snack: 4 Baked chocolate chip cookies.