10 Simple Ways to Start Clean Eating Today

Yes, I know it’s Fall and the Holidays are just around the corner. It’s a time of year when we tend to indulge a little more and pack on the extra pounds. We wear big sweaters and hoodies to hide all the goodies. And then New Years rolls around. We are less than proud of our physique, READY and DETERMINED to make a change because "THIS IS GOING TO BE THE YEAR!" But what if this Fall we did things a little differently? What if we focus on clean eating and fueling our bodies with healthy foods? What if we don’t take bites of this and that all day long for the next couple months because we’re clinging to the fact that we're “starting January 1st”? What if we start NOW? Make a change NOW. Start seeing and feeling results NOW. Get healthy NOW.

I am personally determined to make this Fall and Winter a healthy one for my family and I, and invite you and your family to join along with us!

I know it can be so overwhelming at first, but I promise...it’s really a lot easier than you think. And if you can just stick it out for a good month, you’ll be able to stick with it for life! I’ll be honest, the first couple weeks of clean eating were the hardest for my family and I. We were brand new to it and I just had to learn to get creative. I noticed that after the first 2-3 weeks of clean eating, our taste buds either changed or adapted and we began to enjoy and actually prefer the clean foods.

I truly believe that clean foods were put on this earth for us since day 1. There were no Lucky Charms or Hot Pockets, no Pop Tarts or Lean Cuisines (which by the way…don’t let Lean Cuisines fool you, they are LOADED with a bunch of processed, chemical laden ingredients.)

Eating clean means enjoying foods that do not contain artificial ingredients. It is naturally nutritious for your body, all with the added bonus of losing weight.

So let’s MAKE THIS SIMPLE and get back to the basics.

1. CLEAN OUT THE CUPBOARDS. This is the first thing I did when we decided to jump on the eat clean wagon. I know myself, and if there is chocolate or cookies in the house, I am most likely going to have a hard time not eating them. So I went through the cupboards, fridge and freezer and got rid of eeeeeeverything that was processed. Bye bye chips, breads, pastas, cookies, ice cream, granola bars, crackers, …you get the idea. 😉 I know what you’re thinking…”So what do your kids eat for snacks?” I’ll get to that…

2. CUT OUT SUGAR. If you eat sugar regularly, the first few days of cutting out sugar are going to be rough. Plain and simple. But don’t confuse cutting out sugar with depriving yourself of sweets. I have learned to use stevia and make almost any recipe clean just by substituting the bad ingredients for the good ingredients. When grocery shopping, be sure to read the ingredients labels carefully. You will be surprised at all the places they sneak sugar into. When I cut out sugar, not only did I notice a difference in my health and weight loss, but I also noticed that my cravings for sweets were greatly diminished!

3. DRINK WATER. For years I was a Dr. Pepper addict. I drank can after can, bottle after bottle for most of my life. When I started the eating clean lifestyle in August 2011, I completely cut out Dr. Pepper and I’m so proud to say that I’ve never had it again since! I traded the Dr. Pepper for water that very day and have not looked back. I highly recommend ditching soda and juice and trading it for water. Not only does water flush out toxins, keep you energized and increase your metabolism, it also aids in weight loss. Again, it’s been on this earth since day 1. I personally aim to drink 1 gallon per day.

4. READ LABELS. I remember Jamie Eason saying, “if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t be eating it.” That’s always stuck with me. I’ve even passed that down to my boys. If they want something in the store, they flip it over and read the label. When they come across something like, “PYROPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, CARRAGEENAN” they know they shouldn't eat it. The fewer ingredients the better. Just read labels and pay attention to what the food distributors sneak into foods these days. It’s scary.

5. AVOID PROCESSED FOODS. It can be really tricky to determine what is processed and what isn’t these days. Food distributors have a sneaky way of adding “all natural”, “whole grain”, or “minimally processed” to packaging. Their packaging comes in a brown or green label to appear healthier. But the bottom line is, it’s still processed. I personally try to avoid foods that come boxed, canned, or bagged. Anything white has most likely been bleached. Rice, bread, flour etc… I instead buy products that are whole grain, and contain unbleached, unenriched grains like brown rice, oats or quinoa. For bread, I prefer Food For Life Organic Ezekiel bread.

6. SHOP THE PERIMETER OF THE STORE. You will rarely catch me cruising up and down the center aisles at the grocery store. My basket is usually full of foods from the perimeter such as fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, eggs and fish. Of course I do have to go down the peanut butter aisle, because we go through it like crazy. But I always buy the the Adam’s brand which contains 2 ingredients; peanuts and salt.

7. COOK AT HOME. When we started eating clean, we almost completely cut out restaurants and out food. Unfortunately, most meals from restaurants, and take out joints are high in sugar and contain processed ingredients. When you cook at home, you choose exactly what does (and doesn’t) go into your body.

8. EAT SMALL MEALS EVERY 2-3 HOURS. Boost your metabolism and get your fat burning furnace blazing by eating small meals every 2-3 hours. Some people skip meals hoping to get thinner because they’re eating less, but in actuality, it’s doing the opposite. Our bodies are smarter than we think. When we skip meals, our bodies hang on to calories, not knowing when it’s going to get fed again. When we eat small meals every 2-3 hours, our metabolisms are moving faster than ever, digesting that meal to get ready for the next one. Eating regularly also keeps you satisfied and not feeling deprived.

9. EAT REAL. Real food is clean food. If you can imagine it growing out of the ground or being raised on a farm, it’s real - and real good for you! I keep tons of fresh fruit in my house. If my boys want a snack, we have bananas, grapes, apples, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, walnuts, almonds, rice cakes (100% brown rice is the only ingredient), peanut butter. We get creative and make them a good healthy, REAL food snack.

10. ENJOY EVERY BITE. Clean eating is about enjoying delicious, real food - each and every bite. When we first started clean eating, I used a TON of Mrs. Dash salt free seasonings to spice up the food we were eating. It sure made a big difference and helped out as we transitioned to clean eating. Still today, I use Mrs. Dash, just don’t need quite as much as we did in the beginning. 🙂