Lately, the topic of
food…specifically real-foods /whole-foods / clean-foods / healthy foods…has
been a huge topic of conversation on social media platforms world wide. While this has become a passion of mine in
the recent years, it still intrigues me
to see all the buzz words flying around, and to read peoples thoughts on their
new 'whole-foods or clean-foods' diet
that they just started! Suddenly
everyone is an expert! And of course,
everyone has an opinion…and theirs is usually the ONLY opinion that
matters. Sigh.
If you are someone
who is wondering what all the hoopla is about, are overwhelmed with the idea of
adjusting your daily diet, or just don't know how to make a
whole-foods/clean-foods diet work in your home, here is my simple explanation
about what those words 'whole-foods' and 'clean-eating' even mean, my thoughts
on the whole process, and a very basic and simple way to get started.
Keep in mind, I am
not a professional (most people out there ranting aren't either!), and this is
just what works for me. I am putting this out there because when I started this
journey, the sheer amount of information out there telling me to 'eat this way
not that way' was overwhelming and I couldn't wrap my head around the absolute
BEST option for me. Thankfully I landed
where I did, in the middle of a "real-food/whole-food/clean-food"
diet, or as I like to call it, 'simple, healthy & natural' way of eating.
First, WHAT IS A 'REAL/WHOLE/CLEAN FOODS DIET? Basically, in a nut shell it is taking out
the processed, store-bought, fast food junk laden items and replacing them with
healthy, natural options.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?
EAT
THIS:
*100% WHOLE GRAINS
*A diet rich in
FRUITS & VEGETABLES
*SEAFOOD or GRASS
FED / ORGANIC meats
*Opting for GOOD
FATS NOT BAD FATS--like avocados & nuts, and coconut or olive oil vs.
vegetable oil
*Natural
Sweeteners---like honey, 100% maple syrup
AVOID
THESE:
*Fried & fatty
foods
*Fast food
*Sugar --avoid corn
syrup, cane juice, splenda or regular sugar
*Refined,white,
bleached or processed foods---such as white rice, white pasta, flours etc.
HOW DID I GET STARTED?
*READ LABELS: You would be amazed at all the processed junk
that is inside the foods you eat! Take a look at a few labels sitting around
your house….I look for items that have no more than 5 ingredients, ingredients
that are words I can pronounce, and things without sugar.
*TRIPS TO THE FARMERS MARKET OR
NATURAL FOOD STORES: I would say
85% of my monthly food budget goes to fresh fruit and vegetables. The remainder goes to good meats, chicken,
eggs from my local farmer, nuts and seeds.
*MENU PLANNING: I plan my
menus a month at a time. This is in part
due to the fact that we are paid once a month, but mostly because coming home
at 5:30 and having to get a healthy, non-processed meal on the table at 6:00 is
stressful and not ideal! Planning ahead
gives me time to shop, cook ahead, and know exactly what I'm going to fix so I
am not tempted to succumb to the quick stop for pizza or something on the way
home.
*FREEZER/CROCK-POT COOKING: Eating healthy has forced me to learn to
think ahead. I find that spending a few
extra minutes on the weekend cooking, prepping and freezing parts of meals
helps me throw together a meal much quicker on a rushed day. For example, I will cook and dice chicken
then package & freeze the desired portion so that I can have that part of
my recipe already done. I also do TONS
of Crock-pot cooking. I make lots of
soups, but I also do meats & vegetable side dishes in there. I also make
vegetable / chicken stock and freeze, applesauce, etc. The options are endless! I also LOVE that you can throw stuff in there
in the morning and walk away for the day.
How perfect is that!?
*MAKE IT A GAME: Thankfully my family has taken to this switch
very well. That is probably largely due
to the fact that I love to cook, so cooking from scratch has always been how I
operate. Cooking from scratch tends to
be healthier, so our adaption was more watching ingredients and not buying any
part of the meal pre-made. My kids love
trying to make their own versions of things! Homemade pizza night is a fave
around here….they can do their own crust, own toppings and have fun with
it. We have also tried several of the
more desired kid items…like making our own fruit rollups, dried fruit bits,
vegetable chips, or making our own sweets.
We love our chocolate around here, so we tend to get pretty creative in
our recipes around here!
There ya go! That is
really how I got started. I know it's
not quite as easy as I described, but I would encourage you that it really is
worth it! I hope you give it a shot! There are inconveniences to eating like this,
but they are not disadvantages. Eating
this simple, healthy and natural way alleviates many of the cancer causing
toxins found in foods, it enables your body to run as it should, and it will
increase your energy because you are eating the foods your body needs. A by-product of eating this way will probably
also show up in weight loss. I am NOT a
fan of pills, quick fixes, highly restrictive diets, or calorie counting
diets. Obviously counting calories is
important, but if you are truly eating a more natural way you'll find the
calories you are eating are the right ones to be eating.
I know there are
LOTS of resources out there on the web these days that talk about this same
thing, but as I stated earlier when I started out the information was
overwhelming and this outline approach would have been oh-so-helpful to me.
Hope it helps you!!
