For all you clean eaters, I need your help fast!!!

I've hit a plateau and would really like to start clean eating to try and break it. I only have 10lbs. to go and I am changing my exercie routine and I'm going to try and eat more.

My dad said he could take me to the store either tomorrow morning or Sunday morning so I am trying to make a list of 'clean' food items. Right now I eat a lot of processed foods so I don't really know how to eat clean. So far my list is-

• a pepper
• carrots
• a cucumber
• green beans
• an onion
• chicken
• apples
• bananas
• grape fruit
• kiwi
• pear
• plums
• natural peanut butter
• some sort of nut- I'm thinking almonds
• Whole wheat bread
• Yogurt- don't know what kind?
• Luna bars
• Skim milk- I think that's clean?
• Instant oatmeal- plain, Quaker Oat
• eggs

I have no idea what kind to get in these items...

• yogurt
• salad dressing
• bread- what is in whole wheat bread?

Also Luna bars are clean, right? They're 70% organic and I really don't want to give them up...

Okay so suggestions PLEASE!!!

'Clean' in practical terms means it isn't heavily processed or stuffed full of artificial ingredients.  Whole, unprocessed foods.  The kind you can either eat straight... like a piece of fruit or a tomato... or you have to prepare and cook befor e you can eat it... like meat or a potato.  Clean eating involves a little more preparation and cooking and less nasty 'instant' things in packets that go 'ping'! 

Yoghurt... get plain organic yoghurt and add it to some fresh chopped fruit and a little honey for sweetness... Very easy.  Salad dressing... buy a bottle of olive oil and another of white wine vinegar.  Mix them about 3:1 oil to vinegar, add a little mustard, salt and pepper... lovely traditional vinaigrette.  And bread should be 100% wholemeal ... check the ingredients list.  If it's got more than about 5 ingredients try to find something with a simpler recipe!  But don't worry too much if it does.

Wholegrain rolled oats are better than instant if you're going for 'clean' and unprocessed.  Luna bars... what the heck... I'd say they're a processed food but life's for living and if you enjoy them, buy them!  Other lovely foods are things like beans, lentils, chickpeas. 

Fresh fruit and veg, meat, fish, dairy and the bakery... that's really all you need. 

Okay, thank you! That really does help a lot. :)

lol. Yeah, I was kind of expecting that on the Luna bars, but who knows, maybe when I get used to eating clean I won't even want them.

I'm vegan and I love luna bars!

seriously be honest to yourself, no processed foods, read labels--no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial ingredients, fresh fruits and vegetables, water-based foods are best but also make sure you get a good variety of grains, protein, enough calories to sustain your body but at least 500 under your daily recommended intake.  Exercise daily, or at least 5 days of week.  Move your body to burn calories and stimulate your metabolism.  If you crave a treat set a goal and meet it, then choose a smart treat and enjoy the treat in moderation. 

That's the formula that's working for me and in the past year I have to say that I've lost 27 pounds. 

I make an awesome salad dressing from my mom's recipe: 1/2 sunflower oil, 1/2 rice vinegar (natural w/no sugar), plus a few cloves of garlic and a dash of salt. It is super tasty! (and I probably put even more vinegar than that, but then again I love vinegar--I just put basalmic on cottage cheese)

The rest of your shopping list looks great!

http://eatcleandiet.com/

You might also want to add some rice or quinoa or lentils.

Thanks for all the replies, you guys are awesome. :)

vegetariangeekthat link has amazing looking recipe's in it, thank you!

 

Okay, this isn't going to be very helpful (as always) but I just had to say

a pepper

a cucumber

green beans

an onion

kiwi

Whole wheat bread

pear

eggs  

I think what you meant was "a green bean, an egg, and a slice of bread" =)

 

you definitely need more sources of protein in that list of yours. If you're intending to go vegetarian, get beans/peas (some legumes). If not, fish and poultry are good sources of protein too! (:

Hope this helps!!!  Good luck!

 

 

Original Post by krisie_chan93:

I've hit a plateau and would really like to start clean eating to try and break it. I only have 10lbs. to go and I am changing my exercie routine and I'm going to try and eat more.

My dad said he could take me to the store either tomorrow morning or Sunday morning so I am trying to make a list of 'clean' food items. Right now I eat a lot of processed foods so I don't really know how to eat clean. So far my list is-

• a pepper
• carrots
• a cucumber -> try zucchini too... love zucchini!
• green beans -> try edamame
• an onion -> no nutritional value but a good add for salad...
• chicken -> Try Gorton's Grilled Fish, 100cals and lotsa protein! 
• apples -> limit these... hecka carbs and they really aren't all that high up on the "wonderful things for your diet" list. reach for berries instead :D
• bananas -> replace this with grapes, and freeze them (delish!!)
• grape fruit
• kiwi
• pear
• plums
• natural peanut butter -> replace with ff PB, save every cal you can!
• some sort of nut- I'm thinking almonds (walnuts, and peanuts are also yum yum :D)
• Whole wheat bread -> get the Soy Protien bread available in safeway, or get LaTorilla's Carb Conscious Tortilla's - 50 cals and lotsa fiber and protien)
• Yogurt- don't know what kind? -> Lite n' Fit, 60 cals (or get the Carb Conscious one, less sugar, and good in cals)
• Luna bars -> NOOOO! Go for Pure Protein, Met-Rx (the small ones, the big ones are for tough body builders), PowerBar's Carb Select Protein Plus or CarbRite Bars, they have the same cals, more protein and less carbs.
• Skim milk- I think that's clean? -> Alternative is Silk's Unsweetened Soy Milk, tastes great, less cals (slightly) and milk can bloat you if you're trying to get "cut up"
• Instant oatmeal- plain, Quaker Oat -> Kashi GoLean much better...
• eggs -> eat only the whites and then add a yellow once a week... the yellows aren't as yummy and they aren't nearly as good on a diet.

I have no idea what kind to get in these items...

• yogurt
• salad dressing ->Get the 10 calorie sprays.. they taste "ok" but they will save your diet in cals!
• bread- what is in whole wheat bread?

Also Luna bars are clean, right? They're 70% organic and I really don't want to give them up...

Okay so suggestions PLEASE!!!

 

 

We can give you invididual foods, but do you have any idea how to make a meal out of them?  You need to learn to cook for yourself.  My recommendation is to do some meal plans for the week and buy what you need make those things.  You can do what I do, which is cook like mad on the weekends or you can cook a bit all day every day. 

I think you need to pay a visit to hungrygirl.com and cookinglight.com and see what you want to eat next week.  Make your shopping list from that. 

Salad dressing - try using olive oil and basalmic vinegar.  You can even get vinegar in flavors.  Check the internet too. There are a lot of recipes to add herbs and spices to it.  It can be really yummy. 

I prefer Pria bars, myself.  Get the Yoplait Light yogurt.  Widely available and lots of flavors.  Also, try the Greek yogurt.  It's more like sour cream and just as good. Whole wheat english muffins for the mornings you're in a rush.   For bread, I eat the Orowheat 7 grain or 9 grain bread.  It's a bit more in calories (110 a slice) but sticks with you. I'd recommend the Quick Cooking Oats over the instant ones.  IMHO, the instant ones can be a bit slimy, which isn't a texture I like a lot.

Pretty much anything in the produce aisle will be ok.  Cherries, grapes, and baby carrots rate highly here.  But so do bananas, mangos, payapys, melons, peaches, pears, grapefruit, oranges. 

For veggies, we like green beans, red potatoes, mushrooms, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leaf lettuce, bok choy, eggplant, zucchini. 

Thank you littlemalynda, it does help. :)

Although my mom already took my shopping today, I can still get some better choises when I run out. I'm curious to what ff PB is and do you have to order it?

morrighu, I used to make meal plans for the next day, everyday, so that shouldn't be a problem. :) 

I actually have the hungry girl book at home but I will look at her sight too.

I think I'm going to cut the Luna bars out and stick to the natural stuff.

Thank you for your suggestions and the site's. 

 

I start tomorrow! *I would start today but it's almost 4pm and I've already eaten, so...

I'm excited though. :D

No offense to littlemalynda, but some of the suggestions she gave were leaning more towards weight loss rather than clean eating.  Don't get me wrong, they're great suggestions if your primary goal in this thread was weight loss, but since you clearly asked for clean eating suggestions, some of those are not really in line with your request.

And onions and apples are wonderful foods with great nutrional value.  Just wanted to clear that up as well :) 

Has anyone posted the worlds healthiest foods link for you yet?  If not, here it is:

www.whfoods.com

As to gi-janes suggestion about plain yogurt...um...this takes getting used to.  Just a warning ;)  My suggestion would be Yo-plus made by Yoplait.  It's delicious.  Not sure if it falls technically into the clean eating realm, but man, it's sooooo good, with no artificial sweeteners.

shandykat, yes,  my main goal is clean eating and health, but weight loss is very close behind, so your right.  :) 

No, no one posted that link yet, it will be super helpful I'm sure, thank you! :)

Also, I just might need to check that yogurt, Yoplait was my favorite. ;)

If you are within reach of your goal, I'm going to guess that your overall calories/exercise are working out.  Yogurt is good, but be aware that EVERY light yogurt is full of additives that would most certainly not be considered clean.  Read the labels diligently.  Nancy's and Brown Cow make some great yogurts that are all natural.  I think it's Nancy's that are cultured in the container you buy at the store (not in some big vat that's later squirted into the cups).  I don't know if that's really better, but it certainly sounds at least a little less processed!  Tillamook is a decent one if you can't find one of those. 

One of my favorite side dishes/light meals is carmelized shallots with snow peas.  Use a little organic sugar or succinat for the shallots (sweet onions work well like walla wallas too) and just blanch the snow peas in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes.  Start scooping them out before they turn from bright green to that off green.  I can eat about 1/2 lb or more of snow peas like this with the shallots!  I think that would be considered clean.

Also, Franz makes an excellent line of breads that include whole grain types with no high fructose corn syrup.  I had no idea how hard that would be to find until I started reading labels.  I knew it was in ketchup, but not bread! 

Original Post by littlemalynda:

• an onion -> no nutritional value but a good add for salad...

Just wanted to say that onions (and garlic especially) are nature's most powerful anti-pathogens and you should DEFINATELY include them in your diet, I eat these almost every day and before I discovered my onion/garlic addiction I used to get colds all the time, now I'm never ill.

 psyche417, I know what you mean about the bread! It took me forever to find something decent. I just got some plain yogurt, I'll probably put some fruit in it, to give it a better taste.

Thanks for the meal idea, it sounds good! :)

Plain yogurt is not high on my tastometer, but I usually keep some around for lots of uses.  My boyfriend likes to put some soymilk and berries in the freezer until it gets just a little frozen.  Then he puts it into a blender with yogurt and a touch of honey.  He says its like smoothie ambrosia.  You can also whip up all kinds of toppings and dressings if you keep a little yogurt and sour cream around.  Tsaziki (cucumber sauce) for one.  I had a phase where that went on everything I ate.