A question about eating clean

ok after a great suggestion, ive been reading up on eating clean.

Ok so no processed food, thats easy enough and better for me and my family anyway so thats an easy switch.

But i have a quick question about carb's... mostly the bad kind in bread, pasta etc.

if i limit fruit to the morning only and depend on veg in the afternoon for the most part anyway, how do i fill myself up in the pm??

It seems that all the suff with "bad carbs" are currently the main part of my diet... no wonder i have issues.

Generally in the evening i have a meal such as pasta, stir fry with rice, meat, potatos etc .... what do i replace the "bad carbs" with that will keep me going?? veg is yummy but it doens't keep you full for long.

 

it depends on what carbs you get and how much protein you eat at night, i eat very clean, and i understand where you are coming from. I get a higher sugar carb in the morning like a bagel to wake me up, since I have clients at 5 am., then the rest of the day i eat 4 meals of a 6 oz source of lean protein with 3 ounces of a  fibrous carb(broccoli, green beans, spinach, and sweet potato every third day). The fibrous carbs fill me up pretty well, for my snake I do cottage cheese with peaches twice a day, for a little more carbs and more protein. I would try to increase your protein with your evening meal, as long as it is a lean source like white turkey or chicken, or 96% lean beef you won't have any fat gain and the meat will fill you up

i agree with bodyscience here-- as another squeaky clean eater- it's how & when you eat the complex carbs that can have an impact--

one thing to consider- we are somewhat culturally programmed to have a 'big meal' as dinner- and feel that a full plate that tends to look like 1/2 carbs 1/4 protein 1/4 veg -- you have to somewhat psychologically re-program yourself to realize that eating clean entails 5-6 small meals a day so technically, there's no ONE big meal unless you plan it that way & that big dinner meal looks vastly different than what you know!

in reality- if you're eating clean- your dinner should be similar in look to like the 1/2 protein 1/2 veggies - but that's if you're very, very into eating clean & the veg can include the sweet potato/yam like every 2-3 days- i personally can't stomach yams & ONLY eat green veggies w/protein after 3pm bc I tend to slow down in the afternoon & need energies from food less...

believe me, a LOT of this is psychological! we tend to think we NEED a big dinner to nutritionally help us but i tend to think it's more family bonding, end of day routien & to relax & to unwind-- but if you eat 6x a day, all clean meals- you will be less hungry at your last meal & veggies & proteins fill you up! 3 cups of spinach at dinner steamed down over your 4oz lean protein DOES fill you up-- (if it's that bad, try hummus or mashed cauliflower at dinner- it does fill you up but i don't eat legumes at night, but agin, that's just me!)

if need be, up your protein to 5-6oz and steam more veg or eat a lot more raw veggies & divide it up into 2 small meals that you can eat- one at like 430-5 and another at like 7-- although i tend to not recommend eating after 6- but you're not in training- just trying to eat more healthful & lose some weight!

watch your sodium as you switch to clean eating & up your water too--

believe me- after a week or two of adjusting over to 6 meal schedule, you will find that end of day veg & protein are more than filling!

 

Tbh i think my main problem is going to be trying to re-arrange my food around the kids and husband.

It's my intention to sort of switch the whole family to cleaner food, by generally uping the veg and cutting out the processed rubbish,

i can easily add extra meals into my day without upseting the natural balance of the house and i'll just eat less at the regular family dinner time, my main concern is how to cook that family dinner ...

Tonight for example i have Spaghetti Bolognaise planned, ive bought extra lean mince from the butcher rather than buying it from a superstore and my inital plan was to make it with fresh tomatos and add loads of extra veg corgettes, peppers etc so it didn't have the usual jar of sauce and had extra veg so we where less dependent on the spagetti and fatty mince.

However the whole clean eating thing puts pasta on the no-no list ... should i just eat the meat/veg sauce? can i cook something easy to make to have instead of the pasta.

Generally speaking i'd love to give this clean eating thing ago but i don't want to be cooking two meals every night, one for me and one for the kids (although technically speaking its my husband who does the cooking and he'd give me a big fat NO!!! is i asked him to make 2 things) 

I can lean the whole family to a generally cleaner food, and tbh i think it will do everyone the world of good, but i don't want to turn meal time into a nightmare.  

 

The reason why pastas and breads are on the "bad" list is because if you're eating them white, they're going to wreak havoc on your insulin levels.  When you eat whole grains (not just flour, but flour that hasn't had any of the shells of the grains sifted out), you slow down the rate of digestion and therefore keep your insulin levels at a steady (-ier) level. 

Protein and carbs work together, so every time you eat a protein you need a bit of carb (an egg and an apple, for example).

What I've managed to do is figure out how to make my own bread with whole, soaked grains and unsifted spelt flour.  It's not only easy to do, but we've saved a huge amount of money by making it at home (and hey, I use all organic ingredients!  You couldn't buy a tastier bread in the store).

Pasta is reserved for lunch-time.  I only use brown-rice pasta (Loblaws has a really reasonably priced brand).  Pasta, potatoes (always with their skins -- the fiber changes their food value), cous-cous, quinoa, brown rice and bread all happens before 4pm in our family.  I make snacks myself, and use apple sauce to replace butter in any cake recipes (pm me if you want a few ideas - the kids love the cakes I make and won't eat anything storebought, even from the bakery).

Evenings are when I make soups or one-pot meals that don't include any foods that are high on the glycemic index.  If it's really hot out, we'll eat salad with an egg or two (believe it or not, we have laying hens and our eggs contain small quantities of CLA) with a dressing I make myself (could be dijon mustard, lemon juice and olive oil, etc.)  When we're pigging out on salad, I'll give the kids some lean meat and veggies.  If they're a little hungry afterwards, they're welcome to sugar-free yoghurt.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.  I'd also like to echo the idea mentioned above of the 6 meal a day thing for yourself -- just eat half of your lunch meal with your family and eat the other half 3 hours later.  By eating every 3 to 4 hours you'll be stoking your metabolism while keeping your insulin levels steady. 

The hardest part of adapting to this is the adaptation process itself.  Once you're into it, it'll become second nature. 

Oh, and if your family insists on eating pasta at night (which isn't really good for anyone to do, but, I know how it is) get yourself some spaghetti squash.  You can eat as much of it as you want and it's a really super pasta replacement.  Just steam it or bake it in the oven and scrape out the insides and voilà! pasta that isn't pasta.  My kids like it too, with lots of sauce and a bit of shredded parmesean (not the stuff in the can, but the stuff you buy a hunk of and grate yourself -- it seems more expensive, but you end up using a lot less and it doesn't contain any cellulose -- *bleah*).

i want to start eating clean and start steering my daughter towards a cleaner diet, but i'm still somewhat confused.  a whole grain bread in the morning is ok right?  no fruits in the pm....eat veggies and protein and good carbs (nothing "white").  i'm just trying to figure out portions and times, etc.  what does a typical day look like?

Original Post by juliebean1078:

i want to start eating clean and start steering my daughter towards a cleaner diet, but i'm still somewhat confused.  a whole grain bread in the morning is ok right?  no fruits in the pm....eat veggies and protein and good carbs (nothing "white").  i'm just trying to figure out portions and times, etc.  what does a typical day look like?

 Foods are generally considered clean or not, the time you eat them is irrelevant when determining if your diet is "clean" or not.  People only eat certain foods at certain times for any number of reasons, but what time you eat has nothing to do with whether or not your diet is clean.

Sully is correct on the concept of clean eating- it's basics are the eat 5-6 small complex carb/heavy protein meals to keep your insulin consistent & reduce storage of fat on the body-

the time of day for certain foods IS irrelevant to most people-- it's an individual thing based on what works for you!

i eat my whole grains/fruits in the AM when I KNOW I will burn them off through my work outs/living- fruit has natural sugars for quick energy- i don't need that quick fruit sugar towards the evening after my 2nd work out-- I tend to stick to my whole grains before 3PM as I am VERY carb sensitive- so for me- I don't mix my grains w/my protein for my last two meals of the day- they are HEAVY protein/HEAVY veg carbs- again- i don't need as much carbs in late day/evening once i finish my second workout- if I don't need the energy from a whole grain carb, I don't eat it! THAT'S JUST ME & HOW I TWEAK THE CONCEPT FOR MY BODY!

to eat clean- you eat whole clean foods that are unprocessed & as natural as possible & rely on good oils from nuts, fish, olives, canola, etc-- & in very limited quantities- a lot can come from seeds & nuts & the lean protein alone in cooking...

tailor it to your needs, but keep insulin constant w/small carb/pro mixed meals 5-6x a day full of foods as natural as possible from the healthy side of the spectrum!

a lot of us tend to make things sound so much harder than they are! but the beauty of clean eating is you make the 5-6 meals mix of carbs/pro work for you!

I have been making a bigger effort this past week to eat cleaner. I snack on celery, carrots, cucumbers, apples, bananas during the day. I eat chicken and corn for lunch, and dinner varies. It has helped me to immediately break my plateau and feel better and leaner. It makes me feel sooo much better to not rely on carbs and heavy foods! I would definitely recommend it!

As others have said, there's a big difference between clean eating for regular folk and clean eating for bodybuilders and athletes.  Especially since you have kids, you should not get too rigid with tiny details and rules and timings -- you could be setting them up for major future food issues and rebellions.  ("Your crazy mom won't let you eat even wheat bread or fruit at night?  Come to my place for dinner, we're ordering in pizza!")  Make good wholesome food a pleasure, not a regimented burden.

Don't worry about the timing of carbs.  Don't be afraid of carbs.  Just try to cut out white carbs and replace them with whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, whole grain breads like Food For Life Ezekiel bread, quinoa, brown rice with beans, etc.  Potatoes are great, baked not fried.  Sweet potatoes are even better.  Cut out TV dinners and bake/broil/grill/sautee chicken, fish, steak, tofu.  Always have some veggies with dinner so it becomes a part of life for your family's eating habits.  Go ahead and have fruit for dessert.  You're trying to be healthy and lose weight in a maintainable way, not showcase your diamond cut abs, right?

Don't be afraid of fat, especially the good fats people have mentioned here.  Your kids need them for development and brain function.  Check the ingredients of low-cal and low-fat foods... some of them are loaded with artificial and chemical ingredients, and it's worth a few extra calories to have the natural full-fat stuff.  Try to eat organic when your budget allows for it.  And you're already cutting out processed foods, so you're already winning this battle!   

I don't know what you've been reading as far as eating clean goes, but if you haven't checked it out already, definitely check out Tosca Reno's The Eat-Clean Diet. You can also check out The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. It's eye-opening. One of her key points in the book is to eat most of your carbs in the morning so that you give your body enough time to burn them off by the time you go to bed, and save lower-carb meals for dinner. Unless you exercise after dinner, you're like most people who relax, watch TV, and fall asleep shortly after. If you consume a lot of carbs in the evening, and aren't very active afterward, then those carbs won't be used as energy and will store as fat. I would recommend switching it around - in the morning, eat cereal, a granola bar, oatmeal, etc. etc., have something neutral for lunch like a sandwich or slice of pizza, and then for dinner, have fish or meat and vegetables. 

If that's not an option, then I would recommend cutting out the amount of carbs you consume at night, and also check to make sure you are buying whole wheat. Be careful, though, because even if you buy whole wheat, you have to read the ingredients to make sure it isn't enriched wheat flour. Whole wheat is a complex carb, and if you are looking to give your metabolism a bit of a boost, combine whole wheats with protein like chicken or fish, or even egg whites. This combination is excellent for the metabolism and helps it break down food quicker.

Well im just gonna take it one day at a time i can get more strict as time go's on if i feel i need it. Right now im cutting out processed foods for the whole family (accept as treats etc ... im not punishing my kids)

im also switching to whole wheat bread, brown rice etc that shouldn't cause the whole family any real issues, besides if they don't like it i can always buy the whole wheat bread for me and the white for them its not a major issue.

As for carbs im not gonig to nessisarily cut them out totally at night but just reduce the number ... there is no reason why i can't have 50g of rice rather than 200g.

Last night i made a beef stirfry thing ... i loaded it heavy on the green veg so the whole family where less reliant on the rice, then when i served up i gave everyone but me rice, and instead of rice i made some scrambled eggs in the microwave and had that and the beef and veg instead.

Tonight my hubby made spagetti bolognase (which im very proud of him for because he didn't use a jar which trust me for him is a big deal ) i got him again to load up wth the veggy's instead of the norm of onion and mushroom .... it had peppers, carrots alsorts in... very very yummy even kids enjoyed it, i skipped the pasta and had extra veg/meat/ tomato sauce with a protien shake on the side hehe.

So far cutting back on the carbs hasn't been that hard but i don't plan to go OTT on it, im not getting manic if i go for a meal in a resturant and fancy carbonara.