Eating well is very important to a long and healthy life and one method of healthy eating is called clean eating. Clean eating refers to eating foods that are unprocessed and natural. This meal planner will help you decipher create clean eating meals with the right components for optimal health.
What Is Clean Eating?
Clean eating is a method of cooking and eating that focuses on natural, whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and water are at the center of this. People who eat cleanly avoid refined sugars, flours, processed oils (such as hydrogenated oils) and preservatives. As a result, a clean eating diet is largely free of trans fats or excessive amounts of any fats. It is also full of naturally-occurring vitamins and minerals.
Planning
Clean eating diets typically entail five to six small meals each day, spaced apart by about three hours. This aim of this schedule is to keep your blood sugar level even throughout the day. Each meal ideally contains both a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate. The diet calls for plenty of fruits and vegetables as well, and drinking at least eight glasses of water per day.
Does this mean that you won't be cooking? No. Clean eating is not the same as a raw diet, where food is not cooked. Instead, you are starting from a place as close to nature as you can get. Baked goods, hearty soups and dishes and indulgent items are not prohibited, but are made using different ingredients, ones which are consistent with a clean diet.
Shopping
When you shop for clean eating meals, stick to the perimeter of your grocery store, or head to the farmers' market. The perimeter of a grocery store typically contains whole foods such as produce, meats and milk, which are the crux of clean eating. In the center of the grocery store are the processed foods you should try to avoid.
The best way to shop is with a plan of what you will eat for the week, so scour magazines like Clean Eating Magazine and Oxygen or online resources for recipes, then shop specifically to make those meals.
Tags: grocery store, Clean Eating, clean eating meals, eating meals, whole foods