Be Healthy-Clean Eating

I've posted about some of my goals, including wanting to "eat clean". Looking back on my progress so far, I realized that I am still eating too much sugar and still some processed foods, so I wanted to spend some more time looking into Clean Eating and really get myself a good game plan/eating plan so that when I start month 2 of P90X sunday, I can also start with a clean eating slate.

Clean eating is simple really-basically eating whole, natural foods and avoiding anything processed or un natural. A good rule of thumb to remember when shopping is to shop the perimeter of the gorcery store, where are the produce, meats and fresh baked goods are located and to avoid the middle aisles, which consist of canned, frozen, packaged and processed foods. Of course, there are foods in the aisles that are still healhy and should be a diet staple, such as all natural peanut butter, frozen veggies and fruit. But the main concept is to eat foods whole and in their natural form.

I developed a shopping list of foods that I want to eat and have on hand (and only these foods-minus the occassional sweet/indulgence).

Clean Eating List-Shopping and Stocking Up:
EVOO, balsalmic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, natural lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Hummus
Sun dried tomatos
Sea salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and other natural herbs/spices for cooking/baking and adding flavor
Salsa (organic of course)
Dry beans-black, pinto, chickpeas, kidney
Quinoa
Wild and brown rice
Sweet potatos/yams
Variety of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as frozen fruits and veggies
Edamame
Avocados
Spinach/mixed greens/kale (maybe...)
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Lean meats-chicken, canadian bacon
Fish-salmon, tilapia, tuna
Cheese-all natural (feta, goat, cheddar, etc)
Oatmeal/oats
Kashi granola bars (my favorite-Trailmix)
Variety of raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios,etc)
Tea-green
All natural peanut butter,almond butter, jams
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat tortillas

There is not reason you (or I for that matter ) cannot make all your meals with these all natural, whole, clean ingredients.

Starting this AM, I had baked apple oatmeal, 2 hard boiled egg whites, green tea and greek yogurt (vanilla)
For lunch I packed mixed green salad with chicken, strawberries, cucumbers, walnuts and feta cheese, an apple and whole raw almonds for a snack.

My work always has treats and food, which they have again today, so we'll see if I can resist the temptation, as will power seems to be where I am lacking in trying to eat clean. I love the all natural foods and the taste of raw foods, I just love sugar more :)

One thing I was planning on doing this weekend was to start a detox-not a juice or fast or cleanse, but basically a detox to rid of body of caffeine, sugar and processed foods. Starting today I did not have my normal cup of coffee (or 2) and instead will be drinking green tea. I plan on eating alot of protein, fruits and veggies. I am sure that my body will not like me this weekend, as I tend to get caffeine withdrawl headaches, but I have noticed over the past few weeks that I have been getting a caffeine/sugar crash about 2-3 pm where I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I am hoping that detoxing these things from my body will eliminate the vicious cycle of caffeine and sugar, crashing and than eating more sugar and drinking more caffeine to stay awake/avoid headaches. I will post of results of the detox sunday!