What is clean eating?
When you eat clean you will be eating unprocessed, whole foods that are prepared or cooked in ways that don’t add extra chemicals and toxins. We are talking about fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, lots of water, healthy dairy and fresh juice. You will avoid fried food, fast food, junk food, bleached white flour, artificial ingredients, soda, commercial juice and sugary drinks, processed sugar (white sugar, corn syrup), and foods with preservatives, toxins, dyes, saturated fat, and trans fat. You will likely be cooking at lot of food at home, making green smoothies, eating salads, eating healthy snacks, and really realizing just how healthy you’ve really been eating. It’s not about perfection…it’s about making healthy choices.
The following food list is from my ebook on Clean Eating. The foods are broken down by category according to the main food group they consist of. If you can form your diet around these foods, you will be following clean eating principles. This list is not a bible. You want to use it as a guideline for clean eating, but ultimately, you have to find what works for you. Use this list as a starting point.
Lean Meats, Meat Substitutes and Fish/Seafood:
- Poultry – Chicken Breast is your friend
- Extra Lean Ground Turkey
- Pork Tenderloin
- Veal
- Extra Lean Ground Beef
- Grass Fed Beef
- Tempeh
- Tofu
- Lamb rack
- Shrimp
- Lobster
- Clams
- Mussels
- Scallops
- Salmon, Tuna, Bass, Mahi Mahi, Tilapia and all other fish varieties
- Venison Steaks
- Buffalo
- Bison
- Elk
- Egg whites (duck, chicken or goose)
Dairy Rich Foods and Milk Alternatives*
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Skim milk
- Plain yogurt – add fresh fruit
- Hard cheeses
- Unsweetened Almond milk
- Unsweetened Rice milk
Sweeteners
- Fruit
- Coconut Sugar
- Stevia
- Organic Agave Nectar
- Honey
- Sugar-Free Applesauce
Fruits And Vegetables
Basically there’s NO restriction here – as long as it’s fresh and in its natural state, it goes! These should form the bulk of your diet plan. Try to eat organic if you can. You can also have unsweetened dried fruit.
Grains And Starches
- Brown or wild rice
- Quinoa
- Barley
- Buckwheat
- Oats
- Sweet potatoes/yams
- Popcorn
- Brown rice cakes
- Low sugar granola
- Soba noodles
- Whole grain bread, pasta and cereal – in moderation. Look for unbleached grain products.
- Chia seeds
- Flours – Spelt, Whole Wheat, Oat, Rice or Quinoa flour
Legumes
- All beans
- Black eyed peas
- Chickpeas
- Soybeans
- Lentils
Healthy Fats And Oils
- Olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Walnut oil
- Flaxseed oil
- Coconut oil
- Almonds
- Avocado
- Cashews
- Hazelnuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Brazil nuts
- Chestnuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Pistachios
- Sesame seeds
- Walnuts
- Flaxseeds
- Poppy seeds
- Natural Peanut Butter
Condiments
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Ketchup – Heinz Reduced Sugar or Wholefoods Organic
- Reduced Sodium Soy sauce
- Salsa or Fresh Pico de Gallo
- Hot Sauce
- Low Sugar Steak Sauce
- Herb Pastes
- Tomato Sauce
- Broth (vegetable, beef, chicken)
- Olive oil cooking spray
- Olives
Please be mindful of your known food allergies and avoid any foods you know you have health issues with. In addition to the list, you can use any assortment of vinegars, hummus, mustards, sodium-free spices, etc. to help boost the flavor of your dishes without adding any ‘unclean’ ingredients.
*Note that some individuals may be lactose intolerant and will need to avoid dairy in their diet plan. When that’s the case, go for almond milk, coconut milk, or rice milk instead and avoid all cheese variations. Also, avoid low-fat dairy. Most have additives and chemicals added in to replace the fat that you should avoid. This is very common with so called “diet” products.
