Clean Eating 101 : What's the dealeo?

You've seen it on blogs, on instagram, on the health newsletters that you've subscribed to that come into your inbox but you only skim through on your days off; but what does it really mean?

Is it easy? How can I give up my delicious sweets that are sinfully and tantalizingly satisfying? 

"Clean Eating"? It's not just for the health junkies, it's just HONEST FOOD.

It can be overwhelming. Seriously, reading and studying all of these rules and tips and nutritional values of each food type and what not. What to do and when to eat and what to eat at what hour of the day after a certain type of fruit or what? what? HUH?! Yeah.

Taking time to learn these things are important. Probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Without it, you are blindly following the rules of anyone who seems to know what they're talking about. 

For anyone who's raised an eyebrow at the term "clean eating", allow me to narrow it down to a few easy to

remember rules...

1. NO PROCESSED FOOD

I always get asked this. "What do you mean by no processed foods? WHAT CAN I EAT THEN?".

Simple. Anything that comes packaged with ingredients that you can't pronounce (or with a paragraph of ingredients to make up one food), is processed. It's fake. You've no idea what the manufacturers are putting into it, let alone HOW they prepare your food. So, WHY oh WHY would you want to consume chemicals and "food-like" substances that make up a "squeeze cheese". 

Think of it this way: If you won't be able to replicate this food with ingredients you can buy yourself, DON'T EAT IT. Hummus? It should be a maximum of 5 ingredients. Chick peas, olive or coconut oil, paprika, himalayan salt. Peanut butter? Should be made of?...PEANUTS! 

How and WHAT can you eat instead? Whole foods. REAL foods:

Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts. If you eat meat, then buy LOCAL and organic meats. The amount of hormones and chemicals they pump into commercial meats are disgusting and illness-inducing.

So instead, INVEST in lots of whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, amaranth (blog post coming up on this wonderful food), brown rice pastas, groats, beans, legumes. BUY fresh vegetables and fruits. 

Vegetables give you tons of nutrients and minerals and keep you FULL but are so much lower in calories than meats. You can munch of them all throughout the day and still lose weight. 

Also, if you're buying fruits and veggies but can't afford to buy all organic, check out the list of the "Dirty dozen" foods that are an organic MUST: dirty dozen list  dirty dozen and which foods are worth investing in

2. NO SUGAR

People tend to buy "0% sugar!" "FAT FREE" products when, in fact, you need fat. Sugar is what makes you "fat". The excess of unnecessary and unhealthy sugars are what gets stored as fat in your body. Your body needs HEALTHY FATS in order to LOSE weight.They keep you feeling full along with feeling SATISFIED. 

Avocados are such a yummy and good way to incorporate healthy fats into your diet. Nut butters too! But just remember that everything has to be in moderation. Healthy foods still have calories.

So, if you pick up anything that has ANY form of added sugars, splenda, anything white and ganulated, agave nectar (read previous post on that to understand WHY), high fructose corn syrup, PUT IT BACK DOWN! The easiest and most natural sweet treat you can have to kill a sugar craving is dates.

And by that, I mean putting it in your oatmeal, chopped up in some quinoa or amaranth, or eaten with a spoon of peanut butter (vegan snickers? Exactly that.). If you're not full vegan, drizzle some raw honey on your food (Just beware of not overdoing it).

Personally, I use Stevia to sweeten my teas, but remember that Stevia is still an EXTRACT that you can't be 100% sure of how it's processed unless the brand you're buying is certified organic and clean manufacturing.

3. MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD

I'm sure you've heard of the horror stories you or your friends have gone through when it comes to going out and having found a hair or something even less glamorous in their food. Why should you trust those in the kitchen preparing your food? You're just another number on the call list. When you prepare your own food, you know exactly what's going into it. What oils, what salts, the vegetables, the freshness. And why shouldn't you know this? 

The most difficult thing about this step is not going out to eat anymore. If you're invited out for a dinner, try to nibble on things that you KNOW can't be tampered with too much. And don't shy away from asking the hostess or waiter where exactly the ingredients come from and how they're prepared.

Then again, you can be told something is wild, or organic when it's not, so why risk it? Prepare your own food.

Take an hour out of your day to make a big vat of soup or salad, and eat it throughout the next few days.

4. NO OILS

Apart from EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, BUT make sure you don't heat it in any way or using it for cooking), and coconut oil (which is the only oil that can be used for cooking because it doesn't become toxic when used with high heat), oils are a big no no. Oil's toxicity and high fat content are shocking, especially if you're not paying attention to how much you're using daily. Stick to a little a day, and preferably organic, virgin coconut and olive oil.

5. NO BREAD/WHEAT/FLOUR...

Breads and wheat pastas/foods are fillers for what you're putting on top of them. I mean, would you ever just eat pasta on its own? No. They're void of any nutrition, hinder your digestion, and usually put you into a "food coma". Many people are gluten sensitive, so cutting gluten out of their diet always helps and is an amazing move forward in regards to health.

Instead, choose healthy options. I mentioned quinoa, amaranth, brown rice and brown rice pastas.

And instead of flours, choose brown rice flours, quinoa flours, coconut flour, almond flour, oat flour etc.

6. ORGANIC AND LOCAL

Pretty self explanatory. These days foods are pumped full of hormone disruptors and chemicals to make them "juicy" or "sweet" or "more flavorful". Ok, so next time you're biting into that chicken wing, try not to think about the fact that there are just as many chemicals in that one piece of meat than there are in a bottle of nail polish remover.

Anything you can't buy (or can't afford to buy) organic, can be bought local. Think about it, your food should naturally come from the surrounding area. And usually, the local foods you find at local and farmer's markets aren't sprayed with pesticides and "regulation safety measures". Do a quick search of local markets in your area and you can usually find someone who's willing to sell you some fresh eggs :)

These are some easy to follow guidelines that will GREATLY improve your lifestyle and every habits.

Trust me, just by taking a bit of time to look into what's good for my body, I've lost pounds of fat, gained muscle through training, and have fought off OCD and severe anxiety as well as BED and bulimia.

Curing yourself through food is the healthiest, easiest, and most satisfying way you can do it.

And yes, YOU CAN DO IT ;)

Stay fresh, stay fabtabulous, lots of love.