I’m sure you’ve all heard the term by now… “clean eating”. But what exactly does it mean to “eat clean”?
While clean eating is highly individualistic and can mean different things to different people, the ideals remain the same: minimally processed & close to the source.
There are five basic principles of eating clean:
- Keep it whole
- This means food that is found in nature, not manufactured. A few examples are fresh fruits and vegetables, grass-fed and free-range meats, dairy, whole grains, and nuts and seeds.
- Get in the kitchen
- Cooking at home is pretty much guaranteed to be way less processed, more fresh, and less seasoned (aka. less sodium!) than restaurant food.
- Eliminate refined sugar & carbohydrates
- Bottom line here: remove the white foods from your diet. No more white sugar or white flour if you’re going to eat clean. This includes any foods containing either of those, as well as white pasta, rice, bread, and pastries.
- Maintain blood sugar
- Stable blood sugar is SO important when making healthy food choices. If you wait too long to eat, or if you eat processed food that puts your blood sugar on a dangerous roller coaster ride, you’ll likely feel irritable, exhausted, and more likely to reach for sugar, fat, and caffeine.
- Remember the magic combination of protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates
- This combination creates a complete meal. It will create optimal blood sugar levels and stave off cravings.
I would love to hear your thoughts! Do you follow a clean eating lifestyle? What does eating clean mean to you?
Nourished. by Jenna 