Clean eating isn’t just a health kick or a random phase. It’s a lifestyle. It doesn’t happen overnight either. I first started “clean eating” about a year or two ago. Since I’ve lived with food allergies my entire life, I’ve always had to read labels. It wasn’t until recently though that I realized I had no idea what the majority of the ingredients in my food actually were!
I started out slowly by trying to eliminate high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, palm oil, foods with more than 15 ingredients, and anything deep fried. I did my best, but I made exceptions all the time. Gradually, I started adding more “rules” and got better at following them. I still make exceptions and have off days, but I do the best I can and try to make improvements to my lifestyle each and every day. Below is a list of what I personally deem unclean and clean.
Unclean:
- Hydrogenated oils
- Palm oil (environmental reasons)
- High fructose corn syrup
- Fried foods
- Artificial colours and flavours
- Preservatives
- Cellulose
- Food with more than 10-15 ingredients
- Artificial sweeteners
- Soda
- Juice
Clean:
- Fruits and veggies
- Lean meats
- Real cheese
- Whole wheat pasta
- Whole wheat bread
- Natural peanut butter
- Fish
- Greek yogurt
- Low fat/ skim milk
- Hummus
- Seeds
- Dark chocolate
- Homemade goodies from scratch 🙂
Eggs, tree nuts, and shellfish are also clean and nutritious, but I leave them off my list due to my allergies. I also want to note that these lists are just suggestions of what I try to adhere to. (I certainly don’t do it perfectly.) Hopefully you find these guidelines helpful!
