Sunday 23 November 2014

Clean Eating

So I'm sure some of you are asking the question... What is clean eating?

Well in a nutshell it is eating foods that are unprocessed and foods that are as natural as possible, similar to the Paleo way of eating. Eating foods that are free from additives, preservatives and man made chemicals. Once you start looking
at labels, it is surprising how many of the everyday foods have things like sugar, fats and chemicals added to them to keep their shelf life longer. I definitely am a believer that diseases and cancers are linked to humans consuming foods that are unnatural and processed. Alot of foods that are deemed 'healthy' because they are lower in fat or sugar, have been pumped with chemicals, flavourings and preservatives to keep them tasty and appealing to the eye. For example low fat mayonaise, low fat yogurt and low fat ready meals. Just read the labels on the packaging and if the ingredient is something that you can not pronounce or find on a supermarket shelf, it is very likely that it is man made and it is not good for you.

In order to eat clean, I have cut out the following from my eating habits:

*ALL processed foods - cakes, biscuits, bread, sweets, crisps, ice cream, ready meals, jarred sauces, dressings, pies, pastries, ready made sandwiches, chocolate, processed meats (bacon, ham, cooked meats due to the preservatives, nitrates and sugars added) etc
*White Carbs - Pasta, noodles, rice, bread, potatoes (because they have a low nutritional value)
*ALL junk food - Macdonalds, pizza, chips, Chinese etc
*ALL processed drinks - cans of soda, squash, juice, tea, coffee (mainly because I only drink it with alot of milk)

I promise you that clean eating leaves you with abundant choice of foods as I'm sure you're wondering what there is left to eat after removing the above list? ALOT I promise! 

*Vegetables
*Sweet potato
*Fruits
*Nut butters (organic or homemade)
*Nuts
*Lean meats - chicken, turkey and lean beef mince
*Brown carbohydrates - I have only allowed myself brown rice and wholewheat noodles so far. I've also had 6 wholemeal rolls but I would prefer to make my own bread so that I know whats going in it
*Green Tea
*Water - at least 2 litres
*Dairy - so far I have had Greek Yogurt, Yeo Valley yogurts, parmesan, goats cheese and a small bit of cheddar, usually once a week and in small amounts
*Milk - Almond or skimmed milk
*Spices - especially chilli to boost your metabolism!
*Honey - raw preferably
*Oil - olive oil and coconut oil 
*Fish
*Eggs
*Porridge Oats

There is so much that you can do with veggies and meat dishes, it just takes alittle bit of research. If there are recipes that you love then you can tweak them to make them clean. Check out my Pintrest Eat Clean Board for some inspiration!

Clean Eating can be a massive lifestyle change if you are used to living off convenience foods. I understand that life gets busy and hectic and who wants to slave over a cooker for an hour when they get home from work? Not me! But eating clean does require some planning and preparation, the last thing you want to do is find yourself starving and reaching for the wrong foods.
Each week I plan what I'm going to eat for the next 7 days. I'll go through my Pintrest board and look at the recipes I've posted during the week, picking ones I want to try. Then I'll figure out what days across the week I'm having them and what ingredients I need. Then build my shopping list, based on what I need and what I already have in my cupboards and finally either hit the supermarket or do my shopping online and collect it from the store as food shopping is one of my pet hates (it's not the actual shopping I can't stand, its everyone else dallying around, leaving their trollies everywhere, finding a parking space, queuing at the till... ARGHHH! So stressful! So now having worked out how to use Click and Collect at my local Asda, I can do it from the comfort of my home with a mug of green tea and collect it when I'm ready, its brilliant!).

Then comes the meal prep. Again, I do appreciate that not everyone has time to do this but it really is a great help if you can spend half a day cooking your meals in advance as this leaves you time during the week and all you have to do is heat it up, prepare a salad (if you're having one with your meal) and voilĂ ! Dinner is served!


Every time I try out a recipe I will post it on my Blog to share it with you all so you can try it too!

Any questions please feel free to ask :)

Much Love

Just Ems

Start Date: 7th October 2014
Start Weight: 15 stone 8lbs
Current Weight: 14 Stone 4lbs
Total Weight Lost: 18lbs
Height 5'2

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