Meal Plans For Clean Eating

Eating clean means shunning all processed foods in favor of whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Tosca Reno, a columnist for the fitness publication "Oxygen" magazine, popularized the diet in her "Eat Clean Diet" book series. Eating clean promises increased energy, improved health and safe weight loss. Preparing meals for clean eating might require a bit more planning and preparation than grabbing fast food or a frozen dinner, but you will reap the benefits of tasty food with optimal nutrition.

Features

Eating clean means that fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats and lean proteins make up the bulk of your diet. Processed foods, fast food, snack products, condiments, sugared drinks and refined desserts are off-limits. Meal plans for clean eating discourage white products in particular, like white bread and pasta, white fat and white sugar.

Benefits

Clean eating is not a plan that asks you to feel deprived or starved. There is no calorie counting or carbohydrate or fat gram calculations. You buy real food, not prepackaged meals that fail to teach you how to eat when the plan is over. The meal plans can be adjusted for people that have food allergies or restrictive diets due to medical conditions.

Strategy

A clean diet plan asks that you eat three primary meals and two snacks daily. Each should include a lean protein, fresh produce and a complex carbohydrate to keep your body energized and your metabolism efficient. Become accustomed to reading labels on your food products. "Clean Eating" magazine notes that if a label has a long list of unrecognizable ingredients, it does not belong in your diet. Know to avoid saturated and trans fats and foods with added sugars and refine flours. Drink plenty of water daily.

Considerations

Clean eating meal plans consist of balanced nutrition, including a fair amount of essential fatty acids points out Every Diet websites. Many recipes are available through cookbooks and the magazine. If you are not into creative cooking, you can eat cleanly by simply broiling or grilling a lean protein like turkey or very lean beef, steaming fresh vegetables and microwaving precooked brown rice. Eating clean may make eating out or at social engagements more challenging as many of these events feature processed foods.

Sample Meals

A typical day of clean eating meal plans begins with a bowl of whole grain cereal with low-fat milk and strawberries. At lunch, have a sandwich of uncured, low-sodium ham with light cheese and roasted red peppers on rye bread and baby carrots. Dinner could be composed of a salad made with baby spinach, 3 oz. of grilled chicken breast, black beans, grilled onions and a dressing made with olive oil and red wine vinegary. Snacks consist of whole wheat crackers with natural peanut butter and cottage cheese with raisins.