Eating clean means focusing on whole, natural foods that are minimally processed. Proponents of this style of eating claim it improves their health, helps them achieve a healthy weight and provides them with renewed energy. Once you understand the fundamentals of eating clean, coming up with eat-clean diet menus comes easily.
Allowed Foods
Fresh fruits and vegetables form the foundation of clean-eating diet menus. Dried fruits may also be included, but avoid ones with added sugars. Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, millet and sprouted grain breads are also encouraged. Clean-eating diet menus include lots of lean proteins such as poultry, fish and bison. Low-fat dairy products and unsaturated fats found in plant oils, nuts and avocados round out a clean-eating plan. Sweeteners such as sucanat, honey, agave, molasses and stevia are considered clean.
Foods to Avoid
Any product with a long list of ingredients, especially unpronounceable ones, is not likely to be clean. White flour, white sugar and white fat should also be avoided. Alcohol intake should be kept to a minimum. Cured meats such as hot dogs and bacon are off-limits as well. Fast food and convenience foods such as frozen dinners and most commercial snacks do not belong in an eat-clean diet menu.
Preparations
Eat-clean diet menus focus on low-fat cooking methods such as broiling, grilling, poaching and roasting. Foods are flavored with herbs, mushrooms, vinegars, citrus, ginger, spices, onion and garlic. Non-fat Greek yogurt stands in for sour cream or mayonnaise in many preparations.
Strategy
An eat-clean diet menu emphasizes eating five to six times daily to keep your metabolism revved and hunger in check, according to Clean Eating Magazine. Each of three main meals contains a carbohydrate--such as whole grains or produce--and a protein. Two to three smaller snacks are consumed mid-morning and mid-afternoon, and optionally after dinner. While six meals are recommended, there is no reason you have to eat all of them if you are not hungry.
Sample Plan
An eat-clean diet menu might feature oatmeal with soy milk, strawberries and a side of scrambled egg whites for breakfast. A mid-morning snack might consist of natural almond butter with an apple. At lunch, a spinach salad with bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, chick peas and water-packed tuna, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, is enjoyed with an apple or whole-grain roll. For a mid-afternoon snack, have 2 to 3 oz. of chicken breast and fresh salsa wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. At dinner, enjoy whole-grain pasta with fresh, part-skim mozzarella, diced tomatoes and a green salad. The final meal of the evening might be non-fat Greek yogurt with a drizzle of agave nectar and blueberries.
References
- Eat Clean Diet: What is Clean Eating?
- Every Diet: Eat Clean Diet
- "How to Eat and Live Clean;" Clean Eating Magazine; August 2009
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