How Do You Eat Clean?

I'm sure you've heard the term "Clean Eating", but what does it mean and how do you start?  Basically, clean eating is ditching the bad things from your diet: processed foods, chemicals, added hormones and eating nature's foods - foods that are naturally grown and produced like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish and lean meats.

So where do you start?

1. Eat Real, Whole Foods
Real food exists in nature. It's real food if it grows out of the ground or is raised on a farm, and it's real good for you. If it's one ingredient - raw chicken, broccoli, lettuce, tomato, cucumber - it's clean. Clean food doesn't come in packages and it doesn't require labels. Think fresh veggies, fruit, meat or seafood from the butcher, nuts, grains and spices bought in bulk.

2. Eliminate all Processed Foods & Refined Sugar
Ditch anything that is packaged or comes with a label. Anything that has ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Anything with added refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners (try honey or pure maple syrup for a natural sweetener.)

3. Water Only
If you find water boring, try adding some fruit to it - a squeeze of lemon, cucumbers and strawberries, or your favorite fruits to make your own spa water.  Try tea, iced or hot in a flavor that intrigues you. Throw out juices, sodas, all sugary drinks and diet drinks.

4. Be Mindful of Your Choices
Make a list of the foods you can eat and stick to it. Keep you list in your phone, on your fridge, print it out and take it to the grocery store so that you stick with your plan.

5. What about Organic?
A rule of thumb - if you can eat the peel or the outside, then you should consider buying organic to avoid pesticides that may be on the exterior. One of the best sources of organic is to make a smoothie with our Fruit & Veggies Essentials + Probiotics (great for making sure you're getting enough fruits and veggies per day or sneak it in for the picky eaters in your family.)

6. Cook Your Own Meals
Cooking at home is always best, especially when you’re starting out on a clean eating plan. Use fresh ingredients so you know exactly what is in your food. Once you're comfortable with clean eating, you will be able to eat out and pick the right foods off of any menu.

An easy question to ask when considering what you can and cannot eat - did it grow that way? If the answer is yes, it's a yes for clean eating.

What we ingest SHOULD be digested and used for nutrition. What we ingest that does not get digested, we store. This can, in return, lead to many health issues we see today. We've formulated key products to support healthy digestion by providing key enzymes and probiotics for proper digestion and gut health that is required, even on a clean eating plan.