First 5 Goals- Clean Eating made Simple

Goal Setting… Let’s Make This Happen!

Goals are set now….are you ready for a fresh start? I can tell you it is possible! This gal once ate anything and everything- I was in the hospitality industry and LOVED food. Making ANY changes to your diet can be hard- it is HARD but it can also be FUN!!! Think of a person that can be your cheerleader- someone that can encourage you on your clean eating journey.

It all starts with a PAL and 5 ACHIEVEABLE GOALS

Pure Water
Salad Dressings
Toss Boxed Cereals
Rotate Proteins
Menu Planning

1. Pure Water– meaning clean sourced water. Check out the filtration options for your home. If you do not have a water intake filter or a high performance sink filter consider water delivery in glass bottles. There are many hidden containments in water and you are drinking it to support your body! Worried about flavor? There are plenty of infused water options and don’t fret there are other clean beverage options available- we are just focusing on water for a FIRST 5 GOAL!

2. Make your own Salad Dressings! It sounds hard- tedious and not relevant. BUT I ASSURE you that there are many things in store bought dressings that add unwanted calories, chemicals and allergenic ingredients. Here are a few of the things you will be tossing out when making your own:

Soybean Oil
Canola Oil
Sugar
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Maltodextrin
Modified Corn Starch
Sodium

I’m thinking you would rather do without these and have a clean dessert later on. If you make your own salad dressings then you will likely make a salad to go with it. It is all part of the plan in making it achievable.

3. Toss the BOX! Unless you can REALLY tolerate moderate gluten free grains then it is better to toss the store bought boxed cereal. This helps you focus on protein packed breakfast and eliminates ENRICHED foods, FILLERS and PRESERVATIVES. This is all part of the plan to support your body and feel amazing! Boil some eggs in advance, have days set for smoothies and a Frittata in advance really makes your mornings a little brighter. There are some genetic conditions, like MTHFR, that can’t process synthetic nutrients. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”- Hippocrates 431 B.C.

4. Rotating all of your foods is a good idea. For a Top 5 Goal we are suggesting to rotate your proteins. Why? It allows you to try a variety of foods and ideally makes the consumer more aware of product handling. Organic, Grass-Fed, Non-GMO, “Girls on Grass”, Soy-Free Diet, No Growth Hormones and Antibiotic Free are just a few “Mainstream” labels to look for. Rotating your foods also allows you to identify foods that are causing and stomach upset or reactions. In the end it truly allows you to try new foods and enjoy cooking again.

5. Menu planning is now easier than ever before. Blogs (I had to mention that), websites, company product sites, cookbooks and on-line subscriptions are all tools that help make menu planning easy and convenient. It also helps you plan a budget, try new foods and customize and menu for food sensitives. On www.cleanlyconsumed.com you can search by an ingredient which helps if you are at a loss of what do plan for. It is GOOD STRATEGIC PLANNING to shop with a list.

TWO QUICK things to remember when you are shopping… they are easy I Promise!

Try to focus on the perimeters of the store, then in the frozen section. Avoid the other aisles as much as you can.
Remember the “Dirty Dozen” when picking out fresh produce.

The “Dirty Dozen” are those items that positive for a number of different pesticides and showed higher than others. If you can buy all Organic that is WONDEFUL… if not these are the top 12 you want to AVOID Conventionally Grown:

Strawberries
Apples
Nectarines
Peaches
Celery
Grapes
Cherries
Spinach
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes
Cucumbers

To let you have a list of the CLEAN Foods that you can buy Conventionally Grown:

Avocados
Sweet Corn
Pineapples
Cabbage
Sweet Peas (Frozen)
Onions
Asparagus
Mangos
Papayas
Kiwi
Eggplant
Honeydew Melon
Grapefruit
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower

So….after years of eating a certain way it is key to pick a few achievable goals (baby steps) so that you can feel confident! Your body will thank you and you will be amazed to see the changes in your health & overall well-being.

Enjoy!