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| Flash cooking methods, such as sauteeing, can help to preserve the nutrients in fresh vegetables when cooking. |
With all the craze about diets and healthy lifestyle changes, clean eating is at the forefront of ways one can change their eating styles to be healthier consumers of food. Its not very difficult either. Well, some of you may be asking, "what the heck is it?" Fitness Magazine defines clean eating as "eating whole foods, or 'real' foods — those that are un- or minimally processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible." Some examples of unprocessed foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, dried beans, nuts and farm-fresh eggs. Minimally processed foods such as whole wheat bread and pasta, popcorn, brown rice, oils, and frozen fruits and vegetables are also considered versions of clean eating. The more unprocessed, the better the food is for our bodies.
One way to shop for a cleaner variety of food is to shop the perimeter of the supermarket. Oftentimes, we find the majority of items on the inside shelves are boxed or canned items. As a general rule of thumb, if its in a box, jar, or can, more than likely, it's a processed food. Food companies put additives in food so that they will have a longer shelf life. The drawback of this is that those additives are not always good for our bodies.
By attempting to shop, cook and eat cleaner, we are undoubtedly giving our bodies healthier cuisine choices and hopefully adding a little more longevity to our lives. No unrealistic expectations over here, though. Ever since learning about clean eating, I have dedicated myself to being more conscious of food choices when shopping for my family. I buy as much fresh produce as I can, but I have to admit, it's a challenge because if you don't use the fresh produce within 1-2 days, it starts to go bad. A happy medium for me is frozen. I can buy almost everything I would buy fresh in the frozen variety (except cabbage, but I'm interested in seeing if I can freeze it from fresh to make it last longer). Buying frozen increases the lifetime of your produce drastically. For busy moms like me, this may be your best option. You have to experiment and see what works best for you and your family.
In closing, clean eating is not just some fitness fad or new diet for you to try. It is an awareness of the things we put into our bodies, and a genuine attempt to make better choices about those things. Have you had any experiences with clean eating? Feel free to share!
One way to shop for a cleaner variety of food is to shop the perimeter of the supermarket. Oftentimes, we find the majority of items on the inside shelves are boxed or canned items. As a general rule of thumb, if its in a box, jar, or can, more than likely, it's a processed food. Food companies put additives in food so that they will have a longer shelf life. The drawback of this is that those additives are not always good for our bodies.
By attempting to shop, cook and eat cleaner, we are undoubtedly giving our bodies healthier cuisine choices and hopefully adding a little more longevity to our lives. No unrealistic expectations over here, though. Ever since learning about clean eating, I have dedicated myself to being more conscious of food choices when shopping for my family. I buy as much fresh produce as I can, but I have to admit, it's a challenge because if you don't use the fresh produce within 1-2 days, it starts to go bad. A happy medium for me is frozen. I can buy almost everything I would buy fresh in the frozen variety (except cabbage, but I'm interested in seeing if I can freeze it from fresh to make it last longer). Buying frozen increases the lifetime of your produce drastically. For busy moms like me, this may be your best option. You have to experiment and see what works best for you and your family.
In closing, clean eating is not just some fitness fad or new diet for you to try. It is an awareness of the things we put into our bodies, and a genuine attempt to make better choices about those things. Have you had any experiences with clean eating? Feel free to share!
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