Clean Eating

While our world around us is changing I decided why not throw one more big change into the mix. We are now a 90% clean eating house! For those who don't know what clean eating is let me explain. You don't eat things that are processed and eat a lot more whole grain items. So gone are the crackers, boxed mac and cheese, frozen foods and pretty much anything else that comes from the center aisles at the grocery store. They have been replaced by fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lots of protein.

We have been at it for about a week and I am shocked how much better I feel already!! I am down 12 pounds (which I know is mainly water weight from the sodium I had been consuming) and I feel like I have a lot more energy than normal. Ben is down 4 pounds but hasn't stuck to it as closely as I have. What we are struggling with is what to have for lunch. I am the type of person who can eat the same thing day after day so my lunch is easy. My husband and children though are not like me in that regard. So if anyone has any suggestions please share them in the comments below.

Our first week has been great. Here is an example of what we have had so far:

Pork chops with a garlic herb cheese and bread crumb crust
BBQ chicken
Roasted chicken
Baked chicken
Nitrate free ham sandwiches
Turkey sandwiches
Natural peanut butter sandwiches
Unsalted walnuts
Corn on the cob
Fresh green beans
Whole wheat pasta
Manderan oranges
Grapes
Peaches
Strawberries

My typical day has been:

Breakfast - Whole Grain English Muffin
Lunch - Natural Peanut Butter Sandwich, String Cheese
Afternoon Snack - Unsalted Walnuts
Dinner - Chicken of some sort, whole grain pasta
Evening Snack - String Cheese or Walnuts


I track everything I do through www.myfitnesspal.com which keeps track of how many calories I have had, how much sodium, fat, carbs, sugar and many other things. It gives you the recommended amount that you should consume per day and I always try to keep my macros just below that. Last night I downloaded MapMyWalk and it even imports how far we walk in an evening plus the calories burned into MyFitnessPal. If you haven't tried either of these I highly recommend them! I wouldn't be doing near as well without them.

I have started programs before and stopped after not long but this I actually feel like I can do. Sure there are times when we eat something that isn't "clean" which is why I say we are 90%. Even if we were at 10% in our house that would be an improvement from where we were. I hope to blog more on our favorite recipes and share our progress along the way. If you have recipes that you would like to share please do!!