Clean Eating in a Nutshell: Core Principles

 

Clean Eating Principle #1: Eat a wide-variety of whole, unrefined and unprocessed foods in a form that’s as close as possible to how the foods appear in nature

If there is one rule of Clean Eating, this is the one that rules them all. In fact, if you understand this principle, all of the others pretty much fall into place.

 If you can’t go pick, reap or acquire the food in the field, farm or orchard and then eat it, you’re on the wrong track. 
Another way of stating the same thing would be "If it didn't grow on a vine, bush, or tree or be an animal you could catch and eat - don't eat it."

Clean Eating Principle #2: Avoid processed sugars, especially sugary beverages like soda.

Sugars are everywhere, and they power our workouts, daily activities and our brains. All carbohydrates eventually get broke down into simple sugars, but how quickly they are broke down and when, determines whether they are utilized effectively, or get packed on as excess body fat.

A better alternative is to utilize sugars that appear naturally in nature — things like fruit or whole food sources of fruit sugars like honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup. These sweeteners also have their own unique flavors that can enhance the foods that you add them to.

Processed, simple sugars like table sugar and dextrose are very sweet and our taste buds become accustomed to this intensity. It’s like a drug, and the more sugar we consume, the more “resistant” to it’s sweetness we become.  So we crave more.

Clean Eating Principle #3: Avoid saturated fat and trans fats, and instead substitute healthy, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats

Despite the “Low Fat” craze of the Eighties and early-Nineties, fat is not your enemy. But “bad” saturated and trans fats are.
Good fats — the kind that come from things like nuts, fish and oils that are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — can be liberally consumed without having a detrimental effect on your overall health. In fact, studies have shown that people who consume even large amounts of healthy fats have better cholesterol profiles, less body fat and less risk of certain kinds of cancers.

Good sources of healthy fats, as part of an eating clean diet, include oily coldwater fish like salmon, nuts (especially almonds, walnuts and pecans), nut butters, flax seed, avocados, nut oils, and olive oil.

Clean Eating Principle #4: Always combine complex carbohydrates with lean protein and some healthy fats at every meal

While many diets suggest reducing entire food groups (like carbohydrates or fats) from meals, Clean Eating encourages you to always combine carbohydrates, lean protein and fats in each meal.
This approach ensures that you are getting maximum nutrition and balance in your meals, which will translate into sustained energy, less hunger, and eventually, increased fat loss. Combining a variety of foods may also take advantage of synergistic characteristics between foods and the phytochemicals in them, amplifying the impact of antioxidants in the body.

Clean Eating Principle #5: Spread your food out over 5-6 smaller meals, consumed every 2-3 hours

This is the Clean Eating principle that many people scratch their heads over, especially since we’ve had the “three-square meals” idea pounded in our heads since childhood.

1. By keeping your meals smaller, you make sure you are only eating an amount of food that your body can utilize for energy and recovery over the next 2-3 hours. This discourages overeating, or calorie intake in excess of what your body needs, which will keep you lean or help you shed body fat.
2. Better, more sustained energy. Eating smaller meals, more frequently, helps keep your blood sugar levels stable which prevents energy crashes. Blood sugar spikes also encourage excess calories to be stored more readily as body fat, so when you keep blood sugar stable, it can help you lose fat or at least maintain leanness.

 Clean Eating Principle #6: Eat for maximum nutrient density. In other words, avoid “empty” calories found in fast food, soda, snacks, cakes and cookies, and substitute in nutrient-dense snacks

What does this mean to you? No junk food. Empty calories. High fat, low nutrition. As I like to say - you may as well forget about eating that fast food apple pie and apply it directly to your right hip - because that is exactly where it's going to go...

Clean Eating Principle #7: Pay attention to proper portions and practice portion control

Clean Eating isn’t a blank check to eat all your want as long as they are “clean foods.”
Most Americans, thanks to Super-Sized menus and all-you-can-eat-buffets, have very whacked out concepts of what a serving is.  A serving of brown rice, for instance, is a 1/2 cup of cooked rice — not a mound of it (which could actually be 2-3 servings.)

Clean Eating Principle #8: Drink lots of water

Water keeps you hydrated, helps aid in digestion, can improve concentration and energy and can help you feel fuller and more satisfied over the course of the day. And when you drink water instead of empty calories like soda, you can dramatically decrease your overall calorie intake for the day. How much water per day? Take your current body weight, and divide that number by 2. Take 20% off that number, and then convert that number to ounces. That is how much water you should strive to drink per day.

Example: If you are 200 lbs, divide by 2 is 100. 20% of 100 is 80. The 200 lb person should drink approximately 80 ounces of water per day.


Clean Eating is actually pretty straightforward. 8 simple guidelines which when adhered to will really change your life and your health. 

Thank you, Answer Fitness

Confronting Your Demons - Clean Eating & Control

 

When I saw the picture above, I immediately saw myself facing down the challenges I've had over the past year. I finally had enough, finally stopped running away from the snake- and turned to face it. 

Everyone has a demon to conquer. We are fallible, fragile humans - not governed by the logical brain but are at the whims of our psyches. As much as we'd like to think we are in charge...sadly, we are not. While our actions can be trained to lean in a different direction, our base instincts will always be there. Comfort. Sex. Sleeping. Eating.

We may know a slender build and good health are gained by physical and emotional restraint, but we still seem to find ourselves idly munching that cookie or soothing raw nerves with mindless eating. 

Control comes from recognizing those people, situations, and emotions that cause your base instincts to kick in. Recognizing them, and making changes in order to avoid the inevitable response your body will have. 

For me, it is mindless, emotional, stressed eating at "that time of the month." - I'm a Sinner in the Hand of an Angry God at that moment, and any amount of sin that comes my way is fodder for the trough. 

Knowing this, I can identify problematic times, and avoid situations I know will press those inner buttons I know I have.

What will you do to take control of your life and your destiny?

Why are you indulging your base instincts when you know they are causing your slow but inevitable decline?

How can you change your thinking and reactions for a better outcome in the future?

Stop. Think. Make this your time to turn and face the snake.

Trader Joe's Spotlight: Vegetable Masala Burgers

This past week during my usual Trader Joe's run, I picked up a few pantry essentials - and some items my boys love ( the frozen gorgonzola gnocci is a particular side dish favorite of theirs ) but I was also browsing for something new for me to try. Something I might enjoy eating  , something I might enjoy reviewing. 

When  I picked up the Vegetable Masala burgers, I frowned a bit, but picked up the package anyway. "Authentic Indian spices" - I've never been a huge fan of curry. It's okay - but not a favorite. Meatless burgers are also at best a Border Food ( one that is consumed very sporadically because it is a little too processed, a little too high in sodium, a little too Unclean for daily consumption ). So right off the bat - an Indian flavored meatless burger wasn't exactly triggering a warm fuzzy response from me. 

Ingredients: Potatoes, canola oil, carrots , green beans, water, bread crumbs ( wheat flour, sugar , yeast, salt ), bell peppers, onions, corn, salt, green peppers, sugar, ginger, cellulose gum, spices, citric acid, tumeric, and mustard seeds.

A bit long - but all fairly Clean. The addition of salt and sugar almost made me put it down, but I didn't. 

The nutritional information was fairly strong. 

Per patty:

Calories: 120

Fat: 8 g ( probably from the canola oil )

Sodium: 360 mg ( Not terrible for a premade burger like this, but definitely Borderline.

Carbs: 12g 

Sugar: 1 g ( Huh, they added sugar, but even with the sugar from the potato in there, it is still only 1g? Not bad. )

 So with a slight "These aren't exactly what I want but I will settle for them" air, I put them in my basket and headed for the checkout. 

Wow - I'm glad I did. These burgers are delicious! The Indian spicing is flavorful, not cloying and over the top. The consistency of the burger is moist and interesting. It isn't dull and lifeless. The cooking directions given are to heat them in a lightly oiled skillet until hot, or put them on a "barbeque", oiled, and grill on both sides until hot. I chose to heat them in the microwave, because I was at work and that is all I had available to me - and I think they came out just fine. 

When you pull the burgers from the package, you can clearly see the chunks of vegetables in them, and I liked that aspect a lot. The vegetables weren't ground into a paste to hold everything together. I feel this is a plus; I could recognize my food. 

I will definitely buy these again, but I do recognize these aren't something I would or should eat on a weekly basis. These will be an "every once in a while" addition to my menu. A very tasty addition - every once in a while...

New Pork Cooking Recommendations - Did You Know?

Pork is a Clean food product, when purchased properly. Look for pork that has not been brined or injected with a saline solution to make it heavier ( and cost more ! ) and to make it a "juicier, more flavorful" product.

I didn't realize that the USDA changed the recommended endpoint temperature for pork On May 24, 2011, the USDA announced that pork can be safely cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit ( 63 degrees Celsius ), down from the previously-recommended 160 degrees Fahrenheit. That 15 degree difference will typically yield a finished product that is pinker and moister than most home cooks are used to.

The reasoning for this has been attributed to the overall improvement in the manner hogs are raised in the US, and the overall health of the hogs in general. The incidences of certain previously questionable organisms
( trichinosis, mainly ) have been lowered significantly - and the USDA recognizes that cooking a piece of meat to within shoe leather status is simply no longer necessary.

What can you do?

Go get yourself a digital meat thermometer, and the next time you cook a piece of pork, remove it from the oven after it reaches approximately 140+ degrees. Let it rest for 5+ minutes before serving. Check the resting temperature again to be sure your pork has achieved 145 degrees. Then, cut into it and observe the color. After a few uses of the meat thermometer, you'll probably no longer need it - as you will have gauged the time and temperature needed for your facilities at home how to achieve 145 degrees. You'll be really impressed with how moist and flavorful that 15 degree difference makes!

But as the sticker above reinforces: ground pork is treated differently - and a pork patty MUST still be cooked to an internal temperature of no less than 160 degrees.

Bad Food: Dean's Guacamole Dip

 Guacamole dip is ( generally ) a Clean Food. When made with organic sour cream, mashed avocado, and some spices...it's good stuff. Besides eating straight from the bowl perhaps with pita chips - it's also good smeared on bread as a side flavor for a sandwich.

 When does avocado dip go bad? As soon as it is mass produced. Have you seen this brand in the stores?

1. Warning sign #1? Yep, you guessed it. The label says "Guacamole flavored Dip. The "flavored" wording isn't bold, so your eye doesn't pic up on it. They can't legally call it guacamole dip - because...

2. Ingredients:
SKIM MILK, SOYBEAN OIL, TOMATOES, WATER, COCONUT OIL, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF AVOCADO, WHOLE EGG, ONION*, SALT, DISTILLED VINEGAR, EGG YOLKS, SUGAR, NONFAT DRY MILK, WHEY (MILK), LACTIC ACID, SODIUM CASEINATE (MILK), ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, TOMATO JUICE, VEGETABLE MONO & DIGLYCERIDES, SPICES, SODIUM BENZOATE AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), GELATIN, CORN STARCH, GUAR GUM, CELLULOSE GEL & CELLULOSE GUM, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, LOCUST BEAN GUM, DISODIUM, PHOSPHATE, GUM ARABIC, XANTHAN GUM, CILANTRO*, NATURAL FLAVORS, EXTRACTIVE OF PAPRIKA, CITRIC ACID, ASCORBIC ACID, BLUE 1, RED 40, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6. *DEHYDRATED.

Yep, you got it again - Avocado is not the main ingredient - not even close. It is part of the "less than 2%" part.  


3. On the label they proudly proclaim "0g Trans Fat per Serving" - but each serving ( 2 tbs ) contains 90 calories - 80 of which are from fat!




Once again - when you see a product in the store - investigate. Read the label, read the ingredients. Think about how the product is being presented. Question the veracity of the flashy advertising graphics they use to hype the potential health benefits. Look past what they are trying to tell you, and see what they are NOT telling you. That is the key to wisely choosing Clean prepared products.

Portion Distortion - Part II

For occasional over eaters like myself, I find these visual portion distortion reminders both a helpful reminder and a real eye opener. The first "whole" picture is the serving size you'll receive at the stated restaurant or store. The second picture to the right is the USDA recommended serving size for that same food.

From The Fooducate Blog

One of the most important pieces of information in a nutrition label is the serving size. Many people look at the calorie count, and are happy to see low numbers. But what they don’t notice is that they are consuming twice or more than the stated serving size. Which means twice the calories, twice the fat and sodium, etc.. (but on the bright side – also twice the minerals & vitamins.


There are some funny examples of products with ridiculously small serving sizes, for example “11 chips” for potato chips, or “2 cookies” for Oreos. These don’t make sense, because nobody eats so little. So why are these serving sizes used?

The answer is that a long time ago, the FDA/USDA surveyed consumers and set a “reference amount customarily  consumed” (RACC). The RACC was the amount of food normally consumed per eating occasion by persons four years of age or older.

But what has happened in the past few decades is that our actual RACCs have shot up skyward while the stated RACCs remained static. We can thank supersized meals in fast food establishments as one of the contributors to this phenomena. Without noticing, our expected potion sizes have ballooned. And so have we.

Larabar Report: Banana Bread and Pecan Pie

What is your name? Maura

What is your Quest? I seek untried, untasted Larabar varieties.

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? What do you mean, African or European swallow?

I’m on a Quest which has taken me to stores large and small. Searching high and low.

I want to try as many of the Larabar flavors as I can. There are some I’ll never be able to try; I’m allergic to cashews and they are added to many of the Larabars. But…I want to get my hands on as many as I can.

This week I was fortunate enough to try two new ( to me ) flavors of Larabar: Pecan Pie and Banana Bread. Both were tasty, but I think these might be a very much YMMV flavor.

Pecan pie did indeed taste like a slice of not particularly sweet pecan pie. I enjoyed the crunchy bits of pecan, and I know I'll be buying it again as a "change of pace" flavor. However, my bar had an oily sheen on it. I think it was oil from the nuts -not entirely sure. The oil had no flavor, and didn't detract from the taste. Perhaps I got one that had been sitting on the shelf for a while.

Banana Bread is odd. It tasted like banana, to be certain. I gave a small piece to my husband, who promptly said "Tastes like what I imagine banana peels taste like." I rolled my eyes and left the room with the remainder of my Larabar - but I have to admit - it was vaguely reminiscent of banana peel. I liked it, but I found that "banana peel " characterization a bit hard to shake once I heard it.

All in all - two new flavors I'm really happy to have tried, and will purchase again. 

Smart Balance Peanut Butter

As an avid couponer, my eyes were immediately drawn a few weekends ago to my coupon insert that offered a .75 off 1 jar of Smart Balance Peanut Butter. As Triple coupon  events are fairly common in my area, I know that my little .75 off coupon is actually $2.25 off a jar of peanut butter at those times...and I immediately set about to gather as many of these coupons as I could get my hands on. However, before I stocked up - I wanted my son ( the main peanut butter consumer in our house ) to try it. So I went out with a single coupon, and bought a jar of Smart Balance peanut butter.

The ingredient list caught my eye: peanuts: evaporated cane juice, natural oil blend ( palm fruit and flaxseed oils ) , salt, molasses

Huh. Not too bad! Nothing hydrogenated, and the sugars are natural, not processed like granulated sugar.

Calories? 190. Sugar? 3 g, Fat? 16g. All identical to the other peanut butters on the market - including multiple organic versions.  Also, because of the addition of flaxseed, this peanut butter provides 320mg if Omega-3 oil per serving - a very good thing!

When I opened the jar, there was a fine oil sheen on the top - very common for natural, less processed peanut butters. It was fairly easily stirred. I tried a swipe - and it was good. I made a peanut butter sandwich for my son and handed it to him without comment. He ate it and enjoyed the taste.

I'm hoping that a Triples event comes along that coincides with this peanut butter being on sale! It will be a good peanut butter to stockpile - a healthier version of the other, more "kid friendly" ( read: sugary craptacular fat laden yuck ) peanut butters I'd personally prefer to move away from.

SweeTango Apples

 Grocers Gone Wild...the Malus Domestica version.

 Last week, I went back to the same grocery store where I found those delicious Sonya apples.
Not seeing any, I asked the young man who was restocking some vegetables about the apples. He informed me he had heard their fresh fruit and vegetable buyer was trying out different and new varieties of apples, and that Sonya shipment was part of that experiment. They didn't have any more left - but they did have a new apple : the SweeTango. Having never tried it, I immediately picked up a bag.

I served it to my family alongside our dinner that night - and we all liked it very much. Extremely crunchy, with a crisp taste that wasn't overly as sweet as I expected from the name.

My husband observed "This is what I remember Red Delicious apples as being like when I was a kid." - and he was correct. Though not a variant on Red Delicious, it reminded me of what I thought of when I ate a Red Delicious.It was crisp, with an interesting sweet/sour mixture of flavors.


From the SweeTango website:

SweeTango® is a variety of apple that began gracing store shelves in fall 2009. A cross between the popular Honeycrisp and Zestar! varieties, SweeTango delivers its own unique flavor, crunch and tasting experience. The name SweeTango reflects the harmonious flavor combination you experience upon first bite.

Flavor – Juicy and sweet with hints of fall spices, SweeTango®’s flavor, balanced by vibrant acidity, dances to a long and satisfying finish on the palate. It also features the satisfying “crunch” of a Honeycrisp.

Origin – SweeTango is the brand name for apples produced by Minneiska trees, a cultivar developed at the University of Minnesota. Breeders spent more than a decade developing this distinct variety of apple. SweeTango is grown and marketed by Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative – a unique partnership of some of the most respected family-owned orchards in North America.

Appearance – SweeTango is a blush apple with deep red coloration over a yellow breaking background.

Availability – SweeTango is an early-season apple, harvested in late August and early September. The apples appeared in limited quantities in select markets in 2009 and 2010. Stores and markets across the nation will carry the apples in 2011.


http://sweetango.com/

Friday Funny

 

 I've always found this Bluntcard hilarious. Most of the other Bluntcards are so outrageously NSFW, un-PC, and just downright hysterically offensive with the naughty words that I can't bring myself to post the ones that make me laugh until I cry.

You've been warned...

Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic

Since posting this quick video highlighting a shortcut for cleaning a lot of garlic at once: http://evewaspartiallyright.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-peel-lot-of-garlic-all-at-once.html. I've been thinking about chicken and garlic. A lot of garlic

Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic ( Because 40 Cloves is Just Too Much! )

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 lbs chicken leg quarters

20 cloves garlic, peeled

2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 c low sodium organic chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 c freshly chopped basil leaves

Whole grain baguette bread

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat butter and oil in a heavy ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned. Remove chicken to a plate.
3. Add garlic to pan and cook until it begins to brown, about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Arrange chicken on top of garlic. Place tomatoes on top. Sprinkle salt. Add broth.
4. Cover and place in oven. Cook 30 minutes, or until chicken is done. Sprinkle with fresh basil and pepper. Serve with baguette slices smeared with the roasted garlic from the pan. .

The State of American Nutrition

Got your attention? Tsk, Tsk! Need some motivation to eat Clean? Think on these factoids...

1. Americans eat more than 500 million Twinkies per year. Chicago is the Twinkie capital of the world, gobbling down 27 million Twinkies annually. There is no fiber in a Twinkie.

2. Americans drink an average of 800 8 ounce servings of soft drinks each year. There is almost 1/4 cup of sugar in a can of cola.

3. 34% of Americans are obese, with 33% more being "overweight" and only 33% being of normal reasonable weight. Only 5% of persons age 12 to 19 were obese in 1976. Today, it is 18%.

4. In the 1800's, the average American consumed only 10 lbs of sugar per year. In 2011, the average is 158 lbs.

5. The US is the fattest country in the world. Mexico is second, the U.K is third.

6. Obesity can shorten your life span by an average of 10 years. In 2000, obesity accounted for 400,000 American deaths annually, up from 300,000 in 1990.

7. Obesity will soon surpass tobacco as the leading cause of death in America.

8. American health care expenditures totaled $2.4 trillion in 2007, equal to 17% of the gross domestic product ( GDP ), rising at twice the rate of inflation.

9. The number of children who took pills for type 2 diabetes more than doubled from 2002 to 2005. Type 2 diabetes is closely linked with obesity.

10. Texas is the least healthy state, with Tennessee and South Carolina not far behind. Vermont is the healthiest state, with Hawaii and New Hampshire following.

Info from http://fullplatedietbeta.org/

Are You Dehydrated? You Might Be Surprised...

My sister called yesterday afternoon. She had just come from a doctor's appointment where to her surprise, her doctor informed her she is slightly dehydrated. She couldn't understand how that could be - she told him she drinks water every day. His response? Drink some more.

I asked her "How many ounces would you say you drink a day?" and she sort of hemmed and hawed until finally she said "I drink like  5 or more big glasses a day." Of course, I quickly referred to a calculator and let her know how many ounces of water per day she should be drinking ( Take your body weight and divide by 2. Calculate what 80% of that number would be. Mentally convert that number to ounces. That is how many ounces approximately you should drink - every day. )

Needless to say - she was a bit shocked. She knew immediately she wasn't drinking nearly enough water per day.

There are several easy self tests for dehydration:

1. The "back of the hand" test - Pinch the skin on the back of your hand gently. The skin should return to its normal flat state consistently and quickly. If it doesn't...you are dehydrated.

2. The "Shin" test - Firmly depress the skin on the top of the leg below your kneecap. Press it until you are uncomfortable. Once you release your skin, observe the dent in your skin. If the dent stays noticeable for more than a few seconds, the skin cells are sticking to each other due to lack of fluids. 

3. Your Urine - Being a kidney patient, this is my old standby. Urine is a quick visual check of my kidney's status. A hydrated human produces urine that ranges from almost clear to having a light yellow cast - with little odor. The more dehydrated you are, the more concentrated your urine. If your urine is a deep yellow, or has a strong odor - you are dehydrated.


Any of the above self tests will work and will keep you on path for drinking enough water each day. Remember, your body is a machine and the machine is programmed to throw off warning signs of imbalance. Dehydration is one of the most easily solved of your body's imbalances - and water is to your body as oil is to a car. It is a vital fluid to keep your machine working properly.

Clean Eating in a Can : Canned Pumpkin

The coupons for canned pumpkin will be coming out within the next few weeks - and for me, nothing prompts the urge to add to my pantry stockpile as a coupon that drops in conjunction with sales - and canned pumpkin sales are right around the corner.

Why should you care?

Canned pumpkin is a Clean Eater's delight. It is a versatile vegetable - easily added to recipes to make things more flavorable. It adds fiber and vitamins to your cooking. At only 40 calories per 1/2 cup, canned pumpkin adds a tremendous amount of fiber, vitamin A, and antioxidants for such a small amount of food.

Libby's Canned Pumpkin Website

1. Pasta Sauce + Pumpkin = Benefit: Less Sodium
Pumpkin added to your favorite convenience tomato sauce reduces the sodium, although the only difference you may notice is a little extra body added to your pasta sauce.

Simply stir 1 cup pumpkin into 3 cups (about 26 oz.) of your favorite jarred or homemade pasta sauce.

2. Mashed Potatoes + Pumpkin = Benefit: Cut the Fat
With pumpkin added to mashed potatoes, they become rich and golden in color, while helping to reduce the fat and calories in a serving of your favorite spuds.

Stir 1/2 cup of pumpkin into each cup of instant or homemade mashed potatoes.

3. Chili + Pumpkin = Benefit: Reduce the Sodium
You may not notice the pumpkin in your chili, but you'll be glad to know that this pumpkin addition will help to reduce the sodium in your bowl.

Stir 1/2 cup pumpkin into 1 1/2 cups of your favorite homemade chili.

 4. Brown Rice + Pumpkin = Benefit: Wholegrain Goodness
With pumpkin added to hearty brown rice, the result is deliciously creamy, risotto-like rice.

Follow the package directions for regular or parboiled rice. For each cup of uncooked rice add 1/2 cup pumpkin to the cooking water or broth.


and finally - a note