The Basics

Good Morning my little blog readers,

I've been reflecting a lot over the last day or so, thinking of important things that you need to know to get started on your road to clean eating. I've come up with several points I would like to make to the kiddies.

1.) I am not a doctor. I have a certification in basic nutrition and am drawing on that, and what I learn in school and my other nutrition classes I've taken. I've also done a BOATLOAD of research. Some of my sources will be cited, and some will not. So take my advice for what its worth, but if you are really concerned and need specific caloric measurements, a specific "diet plan", or anything else rather "specific", you should probably seek out your local medical professional or professional nutritionist. I've been implementing this way of eating for the last year and this is just what has worked for me. That's my disclaimer and I'm stickin' to it.

2.) This is not a "diet plan". It's not magic. Its not counting. This is unlike anything that you have tried before because it has to be a switch on your lifestyle. Diets are a temporary fix, to a persistent problem. Diets are like trying to put a Band-Aid on a severed pinky. It just doesn't work. There are no "counting points" or calories. There is nothing artificial here. If you are eating your food from a box, you are not eating food. I'm not going to tell you that just because you add that bag of "100 Calorie crisps" to your diet every day because it is only "1" point is awesome. It's not. Its crap for you.

 

A Fun Flow Chart: Humorous but not Untrue-

 

 

 

3.) Behind the point, that the "counting points" system is awful, it's very important that you READ YOUR LABELS! I cannot stress this enough. Yes it's going to add 20 more minutes to your grocery time, and I know that there will be people mean mugging you because you just aren't grabbing and going (I live in Chicago, and I mean mug right back and suggest they go around or offer to grab them something. People are usually really surprised when you are nice to them...but that's another blog). You have to remember this is YOUR health.

I know I promised that there would be no calorie counting, and there really isn't. But, in the event that you HAVE to but a processed food (we all do, because honestly, who wants to make the shells for their shells and cheese, without the proper equipment? Later darlings. We'll get to that later.) When I read a label there are 8 things I check. I first check the calories. If the calories are astronomical for the serving size (which is what I check second), I put the package down, walk away and pretend it never happened. If the calorie size seems fair for the serving size, (I'm basing this loosely on the standard 2,000 calorie a day recommendation. Some days I'm over, some days I'm under) I move on to the "sodium" section. High sodium is usually the biggest eliminating factor in my shopping trips.

 

Story Time:

I love bagels. "Everything" bagels to be specific. Top them with some whipped cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and fresh dill and I'm DONE! I love it. I've been craving bagels and cream cheese lately. So, on my most recent shopping trip, I picked up a bag of the most beautiful golden everything bagels I have ever seen in my life. True to my new found life choices and personal convictions, I flipped the bag over and checked the nutrition label. 500! milligrams of sodium. Are you fucking serious? No fucking way. So later, I went to one of my local favorite coffee shops which had bagels from a local baker, and got one of their bagels with cream cheese. The sodium was drastically less and it didn't have all the preservatives.

 

The average human body, only needs about 1500mg of sodium per day. To eat a bagel, with 500 mg of sodium, is eating 1/3rd of your daily need. Too much salt can do all sorts of bad things to your body, harming mostly your kidneys and heart. Plus it makes you retain water, which makes you weigh more and fit less into your favorite pair of sexy jeans.

The next thing I check is sugars. Sugar (like salt) equals flavor. So especially in processed "diet foods" they LOAD it with sugar. They take out the supposed "bad stuff" and replace it with even more "bad stuff". Which is why I recommend, if you absolutely HAVE to have that ranch dressing and can't/don't want to make it, go ahead and buy that full flavored ranch. Use it in moderation and go on about your life.

The fifth thing that comes on my "label checking" list is fiber. Fiber is so important when eating any sort of pattern of food. Fiber keeps you full, and keeps your digestive system regular. So the higher the fiber, the more likely it is that I'll buy it. (Not saying you can't get fiber from anywhere else, but we'll get to that.)

The sixth ingredient is protein. Protein is also very important in your diet. Its fuel for your body. But protein is subjective to the particular person. When I'm on the job in the kitchen, running around like a madwoman, I up my protein intake. But if I'm doing nothing but sitting through lecture classes, only to come home and work on another mountain of homework, I decrease. I'm not moving around as much, so I don't need it.

The seventh ingredient I check, is fat. I check fats last, because if it's low calorie and low fat, chances are the sugar and salt are through the roof obnoxious. I'm not saying that you should buy all high fat items, but I'm saying that you should check the sugar and salt first, because long term, those can be more damaging to your health. That's why we are checking fat now. If everything else is ok, but the fat doesn't check out...again, walk away and pretend it never happened.

The last ingredient to check out is the actual ingredients. Can you identify every ingredient in that list? If you can identify, are the products you are identifying actually good for you? Or is it a boatload of preservatives just hanging out to preserve your organs? If you can recognize that it is full of non food ingredients or you can't identify them (say it with me) put it down, walk away, and pretend it never happened.

 

Are you still with me? It's long, and kind of boring, but important. Label reading is the biggest and most important step on your switch to clean food. But I understand...If you need to get up and stretch, feel free, because now would be a good time. Go ahead....I'll wait.... *sips coffee*....

 

 

......Welcome Back! Feeling better? Let's continue...

 

4.)  VARIETY!! I cannot express to you the importance of varying your food. Every week strive to eat a rainbow of produce and (for my fellow omnivores) meat. I never eat the same protein twice in a week (unless its fish or a vegetarian source of protein). Every week, for dinner, I incorporate one fish dish and one vegetarian/vegan dish. The rest of the week I eat a different protein (lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, pork, etc.) every night of the week. Also, vary your side dishes. Aim for at least one-two vegetables and one starch with each meal. While green beans and corn are delicious they are considered "starches" in the world of nutrition. Be careful of things like that. A typical configuration of sides you might see in the Strange household might be something like "honey glazed carrots, broccoli with lemon and butter, and mashed potatoes with herbs and sour cream" or "roasted asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes with butter and sea salt". None of this is hard, I promise you. (In later blogs, I will get into the preparations on some of these things.)

 

5.) Like with anything you want to succeed at in life, you have to plan. I know everyone is busy and time is precious commodity. I, myself, at any given time, will be in class for sometimes up to 12 hours, plus working for the school (as both a student ambassador and as an employee for special events), plus the hour commute both to and from, plus the homework, and all the projects, and everything. We're busy, I get it. Some of you have children, and other obligations. What I'm saying, is take an evening where you sit down, review everyone's schedule and from there, try to plan at least 5 nights a week where you cook. And then for those 5 nights, go ahead and plan out *what* you want to cook. At my house, we have "Meatless Mondays" and "Fishy Tuesdays". So I know, when I'm making my menu for the week, that on Monday, I need to plan a meatless dish and Tuesdays, I need to pick a fish and plan around that. Then from there, I can plan what else I want to eat for the week. If I'm craving Asian, I'll plan an Asian dish for a certain day of the week. If I know I'm going to be gone all day, I'll put together a "crock-pot" meal the night before and then start it the next morning. (Chilis and Soups are really excellent for this, because everyone knows they are better the next day. So cooking them low and slow gives you the developed "second day" flavor, everyone loves.) Planning is everything. Also, make sure you build a couple of days into your week where you eat leftovers for super busy days and allow yourself a night where it's ok to go out to dinner or order in.

The flip side of planning to go to the grocery, is planning on what you do with your groceries that you bring home. Try to plan your grocery shopping trips on days where you can come home and chop your produce and make things easier for you later in the week. If you are a super busy person, consider taking things like onions and chopping an entire bag and storing them in a ziplock freezer bag or Tupperware container in your fridge to use as needed.

 

6.) Eat breakfast. I don't care if you "aren't a morning person" or whatever aversion you have to eating breakfast. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier, to get up 15 minutes earlier, and eat breakfast. This is a perfect opportunity to take in some calories without much guilt (because you'll use it all day) and shove lots of fiber and fresh fruit into your diet. One of my favorites (especially since it is cold) is oatmeal. Don't buy instant oats. They are terrible for you and taste like cardboard. Buy real oats. It takes 20 minutes to cook and is literally a blank canvas in which you can add sliced/mashed/grated fresh fruit, or dried fruits and nuts, or a combination of the above. (Cook your oats in milk and add a little bit of butter, for a super creamy texture.) Then add a pinch of salt, and some brown sugar or local honey and you are well on your way to a bowl of creamy comfort breakfast food. My favorite combination for the day, is mashed bananas, peanut butter, crushed walnuts, and honey.

 

7.) Eat lunch. My lunches are usually pretty light considering its the busiest time of the day for me. This is where planning comes into play. I keep my sandwich drawer stocked full of deli meat and cheese and my crisper full of green things. So I know if I'm at home for lunch, I can make a quick sandwich or salad. If I'm at school, I know they offer a full salad bar at every meal. So I know that I can go there, load down on greens and veggies, and be fine for lunch.

 

8.) Allow yourself to graze. Let's face it, everyone loves schnickety snacks. Recognize this about yourself. It's ok to snack. It's what you snack on that is important. Keep lots of natural things around for you to graze on. (For the record, baby carrots are NOT carrots. They are pieces of carrots that have been shoved together and dyed bright orange. Yum!) Keep unsalted nuts, dried fruits, home made granola, fresh hand fruits (apples, oranges, bananas, etc.), fancy cheese, unsalted seeds and more around. Right now in my cabinet I have at least 3 different types of trail mix. One is a variety of nuts and seeds (unsalted), another is nuts, dried fruits and yogurt bits, the other (a remnant of that special time of the month) is dark chocolate bits, mini peanut butter cups, nuts and dried sour cherries. Allow yourself that grazing right.

 

9.) If you are doing this for weight related reasons, buy a scale. Invest in a good scale. Do NOT let it be your measurer of success but DO let it help you gage what is working for you and what isn't. Sometimes it may take 30-40lbs for you to drop a pants size, and if you are any thing like me, you need constant encouragement. So, with that said, please don't weigh yourself every day. I only weigh myself maybe once a week, or if I'm feeling super fat, or super skinny. I don't weigh myself close to that proverbial time of the month, and I know that around time its no big deal if I gain 5 pounds. It's water weight. Don't let be the weight factor be the determiner of your success. Let how you feel and how much energy you have be the determiner of your success. Use the scale as a tool to learn your body and what affects it.  

 

10.) If money is a factor, at this point in the game, (dare I say it?) non-organic produce is MUCH better than canned and boxed produce. If you are in a situation where buying non-organic is the only option for you (and a lot of us are) IT'S OK! Any fresh produce is better than no fresh produce. Make sure you wash those foods with cold clean water and remove any visible soils or "waxy" appearances. Don't soak them (Unless it's leafy greens like chards, spinach, and lettuces). Dry them thoroughly when you are done with clean, dry, paper towels and store them in the appropriate manner and this will assist with removing some of the bad creepy crawlies that could be lurking on the outside of your produce. (I actually recommend that any produce, organic or not, be washed in this manner...because you really never know...) 

 

I hope this information is helpful and feel free to leave feedback. I'll do my best to answer any questions, comments, and concerns. Eating clean really is easy and affordable and totally doable in the average working persons life. And there you have it...

 

Tastefully Yours,

-The Strange.