Clean eating is one of the most critical trends in healthy eating. Clean, Cleaner, Clean Eating. We’ll tell you what it’s all about, and how you can eat “cleaner.” We don’t care about fruit yogurt without natural fruit, orange nectar with hardly any orange, or a muesli bar that consists mainly of sugar. We grab it anyway. Because it’s convenient and still tastes good. The “clean eating” diet trend declares war on these sugar, salt, and fat bombs: healthy eating is the order of the day. But what exactly does that mean, “eat clean”? Only eat healthy food, cook it yourself, eat a vegan diet? We’ll tell you what’s behind the clean eating trend!
Eight Rules For Clean Eating
What Is Clean Eating?
Clean eating is a trend from the USA shaped by the author Tosca Reno, who has published numerous recipe books on the subject. Clean eating (also called clean food) is based on the assumption that highly processed foods such as ready meals, sweets, fast food, or salty snacks lead to obesity, make you tired, and harm your health.
With largely unprocessed, natural foods such as fresh vegetables and fruit, whole grain products, and home-cooked foods, you should feel much better: Fit, healthy, and usually slim. Sounds great. Who doesn’t want that? We explain essential clean eating rules to you and why it is worth following them!
By the way, whether for weight loss, muscle building, or a healthy lifestyle, diet is an essential factor that you can influence positively. A nutrition plan is convenient to make it easier to change your diet.
The Essential Clean Eating Rules At A Glance
The clean eating rules are pretty simple in principle:
- No finished products
- Avoidance of food with additives (preservatives, colorings, …)
- No sweeteners
- No sugar bombs
Clean Food: This Is (Not) Allowed:
Ideally, we should eat like this:
- 5-6 small meals a day
- lots of fresh fruits and vegetables
- to cook yourself
- prefer healthy, vegetable fats
- Drink 2-3 liters of water a day 2-3 liters water drink per day
- Fresh oranges or freshly squeezed juice instead of orange juice concentrate
- Natural yogurt instead of high-sugar fruit yogurt natural yogurt instead of high-sugar fruit yogurt
Clean Eating: Top Or Flop?
In the USA, clean eating is often done together with a fasting detox regimen (SUPER reduced calories) – that’s not great. However, the fundamental idea of eating the freshest, unprocessed food possible and cooking it yourself is excellent! And precisely what the Nutrition Society has been recommending for years. Away from highly processed, often high-calorie foods and back to the diet, our grandparents had: In the USA, clean eating is usually done with a fasting detox regimen (SUPER reduced calories) – that’s not great. However, the fundamental idea of eating the freshest, unprocessed food possible and cooking it yourself is excellent! And hits precisely what the Society for nourishment recommends for years.
Away from highly processed, often high-calorie foods and back to the diet our grandparents had:
- There was freshly cooked lunch there, along with potatoes, there was a large portion of vegetables and now and then meat or fish.
- Sweets or cakes were only taken out of the closet on Sundays or special occasions. Sweets or cakes were only left on Sundays or special events cabinet fetched.
- Nobody knew chips or burgers.
- Likewise, soda or cola were almost foreign words.
- There was also more movement.
No wonder obesity or cardiovascular disease was much less of a problem.
This Is How Clean Eating Is Implemented In Everyday Life
It is good to know the essential rules of clean eating. But is it that easy to adhere to in everyday life? The good news is: yes! You don’t have to cook highly complicated recipes for a healthy diet or go on a shopping marathon through 5 different shops to find the right food. We’ll tell you how you can quickly put the clean eating theory into practice!
Clean Eating: Lunch & Dinner
ready-made products are sooo practical. But honestly, after a while, cooking goes fast! There are tons of super easy and quick clean eating recipes out there. You don’t always have to put the great roast on the table or even a 3-course menu. Whole wheat pasta with a vegetable pan also works. Or a piece of lean chicken with baked potatoes, curd cheese, and lettuce.
Clean Eating For Breakfast In The Morning
Instead of crunchy chocolate muesli, there are oat flakes, nuts, and a little bit of dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces. Or a slice of whole-grain bread with cream cheese instead of white bread. Here are even more tips & ideas for a healthy breakfast!
Clean Eating Ideas For Healthy
In-between snacks are nuts, fruit, vegetables, natural yogurt, or quark. And sweets are also allowed from time to time. Very dark chocolate, for example. In the morning, instead of crunchy chocolate muesli, there are oat flakes, nuts, and a little bit of dark chocolate chopped into small pieces. Or a slice of whole-grain bread with cream cheese instead of white bread.
Choosing The Right Foods
The clean eating concept is primarily based on choosing the right products, and it starts with shopping. This may seem complicated at first, but after a while, you figure out which processed foods are free from additives and which have one E number after the next.
Organic food is often better and consists of natural ingredients – but that is not a guarantee! It’s worth taking a look at the label in the supermarket for an afternoon and comparing it.
The Result Is Worth It
Anyone who eats according to the clean eating rules for a month and omits all the finished stuff as far as possible will indeed find that the skin is glowing and that he actually feels fitter and overall more comfortable. So it is not difficult to grab the natural yogurt when shopping and skip the vanilla yogurt cream.
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