My Clean Eating 101 & Go To Foods

A lot of people do clean eating differently and that's ok! I'm trying to make a sustainable, healthy life change and my version of clean eating is cutting out processed foods, sugar, and flour. I give myself one cheat day each week, and have tried to cut down on alcohol but that's REAL hard in the summer. When I first started eating clean I lived for my cheat day, but our bodies are crazy and I have really stopped craving a lot of things that used to be my weaknesses (sour gummy worms, candy, chips, bread, did I mention candy?). My rule at the grocery store: if it has more than 3 ingredients then I don't buy it. My body feels better, I have had a lot less stomach problems, and I don't hit my dreaded 4:00 crash anymore because of cutting out sugary snacks.

These are my Clean Eating Go-Tos (sidenote: I'm a huge snacker)

• Nuts: especially pistachios, almonds and cashews. I usually pack some in a ziplock baggie and take them with me for the day to avoid getting hangry in public. At first I was like "um these 12 nuts are going to fill me up the way Goldfish used to?" and you know what, these little protein packed morsels fill me up better than Goldfish. We buy $12 bags of nuts at Costco that last MONTHS. Nuts at the grocery store can be really expensive so I stock up when I find good prices.
• Plain Fat-Free Greek Yogurt: HELLO power food. It's 20% of your daily recommended calcium, 30% of your daily recommended protein (6 oz of Greek yogurt = protein of 3 ounces of meat) and the straining process it goes through makes it much easier on lactose intolerant stomachs like mine. I mix it with fruit/vanilla/honey, put it in smoothies, and substitute it for sour cream, mayo and cream cheese. It really is a magical food, and I can usually find it on sale for less than $5.00
• Quinoa: This little seed is easy to cook and is packed with protein, calcium and fiber. It's great for wacky stomachs like mine (the dietary fiber regulates a lot of stuff going on in there) and is rich in antioxidants. It takes our stomachs a long time to break all the protein/fiber down so it keeps you full for a long time. I substitute it for rice and pasta. A little bit of quinoa goes a long way so I don't feel bad dropping $10 on a box of it.
• Spinach: 100% of daily recommended vitamin K- Vitamin K clears up your skin and fights the bad guys in your body that break down bones. It's also high in dietary fiber which, again, is great for those of us with stomachs that act up all the time. I put it in breakfast smoothies, make salads out of it, saute it for side dishes, and at the end of the week throw left-over meat/fruit/nuts on it to make salads. I can usually find a bag of spinach to get us through the week for $3.00
• Eggs:  I used to live in fear of egg yolks (all that fat!) but I've had to change the way I think about healthy fats found in eggs and avocados. There are so many benefits to eggs- high protein, they make you feel full longer, they make your hair shinier and your nails stronger, they aid in muscle repair, and they taste good with everything, and you can boil them and throw them in your lunch bag for a snack. The two of us go through a dozen eggs a week right now- thank goodness that costs $2.50 which is much less than a box of sugary cereal.