Clean Eating Diet Tips

 

In today’s hectic society, it seems as if people are in more of a hurry than ever before, and their diets reflect that. Rather than placing an emphasis on whole, natural, and healthy foods, people these days instead have to look for the cheapest and most convenient option, which sadly, more often than not, comes in the form of processed junk food. We know that we should eat better, but the problem is that knowing something and actually something, are two completely different things entirely. Clean eating is something that doctors, personal trainers, nutritionists, and healthcare officials often talk about, but when we think of clean eating, we’re hardly inspired now, are we? Generally, when we envisage ourselves eating cleanly, we imagine forcing ourselves to choke down plateful after plateful of steamed white fish and boiled vegetables, rice crackers, plain salad, boiled chicken, and such like. While you can indeed consume those types of food when eating cleanly, in reality, you can enjoy a wide range of delicious and healthy foods, without having to eat foods that rabbits would turn their noses up at. Whether trying to lose weight, get fitter, get healthier or anything else, here’s a look at a few handy clean eating diet tips.

 

Increase Veggie Consumption – Fresh vegetables are often touted as being superfoods, and they are referred to as such for a reason. Fresh vegetables are packed full of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and other nutrients that do the human body a whole world of good, so if you’re not getting enough on a daily basis, well, you may wish to change that. Aim to consume at least 4 portions of fresh vegetables per day, and if you are struggling, try bulking out your meals with diced vegetables, or better still, try blending them into a delicious vegetable soup or sauce. Vegetables will nourish your body and will make you look and feel healthier than ever before, so if you aren’t getting enough, step up your vegetable intakes on a daily basis.

 

Invest in a Juicer/Blender – Juicers and blenders are now very popular at this moment in time, and for good reason too. With juicers and blenders, you can basically create a series of delicious juices/smoothies, that taste absolutely fantastic, and are loaded full of beneficial nutrients. One fresh green juice for example, could contain more than your recommended daily intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, so each beverage you consume would be flooding your body with the goodness that it craves. Juicers and blenders are also very useful for people who don’t enjoy eating whole fruits and vegetables, or who simply cannot eat enough in one day.

 

Make Sure You Are Getting Enough Healthy Fats – Healthy fats are not just recommended, they are considered essential for optimal health and well-being, yet sadly, there are many people out there that are still not getting enough on a daily basis. Healthy fats come in a number of forms, with oily fish like salmon and mackerel, and healthy butter and coconut oil, all being great examples. Healthy fats speed up the metabolism, they provide increases in energy, they boost immunity, they strengthen the cells, they are great for the brain, they help to lubricate the joints, and much more besides. A delicious and incredibly healthy dinner could consist of baked salmon fillets with roasted garlic butter, a baked sweet potato, and spinach leaves cooked in organic coconut oil. The aforementioned meal would provide a healthy breakdown of all essential macronutrients, including a good percentage of your daily healthy fat requirements.

 

Cut Back on Alcohol – We all like a drink from time to time, some more so than others, it has to be said, and although there is evidence which does suggest that a small glass of red wine per day could be beneficial, generally speaking, if you’re trying to follow a clean eating way of life, you will need to cut back on the alcohol and try to limit it only for special occasions. Alcohol contains empty calories and it suppresses the metabolism. It is also toxic, and as you probably know, alcohol leads to lapses in mental judgement; so the more you drink, the more tempting that double cheese stuffed crust pizza and garlic bread at your local takeout joint will appear.

 

Make Healthy Versions of Your Favorites – Let’s face it, if you can’t stand the taste of chicken breast and white fish, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to try to eat these types of foods, even if they are considered clean eating staples. Instead, what you should do is try to make healthy versions of meals that you know you do enjoy. If making a dish involving steak mince, go for an extra lean mince, rather than the full-fat version. If making pizza or burgers, for the burger buns or pizza bases, make a wholemeal bun or base instead, as wholemeal flour is much, much healthier than white flour. You can use low fat cheese, you can add extra veggies, you can leave out unhealthy hydrogenated fats, and you can remove any visible fat that you can see yourself. With a few tweaks, you can still enjoy the foods you love, albeit healthier versions of them.