ha-- I get to start the new thread--

I'll take that as a good sign, that it was high time I come over to this part of town--

Argh, I just typed a novel, and hit post, and it disappeared as the new thread started...or something. lol

Sooo the condensed version- what are the most important first steps to take in moving toward clean eating?

Hey lady, I know you! I wandered over here too, and am pretty freakin sure it's what made my ticker move.

Read labels!!!!!!! Try to eat as little processing as possible. Avoid things like high fructose corn syrup, added sugars, trans fats, etc. Basically, an apple is clean, applesauce is a little less clean, an apple donut is not clean.

I try to get a balance of good carb, lean protein, and healthy fat w/ each mini meal.

It is a good sign! Glad you joined in, Marla!

okay-- rule number one-- donut is bad.

Got it--

You got that right!! Donuts are definitely not on the clean list. I personally avoid white sugar/ white flour products as much as I can. My natural sugar comes from fruit!

Jess-- lol-- I'm totally with you.

I started cutting out white flours and sugars about eight weeks ago, and have seen great results.

Went on vacation and had some desserts (lost weight overall on vacation, but allowed sugar back in) and it's been so hard to get it back out.

Just came through TOM and have more resolve yesterday and today, and knew by coming here to this thread, this will help even more.

The challenges of MFP are key to keeping me going.

I once read an easy way to remember if a food is clean is: “if man made it, don’t eat it.” Eating whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates is the best way to do it. Avoid anything with too many ingredients and avoid junk food and refined carbs.

I follow Mark Bittman's book "Food Matters" who calls it sane eating. I know a lot of people on this thread follow Tosco Reno's advice. There is also a magazine out there "Clean Eating" that people on here reference.

Good luck!

Mary

Hello to all - new thread, how exciting.

Found the best recipe yesterday which I made for breakfast today,

Mini Fritattas

4eggs
2 tbs low fat milk
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced red onion
1 cup chopped frozen spinach
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
1/4 cup shredded cheese

1 microwave spinach for two minutes, wring with hands to drain excess liquid
2. beat eggs and milk in small bowl
3. add veggies and spices
4. Pour into muffin tins coated with cooking spray
5. top with shredded cheese
6. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until firm and golden on top
7. Once cooled you can store in the fridge, to warm, microwve for 20-40 seconds to reheat.

Very portable, easy breakfast to bring to work. Two are 212 calories, and 16 grams Protein

Any opinions on splenda?

Oh my gosh do these look good, and easy-- and can be modified about 1,000 different ways--

Thanks so much!

I stay from all chemical-y sweeteners. They take the "sugar" out and replace it with chlorine atoms, or something like that-- somethin' totally funky.

I vote thumbs down on this.

thanks this looks delicious!

I used to be a frequent splenda user. Then I read Jillian's Master Your Metabolism and other resources about artificial sweeteners. I already had avoided aspartame before that, but once I cut out Splenda I noticed a difference.

I use pure Stevia (comes in a bottle, looks like a little eye dropper) and sometimes Truvia (comes in packets in the baking goods).

I've made something similar to these. I think it was a South Beach diet recipe? I loooove spinach frittatas!!

Good Wednesday!!!

Pre-workout:
Small banana

Breakfast: (after Insanity Max Interval Circuit)
1/2 c. old fashioned oatmeal, 1 scoop BL choc. protein powder
1/2 c. blueberries, 1/2 c. cottage cheese, 1/3 oz walnuts

Time to study!! My Personal Training certification is this weekend, a 3 day workshop and testing!!!

Thanks, these look really good. How many does this make?

Mary

It fills six muffins - I eat two as a serving - so three total.

Found you guys!!! I will post later...

im here too :D

Any suggustions on snacks? I know about fruit, oatmeal, hummus, smoothies. I'm concerned I eat too many nuts with how dense they are in calories. Recently someone recommended toasted pumpkin seeds. Any other good ideas? Thanks all!

Ok, and I found something new today. It's Stevia in the Raw in packet form. I bought some but haven't tried it yet.

And FYI, for anyone that likes Kashi products, they're on sale this week at Target. $2.88 for a box of cereal, TLC crackers, frozen meals, cereal bars, TLC cookies, etc. And... on the boxes of GoLean Crunch there are coupons for $1 off of Honey Sunshine cereal (my kids love that one!), $1 off of a frozen meal, and $1 off a box of crackers. So it ended up being $1.88/ box PLUS if you buy 5 boxes you get a $5 Target GC for your next trip. Just thought I'd pass that on!! I am stocked up on Kashi now!

Nuts are good, but like you said dense in calories. I like to add a few walnuts to my oatmeal, yogurt, etc. VERY good fat in walnuts. Flaxseed you can add in also. I love pumpkin seeds, again measure your serving.

Yogurt, cottage cheese, low-fat cheese are good options also. Berries are lower in cals for fruit, great to add to oatmeal or yogurt also. Higher fiber cereals (Kashi, Cascadian Farms, and Nature's Path make good ones). HTH!