STOP EATING CRAP!

Remember the old saying: You are what you eat? In a non-literal way, it is very true. The majority of foods that we consume on a daily basis are made for us: either a processed food that is packaged neatly in a box for easy access for our busy schedules (and btw, those things are a god send when you need something quick) or fast food that has been pre-made, frozen, re-heated, etc. The problem with this is, that we don’t really know what we are putting in our body. A lot of scary words such a GMOS, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners that are carcinogens plague us in news articles and from word of mouth – how do you escape these? It seems to be in everything. We are literally putting engineered crap in our bodies.

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Are even half of these ingredients actually food??!!

And then we start hearing about the fad diets – Gluten-free (A diet that is fabulous for those with an intolerance or Celiac’s Disease), Paleo diet, Atkin’s Diet, Shake diets, Smoothie diets, detoxing…

I think more people need to step back from this idealistic notion that they just need to go on a diet and lose a few pounds. What we really need to do is change our lifestyle. I’m not talking about a 60 day change, but a life change.

I’m here to tell you about something called Clean Eating, and help it work for you.   Clean eating is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Simply put, if you didn’t make it, it’s probably not going to fit the Clean Eating style. Clean Eating is about getting away from the packaged, the processed, the crap that we put in our bodies, and eating natural meals that we create, that way, we know exactly what is going into our body.  Need a little bit more detail (though that really only begins to over complicate it), check out the page,  Eating Clean for Dummies.

So when you go to the store, buy a whole raw chicken, chuck it onto the rotisserie, and add your basic spices to it, you are eating clean. Nothing from a box. Nothing pre-made. No preservatives. Throw in the oven some cut up potatoes with a little salt and pepper on them. Maybe steam some green beans. Starting to sound delicious? This is clean eating. I get it. Buying something in a box or bag can be a lot easier (and a lot cheaper which is a tad annoying) but what you are paying with is your waist line and your health. Those 10 or 20 minutes of preparation each day, that extra 20 mins a week in the grocery store? You could be trading days of your life for. Here are some of those additives found in processed food that are affecting your life expectancy and your children. Still think that time is well spent?  You can read about more items here.

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Do you recognize any of these items as something you are consuming daily? Before I changed to a Clean Eating Lifestyle, I was eating at least 4 of these with every meal and snack. Now that’s scary.

Clean eating can be easy. It really can. Yes, it does take more time, a little more money, but not always. You can make it work for you, and you can be thrifty about it. Choose items that are on sale. As you move through the store, look at those items, and create your menu. Need a time saver? The night before, put a whole chicken into the crock pot (2 mins), chuck in baby carrots (30 secs – come on they are already peeled and cut up), cut up some potatoes (washing and cutting – 5 mins), cut up an onion (washing, cutting, and crying – 2 mins) , sprinkle some lemon pepper on that sucker (30 secs) and put it in the fridge. The next morning, plug it in and put it on low for 8 to 10 hours. By the time you are out of work and have picked up the kids, you will have a delicious meal waiting for you. A meal that cost you less than 10 bucks and will probably feed 4 to 5. Not only that, but the house will smell SCRUMPTIOUS.

It will take some time to get the hang of it, put I’m dedicated to helping you Clean Eat. My promise to you is to offer you one clean-eating recipe a week, that is gluten-free, and can easily be modified for the vegetarian.  We can compare the cost and ingredients to a store bought item.  I guarantee that you will feel better, and as long as you are eating appropriate portions, you will also find that your waist line will shrink as well.  And as a busy mom, I will also promise they will never have more than 10 minutes prep time because ain’t nobody got time for that.

Jamie Webster

About Jamie Webster

Just your average blogger. Married 2 years with two wonderful children who are 6 years apart. Little about me: I’m turning 31 this year (yikes), have had 9 foot surgeries in 8 years and have spent a little over 4 years of my life in and out of a wheel chair (or scooter). And today, I am training for a half marathon. I attribute two major changes in my life to my healing: the power of goal setting and going gluten free.