Clean Eating, Simplified

Clean eating is a simple approach to food that focuses on choosing more whole, minimally processed foods and fewer heavily processed ones. That can mean filling your plate with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, lean proteins and dairy foods.

Many people explore clean eating because it can help make meals more nutritious, satisfying and easier to plan. Choosing foods that are closer to their natural state may help you get more fiber, vitamins, and minerals while cutting back on added sugar, sodium, and other ingredients you may want to limit.

Clean eating does not have to mean being perfect or following strict rules. It can be a practical way to build healthier habits over time, such as cooking more at home, choosing simpler ingredients and feeling more confident about what you eat. 

Build Clean Eating Habits

1. Limit processed food: Try to eat as many foods throughout the day that are as close to their natural state as possible. For instance, think of eating an apple instead of having applesauce. A great way to do this is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store where all of the produce, dairy and lean meats are located.
2. Check the ingredients: If you pick up a product at the grocery store and it has a long list of ingredients, it's most likely considered a highly processed food. But, this doesn't mean you have to be perfect and choose all-natural foods with no processing. Instead, make your best effort to make most of your food free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. The bottom line is the fewer ingredients the better.
3. Cook more meals at home: The more you can control your food environment, and the ingredients in your food, the better off your waistline and bank account will fare. Restaurants often rely on a lot of heavily processed foods for ease of preparation, and it's often just as easy to make healthier versions of your favorite restaurant meals at home. Try these clean recipes on Eating Well.
4. Take pleasure in eating: When you take the time to not only choose foods that are wholesome and nourishing, you'll come to appreciate where the foods come from, how they work to nourish your body and the way in which they help keep you healthy.
5. Take a moderate approach to eating: People don't fail diets, diets fail people. The cornerstone of many diets is restriction and deprivation, which is impossible for many to achieve. The clean eating movement emphasizes making positive choices most of the time, but that doesn't mean you can never indulge and truly savor something that you love.