Clean Eating: Week 4

Just got back form the nutritionist.  Have a few goals set that should be manageable:

• must keep a DAILY food log
• 2 small sodas a week and 1 medium soda a week
• no more sweet teas:-/  only unsweet tea sweetened with stevia
• need to create meals based on the whole food plate model
• walk at least 5000 steps daily (ultimate goal is 10,000).

So, what is the whole food plate model?

Well, it's based on 3 important components: quality, quantity, and balance.  By balance, it just means that you are eating from 3 different food groups per meal.  Here are the food group categories: protein sources, healthy fats, carbs, and veggies.

Note: You may only eat 1 carb serving per meal.

High Quality Examples From Each Food Group...

Protein Sources

• lean beef
• bison
• chicken
• turkey
• fish
• low fat cheese
• low fat cottage cheese
• cage free eggs

Healthy Fats

• olive oil
• flax seed oil
• coconut oil
• grapeseed oil
• nuts
• nut butter
• olive oil based dressings
• hummus
• avocado
• olives

Carbs

• fresh or frozen fruit
• 1% or 2% milk
• greek yogurt
• whole wheat products
• brown rice
• quinoa
• barley
• oatmeal
• beans
• lentils
• sweet potatoes
• winter squash
• peas

Note: Minimize the use of potatoes, enriched flour and corn.

Veggies

• asparagus
• artichokes
• beets
• broccoli
• green beans
• brussel sprouts
• celery
• gardencress
• cabbage
• eggplant
• cucumber
• green onion
• carrots
• okra
• cauliflower
• mushrooms
• leeks
• kohlrabi
• kale
• collard greens
• mustard greens
• lettuce (variety)
• onions
• tomatoes
• pea pods
• peppers
• radishes
• sauerkraut
• turnips
• spinach
• summer squash
• zucchini
• watercress

Note: Try to eat half your daily vegetables raw.

Eating the food will not be near as hard as coming up with yummy ways to cook the food.  Hopefully, I come across some good recipes that I can share with you in the near future.

Happy clean eating everyone.