Hello All!  I really just want to be cool like BuzzFeed so I thought I would write you a list!  Over this summer I have transitioned from counting calories, to eating whole, real & mostly organic foods and let me tell you it isn’t easy.  In no way do I want to make this kind of lifestyle seem like an easy change you can start doing over night. It is a conscious, every day decision to pick the right foods up at the store and while out to eat.  BUT there are some things that if you decide to do, can make eating clean within reach.

1. Read the ingredient list.

Just because you are eating clean, doesn’t mean you can’t have anything that comes in packaging.  If you read ingredient lists you can find that there are plenty of options for on the go snacks and food.  Here are some of my favorites!

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2 . Shop at Trader Joe’s.

 I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but if you have access to a TJs do yourself a favor and GO THERE ALL THE TIME!!!  Did you know that if something has the Trader Joe’s private label on it (Trader Joe’s, Trader Jose’s, Trader Mings), that means there are NO – artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, synthetic colors, MSG, GMOs or partially hydrogenated oils?!  And they are all super well priced.  When I found this out my love for TJs exploded even bigger!!

3. Try to go Organic.

 It can be more expensive at times but it is so incredibly worth it.  Watch GMO OMG and then get back to me on this one!!  And the good thing is, not everything you eat has to be organic when it comes to produce.  I like to just think about if I eat the skin or not. Bananas? Avocados?  Not eating that skin, don’t need organic! So many things you don’t eat the skin of anyways…. melons, onion, garlic, pineapple… so many!  But other things like apples, bell peppers and zucchini should probably be organic.

4. Limit your meat consumption.

 If you are going to eat clean, you should try to eat natural, no hormones added, farm raised blah blah blah meat.  And I totally agree with this!  It just gets real expensive, real fast.  So what do we do?  Eat less!!  Wow. Shocking right?  The hubs and I agreed that we could definitely live without eating as much meat as we had been.  Especially considering the fact that it was super processed meat and we would eat a whole huge chicken breast just because that was the portion in the package!  And why do we eat meat?  Protein of course! But once you learn you can get protein from about a billion other things… your priorities change a bit.

 

Once you start doing a few of these things, even one at a time, you will start to notice a difference in how you feel!  Happy clean eating!!

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