What is Clean Eating?

Before I tell you why I eat clean I'm gonna tell you how I got here..

During the lockdown while everyone was eating sweets and gaining weight I did the opposite! I really focused on my health and learned a ton.

I started to watch what I ate, did some detoxes and started losing weight! I was so happy! But I noticed I was still bloated so I did some more research. I went gluten and dairy free and while that helped I was still bloated..

I remember grocery shopping and grabbing some items labeled gluten free, dairy free, no added sugar but for whatever reason I turned the box around and read the label.. not the nutrition facts, but the ingredients, and was shocked at what I found!

What was dextrose, xantham gum, sunflower oil and more crazy words I didn't understand doing in food? I started researching all these ingredients and was shocked at what I found! All these unknown ingredients were all gut irritants and actually harming my health! If I couldn't read and understand what these ingredients were how was my body able to?

It all made sense, my body wasn't able to process these additives resulting in my body being inflamed.

I went through my whole fridge and pantry and threw out anything I couldn't easily read. I focused on real Whole Foods and made sure to only eat ingredients I knew and could read. What happened in a week surprised me! I felt AMAZING and my bloat completely disappeared.

I was HOOKED and haven't really looked back! Don't get me wrong I still enjoy "unclean" foods once in awhile but immediately feel and see the difference in my body which actually makes me appreciate eating clean more. I prefer an 80/20 lifestyle as I still want to enjoy life and not cause stress on my body when I can't eat clean in certain situations :)

What is considered clean eating?

"Clean eating is traditionally defined as eating simple, whole foods without any artificial ingredients. This typically involves the elimination of most processed foods, trans fats, heavy saturated fats, added sugar and refined grains." - it's getting rid of all unknown additives.

Below I've created an example of a "clean" item compared to a "unclean" food product.

Which one do you think is clean?

1. INGREDIENTS: Nut and Seed Blend (almonds, organic coconut, flaxseeds), Tapioca Starch, Chocolate Chips (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter), Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Coconut Oil, Arrowroot, Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt, Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar, Rosemary Extract (for freshness),

2. INGREDIENTS: INGREDIENTS: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, DEXTROSE, MILK, SOY LECITHIN), SUGAR, CANOLA OIL, PALM OIL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, AMMONIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, NATURAL FLAVOR.

If you picked option 1 as the clean option you are right! Do you know what the stuff in the second option is? A quick google search of those ingredients will leave you forever changed!

Option 1 : Simple Mills - My number one clean brand I recommend for cookies, crackers and baking mixes. Their food is super clean and tastes amazing!

I love eating clean and sharing clean food brands with others! Health is wealth and something we should really take into our own hands.

Would you love to see my stay away from ingredient list and clean approved food brands? Let me know below!

Love Brianna the Clean Eating Expert