5 Principles of Clean Eating
Build a brand new relationship with food
3 years ago, when I started my journey to fat loss, I had one burning question. “Ok, so I want to lose fat, but does that mean I have to just eat fruits and vegetables all the time? What if I crave chocolate? Can I have a just small piece of it? Is that bad?”
Several articles on the internet describe clean eating as a list of restrictions on your current diet leaving you questioning every single thing you put in your mouth. Each of these restrictions comes with an all or nothing clause — leaving you wondering if you are ready to take the decision of giving up that favorite food for life. Unfortunately, there is more to just making that decision: articles like these can damage your relationship with food forever — leaving you constantly confused & worried about your body fat.
In this article, I plan to avoid using any jargon related to medicine or nutrition and instead simply give you what you came for — 5 Principles of Clean Eating. Let's go.
#1 Satisfy the sweet tooth
Yes. You can eat sweet things and lose weight… But within reason.
Fruits are the best possible way to satisfy the sweet craving. And if you are like me, you will want to eat sweet every alternate meal.
Plan small fruit-only meals :
- sliced apple with cinnamon
- sliced banana with chia seeds
- pineapple chunks topped with rock salt & flax seeds
- watermelon chunks with cardamom
Oftentimes, we desire one thing, but our tongue seems to be satisfied with a healthier option. Because the taste of sweetness is universal. And having refined white sugar is not the only answer to satisfying those taste buds.
But sometimes, I crave actual desert — like a chocolate milkshake or cake or basically anything sold in a bakery. Well — thankfully I have answers for that too. I baked a chocolate bread, cinnamon cookies, made chocolate pancakes, and hot chocolate with whole-grain flour & natural sweeteners to help me with those feelings towards food.
Now imagine all the times you felt disheartened because you thought you would have to give up your favorite dessert. Nope. You just need to make it on your own.
#2 Colorful Plates of Food
Think about what adds color to your plate? Veggies!
A 20-year study of more than 100,000 people, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found those who ate more whole grains instead of refined grains, incorporated more fruits and veggies than sweets, and preferred tea and coffee to sweetened drinks and juices, gained less weight long-term.
The Fiber in whole foods slows the digestion process and optimizes fullness and nutrient intake at mealtime. Hence leaving you full and happy!
Here are some cool ways on how to eat those veggies and whole grains
- baked veggie trays
- Stove-top stir fry with a drizzle of your favorite sauce
- Steamed veggies
- Veggie patties/balls
- Classic Salad
Focus less on trying to get exotic veggies that may not be locally available to you and more on making sure you are having a portion of veggies every single meal.
Depending on your past lifestyle habits, it may take some time to learn to enjoy the crunch of lettuce or taste of beets: but veggies are not that hard to love once you move on to the next point …
#3 Cook your food often
In a world where we are moving faster than ever, a neatly packaged salad is easy to purchase, eat, and discard at will. But essentially you still don't know what ingredients went into making that neat package.
There is a different joy in cooking and eating your own food. You have 100% control from start to finish and you will learn so much more about your own tastebuds & requirements.
A common clean eating principle is to avoid purchasing processed food — and rightly so — because you would never add High Fructose Corn Syrup to your tomato soup if you are making it at home.
#4 Drink up the fluids
Not just water. I mean there are so many healthy drinks that you will leave this point wondering why hadn’t you tried them earlier.
- Fruit & veggie smoothies with seeds — my favorite way to beat the evening hunger pang and sweet craving.
- Mint & lemon Cooler — water + mint leaves + lemon = refreshing perfection!
- Orange Immunity Booster
- Herbal teas — Pick anyone you like from the wide array of options! Great for your gut and mind as it always feels like you ate something hot.
- Coffee — probably the star of my life because I love coffee and make it 5 different ways: espresso shots, americano, cappuccino, latte, iced coffee.
- Milkshakes with nut/coconut milk — even if you are not lactose intolerant, non-dairy milk has a taste of its own and compliments banana-like Monica compliments Chandler.
Drinking water/fluids throughout the day help keep cravings at bay. I have personally felt the massive improvement in my skin, hair, body composition by building up a habit of drinking something or the other from the above list.
#5 Simple Swaps to help you eat foods you love
I love my full-plate Indian food meals. But I have learned that eating more mindfully with a check on “how full I feel” or “how emotionally balanced I am” while I am eating: helps me a lot with portion control & guilt-free enjoyment of my food.
In this plate of Indian food, notice the presence of lentils, veggies, and wheat flour chapatis (naan bread). It is very balanced yet some may tell you to leave out the rice and reduce the total carbohydrate count: and I’m here to say — don’t do that.
Instead, start with eating mindfully and eat as if there is enough food for you. Finish veggies, lentils, and one carb source first and then if you feel hungrier reach for some rice. I would recommend swapping white rice with brown.
Below are some swaps to help make this Indian meal more healthy & wholesome
- Swap 1: pick either chapati or rice. If you are hungry after eating your serving, take on more veggies & lentils along with another serving of your choice.
- Swap 2: Swap rice/chapati with a complex carbohydrate like quinoa, amaranth, oats, barley.
- Swap 3: Make a lunch bowl instead of a plate by placing carb source at the bottom, a large serving of liquid lentils & a heaping pile of veggies. This will allow you to feel like you are eating a lot & also help you eat more lentils & veggies.
- Swap 4: Add another source of veggies cooked differently eg: add raw cucumbers, or grilled bell peppers or boiled carrots to your swap 3.
Meal prepping for 3–4 days helps a lot with learning the principles of clean eating and implementing them in your own lifestyle.
The availability of clean food easily accessible to you makes it that much harder to stray and order doordash .
The *hidden* 6th principle is — Do what works for you
It is very tempting to follow a fit person's “A Full Day of Eating” especially because they have laid it all out so beautifully in the video/blog and all you have to do is imitate. It is very natural and I find myself drawn to this type of content very often.
I often get asked to create a video or post on my Full Day of Eating but sharing that would be more harmful than helpful. Our bodies are different and so unique because of the experiences we have had with it over the years.
Food is such a personal thing — it's like a medical prescription— not everyone gets the same prescription. You have to practice learning what works for you. Experiment with various options in the realm of clean eating.
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