Thankfully, nutrition is gradually becoming a well-developed popular topic surrounded by mature arguments and a plethora of valid choices. Instead of blindly following hyped diet plans and anathematizing the latest nutrient that has made it to the “blacklist“ (we’re looking at you, carbs), people are getting more and more encouraged to adjust scientific findings and expert recommendations to their own personal lifestyles and needs.
It seems like we’ve finally discovered the simple truth that lies behind it all: listen to your own body and eat high quality food. Still, there are many ways to do that, and one of them is by following the rules of the Eat-Clean Diet. You must have heard about it somewhere already, but we assume you’re a bit confused, like many others.
Eating clean is a great way to incorporate more healthy choices into your eating habits without having to cut off any crucial nutrients. Read this article for a more detailed view and treat yourself and your family with some of our favorite dinner recipes.
So, why should you be “eating clean“?
Weight loss is pretty easy compared to the struggle of making that loss sustainable. As we’ve all learned on the harder way, that’s where the real challenge lies – maintaining your weight loss requires some permanent dietary changes that will be both healthy and satisfying.
Eating clean encourages a lifestyle defined by exercising at least three times a week and consuming as many unprocessed, natural and home-prepared whole foods as possible.
These include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and non-fat diary. On the other hand, it advocates the exclusion of highly-processed foods containing artificial ingredients, preservatives, added sugars and trans fats. That sounds rather simple and reasonable, right?
Yet, many people experience certain difficulties when challenged to cut back on white flour, sugary drinks, salty snacks, fried foods and alcohol – with the typical modern eating pattern we all share, this diet plan sure requires a decent amount of self-discipline. Eating healthy 100% of the time isn’t quite easy when you’re constantly being tempted by junk food, but you can make a good start by significantly limiting your unhealthy choices. And clean eating is by no means a starvation technique – you actually get to eat a lot of great food!
These are the basic principles of clean eating:
– Start by preparing your traditional three meals, then cut them in half and try to eat a portion every three hours.
– Each meal should consist of minimally processed ingredients.
– Each meal should count between 200-400 calories.
– Each meal should include complex carbs and proteins.
– Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily.
– Consume an adequate amount of healthy fats every day.
Regardless of your cooking skills, switching to a healthier lifestyle requires you to prepare most of your meals. That way you’ll know exactly what’s in your meal and you’ll enjoy it more!
Don’t worry, there are a lot of light-cooking 30-minute meal recipes that are absolutely delightful and can help you get started. Here we have a list of our four favorite and easy-to-prepare clean meals that include wholesome ingredients and count less that 400 calories per serving.
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