There’s a new way of eating, and in my opinion, it’s here to stay. It’s called Clean Eating and it’s a way of eating that has radically revolutionized the diet and weight loss industry recently.

Clean Eating is based on the idea that the best way to eat is to abundantly enjoy whole foods — that is, foods as close to their natural state as you can get them. This means eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins instead of pre-packaged, processed foods or fast food.

Eating Clean is treating your body right.

It is eating the way nature intended. You eat the foods our bodies evolved to function best on, and that makes you feel — and look — fantastic. When you Eat Clean you eat more often. You eat lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. These practices keep your blood-sugar levels stable and keep you satisfied. The best part is that if you need to lose weight it will happen almost without you having to try. And yes, you can have a treat now and again.

Best of all, Eating Clean keeps you feeling great and full of energy. In fact, you can forget all about the days when “dieting” meant feelings of hunger, lethargy or deprivation.

Ready to dive right into a cleaner way of eating? Here are 5 simple steps to get you started:

Step 1

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Choose fresh, unprocessed foods over canned or processed products. Clean eating enthusiasts believe that we were meant to survive on fresh fruits and vegetables and that processing them reduces their nutritional value and fiber content and adds salt, fat, sugar and chemicals. Choose fruit instead of fruit juice and if you must pick a processed vegetable, frozen is always better than canned.

Step 2

Balance protein and complex carbohydrates. Incorporate whole grains like brown rice or millet over processed grains. Eat lean meats, and choose organic or grass fed meats when possible as these foods are usually clean of pesticides, hormones and additives. Grill, broil or steam your meats rather than frying. 

Step 3

Avoid sodas and high calorie, sugary drinks. Follow the tenant of clean eating that aims to remove added sugars from the diet. Choose water or tea for your beverages, or juice your own fruits and vegetables and enjoy them without added sugars or preservatives.

Step 4

Trade bad fats for good fats. One of the most important aspects of clean eating is removing saturated fats from the diet. Lower your saturated fat intake by avoiding fast food, choosing lean cuts of meat and getting your fat calories from foods like nuts and fatty fish.

Step 5

Eat several small meals to keep blood sugar stable and to avoid overeating. Choose snacks like nuts, low-fat or fat free dairy and fruits and vegetables. Note that some people who live a clean eating lifestyle don’t eat dairy products while others adapt clean eating to a vegetarian lifestyle.

So now let’s pull it all together and take a look at how you can create a daily menu of a Clean Eating diet plan:

Breakfast Ideas:

• Steel cut oatmeal (not flakes) with berries and 1 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
• 4-5 scrambled egg whites  with 4 oz. potatoes mixed with red peppers and onions
• 1 c. yogurt with 1 c. fresh berries, 1 slice whole wheat toast
• whole wheat pancakes with fruit
• banana chocolate smoothie

NEVER, EVER skip breakfast!!!! Think about it. You’ve just been sleeping for 7-8 hrs. (hopefully). Your body needs some fuel after not eating for that length of time. Your mother was right. It IS the most important meal of the day!

Lunch Ideas:

Okay, here’s where things get a bit more challenging. Most people are home at breakfast time. Not so for lunch. My suggestion would be to pack a small cooler the night before and just grab it when you leave for work in the morning.  This is where the planning comes in!

• 4 oz. chicken on whole wheat bread with mustard and avocado slice; green salad with olive oil and vinegar
• 4 oz. chicken, 1/2 c. brown rice, 1 c. low sodium lentil soup
• 1 c. whole wheat pasta, 1/2 c. low sodium marinara sauce, 4 oz. grilled chicken breast, 1/2 c. broccoli
• Mexican Chicken Wrap
• Easy Chicken Salad  

 Dinner Ideas:

• 4 oz. salmon, 1 medium  baked sweet potato and 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 turkey burger patty, 1 baked potato cubed and roasted with 2 tsp. olive oil and 2 tsp. chopped rosemary
• Pizza made with 1 whole grain English muffin, 1/4 c. part skim mozzarella cheese; salad made with 1/4 c. chickpeas, 2 tsp. cilantro, 2 tsp. minced garlic and 1 Tbsp. honey-mustard vinaigrette

Snack Ideas:

Snacks are NOT optional. You will need to eat 3 snacks a day, one after breakfast, one after lunch, and one after dinner. In the beginning you’ll feel like you’re eating ALL THE TIME, but soon your body will get used to eating this way. Here are some tasty snack ideas. All snacks should be around 200 calories.

• 1 English muffin with 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 6 whole wheat crackers and 1 oz. cheese
• 1 c. plain nonfat yogurt with 1 c. berries 
• 1 small baked sweet potato mixed with 1 c. plain nonfat yogurt

What’s important to note is Eating Clean is not a fad; it’s a way of life. When you Eat Clean your body will react by losing weight if you need to lose, maintaining a healthy weight if that’s where you are, and even gaining weight if you are too skinny. But regardless of whether you want to lose, maintain or gain, you will certainly feel better than you ever have before because you’re giving your body all-natural, wholesome foods!

I challenge you to use the meal ideas above to begin cleaning up your diet. Once you begin to experience the positive effects of what a clean diet/lifestyle can afford you, I guarantee you won’t go back to eating “that other way” ever again!

Need a little help getting started on cleaning up your diet? No worries, because that’s what I do best! If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you “clean it up” and release the weight you’ve been struggling with for years, contact me for a complimentary Health & Wellness Acceleration call. I can tell you more about how we can work together to help you achieve the goals you want for yourself. No frills. No drills. Let’s get you on your way, today!

Ingredients

3-4 frozen bananas

2 TB chopped walnuts

Directions:

Place the frozen bananas in a high-speed blender, such as a Vitamix or Blendtec and blend for 60-90 seconds.  No high-speed blender?  No worries!  Just place the frozen bananas in your food processor, and process for 3-5 minutes, or until you reach the desired consistency.  And voila!  You’ve just made the most amazing banana ice cream EVER!  Scoop it and top it off with the chopped walnuts.  Enjoy!

If you’ve been with me long enough, you know that I LOVE my green drinks (smoothies & juices)!  For some “odd” reason, most people think green drinks are for the birds, so to speak.  But let me tell you something…green is where it’s AT!

Green juices are an amazing way to gain more energy and to detox. Sometimes it can be challenging to find a delicious way to make green juice, so I found an easy and delicious combo just for you. Keep it simple and and keep it green!

FABULOUS GREEN JUICE

- 4 stalks celery

– 1 head kale or other dark, leafy green

– 2 carrots

– 1 apple, cored

– thumb sized piece of ginger

– 1 lemon, peeled

– 3 inches of aloe vera gel

Clean, peel, core and chop veggies and fruits into smaller pieces. Feed through your juicer of choice. I have a Breville Juice Fountain that works VERY well on juicing greens. Blend with aloe vera gel for a concentrated superfood boost. Enjoy and feel your spirits lift HIGH!  Happy Juicing!

Want to learn more about detoxing and getting more greens (and other nourishing foods) into your body for optimal health?  Head on over to my 10-Day Detoxifying Cleanse info page so you can get all the deets on my upcoming program.

It’s a rarity that you meet someone who feels entirely supported by their circle of friends, family, coworkers or significant other. What many people (especially women) don’t understand is that sometimes the answer to getting the support they need is as simple as asking for it. And then there are times when it’s necessary to create new relationships and let go of the old ones that are no longer serving them. 

It’s when we hold on to old relationships, and the “baggage” that comes along with it, that we create unnecessary stress in our lives. This stress, a lot of times, leads to emotional eating. And as a result, the emotional eating leads to excess weight. But why do we feel the need to hold on to things that are not good for us? Let’s explore that for a moment.

It’s sometimes comfortable to be uncomfortable. Ha! It bet that sounds silly to you, but can you somewhat relate to that? Have you ever been in a relationship that you knew wasn’t a great fit, but dealt with it anyway because you didn’t want to ruffle any feathers? Maybe you felt it was just easier to deal with it than to confront the person about how you really felt. But how did that work for you? I’m sure it wasn’t a good experience at all.

When you compromise what’s important to you, especially in good, quality relationships, you’re telling yourself you’re not worthy of having better. I know that instinctively you want what is best for yourself. But sometimes, when it comes to close relationships, it’s hard to let go when we’ve outgrown them. As a result, we’re maybe giving more than we receive, using unnecessary time and energy avoiding that person, feeling stressed out when that person comes around, etc. All of this affects your health in a way that is clearly not good for you. Stress causes weight gain, in more ways than one. It’s time to put relationships into perspective and really focus on the quality, and not the quantity.

Although fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other whole, nutritious foods pack in the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for improved health, it’s also important to know that it takes more than what’s on your plate to live a longer, healthier life. Strong, healthy, soulful relationships help fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life.

Here are the 3 C’s to creating healthy relationships in your life that support and nurture you so you can live a life that is healthy & WHOLE:

• Create a plan. A plan? Yes, you read that correctly. Good relationships don’t just happen naturally. It takes a little planning, and just like the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Creating nurturing relationships is a step-by-step, deliberate process. First, you decide on the KIND of people you’d like to meet (friends, mate, colleagues), and then you take SPECIFIC ACTIONS to make it happen.
• Combine meeting new people with doing what you love. By doing this, you have a better chance of finding like-minded people to invite into your soulful community. So be sure to attend programs and events aligned with your values and interests.
• Come out of your comfort zone! Now I’m not saying that you have to go out and hit the party scene. Remember, you want to align yourself with like-minded people, so if that’s not your thing , don’t do it. But what I am saying is that you do need to do something that you wouldn’t normally do when it comes to connecting with other people. It could be as simple as saying “Good Morning” with enthusiasm at the water cooler at work. Or asking someone about their day that you don’t normally speak to, but would like to get to know better. Like Nike says, “Just Do It!”

I challenge you to use the 3 simple steps above to begin cultivating healthier relationships in your life. Once you begin to experience what it’s like to have people in your life that love and support you, you’ll lessen the stress that you experience, has less chances of trying to fill a void with emotional eating, and less likely to put on excess weight as a result.

Surrounding yourself with what I call a “Soulful Community” of support from friends, family, coworkers, etc. is just one of the foundational steps to creating a life that is healthy and whole. If you’d like to learn more about how I can help you release the weight you’ve been struggling with for years, without going on a diet, contact me for a complimentary Health & Wellness Acceleration call. I can tell you more about how we can work together to help you achieve the goals you want for yourself. No frills. No drills. Let’s get you on your way, today!

Sprouts are one of THE most nutritious foods on the planet.  They’re easily accessible, easy to grow (really, they are!) and easy to store.  They’re rich in vitamins, minerals protein and enzymes.  I can’t say enough about these little plant powerhouses!

But so many people really have been missing out on all of the advantages of sprouts.  Why?  Like everything else I hear lately regarding eating and living a healthier lifestyle, it’s all about “not having enough time.”

So let me give you some simple facts about the ease  and benefits of incorporating sprouts into your diet.  And remember, you ALWAYS make time for what you VALUE in life.  If you value your health, you’ll make time for it. 

Sprouts can be grown in as little as 2-5 days, depending on the variety you choose to grow.  Mung bean sprouts are the fastest sprouting seed, as you can eat them in as little as 2 days.  You don’t need dirt to sprout legumes or seeds.  All you need is a jar, the seeds, a piece of mesh cloth (like cheese cloth) and a rubberband.  Or you can make it even easier and buy a jar specifically used for sprouting, like this one:

I won”t go into the process of actually sprouting your seeds, because the process varies depending on the type of seed/legume you choose.  But if you’re interested in learning more, you can check out this site.

A sprout possesses all of the energy, vitamins and nutrients and power that enables it to be transformed from a small seed into a strong plant. At this stage its nutritional value is at its highest.   For instance, sprouted seeds can contain 400% more protein than lettuce and over 3900% more beta-carotine.   How AMAZING is that??!!

Also, due to their size and taste you are able to eat hundreds of sprouted seeds at a time. In so many sprouts, you are eating the equivalent of hundreds of fully grown plants all at once – when else would you be able to get the goodness of one hundred mature plants in one meal?!

So, the next time you’re planning your meals (you ARE doing that, right?), plan to have some  sprouts.  Here are several ways to use your sprouts:

• Add to a stir fry
•  Mix with your salad creation
• Add to sandwiches in substitution for lettuce
• Add to tortilla wraps (Yum!)
• Juice them!
• Top off a bowl of soup with ‘em!

Endless possibilities!  Just get sprouting, okay?  Need help with putting all this good info into ACTION?  Let talk about how I can teach you how to become healthy & whole without going on a diet.  No kidding!  NO DIETS HERE (it’s the ultimate 4-letter word, in my opinion).  Just good ol’ healthy eating & living.  Contact me today for a no frills Health & Wellness Acceleration call.  You deserve it!