I’m sure you’ve all heard about the different “diet” fads that are going on right now… Eating clean, juicing, detoxing, etc… But what does it all really mean?? According to the Huffington Post and Livestrong.com, “Clean eating is a diet program 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 and 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. Clean eating is also committed to replacing saturated fats with healthy fats. Many on the plan don’t count calories, but instead trust in good quality, healthy food” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/livestrongcom/clean-eating-5-simple-ste_b_632545.html).
I, along with my fiancé have decided to change our eating habits and move towards the clean, organic, whole foods diet which have included: a 5 day juice fast, eating as many organic and “natural” foods as possible, and investing in a Vitamix blender (which I may say is pretty freakin’ AWESOME!).
Let’s start with this 5 day juice fast…
We have a Breville juicer at home and have been juicing for a few years, which has been great! It’s a pain to clean, but it’s nice to have fresh juice in the morning for breakfast. Now, what exactly have we juiced in the past? Our regular vegetables and fruits include: spinach, kale, apples, carrots (surprisingly one of my favorites), pears, watermelon, cantelope, and pretty much anything else I find at Sprouts on sale in the organic section! So, when I saw a 5-day juice fast on Living Social that took care of everything for me for a decent price, I jumped on it! I will say, the first two days were the most difficult, as I craved EVERYTHING! But once day 3 hit, it was smooth sailing. Not only did I have more energy, I felt great after day 5 and didn’t have the urge to eat anything unhealthy! Since this particular 5-day juice cleanse, I’ve tried the juices from another company (Detox Lounge: http://www.detoxlounge.com) and plan on doing their 3-day cleanses at least once a month. Their juices are way better and I think I’d actually look forward to drinking the next juice!
Now for our every day diet…
Many think that eating “organic” equates to more expensive, but in reality, there are health food stores, (Sprouts, Trader Joes, Jimbo’s, Whole Foods, and Costco), who have fruits, vegetables, meats, etc. for prices even cheaper than what you would find at Vons or Albertsons. Sprouts has double ad Wednesday’s, so there are many options on sale. Costco carry’s many products that are organic and Jimbo’s has great local produce for reasonable prices.
Now, what does it mean to eat organic??
According to Stonyfield (http://www.stonyfield.com/healthy-people/health-tips-advice/why-eat-organic), eating organic means less pesticides that we ingest and less pesticides for our farmers. For our environment, “Organic practices means livestock are kept strong, healthy and productive through good nutrition, less stress
and humane living conditions, rather than through antibiotics or injections of artificial growth hormones. Our soil, rivers, drinking water and air also benefit from organic agriculture, because organic practices don’t contaminate them with toxic persistent chemicals. Organic means less dependence on fossil fuels. Organic farming practices can help reduce climate change. Converting all of America’s cropland to organic is estimated to have the same carbon-reducing effect as taking 217 million cars off the road!”
Of course, eating organic doesn’t mean you have to go crazy with buying everything organic, it means, take a step and start with the dirty dozen.
For juice & smoothie recipes, eating clean recipes, etc, check out my Pinterest boards at: http://pinterest.com/annettesreyes/
