Are you new to clean eating? Clean eating will mean making a change to your current lifestyle…and, I know change is hard! Have you ever wanted to make a change with your eating before (or anything actually!) and then when you gave it more thought, you felt totally overwhelmed with what you’d be changing and then felt it was just easier to just throw your hands in the air and say, MAYBE NEXT TIME?
I’ve been there!
Change is hard!
Change is hard – especially when we want to go ALL IN and try to change EVERYTHING at once. When I finally made the shift to eating healthy food, I had no idea sure where to start? There is so much information floating around. Would I have to empty my entire refrigerator and all my pantries and completely restock?
I don’t recommend that! The easiest way to get started is to take small steps to cleaner eating. To help you get started with your clean eating journey, I put together a Clean Eating Shopping List that you can download for free! The list is pretty simple with some of my favorite clean eating staples, including my go-to spices.
Why should I change to eat cleaner?
- Change your shopping list to cleaner foods.
- Change a few recipes.
- Start meal planning.
- Change your grocery store pattern.
Get started with clean eating
It can be easy to take the “go with the flow” approach and wait and see how clean eating goes for other people. Let’s be real, folks! Eating REAL FOOD is never bad for your body, my friend. The “wait and see” approach is just plain not smart if you want to have a healthy body that is there for you when you need it. Not to mention, your energy ⚡️ levels will be better, your digestion 😊 will improve, and your skin will show benefits too. You might even sleep better!
My suggestion for starting is to be strategic. Arm yourself with information. Read my clean eating 101 post, grab some healthy recipes, and do not think about eliminating any food groups, not even CARBS!
After you think about your shopping, the next step is going to be meal planning. I love to talk about meal planning – to get started simply, plot out a few recipes for the upcoming week. Start with 2-3 dinners that can be repurposed for lunches and find a way to cycle your meals at breakfast. Have a few go-to breakfast recipes, like these overnight oats or my favorite, Shakeology! Keep it simple to get started! Oh, and snacks! Stick to my list of go-to snacks when you can.
With my Clean Eating Shopping List, assess your refrigerator, pantry and recipe plans to make your shopping list for the grocery store and go shopping! Stick to your list!
Another small step you can start with is to watch your path through the grocery store for sure. Did you notice anything? Before starting on the clean eating lifestyle, I was up and down every aisle of the store. Now, my path is pretty different. You’ll find that the primary, and even a lot of the secondary foods, that fit with a clean eating lifestyle will be found around the perimeter of the market – the outside edges.
Think about it. Produce, meats, dairy – all the FRESH FOODS are around the edges. Some stores have a “healthy aisle” where I find my quinoa, low sodium broth, and my favorite snack chips. Clean eating doesn’t mean you have to eliminate things you love – finding healthier alternatives is the message I want you to take away.