A Fabulous Girl’s Guide to Clean Eating

These days, we are inundated with a tidal wave of advice on all things relating to food. Where to eat it, how to cook it, where to buy it. As someone with an autoimmune condition, food has become more than just what I put on my plate. It has become part of my lifestyle. And while we rightfully emphasize what we put on our bodies, it’s equally important to focus on what we put in them as well. Beauty truly starts on the inside, both personally and physically. So where to begin? In this post, I’ll help you cut through the noise and get started on the path to wellness. You’ll be a fashion plate and have a clean (and delicious) plate in no time.

Step 1: Get Informed

Eating clean isn’t as difficult as you may think. It starts by reading the labels of the things you pick up as you shop in the supermarket. Just as we obsess over clothing labels (you know we all do), we should be looking at food labels just as closely. And you can’t just rely on the brand name of the item. When we shop for clothes, we often turn the label over and check the makeup of the garment. Is it made of luxurious cashmere, or is it a polyester blend? Is it dry clean only? The same goes for shopping for food. Turn the label over and read the ingredients of what you’re buying. Is it made with quality ingredients, or does it mainly consist of high fructose corn syrup and other sketchy components? You’d be surprised at what you learn when you start reading the fine print. And while you may think that eating clean might break the bank, you can buy a store’s own brands, like Whole Food’s 365, and stay on budget.

Step 2: Go Back to the Basics

Another way to get into the habit of eating clean is by buying fresh, local produce. Spring is here, and that means farmers markets will be popping up everywhere. They’re a great opportunity to reconnect to your roots - pun intended. The local farmers markets are a great source of locally grown, farm to table food. You’ll get to peruse the latest, freshest, in season produce, and the farmers selling it often have great ideas on how to serve it up. Sometimes just browsing the farm stands can get your creative culinary juices flowing, and recipe ideas will start coming to mind. There is nothing more delicious (and healthy!) than biting into a crispy, crunchy salad, made with fresh lettuce that was in the ground a day or so before it hit your plate. Or, if you’re like me in New England, a freshly picked ear of sweet corn. And in the fall, you can sample cool seasonal veggies that you may never have thought to try, like decadent Delicata squash, which is easy to make, tastes like pumpkin pie, and has incredible health benefits. You’ll know exactly where your food came from, and will also be supporting local farmers and small businesses, so it’s a double win!

Step 3: Stay Close to Home

Life is hectic. It seems like time goes by in a blur and we’re trying to be as productive as we can with every moment. Taking time out to cook seems like an exercise in futility, especially with the advent of food delivery apps. It can be so tempting to pull one up and have dinner at your door in twenty minutes, but most of the time, your food is cooked with seed oils and other unhealthy ingredients. Why are seed oils so bad? They promote inflammation, which is a precursor to illness. When your body is inflamed, nothing good can happen. That is why it’s important to read food labels and keep takeout to a minimum. The less your body is exposed to unhealthy oils and additives, the healthier you’ll be - and the better you’ll feel. And you don’t have to make something complicated for it to be healthy. Try sautéing your favorite veggies in some garlic and olive oil and serving them over pasta, topping it off with some grated cheese. It tastes better than any restaurant, takes very little time, and is nutrient dense. I’d suggest making a large portion, because it marinates in its juices overnight, making even more delicious leftovers. And it will be one less meal you’ll have to cook. You can also grab a rotisserie chicken at your local grocery store (Whole Foods has them on sale one day a week for an incredibly reasonable price), and mix some pieces in to add protein. The rotisserie chicken is also a great shortcut to keep the healthy momentum going. One bird goes a long way. You can serve it with salad and a baked potato, use it to make delicious and healthy homemade chicken salad, and add it to some rice noodles, with soy sauce, scallions and toasted sesame oil for a better-than-takeout-Chinese option.

There’s lots more to clean eating, but these are great first steps to begin

doing so. I’ll post more about it in the future. Until next time…stay fabulous!