Case in point, a few weekends ago my husband Bruce and I were busily running errands on a Saturday after our morning workout.  We ended up being gone longer than we expected and found ourselves famished, on the verge of making a poor, non-clean eating food choice.

Believe it or not, I insisted that we go to Taco Bell as he rattled off all the choices for a healthier bite to eat including our old standby Panera Bread where we religiously order a salad.  But I felt so incredibly hungry that I was ready to kick any notions of clean eating to the curb in the spirit of instant, fat-filled, calorie-laden gratification.  Have you ever felt that way, making a poor decision in the moment and losing sight of your larger goal, only to find out it didn’t taste as good as you expected it would?

We came to our clean eating senses, however, after a lengthy persual of the Taco Bell menu.  Now mind you, I’m not suggesting everything at Taco Bell is bad, however, with the recent addition of calorie information next to each menu item at many fast food restaurants, you can’t help but take note and give some thought to what you’re about to consume.  It’s the perfect opportunity to think about which items are the cleanest foods and can support healthier eating.

My old standby at Taco Bell is the bean and cheese burrito but I was shocked to see that it has 370 calories. Even though it was listed as one of the healthier options and lower in fat, I couldn’t get over the fact that something that’s not especially large has that many calories.  And let’s be real — if I took the time to make a bean and cheese burrito at home, you know I could make a clean eating version (whole grain wrap, low fat cheese, organic beans) that would be so much healthier.

Bruce and I eyed the menu selections for a good 10 minutes.  We were even more shocked by how many calories some of the burritos contain, easily 500-600 calories in many of them with lots of fat and sodium to boot.  Just imagine the people that don’t stop at one but order two or three and don’t think twice about it!

The good news is that we regained our clean eating senses after our momentary lapse, and headed over to Panera Bread.  I ordered my favorite Fuji Apple Chicken salad for 520 calories plus an apple. And I got the dressing on the side and didn’t get the gorgonzola cheese. A much better choice that supports my clean eating efforts that I can feel good about it.

How aware are you when heading out for a quick bite when you’re on the run? Do you know how many calories are in the items you order? And what can you do to practice clean eating when you’re in the midst of your busy day?  With a little forethought, I bet you can make a healthier choice.

Bittman adopted a vegan diet part of the time — he would eat vegan until 6 pm and then he enjoy whatever he liked after that.  But his shift to eliminating animal products and eating a much cleaner diet paid off – he lost 35 pounds over the course of three months.

I was drawn to this article because I’ve been toying with the idea of eating less meat for some time. And when I read it, it struck me that I pretty much practice part-time veganism too although it hasn’t been intentional. I didn’t wake up one day and say “today, I’m going to become a part-time vegan,” rather it unfolded through my weekly meal planning efforts and just felt right.

Since I do most of the cooking in the house, I plan the meals and do the grocery shopping.  I’m naturally drawn to more soups and stews in colder months and I often end up making vegan dishes that contain copious amounts of beans.  So in a very natural way, my husband and I started eating more meat less dishes at lunch time and lots of healthy snacks in the afternoon - like red pepper strips with hummus and an apple.  And since we don’t eat meat with breakfast, it’s not so hard to go through a large portion of the day without any meat at all.

Awhile back I did plan a week of no meat at all, even with dinner. Bruce reluctantly went along with the program but he wasn’t so thrilled.  Even though we don’t eat a lot of meat (usually chicken, turkey and fish), he missed the opportunity to have meat and he kept reminding me how important protein is to his weight lifting routine.  Needless to say, we got through the week but he was definitely not into my plan to extend our vegan experiment another week!  Ironically, just the other day he suggested that we have another week of no meat at all and you know I was game. That’s coming up next week and I’ll share the details of our menu planning.

I can see how being a part-time vegan is something that can work in our home.  It’s a healthier, clean eating happy medium that’s balanced by some meat later on in the day but even that doesn’t have to happen every day and can be in small amounts.  Seriously, this is so much a healthier way to eat and live and it feels like it fits both our needs better than the all or nothing approach. And I have to say that after four to five months of eating this way, Bruce has shed roughly20 pounds so he’s reaping the health benefits and feeling great about how he looks.  To me, eating this way screams, “I want to prevent chronic disease,” and we’re both committed to that.

Have you tried being a part-time vegan? What’s your experience been like and how has it helped you create a healthier, clean eating lifestyle that supports preventing chronic disease?

One of the things I like best about clean eating is that a few simple ingredients blended together can make a delicious meal that can be super easy.  I routinely like to keep it simple with the freshest ingredients. Make it a one pot meal and it’s even better – less mess in the kitchen.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Clean Eating Magazine.  Awhile back I had seen a recipe with black eyed peas and collard greens but I wasn’t so wild about the potatoes.  I actually was looking for it recently, couldn’t find it and put together what I thought sounded good, with some additions and changes.  It was absolutely delicious and it’s so basic that I can see making this pretty regularly in my meal planning routine.

You’ll love this clean eating recipe because it’s so fast, you have it made in about 30 minutes. And with greens, beans and sweet potatoes, it’s brimming with a whole host of nutrients your body needs.  I love that it features so many complex carbohydrates and it will keep your energy up for hours.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 32 oz. carton low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
1 bunch collards greens, chopped
15 ounce can black-eyed peas (I like Eden Organic)
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (I love Muir Glen, all organic)
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried rosemary
Sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add broth, water and sweet potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add black-eyed peas, tomatoes, collards greens, oregano and rosemary and simmer until collards are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

What’s your favorite way to combine beans and greens in a soup? Have other ideas for a quick and delicious soup that’s healthy? Do tell!

You must take a moment to watch this video and tell me what you think — true or hype? Does it make your stomach turn like mine?

Honestly, it looks pretty darn authentic to me, but even if it’s not, it got me thinking about the quality of food we eat everyday and especially about eating canned food. It sure is convenient but for so many reasons, I limit my intake of canned foods to organic canned beans (no salt added), tomatoes and coconut milk. That’s pretty much it. Why so few items?

Let’s start with the fact that a huge portion of canned food would hardly fall in the clean eating category.  Over processed and often full of too much sodium (think canned soup), calories or unhealthy fats, it doesn’t usually provide us with the essential nutrients we need. In addition, most cans are lined with BPA (bisphenol A) – a chemical in plastic that’s been linked to increased risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease in animals.  Even in the healthiest of canned foods, you’re likely to find BPA.

Even if I wasn’t already focused on eating clean, whole foods, simply watching the video would be enough to make me pause and think about the choices I make.   Am I making the best decisions? What, if anything, do I need to change? Honestly, it’s hard to have confidence in our food supply these days and this sure doesn’t help.

This is one more reason to eat fresh, clean foods. With a focus on more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, it’s hard to go wrong.  That’s especially true if your food is locally grown and you know specifically where it’s coming from. But even if you eat frozen veggies, that’s a big step up from canned. Know what else? Even if I’m going to eat pasta, I’m sure not eating it from a can. How about a little extra time to cook some up with jarred sauce, at the very least? With some simple meal planning, any of us can reduce our dependence on questionable canned and processed foods and support a healthier lifestyle with more fresh, whole foods that boost our immune system and help stave off chronic diseases.

What will you do to minimize the impact of canned foods and eat more fresh, clean eating, whole foods?

For me, that translates into increased awareness about what I’m putting into my body and how I’m taking care of it.  I think before I eat something, weigh whether I want it or need it (seriously, who’s ever needed a cupcake?), and if I do want it and it’s perhaps not such a clean eating food, I weigh what I’m willing to do to balance it out…like more time at the gym.  Simply becoming more self-aware goes a long way toward preventing chronic disease — increased self-knowledge leads to better choices and avoiding unhealthy behaviors.

Having recently lost a friend to pancreatic cancer who was only 50, I regularly think about how fortunate I am to be healthy with no major medical problems.  My friend Pam’s death was such a wake up call.  Before she got sick, she had a healthy lifestyle doing all the right things yet she still got sick.  Really, any of us can be susceptible.  When I step back and get some perspective, my slightly creaky joints, sometimes sore foot from doing too much cardio and little aches and pains are nothing compared to the several friends I have who are currently dealing with cancer or other illnesses, or who have sadly passed away.

I really believe that how we treat ourselves today, especially those of us in or nearing middle age, has everything to do with how our older years will manifest.  Do you want to age vibrantly and be energized or can you see yourself burdened with health problems that cause regret about your past self-care efforts (or lack thereof)?  Needless to say, I’m all about being preventative, eating clean foods, getting plenty of exercise and rest and taking the best care of myself that I can. 

Last week I opened up my friend Ginny’s bi-weekly newsletter and was struck by the content. Ginny, a life coach, is a pro at helping people shift perspective to get new insights into challenges they may be facing.  She mentioned how helpful it is to think about what you’re willing to do to solve a problem and why that’s so important.

I read her newsletter and immediately wrote back and said, “I’m willing to do a strength training workout 3 times per week so I feel great in a bathing suit this summer.”  I was struck by what an easy shift I had when I was able to articulate both what I’d be willing to do and why it was so important.   It’s only mid-April and I’m already focused on a summertime goal and excited about it (especially since I joined a new gym that’s motivating me).  I can already feel how I’ll feel when I’m on the beach this summer and feeling great in my bathing suit and about my body. And truth be told, in the end, it’s less about the physical manifestation (looking great in the suit) and more about how I’m taking care of myself  that really matters.

I find that when there’s a larger reason that’s inspiring me, it’s so much easier to get started on a goal and stick to it.  In fact, it doesn’t have to be so hard at all.

I’m curious to know what you’re willing to do to prevent chronic disease and feel your best as you age.  What’s your spark of inspiration to help you feel your best as your body changes?

I can use myself as a perfect example. For me, clean eating is a no-brainer. It’s on my priority list to plan, shop for and prepare clean eating meals on a weekly basis. I end up spending a lot of time in the kitchen but the truth is, almost everything I eat is fresh AND I save lots of money.  On the other hand, however, it’s taken me months to get back into a gym routine I can maintain.

I’m chocking most of this up to having some minor surgery in January that got me off track combined with the fact that I was uninspired at my old gym.  It used to be that I had a gym I liked (even though it wasn’t so aesthetically appealing) — friendly people and lots of classes to keep me motivated (I even met my husband there). When that gym closed, my husband and I signed up at another gym but it didn’t offer any classes, so lots of cardio machines and weights which was perfect for him, but far from inspiring for me.

It recently became clear to me that what I was doing, wasn’t really working.  I half-heartedly went through the motions on the cardio machines and just wasn’t excited about lifting weights the way I used to be. What did I need? A change to shake things up.

Several weeks ago I went to check out a gym that’s about 10 minutes away. It’s absolutely beautiful, the people are friendly and they’ve got tons of classes — 60 per week! I joined a few weeks ago, even though it’s a lot more expensive that my current gym, but it’s already worth it — I’m excited to exercise again and support my health. I’ve found my workout mojo and I’m having great fun mixing things up with classes, cardio and weights. Plus, there are lots of people from my old gym so it’s fun to see familiar faces.

Sometimes we just have to change things up and try something new. And the fact that I already had the clean eating down has made the transition to consistent exercise that much easier.  Now I’m finding that I’m in a good groove to do both and reap all the benefits (like feeling great in my bathing suit this summer!).  It may have taken me awhile, but persistence pays off, sometimes you just need to do some fine tuning.

What do you do to balance a clean eating lifestyle free of unhealthy fats, sugar and salt with consistent exercise that inspires you?

When I was young, I loved Easter because it meant lots of candy and a pretty new dress for church. Now being a Buddhist, while it doesn’t have a lot of religious significance for me, I appreciate why this holiday is so important to others. Interestingly, in addition to its religious significance, Easter can also be an occasion to overindulge.

As the Clean Eating Coach, I’m all about maintaining a healthy lifestyle all year round, with a few indulgences of course, but there’s no reason why we Easter dinner can’t be healthy and tasty, without being full of fat.  For me, clean eating is about creating a lifestyle that takes many favorite dishes and gives them a healthy spin. Here are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing for how you can make your Easter dinner healthier and less full of fat and sugar:

• Add more fresh, leafy greens!Greens are the perfect spring elixir after months of heavy, winter food.  Ideas? Do a stir fry using fresh bok choy, sauté kale or collard greens or roast fresh asparagus (yes, I know, it’s not exactly leafy but it is delicious)
• Make two veggies dishes instead of one!  I know how easy it is to fill up on simple carbs but why not try to veggie dishes instead. Something with a little starch, like sweet potatoes, is a wonderful accompaniment to a dish featuring greens and yet, still so healthy.
• Add flavor to your dishes by using orange or lemon zest or fresh herbs. You can ditch high calorie ingredients like butter in this simple way yet add lots of flavor that your guests will love 
• Skip all the sweeteners – glazed ham or sugary sweet potatoes can easily add on unnecessary calories. Think about roasting sweet potatoes and sweetening with fresh orange juice, cinnamon and nutmeg instead. Add if you’re making a ham, why don’t create your own glass from pure maple syrup or locally grown honey instead of what you’ll find in the grocery store 
• Make a healthy dessert.  Instead of lots of sugary choices and too many options, make one dessert with high quality ingredients that features a natural sweetener like pure maple syrup. Or even better, have a fresh fruit salad!

What’s your plan to keep it healthy but flavorful on Easter? Have any favorite recipes that you can make in a healthier way? Do tell!

And nothing’s better than finding new clean eating resources that inspire me in the kitchen. This past week, I had the pleasure of attending Terry Walter’s talk on Clean Food at the New Haven Public Library. Terry, a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is the author of the recently published Clean Food cookbook, a seasonal guide to eating close to the source.

She shared about the power of preparing and eating real food for her and her family and how any of us can take baby steps in the right direction using seasonal, locally grown food. I’m always of that mind with my clean eating clients — it’s never about changing up everything in your routine at once, but about simple choices we can make everyday to step in the right direction.

Terry has a warm personality and engaging style that shone through during her talk. Along the way, she prepared some yummy dishes — a quinoa salad with fresh mango, black beans and mint, and a delicious garden salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing — that we all had the pleasure of enjoying.

Nothing was a better follow up to the evening than noshing over a healthy meal with my good friend Jannae as we compared notes about what we were going to make from the cookbook over the weekend. 

And just as I promised myself, I got busy on Saturday and whipped up her sweet potato, corn and kale chowder.  I used Trader Joe’s frozen, fire roasted corn and loved the rich flavor.  I also tried her banana, coconut and chocolate chip cookies.  They are so easy to make and I like that the only sweetener is a 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup.  These vegan cookies were a bit hit at the dinner party we attended on Saturday night.

I really like the way Terry has divided up the cookbook by seasons.  Given that spring is officially here, I naturally gravitated to that section and am giving special focus to recipes that contain greens, one of the best springtime detoxifiers around.

If your aren’t familiar with Clean Food, you have to check it out, it’s worth every penny of the price. And it’s the perfect resource for clean eaters like me that are looking for some fresh, new recipes to build into my repertoire — it reminds me how fun it is to experiment in the kitchen as I support my health.

Have you had a chance to try out Clean Food already? What do you think? What’s your favorite recipe that you just can’t get enough of?

I’m not a big meat eater by any stretch of the imagination, but yours truly, the Clean Eating Coach, does enjoy free range chicken, lean turkey and fish for several meals during the week.  I buy the highest quality meat and fish I can find but try to eat it in moderation.

Lately, however, I’ve been thinking more about eating less meat and eating even more of a plant-based diet.

I’m motivated largely by prevention. I talk to my clients all the time about the power of clean eating with a focus on more fruits and vegetables, less congesting meat, dairy products and of course, less sugar and salt to stave off chronic illnesses.  And as I think about 5 people I know who are battling cancer and other health issues, I can’t help but believe that what we put into our bodies has a large impact on how we feel and how healthy we are.  Is it the only determining factor in optimal health? Of course not, but what we eat plays a key role.

Although I practice what I preach with clean eating, carefully choosing the freshest food possible, limiting sugar, eating almost no unhealthy fats, and buying locally, I still feel like I could take it up a notch. 

For me, that translates into adding in more raw vegetables, getting creative with plant based protein and drinking a lot more water — clean eating vegetarian style.

So this past weekend I announced to my husband Bruce that we wouldn’t be eating any meat…at least for a week.  Of course, he gave me that “are you serious?” look before coming to the realization that he would be going along with the program.  The real bottom line is that I do most of the cooking so he eats what I make, and this week I decided my body needs a rest.  I thought it was funny, though, when he said maybe we could try going meat-free every other week when we hadn’t even gotten started on day 1.  

What are we eating this week? Here’s what I’ve got planned:

• Sunday night and last night we had a stir fry with brown rice
• I made a pot of vegetable chili that we’ve been having for lunch along with a salad
• Tonight I’m making portabella mushroom burgers thanks to Tiffany at The Gracious Pantry
• I roasted a batch of veggies on Sunday night — beets, carrots, onions, turnips, to name a few — a simple recipe I found in the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook
• Tomorrow I’m making a raw kale salad to have along with some brown rice pasta
• And next up will be a lentil dish that has Swiss Chard that I thought sounded easy and delicious

I feel like that’s a pretty good start for my week of experimenting, trying to keep it quick and simple. Since dairy products don’t agree with me, I won’t be adding those in. And since I try to avoid bread, I won’t be loading up on a lot of that either. Which means there’s more room for fruits and veggies.

I’m curious to know the last time you took a look at your diet and made some adjustments. Are you practicing clean eating? Are you able to take it up a notch? What could you do this week to add in more clean, whole foods?

March is National Nutrition Month, an awareness campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association.  It’s an effort to help people reinforce eating the right foods and focusing on exercise, the 1-2 punch that sets you up for healthy living.

Being that spring is right around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to be thinking about your own eating habits so far in 2010.  Here are three simple questions:

• Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables in a day? I shoot for at least 7 servings a day. What about you?
• Are you eating healthy fats like avocado and using olive oil, kicking saturated and trans fat to the curb?
• Have you reduced or eliminated processed foods that are full of sugar and salt?

Making changes in one or all of these areas is a simple step in the right direction.  When we eat less processed food our bodies stand up and take notice – we have more energy, we avoid the pesky afternoon sugar drop and our bodies function so much more efficiently, not to mention that we’re helping to prevent a host of chronic diseases simply by improving our diet.  When I’m eating a clean diet free of processed foods and I’m focused on whole foods, I also notice a huge difference when it comes to PMS – namely that I don’t experience it.  (Yes, it’s true, you can be PMS free – check out this prior post)

One of my favorite places to take a look at my eating habits, and a suggestion I make to all my clients, is to clean out the refrigerator, identifying what’s fresh and what’s not and creating a clean eating slate, so to speak.  This is a healthful tool to get focused on clean eating on multiple levels – you get rid of things that no longer serve you, you see the truth of your buying and food waste patterns and you can take inventory of the kind of foods you tend to eat, recognizing gaps.   What’s missing from the refrigerator that you know would be healthier and what are some things you should avoid in the future? The beauty is that it doesn’t have to take long to clean things out and prepare to start fresh, an important component of creating a clean eating lifestyle.

When was the last time that you took stock of your refrigerator and asessed your eating? Have you done it this year? When can you commit to making the time to clean things up?  A few actions on your part can make a big difference in eating right during National Nutrition Month and all year long.