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Squeaky Clean

December 15th, 2009 | Comments | Posted in Diet, Featured, Motivation, Recipes, Thea | by thea

I’ve been toying with the idea of cleaning up my diet.

My family eats a lot of prepackaged, processed foods.  It’s just so darn convenient to reach into the pantry and pull out Cheez-Its (reduced fat, of course) to pack in my mouth the kids’ lunches.

I just got finished reading Master Your Metabolism by none other than, your friend and mine, Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser and 30 day Shred fame.

Really, does she need any other introduction?

Anyway, she brings up a good point about the foods we choose to fuel our bodies with.  To sum up what she’s talking about, I’m going to give you two lists of ingredients and you tell me which one sounds like it’s something you want going in your body:

Granola (whole grain rolled oats, brown sugar, crisp rice [rice flour, sugar, salt, malted barley extract], whole grain rolled wheat, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and/or sunflower oil with natural Tocopherol added to preserve freshness, dried coconut, whole wheat flour, sodium bicarbonate, soy lecithin, caramel color, nonfat dry milk), semisweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), corn syrup, crisp rice (rice flour, sugar, barley malt, salt), invert sugar, sugar corn syrup solids, glycerin, partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Contains 2% or less of soribitol, calcium carbonate, salt, water, soy lecithin, molasses, natural and artificial flavor, BHT (preservative), citric acid

OR

oats, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, peanuts, brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla extract, Kosher salt, dried fruit

Both of these are granola bars, but which one would you choose to eat?

I think I need to shift my focus from the points value of the convenience foods I AM eating to the nutritional value of the foods I SHOULD BE eating.

When was the last time you stopped and read the ingredients on the foods you are eating, instead of just reading the calories, fat or fiber?

I’m thinking 2010 might be the year of clean(er) eating for me.  Are any of you thinking of making similar changes in your diet?

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Further Inspiration!

 
  • anng
    I ALWAYS read ingredients because my youngest son is allergic to dairy and eggs! Did you know that MOST prepackaged foods have at least 1 of these 2 things in some form or another! I have made a pretty good shift to "healthier" eating over the past year, but sometimes I jsut WANT to eat something bad....like ding dongs, or candy bars! However, since I have been working out and losing weight so well this year I don't like to waste my calories on yucky foods no matter how good they taste, too often!
  • kay6672
    Ann, you know, the irony is that when we were strict vegetarian (aka vegan) it was almost impossible to find foods without any dairy or eggs in them. And now that we're not, simply focusing on whole foods, it's impossible to find anything that's "whole" enough to pass our standards! Who knew that non-dairy creamer is actually VERY dairy, and yet also very Franken-foodish? It's a learning curve, I must say!
  • I loved that book - though it scared me. I think what hit me most was the soy and the organic meat. I eat a lot of soy and have NEVER bought oraganic meat.
    But, I've been looking into it, and there are a few farms around here where you can buy a side of local, organic beef. I'm pretty tempted. It'd be an investment, but probably end up costing us less in the long run - both money and healthwise!
  • kay6672
    I agree -- it's the organics that are holding us back from going whole hog, so to speak. Also, as former vegetarians, we still eat a lot of soy and tvp foods. I'm slowly working them out of our diets, and trying to replace with organic options. But truthfully, that's really pricey to do for a family of four. After the hubbub from the holidays finishes, I need to get myself to a local bio store (organic) and really price it out.
  • TheaDramaMama
    We have a local grass fed angus farm, too. I priced it out...wowser. That's the one thing that's stopping me from doing that. I think I'm going to start smaller...organic veggies and snacks. Make what I can, buy organic on the rest.
  • tlb81003
    I'm with you. I go throw this c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y. You see, any "diet" to me actually encourages option a that you posted. Hear me out. Most any diet even some that promote whole grains, simple foods etc. tend to still suggest artificial sweetners or something with less calories or carbohydrates. Whole food is so much more nutritional for me and I know that but there's the lure of the other stuff that tastes so yummy and is within a certain calorie range, point range, carb range...whatever stinking range I'm targeting on the given day, week, month. Grrrr. I get so frustrated. I keep telling my husband I want to eat simply but the blasted sweets or restaraunts haunt me.
  • TheaDramaMama
    I totally understand what you mean. I've been focused so long about the points value of food, it didn't matter what it was. It's a big mental shift to start thinking about what the actual food is instead of it's point value. EVERY diet pushes convenience foods. But I'm not on a diet anymore... : )
  • I'm with you...as I sit here finishing off a pre-packaged WW breakfast sandwich. ;o)

    I actually use those as a last resort (i.e. when I would otherwise skip breakfast or lunch completely) but I admit we have been doing better eating from scratch at home. I love Clean Eating magazine for healthy clean recipes.
  • TheaDramaMama
    You really like it? I was thinking about subscribing but it would be another magazine. I already get 6 or 7...
  • I really do like it. I'm considering subscribing to it. (I currently don't get any magazines). I always end up picking it up at the store when I see a new one.
  • Good luck to you! I would be interested in trying to eat cleaner also. I think like BrookeF I will have to start with the fruits & veggies just because of the financial aspect. It is my goal for 2010 to cook more at home (actual recipes not opening a box) and try some new foods (major thing for a finicky eater).

    Cannot wait to hear how this goes for you and anyone else who tries it. :)
  • I am slowly trying to make adjustments. I quit buying pop. I quit drinking coffee. I have been cooking using the organic/healthier meal kits from The Healthy Pantry, makes cooking easy and quick, instead of turning to fast food!
  • TheaDramaMama
    It's all about the baby steps, no doubt. And I am super impressed that you gave up coffee! Awesome!
  • kay6672
    Yes!!! I read the same book and came to the same realization a few weeks ago. I'm working on clearing away the convenience foods as well. Not always easy to do, but well worth it, I think. Now if I could only convince myself that just because my favorite ice cream has all natural ingredients DOESN'T mean it's good for me!
  • TheaDramaMama
    LOL! Right, but it's better for you than the fake ice cream right? Like she says in the book, if you are going to have your snacks and sweets, make sure they are quality snacks and sweets. We're only human after all!
  • BrookeF
    i know i couldn't (at least at first) switch over to eating completely clean, but its something i'm looking into. things like granola bars are typically more expensive clean - so i'm starting slowly - with more fruits and veggies. and less hamburger helper. no matter how cheap (or free - the MIL stockpiles it for us) it is!!
  • TheaDramaMama
    Cost is a concern, no doubt. That's why I'm considering starting to cook and bake a little more, too. My town has a couple organic stores (as opposed to organic sections at chain stores) so I'm going to check those out, too.
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