We all know that our lifestyles are busy. Who has time to make everything you eat from scratch every day? I mean, with work and family obligations, your time is already filled. But never fear! It can be done.
So how can you incorporate clean eating into it?
Here are some tips to help you make the most of your clean eating plan!
How to Incorporate Clean Eating Into Your Busy Life
Begin by making the commitment.
That is a big step!
Make a menu plan.
To make it easier every day, you need to plan out your meals for the week. This is where a weekly or monthly meal plan comes in handy. A meal plan needs to include all meals as well as any snacks you plan to have during the day.
Take one day a week to create a month’s worth of meals. Get out your cookbooks and online recipes to put together your favorite meals. Once you’ve done this for a month or two, it’ll get easier. You can simply interchange the menus you’ve already created with a few different meals.
Include some protein, healthy carbohydrates, and fat at every meal. Protein is an important muscle builder that helps curb your appetite.
Next, you’ll need to stock your pantry and fridge. This is where you need a master shopping list – see below.
This means adding lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats such as chicken breasts and fish to your fridge.
Keep frozen fruits and vegetables that are all-natural, meaning they haven’t been packed in added sugar or salt on hand. It’s a good idea to have clean eating foods on hand in your freezer for those extra busy times when you don’t have time to run to the store for fresh foods.
Take advantage of a local butcher. A local butcher has fresh meats on display so you know exactly what you’re getting. An even better idea is to get to know your local farmers through the farmer’s market. They’re never reluctant to share with you how they grow and feed their animals.
Here’s a basic grocery list to get you started:
You can download a copy too!
When you’re just starting out with clean eating, you may be intimidated about where to start. A good rule is to shop the perimeter of the store. This is a simple list for beginners. Adjust it for what’s available in your area.
Breads:
Look for brands that have whole grains and are clean. Trader Joe’s brand of whole grain bread and Ezekial brand bread are a couple of suggestions.
Tortillas (make your own)
Dairy & Non-Dairy:
• Milk – Raw milk is the cleanest milk but may be hard to find. Organic, full-fat milk is the next best thing.
• Yogurt – Always opt for plain Greek yogurt when you can.
• Cheese, in moderation only. Make sure it’s real cheese. Avoid pre-shredded.
• Unsweetened almond milk. Check the ingredients. It’s best to make your own.
• Unsweetened coconut milk. This is the kind that comes in the cans, NOT the stuff in the cartons.
• Eggs
Meat:
• Chicken & Turkey (not deli meat)
• Beef can be part of a clean eating diet so long as you choose grass-fed and humanely raised beef. Venison and bison have a similar flavor to beef.
• Pork. Avoid processed pork like ham, bacon, or any other processed pork.
• Fish is considered clean, just be aware of the mercury found in most fish.
Produce:
Stock up here. The produce section will be where you load up. One point of caution: don’t buy more than you can use in a week unless you plan on preparing and freezing some of it. You don’t want it to go to waste.
Any fresh fruit you enjoy. Fruits include:
• Apples
• Oranges
• Grapefruits
• Bananas
• Avocados
• Berries of all kinds
• Cherries
• Kiwi
• Star fruit
All fresh veggies you enjoy. Veggies include:
• Carrots, Celery
• Broccoli
• Bell Peppers, all colors
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Any variety of squash
• Kale, Spinach
• Chard, Collard greens
• Okra
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Onions of any variety
Other Items:
• Green tea, Coffee
• Plain Oatmeal. Choose steel-cut oats or traditional rolled oats. Quick oats are best used for baking.
• Canned items with no added sugar or sodium.
• Dry beans and legumes including lentils, black beans, and chickpeas.
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat or whole grain (like brown rice) pasta
• Other whole grains such as barley
• Nuts, seeds such as Quinoa, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia or flaxseed.
• Ketchup. Find clean ketchup.
• Mustard. Look for ones without added sugar or choose Dijon.
• Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, Molasses.
• Spices. Never purchase seasoning packets.
• Whole wheat flour, Whole wheat pastry flour for baking, White whole wheat flour, Coconut flour, Almond Flour, or other gluten free flour.
Preparation
When you bring home your food from your shopping trip, it’s a good time to prepare it.
Chop veggies and put them into containers so they are ready to grab when need them. Marinate your chicken breasts in individual zip bags a few days before you are going to cook them.
Divide meat into the size of portions you need for each meal. Label everything well.
Consider making items ahead, like whole wheat pie crusts for fixing a quick quiche at the last minute, or have clean-eating pizza dough made ahead of time for a fast pizza.
Make your own junk food. Really, you can have potato chips if you make your own using clean ingredients.
Cook the wild rice and brown rice up in a big pot and divide into individual servings in bags and freeze them. That way you have a microwavable rice bag ready to go.
Prep on the weekend for seamless weeknight meals. Precook proteins and grains like quinoa for quick additions to salads. Make a large container of salad dressing to be used all week.
Make freezer meals ahead of time. Take one weekend and make up a week’s or a month’s worth of meals you can freeze. Then simply take out the night before, thaw it in the refrigerator, and heat it up the next day.
Another option is to create crock pot meals. Assemble as many of the ingredients as possible and freeze them in bags. Add to the crockpot for a wonderfully easy dinner ready when you get home. Search out recipes and tips online for ideas to use all those healthy ingredients.
Work Ahead:
Fitting a clean eating habit into a busy lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to make drastic changes in your life. It simply means taking a little extra time once a week or so to prepare your foods so they are ready when you need them.
I hope this has helped you! Make sure to sign up for my emails below so you get notice of all new tips, just like these!
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.