What can I eat?

This is the first question most people ask when they think of how to eat healthy. For me, I believe in eating foods in their most natural state; minimally processed with no preservatives or random chemicals. This is called ‘Clean Eating’. The basic rule of thumb is if an ingredient list has more than 5 or so ingredients and a long list of chemicals you can’t understand, don’t eat it. This is why it is good to prepare more of your own foods, so you can control what goes in it.

Basic foods for Clean Eating:
(This is by no means an exhaustive list, feel free to explore and expand.)

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, both for snacking and meals
Oats (not instant. I like Irish oats.)
Lean meats such as chicken breasts, turkey, ham (also try Bison & Venison!)
Fish: white fish, salmon, shrimp, tuna
100% Whole Wheat Pasta
Brown Rice
Beans (Try a variety of different ones: black, pinto, garbanzo, kidney)
Eggs, Low Fat Milk, Non-Fat or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt
Low-Fat Feta and Mozzarella cheese
Honey, Stevia, Sucanat or other natural sweetener of choice (I like to use fresh pitted dates, whirled in a blender for smoothies or muffins)
Unsalted Nuts and Nut Butters (I LOVE Almond butter!)
100% Whole Wheat Bread/Pita Bread (I like sprouted grain breads by Food for Life)
Vinegars: experiment with Balsamic, Apple Cider, Rice or many others
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Spice it up! Stock your pantry with a variety of spices to flavor your foods. Try fun basics like lemon pepper and garlic powder, as well as mixed spices like Italian seasonings and Mexican blends. Check labels on spices! You’d be surprised what they throw in there. Also try to pick spice mixes that do not have ‘salt’ listed as the first ingredient.

Here is an official Clean-Eating Shopping List Link!

Shopping for Food:

Farmer’s Market: I typically go to a Farmer’s Market to get the freshest of in season veggies and fruits. These goodies are normally picked very recently, sometimes even that morning. It makes fruits and veggies taste amazingly better, and they have more nutrients since they didn’t travel a long way to get to you. I also find that things are cheaper at the farmer’s market, and the interactions you have with all the people, fellow customers and farmers, is more rewarding than in the grocery stores. You can ask questions and learn more about how the food was grown. It keeps you more in touch with where your food comes from. Here is a guide to find the nearest Farmer’s Market near you: cafarmersmarkets

Grocery Stores: When you’re shopping at the grocery store, looking for healthy foods can be frustrating. The key is to shop the perimeter of the store. This is where you find produce, meats and dairy. I try to avoid many of the middle aisles, as they are filled with temptations like chips and crackers. Some good things can still be found in those middle aisles. It is important to read labels! If you haven’t had the chance to read the labels of many of the foods you find in store, you will soon see that many of the prepackaged or ‘convenience’ foods you see in the store are filled with preservatives, chemicals and sugars. Watch out for foods that you wouldn’t expect to find sugar because there is sugar in everything now a days!

Very interesting article on reading food labels! Labels are deceiving!!

Recommended grocery stores: These stores have a good variety of healthy, natural foods. They also tend to have good convenience foods that fit the clean eating lifestyle that you normally cannot find in conventional grocery stores.

Trader Joe’s
Whole Foods
Local Co-ops, health food stores

Don’t worry, there is plenty of more information to come! If you have any questions, please comment below or e-mail me SirenaKay.soc@gmail.com. Thank you for reading!

Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Mexican Vinaigrette Salad

2 Chicken Breasts, shredded
4 Hearts of Romaine, shredded
2 Large Tomatoes, diced
1 (15oz.) Can Black Beans
1 Cup Corn
1 Medium Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 Bunch Fresh Cilantro, chopped (or just pluck off leaves and throw in salad whole)
1 Large Avocado, chopped

For the dressing:

5 Tbs. White Vinegar
5 Tbs. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
1 Tbs. Pickled Jalapeno Juice (from a jar of pickled jalapeños)
3 Tbs. Dried Mexican Oregano
1 ½ tsp. Fine Sea Salt
1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ tsp. Ground Cumin
1 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (or for an even lighter version use ½ a Cup olive oil and ½ a Cup water.)

*Use this dressing on fresh veggies and pasta for a delicious picnic salad!

Cook chicken in Mexican seasonings (see recipe below or find a good pre-made one, Trader Joe’s make a good taco seasoning.) When done, shred the chicken. Combine lettuce, onion, tomato, black beans, corn and cilantro into a large salad bowl. Combine all dressing ingredients except olive oil and whisk them until blended. Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently.

Homemade Mexican Seasoning:

Mix your own seasoning to cut out all the extra salt and msg. This can be used for anything to give it some Mexican flavor, from chicken to taco meat! Try it sprinkled on your morning eggs!

2 Tbs. Chili powder
1 ½ Tbs. Cumin
1 ½ Tbs. Paprika
1 Tbs. Onion Powder
1 Tbs. Garlic Powder
¼ tsp. Cayenne Pepper (more for a spicier seasoning)

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

A great way to make chicken taste great (and look fancy) is to stuff it with some yummy ingredients. You can do almost anything with this basic recipe, just use your imagination! Serve chicken with veggies and brown rice or pasta for a complete dinner!

4 Chicken Breasts
2oz. Feta Cheese

1 Box Frozen Spinach (but by all means use fresh if you have it!)

2 Tomatoes, chopped (or use canned for convenience)

1 Yellow Onion, chopped

1 Lemon

Preheat oven to 375. Defrost the spinach in the box in the microwave (or before cooking.) Once defrosted, cut the corner of the box and squeeze out the spinach juice. (Tip: Save spinach juice to cook rice in!) In a bowl, mix the feta cheese, spinach, tomatoes, onion, Italian seasonings and the zest* and juice of the lemon. Flatten chicken breasts between two pieces wax paper or plastic wrap using a rolling pin, a meat pounder or a hammer. (If you have none of those, try a bottle of wine.) Once chicken is flattened, divide your cheesy mixture amongst the four chicken breasts. Fill the center on the breast, lengthwise, then fold the two sides over, securing with a few toothpicks. Place chicken breasts in a glass baking dish, lightly sprayed on the bottom. Bake chicken in the oven for about 30-45 minutes, until chicken is done. To check if chicken is done, cut a small slice into the breasts to see if the juices run clear.

*Zest is the outside rind of the lemon. Use a zester or small grater to zest the lemon. This adds wonderful fresh flavor. Try to use an organic lemon for this, as the rind of the lemon tends to have pesticides in non-organic form.