What does a clean eating plan look like?

When I first heard the term “clean eating”, I thought that there would be a bunch of rules about how I ate.

With Lyme disease, I already have enough trouble with different foods causing joint pain, weight gain, allergies, or even stomach problems.

Clean eating is supposed to help many of these symptoms.

It’s actually easier than you think.

There’s a great book that provides you with 365 recipes to help you gain energy to have fun and lose inches to fit into that bathing suit for the beach this summer!

I realized that clean eating was not about eating foods that I didn’t like.

I have always been someone who does love fruits and vegetables though!

Some of the biggest things that I cut out of my diet were sugar, bread and pasta.

I know what you’re thinking…

bread is hard to cut out!

There are definitely better breads for you to eat than others.

When you look at the ingredients of many prepackaged foods they list the amount of sugar, sodium, and carbs.

Eating too much of these can cause weight gain, fatigue and joint pain.

This is where meal prep is a life saver when you have a busy schedule!

I will actually make my meals ahead of time, and then just dish them out through the week.

Pick what whole foods you like.

Experiment with different recipes.

This book I mentioned has TONS  of ideas that you can use to create meals that you will enjoy.

What types of salads do you like?

There are more than just those made with lettuce.

I will usually make a large salad that I can eat from through the week,

Some of my favorite salads include

• Celery and carrots.
• Cucumber
• Cucumber and tomato
• Tomato salad made from grape tomato’s
• Bell pepper, tomato and cucumber salad
• Lettuce, carrots and olives

There are so many ways to experiment with salads.

To add some protein I will use

• Egg
• Almonds
• Pecans
• Tuna
• Turkey

I literally will make a giant bowl of salad that I can scoop from all week and not have to spend the time chopping everything up every time that I want to eat.

Aside from salad you can make great baked recipes including

• Acorn or butternut squash with cranberries and cinnamon.
• Eggplant with chopped up bell peppers and cheese
• Salmon with a marinade
• Steak with a marinade

On a side note, when you are using sauces and marinades watch how much sodium and sugar are in them.

Clean eating is not just a plant based diet.

You can still eat steak, eggs, fish, and chicken.

Cooking these yourself is best if possible.

You can prepare these ahead of time as well.

I will make a batch of 14 hard boiled eggs for the week that I can eat with meals or as snacks.

Creating a clean eating plan that works for you is about learning the foods that you enjoy.

The more you enjoy the foods that you are eating, the more you are likely to stick with the plan.

If you want to learn more about clean eating and what it can do for you check out this page in the blog.