Clean Eating – 3 Tips To Clean Up Your Diet

Do you find eating clean difficult to achieve? Do you find yourself wondering why you should be eating clean? Clean eating is an important component to your overall health, especially gut health. Symptoms including digestive upset, low energy and weight gain can all be improved if you clean up your diet.

You may feel bombarded with complicated food choices and conflicting information about what's best to eat. 

The foods you put in your body will result in how your body performs as your gut is the “master” of your brain, immune system, metabolism, physical abilities, and much more. Consuming processed foods can result in an unhappy gut which could lead to pain and functional issues around the body. Consuming whole foods that have little to no processing can result in a happy gut which will lead to a happier and healthier you.

How to Eat Clean

So how do you start eating a clean diet? Follow these three tips to get started with eating a more real food diet and one made less of food “products.”

1)  Shop the outer ring of the grocery store. The outer ring contains foods including fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed meats. It will include dairy products (choose those that are only lightly processed.) When you move towards the center of the store you will find more foods that are heavily processed which may contain a long list of ingredients. There may be some simple foods that will fit well into your cleaner diet in the inner portion of the store, consider tip 2.

2)  Read food labels. We talk about “processed” food as if it is the enemy. But we also need to define what that means. Processing can be as simple as turning a product that isn’t in an edible state to a form that we will consume in our diet. To the extreme, processing can be adding colors, fillers, additives, and chemicals to alter the taste, color, and texture of food to be more appealing to the consumer. Reading the label will help you understand where the difference lies.

Look at the ingredient list and ask yourself the following questions.

- Are there more than 5 ingredients?

- Do I understand what each ingredient is? (Sometimes added vitamins or minerals may be words you don’t understand. Check out the products you buy and do some research to find out the definition of words you don’t know, then consider if you want to buy that product in the future).

- Does it have added sugars and where is that on the list of ingredients? (The higher in the list, the greater the quantity of that ingredient, or if there are multiple sources of sugars it can still add up to a large quantity)?

- Does it have added fats and what is the source of that fat – is it a source that I choose to include in my diet to nourish myself well? (Best choices might include olive, coconut, or avocado oils. More inflammatory oils can include vegetable, corn and soybean oils).

- Does it contain additives, fillers or food dyes?

- Does it contain ingredients that you suspect your gut may be sensitive too?

3)  Prepare your own food. In our culture with busy lives, today buying prepared foods can be appealing to simplify your life. Unfortunately, with that, your diet may not be as clean as you would like. Make a plan for three-five meals that you can prepare for dinner each week. Make sure to make a plan that will work in your schedule and will allow for simple food prep to make your eating cleaner and easier.

Some questions you may ask yourself are:

- Can you make one or two meals on the weekend to make life easier during a busy week?

- Can you make extra servings and use that as lunch for another meal?

Following these three steps to clean eating can help you transform your diet into a simple and natural source of energy for your gut to become healthier and reduce the symptoms you may be feeling with an unhealthy gut.

Salmon Burgers with Slaw

This recipe is adapted from PinchofYum. I made it gluten free and changed up the coleslaw so it can be dairy free as well. Not everyone needs to choose gluten or dairy free but it can be a nice option for many.

Ingredients

• 12–14 ounces cooked salmon
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs or almond flour
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or dill
• 1 TB fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 TB avocado oil

Slaw

• 1 small apple (Granny smith or a tart variety), halved, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 TB fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 head cabbage, halved, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut finely diced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• 4 tsp. peanut or sesame oil
• 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp. honey or pure maple syrup
• 3/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper

For the salmon: Flake the salmon apart. Mix all burger ingredients together and form into 3 large or 4 medium patties. Heat avocado oil over medium heat, ideally in a nonstick skillet. Fry the burgers for a few minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Place on a plate lined with paper towel lined.

For the slaw: In a serving bowl, toss apple slices with lemon juice. Add cabbage, carrots, and scallion. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, oil, ginger, honey, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over slaw (adding a little at a time and adjusting to taste). Toss to combine. 

Scoop a serving of coleslaw on each plate, top with salmon burger. Enjoy!