Choosing a clean food diet is a personal choice.  It is a choice that I made to help with my digestive issues, and I’m 100% sure that it has helped me stop the Prilosec.

The Z Man and I are not 100% clean food people, we are probably more around the 75% range.  But it is a conscious effort for us because we want to know what we are putting in our bodies.  Still there are times we backslide a bit.  We are human.  But honestly when we do eat something out of the norm for us, more often than not we immediately regret it and wish we hadn’t.

Sometimes even the healthy choices can be deceiving.  For example during the busy summer months when I was working 6 days a week I would sometimes swing by the grocery store for a bag salad to have for my lunch.

1. An entire bag salad complete with croutons, dressings, fruit, nuts (you get the idea) is $3.00 whereas a salad from a restaurant would run around $7.00
2. Choosing a salad for lunch IS a healthier choice than restaurant food and most certainly healthier than any drive thru food.
3. A bag salad is quick and easy, just dump in a bowl and eat which is very convenient.

Take a look at these pictures of what actually comes in a bag (caesar) salad.

Take another look at the ingredient list for this bag salad in the second picture.  YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granted that the unwanted ingredients are mostly in the dressing and croutons, but even the cheese has unwanted, unclean ingredients.

That is why I make my own dressing.

A simple but great basic salad dressing is:

• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake to blend.  Done!

Then you don’t have all those unnecessary and unwanted ingredients in your salad, and you are eating clean.

The basics of a clean food diet for us is

• Five or less ingredients on the label.
• No unpronounceable ingredients.  If I can’t say it and don’t know what it is then I don’t want to eat it.
• Natural sugars such as raw honey and pure maple syrup.
• Cook real food – think of it as what your grandmother or great grandmother cooked and put on the table.
• Cook your own food so you know what’s in it even if you have to do weekly or bi weekly meal prepping.
• Read ingredient labels, read all ingredient labels even on the simple items.  Trust me, you’ll be surprised!
• No meals received through a drive through window.

Like I said earlier, eating clean is a personal choice and one I’m glad I’ve made for me and the Z Man.

And if you decide to try it, then I hope these few tips will help you get started.  Just remember, it’s not about being perfect it’s just about being comfortable with your choices.

Till next time,

Lori