Thursday, March 19, 2015

What IS clean eating? NOW...

I am sitting here eating a piece of pineapple carrot cake I purchased at a farm market over the weekend.  OMG so NOT clean.  How ironic that I am eating this, while blogging about eating clean.

Why do I have this round tin of badness?  We went out last weekend with my sister-in-law for a wine tasting, and the tasting room was in a small farmers market.  Part of the tasting was a coupon for $5 off at the farm market, if you spent $25 or more.  Well, it's so easy for me to spend $25 on fruits and vegetables normally.  In March in New Jersey, not so much.  We're still awaiting all the now to melt.  There was a very limited selection, and if the coupon didn't expire in April we would've considered taking the hour drive back to use it at a later date.  So around the market I went, picking up apples, lettuce, cucumbers...knowing that none was grown here (well, maybe the lettuce in a greenhouse) but still happy to be coming home with fresh yummies and happily avoiding a shopping trip once I got home.  I was a little short with what they had that I wanted...so I came home with a pineapple carrot cake.  I was pleased with the ingredient list; nothing but recognizable ingredients, no preservatives, so home it came.

I think I have been doing this more than I realize.

Let's look back at the post from November 17, 2102.

My Clean Eating Rules

Here was my rule:

My "rule" is this: is it in it's natural form?  
Yes? I can eat it.
No? Why not? How has it been modified? (I am not grinding my own wheat into flour...) How many ingredients are on the label and more importantly WHAT ARE THEY? If I don't know what it is, I WILL NOT EAT IT.  With the exceptions above. :) But even in my exceptions, I read labels closely.  Minimal ingredients are key for me.  

I am still following my rule.  But I think those exceptions are growing more and more.  I still only purchase pasta, cereal, graham crackers, yogurt, macaroni & cheese (see yesterday's post,) will pick up a loaf of bread every now & then if I don't have time to make a loaf for sandwiches, but haven't added anything else back into my pantry that isn't a one ingredient item.

The exceptions are when we are out.  I admit I've brought home donuts a few times more than I want to.  I'm starting to get lazy and not wanting to put in the effort to bake everything.  I loved making donuts in the beginning; it was fun, I was proud; now it's a chore.  Am I getting old and grumpy?  Not sure.  Am I tired from work?  Not sure. The thought of the dishes afterwards gets overwhelming, after cooking and cleaning up from dinner.  I find that if I bake in the afternoons, on my day off, it's a bit more fun.  But overall, I am feeling lazy.  I still refuse to bring home a box of cake mix - we won't have cake before that happens - but if we are out instead of going hungry when I don't like choices (like I used to,) I will get that hot dog on the run, or grab a sandwich from Starbucks.  I used to plan my shopping trips and errands around eating, and I don't do that anymore.  Now it's all about how much can I get in one day in one trip from store to store to store.  

Life is moving too fast.  I think it's time to slow it down.

Kathy

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

What IS clean eating? THEN...

Had a conversation yesterday with someone about "clean eating."  Was trying to explain exactly what it is, and found that I was having some problems getting her to understand exactly what it was.  Why?  Cause I was having problems explaining exactly what it was.

There are so many different definitions, from the die hard "I only eat what I grow" to "I only buy one ingredient foods."  Does it have to be organic to be clean?  Or is non-GMO enough?  Why can't I just buy apples, cook them awhile, throw in sugar & have applesauce instead of buying it - isn't that eating clean?  Well, if I could make it myself, it's clean; but just because I can make it doesn't mean I have to - I can buy it.  Right?  Maybe I'll just stop buying stuff in a box.  Okay, I eat clean.

This makes me think a lot about the title of this blog.  CLEAN EATING - MY WAY.  Clean eaters all seem to have their own way of interpreting what they consider clean, so how do newbies find their way around this mess?

If you are a newbie to clean eating, and you stumbled upon my little piece of the internet today, welcome!

I thought I would take some time and think about what "clean eating" means to me now, and how it's evolved over the years.

Here is my first post about my clean eating "rules" My Clean Eating Rules Post #2  This is the second post on this blog, dating all the way back to November 17, 2012.  Wow have time flown!

How has our clean eating grown over the last 2.5 years?  Let's see.

I still don't have a pasta maker.  We now eat gluten free pasta primarily, as wheat products really bother my hubby's acid reflux.

I do own and love a bread maker.  Love it.  Some recipes don't come out perfect in it, but love it.

Yogurt.  My glucose levels have been going up, and my Chobani intake has gone down.  I eat them periodically but not on a daily basis anymore.

I make my own graham crackers as much as possible.  They aren't the same, but still good.  SO disappointed to find the blogger who posted the recipe has taken down her site.  I highly recommend you ALWAYS print out recipes when you find one you like.  You never know when a beloved recipe will go bye bye.

Pretzels.  Never took up the challenge of trying to make again, but we rarely seem to eat them.  If I buy, I look for an organic brand or one with as few ingredients as possible,

Breakfast cereals.  Hugely fighting this battle with my kids.  The battle was easier before I had a teenage driver in the house.  Now if he wants something I am not willing to buy, he drives himself there, and buys it.  With his own money.  All I can hope is that he my teachings will stick somewhere, and come back out when he's a real adult.  I know that once he goes off to college that his choices will be limited, so this battle with him is about over.  My 15 year old, still complains a bit, but knows he's stuck eating what I buy and gives in much easier.

Macaroni & Cheese. Still buying organic brands (not the Kraft one though) as the boys need that something to make after school/clubs/gym when I am not home.  While my 17 year old is a great cook, I can't expect him to whip up a cheese sauce between school & the gym.  LOL

So that's where I was when this blog started, and where I am now with each category.  My ramblings has made this a very long post.  I'm going to end this here today; tomorrow I am going to come back with an in-depth look of my pantry, where I have started slipping, and where I have gotten better.

For now...
Happy eating!
Kathy