Clean Eating Dinner Recipes Index - My Natural Family (2024)

FAQs

What meats are considered clean eating? ›

MEAT & SEAFOOD

Organic and grass-fed beef, organic poultry, and wild-caught or sustainable seafood. Grass-fed beef is much healthier, is better quality, and is better for the environment. Typically grass-fed beef is organic by nature.

A clean diet may include whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats while limiting highly processed snacks and other packaged foods with added sugar and salt. It may also be associated with terms like plant-based, grass-fed, sugar-free, or gluten-free.

Cottage Cheese – Technically, it's not clean. *gasp!* (Read the ingredient list). However, for many clean eaters, it is often included in day to day menus because it is such a fantastic source of low fat, non-meat protein.

Butter is avoided by some clean eaters, but not by others, while most who eat it suggest it should be organic and grass-fed – attributes that don't change the fact it is high in saturated fat. There is similar inconsistency over sugar.

Clean eating also means cutting down on processed meats like cold cuts, bacon and sausage.

You can get healthy fats from fish (choose those that are high in omega-3s, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring and trout), nuts (almonds and walnuts) and seeds, avocados, oils (olive or coconut oil), dairy products (eggs, fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt) and grass-fed beef.

This elimination challenges you to eliminate certain items from your diet for 10 days: sugar, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and processed grains. Eliminating these things will help break your bad habits, crush your cravings, reduce bloating, improve mood and increase energy.

Peanut butter can be a healthy addition to a meal or snack, but not all peanut butters are the same. Some are full of unhealthy trans fats and hydrogenated oils. Pick natural, simple mixes. By: Dana Angelo White, M.S., R.D., A.T.C.

What foods are best for clean eating? ›

The Bottom Line. It is totally fine to eat potatoes every day. While how you prepare and cook potatoes and how much you eat could possibly impact your health, whole potatoes with skin are a nutritious vegetable with health benefits.

For those who can tolerate dairy, cheeses can be a healthy and nutritious source of proteins and healthy fats if consumed in moderation. Cheese is allowed in the clean eating meal plan, but with an asterisk. Processed cheese slices or other packaged foods that contain cheese should be avoided.

Dedicate yourself to the clean eating lifestyle, and you'll lose about 3 pounds a week, Reno says. The benefits go beyond weight loss. You'll stay healthy and have more energy.

While meat can be a part of a healthy diet, not all sources are created equal. The leanest and healthiest meats to eat include poultry, pork, fish, and seafood. Eating a balanced diet is one of the keys to a healthy lifestyle, which means choosing various foods from different food groups, like proteins.

When it comes to the healthiest meats that pack the biggest nutritional punch, turkey and chicken should be at the top of your (grocery) list, says Schiff. Both are about equal in terms of nutrition, with turkey tending to be leaner than chicken.

And because it's a food philosophy that's been embraced by vegetarians and vegans, many meat eaters aren't sure if animal products fit in. The good news: There's no reason meat and poultry can't be part of a clean-eating regimen, says Brill.

You might think red meat is off-limits if you're concerned about your health or trying to watch your weight. But in small amounts, leaner cuts of beef can be part of a healthy diet.