Pass The Pledge, Please?

I'm conducting an experiment!!! I'm so excited!!

"CLEAN EATING"

Can anything sound less appetizing? Why couldn’t it be called  “Wholesome Eating”, or “Earth’s Bounty Eating”,  something that conjures up pastoral images of shepherds tending their flock, or 5th generation old, bent-over, Italian men farming their family plots and selling the freshest, seasonal offerings at the local village market every week?

Instead, it makes me think of Lysol.

Clean eating isn't really anything new. We can thank the co-op generation of the 60's for the "Natural Foods" movement. The word “Clean” in the term Clean Foods, can be used interchangeably with “Whole” or "Slow", by the way. I can’t seem to find much difference between them.

In order for a food to be considered truly “clean” it should be in season, grown without pesticides, grown sustainably, and grown locally (so that it retains more of it's nutritional value by the time it hits the market and leaves a smaller carbon footprint from shipping). The key word here is "grown", as opposed to "manufactured". Eating clean is eating green - the less processed a food is, or the more closely it resembles how it would appear in nature, the less energy is wasted and the less waste is created in an "industrial food plant".

Meat is allowed in moderation as long as (you guessed it) it’s organic and natural, which means antibiotic/hormone free, vegetarian diet, grass fed/finished, and local, if possible.

Bread should have as close to the basic four or five ingredients that are actually needed to make bread as possible: "un-processed" whole wheat, salt, yeast, a touch of honey, water...or some variation of that (Sprouted wheat? Wheat berry? Brown rice?).

Here's more info on what to eat if you want to check it out:

Clean Eating Shopping Foods List


This year, I decided to walk the walk, instead of just talking the talk, and experiment with “Clean Eating”. I’ve always tried to shop the farmer’s market and buy good quality meat, but I haven’t actually attempted to eat all (or almost all?) of my meals this way. There’s always the processed frozen lunch here and there, the snack foods, the quick jarred/boxed/pre-packaged processed ingredients thrown together for a quick meal, etc.

I want to see what will happen if my only options are whole or clean foods. I’m making a few exceptions because I don’t want to starve to death:

1) Some snacks - pretzels, popcorn, chocolate, and certain crackers, tortillas, pastas, and breads are allowed. I can pick up some delicious, locally made natural bread and tortillas at my Farmer's Market.

2) And cheese - cheese has to go through a process to become cheese, and it does have some of those "bad" fats. But I'm a firm believer in full fat dairy - they contain less fillers, sugars, and chemicals than their non fat "food like substance" replacements. It was the brilliant war on fat campaign of the 70's that is to blame for these non fat hybrids, but 40 years later, we're fatter than ever...so....it didn't work. Eat the good stuff, just eat a lot less of it! I can't find cheese anywhere on any list of acceptable "clean foods". But a life without cheese is not a life worth living, if you ask me. Cheese is in.

3) And salsa. Tomatoes aren't in season and I need salsa for a lot of recipes that I like. There is some fresh packaged salsa at my Farmer's Market that I can try....and I'll make it fresh when my herb garden and tomatoes are harvested (that I haven't planted yet).

My first week is going smashingly well! True…true…it’s only Monday, and I want to use what’s already in my pantry and fridge (which isn't all 100% totally “clean”) before I hit the market and experiment with some fresh new recipes, (and grow my own herb garden which I'd like to do - stop that! The kind of herbs you cook with!) but so far, so good!

We had leftover Tritip from our NYE dinner, so of course I can’t waste that.

I would like to apologize in advance for the poor photo quality - I am not a photographer and some of the photos may be blurry, or I need glasses, I can't be sure....

Leftovers day one:

Tritip salad with Blue Cheese and Avocado

At least the meat was "clean".....

Leftovers day two:

Tritip Sandwich with Garlic Aioli Sauce

I realize there is more carmelized onion, lettuce and tomato than actual beef, I'm not a huge meat eater.

The meat AND the garlic in the aioli are organic...baby steps.

And now I'm done with meat for awhile!

Today, I had the luxury of an early day, so I was home for lunch and was able to whip up this masterpiece:

Quinoa with sauteed "Hearty Greens"

This is pretty much totally "clean" except, apparently, I'm supposed to use "sea salt" in my recipes?

I happened to have some organic Quinoa in my pantry and some leftover greens (Collard, Kale, Mustard) in my fridge. I sautéed the greens with a little bit of olive oil and garlic, added a dash of salt and pepper, then topped it with some shaved Parmesan cheese to add some "interest" (aka "cheese flavor"). It was excellent.

This week, I'll be trying out a Thai Chili recipe, a Black Bean and Halibut Burrito, and a slow cooked Curried Chickpea dish. Hmmmmm......

Wish me luck!

P.S. - I should mention that I am doing this, not so much to lose weight (although I'm still interested in losing that final 10 pounds), but as part of my "Year of Awareness" (of the earth, it's creatures, my health and well being, as well as that of my family, et al). And I'm trying to make a small change in the world. A little...teeny....tiny....change....but it's what I can do. I think.