6 Ways To Eat Clean
Kristen Wilk, MS, RDN
What does it mean to eat clean?
“Clean eating” is a term that’s been increasingly used in food and nutrition circles to describe better-for-you eating practices. It can be vague, however, so here we aim to simplify.
To us, clean eating means choosing foods and beverages in whole and nutrient-dense forms as much as possible, in the context of an overall diet that will make you feel good, and give you energy to be your best you.
There is no prescription and no “right” or “wrong” foods – rather, clean eating is about maximizing the foods that do you good and minimizing those that aren’t serving you. As temperatures creep higher and new seasonal flavors inspire, spring is a perfect time to eat clean.
Here are 6 ways to clean up your eating routine:
1. Add some green to your plate.
As the world outside your window grows greener, it’s a great time to make your plate greener too. That doesn’t mean only eat salads (although you might be tempted to eat this Spring Steak Salad for every meal). Use the bounty of green veggies out there as sides or parts of your meal.
How?
Try thinly shaving celery, then topping it with lemony vinaigrette and chopped walnuts as a refreshing and balancing side. Or, explore pesto: Blend any nuts or seeds with the fresh herb of your choice, leftover greens, oil, salt and vinegar to make a delicious and versatile pesto sauce. Use it on veggies or meat, or add a little extra vinegar and oil and use as a salad dressing.
2. Let seasonal ingredients shine.
Every time a new season hits, it’s an opportunity to switch up your go-to fruits and veggies. After all, the newest seasonal items will likely taste better and be fresher and more readily available too. Have you seen asparagus showing up more often in your market? Us too. Next time you’re there, pick some up, and try this Spring Vegetable and Beef Frittata with Salad Greens.
3. Lighten up your sauces and seasonings for clean eating.
We’re not saying heavy toppings are “dirty,” but by lightening up your sauces and seasonings, you let the great flavor of high-quality foods and ingredients shine through.
Foods like Pre beef bring nuanced, savory, delicious flavors on their own and don’t need strong or sodium-filled sauces to make them enjoyable. In fact, we recommend cooking Pre with just a little bit of oil and salt.
4. Choose fresh and packaged fresh over processed.
Overall, try swapping out processed, packaged foods for fresh and packaged fresh. Clean eating doesn't mean you have to cut out all packaged food but choose wisely. Your grocery store’s produce section is a no-brainer, but there are great, clean options in other sections too.
Not all packaged food is processed, and Pre is a great example. It’s often some of the freshest beef in the store because its vacuum-sealed packaging is designed specifically to prolong freshness without any additives, preservatives, gases or other means of extending shelf life.
5. Try new, lighter cooking methods for clean eating.
The same dish, prepared in a different way, can take on a totally different nutrition profile. There are some great kitchen gadgets out there that lighten up cooking, and spring is the perfect time to give them a whirl.
Take the air fryer, for example. It circulates heat and air around food in a way that gives the effect of frying, with a fraction of the added fat. We tried it, and we’re obsessed. We even put ribeye in an air fryer. You read that right. We put ribeye in an air fryer.
6. Clean your fridge.
As part of more traditional spring cleaning, use the change in season as motivation to clean out that fridge! What should you toss? What to stock? Use these 5 Tips for a Healthy Fridge as a guide.
What seasonal ingredients are you most excited about this spring? We love comments – add yours below.
