If you have been wanting to eat better and clean up your diet, clean eating is a healthy way to start by choosing foods that are more nutrient-rich, and minimally processed. While not it is not a diet, eating clean is most certainly a great start, and a nutritious way to nourish your body. By adopting a clean eating lifestyle, you'll get to enjoy the many benefits of a healthier body. Grab yourself a lemon-strawberry infused water, and come learn how its done!
In this beginners guide to clean eating I am going to share a simple, Nutritionist-approved menu to help you start to consume more wholesome, unprocessed foods for better health. Easing into the clean eating way of planning meals, will quickly help to boost energy levels, improve gut health and aid digestion. If you have been eating poorly for some time, clean eating can also work to regulate and rebalance your body weight. Exciting hey?
In this post, I am about to teach you what clean eating is, its benefits, and provide a week-long meal plan featuring wholefoods. Let's get into it...
What Is Clean Eating?
Clean eating means planning your meals with minimally processed, wholefoods, and steering clear of any and all highly processed, refined options. This approach is about nutrient-dense choices and focusing your meal choices on fresh fruits, high-fibre vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats to build your plate. Many people use this style of eating to help detox, lose weight, or to reset their appetite, and it can be very effective.
Clean foods are typically higher in dietary fibre than processed choices, and contain less sugar, meaning the food quality is higher and more satiating. This means you' can satisfy your hunger by eating less food, making it easier for your body to digest, assimilate and absorb nutrients. Within a short amount of time eating clean, you'll notice a difference in how you both look and feel.
Here are some the main reason why clean eating is good for you:
Benefits of Clean Eating:
Nutrient Density:
Wholefoods are naturally rich in essential nutrients, providing your body with the vitamins and minerals it needs to function its best. A diet made up of a well-balanced array of colourful, nutrient dense foods and clean protein sources is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your health and balance your body weight without dieting.
Weight Management:
Clean eating often leads to more balanced body weight since it requires you to focus on more natural, satisfying foods. Foods consumed with minimal processing or cooking, are typically higher in digetsable nutrients and dietary fibre. If you are trying to rebalance your body weight, a high intake of fibre and balance of lean, clean protein is key.
Improved Digestion:
Wholefoods that are consumed in their raw or minimally processed form, help to feed your gut microbes, the natural bacteria that colonises your digestive system. These good bacteria are essential for good health and help make it are easier for your body to digest food, reducing the risk of digestive, immune and elimination issues.
Steady Energy Levels:
Clean eating works well to stabilise your blood sugar levels, preventing energy spikes and crashes that you might see if you were to consume a more processed, sugary diet. This can help those with insulin resistance issues to reverse Type II diabetes and stabilise their A1C simply by cleaning up their diet and adding in more daily exercise. Foods from naturally clean sources are usually digested slower due the higher fibre content, making the energy harvested from the food you eat, slow release over a quick hit like you might find from sugary choices. Instead, you'll get a steady release of natural energy, fewer energy crashes, and less brain fog.
Reduced Inflammation:
Wholefoods are nutrient dense and have many anti-inflammatory properties, contributing to a lower risk of chronic diseases. The more natural you can make your diet, the better. Clean eating is a great way to overhaul your diet and improve poor eating habits as you work towards building a healthier, more naturally energised body.
Sample Clean Eating Menu
You can easily kick-start clean eating by simply adding more wholesome, unprocessed foods into your diet and gradually reducing your intake of processed foods. This is great tactic, especially if you have a history of failed diets. Instead of restrictions and removing foods, you instead focus on adding IN more of the good stuff. This will naturally nudge out the not-so-good and before you know it, you'll be eating primarily a well-balanced clean diet.
Focus your meal planning efforts on using clean foods such as:
fresh fruits and vegetables in their rawest or least processed form
whole grains from high fibre sources, with all their fibre goodness still intact
clean meats and proteins from organic, plantbased and hormone-free sources
include nuts and seeds, clean cooking oils like avocado, coconut and olive oil
healthy fats like avocados, oily fish like salmon, nuts, seeds, clean oils
simple ingredients that don’t have long labels or difficult names
The biggest challenge for most people when starting a clean eating diet, is learning to shift away from eating foods that are sugary and pre-packaged to raw recipes and those with more natural ingredients. But not this time... I've shared an easy to adopt menu below just for you!
The Menu
When you first start to clean up your diet, remember it's not about eliminating food or restricting yourself, but rather switching to more nutritious ingredients and recipes. This might mean choosing a few set days per week to make 'clean eating days' and focus on preparing healthier meals on the those key days. Or, if you are feeling more ambitious, you may want to clear out your pantry and start fresh with only clean foods in the house. There is no right or wrong here, just progress--however that looks for you! Ready then? Let's eat!
Day 1:
Breakfast:
Enjoy a 1/2 cup serving of plain, Greek yogurt with a handful of fresh berries and a sprinkle of your favourite nuts and seeds. Almonds, pecans, walnuts and pumpkin seeds are especially nice.
Snack:
Slice an apple into thin slices and spread with a little almond or peanut butter. Sprinkle toasted coconut, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds over the top and enjoy with a herbal tea like lemon and ginger or green tea for an energy boost.
Lunch:
Make a grilled chicken salad with 1 cup of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and a simple herbs and olive oil vinaigrette. Enjoy this with a digestive tea such as green tea or licorice.
Snack:
Have 1-2 hard-boiled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, or your favourite seasoning blend like Moroccan, Cajun or bagel seasoning. Enjoy this with a herbal tea like rooibos or dandelion tea.
Dinner:
Baked salmon seasoned with garlic and pepper, and serve with 1/4 cup cooked quinoa and 1/2 cup steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Enjoy with cup of peppermint or chamomile tea to aid digestion.
Day 2:
Breakfast:
Cook 1 cup of rolled oats with a dash of cinnamon to make oatmeal. Add 2-3 chopped dates to help sweeten it while cooking (if needed). Serve with sliced banana, drizzle of raw nut butter, and sprinkle of chia seeds.
Snack:
Carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks with homemade hummus. Add a drizzle of olive oil and your favourite spice blend like dukkha over top of the hummus to serve. Enjoy this with a cup of metabolism-boosting green tea.
Lunch:
Whole-grain tortilla wrap with lean turkey, avocado slices, a handful of fresh spinach, and whole-grain mustard (optional). Enjoy with a tall glass of infused water made with mint, strawberry slices and lemon wedges.
Dinner:
Stir-fry chicken breast or tofu in garlic and olive oil serve with 1/3 cup brown rice and 1 cup of a variety of brightly colourful vegetables. Choose to have the veggies raw, steamed, or stir fried. Follow this meal with a warm cup of peppermint tea to aid digestion.
Day 3:
Breakfast:
Whole-grain or low carb toast topped with 1/2 avocado, 1-2 poached eggs, and a handful of arugula greens. Drizzle a little balsamic glaze over the top for a fancy kick. Enjoy followed by a green tea to naturally boost your metabolism.
Snack:
Enjoy a small handful of fresh berries such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries. Pair this with a healthy fat and protein such as 10 almonds, cashews, walnuts or mixed seeds.
Lunch:
Make a warm Buddha Bowl by starting with a 1/3 cup cooked quinoa as a based. Then top with sliced minute steak, sauteed red onion, capsicums, and kale. Serve with a drizzle of spicy dressing and enjoy with a green tea.
Dinner:
Serve up a plate with 4-6 grilled prawns paired with homemade air-fryer sweet potato wedges and steams asparagus. Follow this with a cup of chamomile or lavender tea to support a good night's sleep.
Day 4:
Breakfast:
Make a healthy green smoothie by blending together a handful of spinach, a banana, 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and a clean whey-based or vegan protein powder.
Snack:
Enjoy a 1/3 cup of cottage cheese served with fresh blueberries, crushed walnuts and dash of cinnamon. Follow this with a cup of green tea or peppermint.
Lunch:
Make a quinoa salad with 1/3 cup cooked quinoa, 1 cup of raw or steamed mixed veggies, and drizzle with a homemade lemon-tahini dressing. Enjoy a cup of lemon ginger or licorice tea afterwards.
Dinner:
Enjoy a roasted chicken dinner with a palm-sized serving of chicken paired with 1/2 a baked sweet potato and garlic sauteed green beans. Sip on a chamomile or peppermint tea to compliment the meal.
Day 5:
Breakfast:
Enjoy 1-2 protein pancakes topped with fresh diced strawberries, crushed walnuts, a blob of Greek yoghurt, and a drizzle of raw honey. Drink a cup of lemon ginger tea to feel energised afterwards.
Snack:
Orange slices with a handful of walnuts. Hydrate with a cup of your favourite herbal tea.
Lunch:
Try this easy chickpea and vegetable stir-fry made with 1/2 cup chickpeas, 1 finely chopped onion, and 1 cup of mixed vegetables sauteed in garlic. Serve on a small bed of quinoa or cauliflower rice and top with a handful of arugula. Enjoy a lemon zinger tea to hydrate and energise for the afternoon.
Dinner:
Serve a fillet of baked white fish with an easy stir fry made from 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1 cup of mixed vegetables, and 1 finely chopped onion. Sautee in chili oil to flavour and serve as a side to the fish. Follow this with a cup of peppermint tea.
If you enjoyed these recipes, come browse my recipe blog for more clean eating ideas and wholefood recipes for improving your diet. Remember to keep fully hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day. Clean eating provides a lot of additional of wholefood-based fibre in such meals, which if you are not used, can cause temporary constipation. Drinking adequate water is the key to a smooth transition and a happy gut.
Want to learn how to make clean eating and healthier eating part of your new normal? Then you are going to love my free Clean Eating Challenge over email. It's where you'll get 5 days of my expert advice that walk you through the process in simple steps. Plan healthy, clean meals, overhaul your pantry, and feast from 10 free clean eating recipes and more!
The Clean Eating Challenge
There's a reason why its so popular, my clean eating challenge series is an excellent way to help you to clean up your diet while helping to naturally rebalance your body weight and feel more energised! Come join in, its totally free, so let's go!
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So, tell me in the comments what goals you are working towards and want to acheive this coming year. I'd love to cheer you on and provide you with many more success tips. Let me know what specifically you are working on, and I'll pop back with some helpful ideas to help ensure your success!
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 12+ years experience in wholefood nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and anti-diet culture. When she's not in clinic, Emma is mum to five kids, in her test kitchen and a wellness digital creator. She lives in Sydney, Australia.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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