I know that a lot of my faithful readers have enjoyed the paleo challenges that I’ve done both in May and July, but have heard numerous times that paleo is just too strict or too unrealistic. I’ve been listening!
I’d like to introduce a brand new challenge for September 2013. Let’s try clean eating.
Clean Eating
What is clean eating? Well, it’s all about eating real, wholesome ingredients. It’s very similar to paleo, but it does include things like oats, brown rice, corn, beans, and more. It focuses on REAL FOOD. We can all agree that real food is better than the standard American diet, right?
Think about eating your fill of fruits, vegetables, meats, whole grains, natural sweeteners like honey or stevia, eggs, and more. The catch is that you can’t use cheap filler ingredients that don’t bring any nutritional value to the plate. Every bite is to nourish your body.
I’m hoping to share many recipes, tips, tricks, and ideas. I’d love to especially share ideas for doing this with children and on the go.
A Change for Our Family
After being paleo (and sometimes primal) for about 8 months, we’ve decided to loosen the reins a bit and bring a few things back into our diet for a short time. We’ll still leave wheat, corn, and most dairy out of our family diet, but we’ll be reintroducing things like brown rice, oats, quinoa, and beans. That said, I’m hoping to get going with my weight loss still, so I’ll be calorie counting again on MyFitnessPal.
I’m Not Going to Lie – I’m Nervous
I’m a little nervous about adding some of these things back in, so I’ll be watching closely to see if I have any adverse reactions. I’m also beginning to work out a lot more, so I know that my body will be able to quickly use the grain carbs if I do choose to eat them.
Paleo had me feeling so good and so strong! I still feel that way, and I also feel like I have a really good handle on paying attention to my body and putting my health and happiness first. I’m more aware of how food changes moods in the entire household.
This is a sort of compromise to keep my hubby happy for now. He is starting to “slip up” every time he is away from the house, so I thought it would be a lot cheaper to just go ahead and feed him at home – but in a more wholesome way.
What Do You Think?
Have you ever changed your family’s diet? How did it go and what lasting changes did you make?
Rhiana Wackenhuth says
I am just wondering how your family adjusted to paleo. It’s relatively easy for me but with having my son have a peanut/tree nut allergy, that is where I find the challenge. I do mostly clean eating because its easier in that aspect but i was hoping to do paleo. My kids on the other hand, aren’t really digging the paleo and we cant really cut out dairy because the kids love milk. So, I try to follow it for myself, and loosely for the kids.
Jenn says
My kids were more primal than paleo… they still had occasional yogurt and cheese!
As far as cutting out grains and such – they were alright with it. Socially, they could eat what they wanted (within reason), but they ate whatever I made for them at home. 🙂
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Amy Greene says
I am up for the challenge. I don’t think we could give up dairy though. But everything else sounds good!
Amy Greene recently posted…Super Simple Lettuce Wrap Fish Tacos Recipe for Lower Carbs
Jenn says
Woohoo!! Glad to have you!
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