Description
Oprah Winfrey used the phrase "clean eating" in her book Oprah's Kitchen. It's helpful to think of clean eating as a good way to approach food. Simple preparations, lighter salad dressings, using less oils and fats (though still a bit for flavor!), and keeping things as fresh as possible - all these savage grow plus ideas contribute to her way of clean eating. Oprah loved her fried chicken - and presents a clean way of cooking it in her book. The bottom line is, if you have a choice between fancy and heavy vs. simple and fresh, go with the latter and your scale will thank you, no matter what food you're eating.
Mom always said to eat your potato skins and apple peels. She was right. Though it's unclear whether, as she used to say "all the vitamins are in the skin," it is true that eating the peels of many fruits and vegetables provides the added nutrition of the food's fiber. Of course, it's important to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables whose skin or peel you plan to eat - or better yet, if you can afford to, buy organic.
Avoid pre-packaged and prepared foods whenever possible if you are looking for the healthiest nutrition. In almost every case pretreated foods and pre-cooked meals feature added ingredients for preservation that are extremely bad for you. It is far better to prepare your own food from fresh ingredients than to rely on food prepared in a factory.
Legumes are superstars of the nutritional world. They provide protein and help balance blood sugar. But they may seem dull. Just dress them up in a good recipe and they are superstars of taste also: lentils become a good veggie burger, chick peas become hummus, beans excel in Mexican dishes, and there is nothing better than a bowl of homemade pea soup on a cold winter day!