One of my first Clean Eating reads was Clean Eating Magazine.  I LOVE the magazine and all the delicious recipes and articles.  Then I got to their 30 day menu planner.  Here they give you a 4 week breakdown of daily meals to eat throughout the day.  Although I LOVE the meal ideas that they layout for you, the realistic part of their plans seem to be lacking for those that don’t have tons of time to spend in the kitchen.  Everyday you make a different breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner.  The time required to shop, purchase, put away, prepare, bake, eat and clean up for the plan is a little time consuming than what fits in my life!  They do state that you may want to take a week that you like and just repeat it until you get the hang of it.  But for those that don’t read the fine print, seeing something like this may just scare you away from clean eating all together.  Personally, I spend very little time on my breakfast, snacks and lunch.  I save my efforts for making delicious dinners!  Here’s a sample menu of my typical clean eating day - as you will see, I keep it simple and easy!

Breakfast: 

By the time I wake up in the morning, get my kids up and dressed and head downstairs I’m starving!  So for me, breakfast needs to be quick and simple.  In the summer I tend to use fresh fruits to make a smoothie with Greek style yogurt.  On cold days I’ll often pop a piece of Ezekiel Sprouted Grain or homemade wheat bread into the toaster and top with 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter.  Most days I tend to go the cereal route.  I LOVE Barbara’s Shredded Oats Original Cereal as well as Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin Sprouted Grain Cereal.  I topped my cereal with either fresh fruit or I used frozen if not in season (Wild Blueberries and Strawberries are my favorite).  The Ezekiel cereals are similar to granola and I love to use Kefir in place of milk when I eat them.  If you’ve never had Kefir it’s very similar to a yogurt consistency and Greek yogurt in taste.   No matter what I have for breakfast, I almost always add a tablespoon of a flaxseed and chia seed mix to my meal.

 Lunch:

 

My lunches usually reflect the types of food that are in season.  In the summer when farmer’s markets are open  I almost always have some type of salad with an assortment of locally grown veggies - top with Balsamic Vinegar and EVOO and you can’t lose!  I always add some type of cheese to my salad to get in protein with my carbs.  In colder weather I am a soup lover!  I’ll make batches of my favorite soups and freeze in single serving containers and pop them in the microwave for a super easy meal.  In a pinch I use Amy’s Organic Soups - they are tasty and quite a few come in lower sodium for those that need to watch their salt intake.  I’m also a fan of leftovers!  Dinners are usually so good that having them a second time around is no problem at all!  Again, I will add a flaxseed and chia seed mix to my meal if it’s not already added in the leftovers.

Dinner:

I love dinner!  It’s the one time each day that my whole family sits down together for a meal.  Our favorite meals are omelets, tacos, meatloaf, turkey burgers, meatballs, pizza and stir fry.  I often do roasted veggies 3-4 times a week as it’s one of my personal favorite meals.  Each recipe that you see on this blog has been made and taste tested by my family so you pretty much see the things we have for dinner already.

Snacks:

I always fit one snack in per day - usually between breakfast and lunch.  If I get hungry later in the day I will have an additional snack but I listen to my body for cues as to when it’s hungry and not.  I don’t eat just because it’s ‘time’ to eat.  Like clockwork, every 2-3 hours I am hungry and I will eat.  Snacks in my house are almost always ready to grab and go.  Apples and bananas are always on hand.  Grapes are washed and bagged and ready to eat.  Nuts and trail mix are already sorted into individual baggies and contain a single serving.  Cheese is cut into slice, bagged and ready to eat.  I often have a piece of fruit with some cheese or nuts for protein.  I also like veggies and yogurt cheese. 

Beverages:

I drink water and tons of it.  Each person in my family has a reusable cup and we constantly refill it with water throughout the day.  Now, I’ve never been a big fan of water and I’m still not.  I flavor my water with a splash of lemon juice and it’s much better!  I’m not a fan of coffee or tea either but I do love apple cider and in fall I will often have a glass with my snack or lunch. 

Exercise:

Each night my family walks around 3 miles.  On nice weekends we walk more - around 5-6 miles daily and will often bike along the trails by our house.  We exercise for the enjoyment of it.  It’s never something that feels like a chore to us.  We know that exercise is good for our overall health and just as we put good food choices in our body so do we walk for the benefits it gives to us. 

Extras:

Here’s a breakdown of my eating times:

Breakfast - 9-10am (We are not morning people! We only wake up around 8am)

Snack - 11am-1pm

Lunch - 1-3pm

Snack - 5pm (I usually skip this snack but if I’m feeling hungry I will often grab something small to tide me over til dinner)

Dinner - 6-7pm

My daily meals end up being around 1600-1800 calories per day.  I do not count calories but because I factor in nutritional information for my blog posts I’m pretty much aware of how many calories I take in each day.  If you are still getting used to portion control then I recommend counting your calories per day.  Each of your 5-6 meals per day should be around 200-300 calories.  Clean eating is not an excuse to ’pig out’ on healthy food.  You need to practice portion control and listen to your body for cues to when you are hungry and full.    And don’t forget to drink your water!