Clean Eating Food List

Fruit

Fresh fruit can almost always be considered a clean choice.Please read the section on Organic food for a more in-depth discussion on this.

Cleanest Choice for Non-Organic Fruit

If you don’t buy organic, your best choices for fruit are those which are typically lowest in pesticides.  These are:

• Kiwi
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Grapefruit
• Cantaloupe

Fruits and vegetables with highest levels of pesticides

These are best to avoid if you are not buying organic:

• Apples
• Grapes
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Nectarines (imported)
• Peaches
• Strawberries

Fruits and vegetables you DON’T need to buy organic

These fruits are generally low in pesticides:

• Kiwi
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Grapefruit
• Cantaloupe

Flour

This is another source of much confusion for newbies. So here’s what to look for:

• Whole wheat flour – Get it on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
• Whole wheat pastry flour – tough to find in some areas, but great for baking. Get it on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
• White whole wheat flour – Easier to find but not as dense as regular whole wheat flour. (It’s a different variety of wheat, but it’s still whole grain) Get it on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
• Coconut flour – Get it on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
• Almond Flour – Get it on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
• Oat Flour – Another one of my favorites, I use this more often that not when I need flour – whether I am baking, or dredging a piece of chicken to make my favorite chicken marsala. You can easily make your own oat flour simply by running steel cut oats or quick oats through a blender or food processer til they have been ground down into flour.
• Other flours – If you are gluten intolerant, you will want to research other flours on gluten free sites. Unfortunately, I know very little about gluten free cooking/baking, although I am starting to learn.

Dairy

As always, read the ingredients label to ensure there are no added ingredients or added sugar. Never buy “low fat” or “reduced calorie” as these always have been chemically altered. If you are trying to lose weight or avoid weight gain, dairy products may not be advised due to the high fat content and calories – see Clean Eating to Lose Weight.  See the Dairy chapter for complete information.

• Milk
• Cheese
• Plain yogurt (flavor yourself with natural ingredients; see section on Dairy)
• Cream Cheese
• Cottage Cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• Sour Cream

Protein

Eggs

Eggs are extremely nutritious and very rich in protein. However, the yolks contain a high level of fat and cholesterol, so you should limit your intake of whole eggs and opt for egg whites instead.

If you you are trying to lose weight or avoid gaining weight, have heart disease or cholestoral issues, the yolks are a definite problem.  But even if you don’t have weight issues, heart problems or choleterpla issues, you should still go easy on the yolks to help prevent developing cholestorl problems going forward.

I’ve always loved eggs. Sunny side up, hard boiled, scrambled or in omelette form. So when I started eating clean I wasn’t very excited about switching to egg whites only. That just seemed so bland and unsatisfyng.  But I quickly came to discover that I actually really enjoyed my egg white breakfasts. To this day, more than 6 years since I first started eating clean, I still have egg whites for breakfast every morning, and often times for a snack at the end of the evening or as a light meal any time of the day.  When eating clean you are encouraged to eat 5-6 times a day, so there is plenty of opportunity for an egg white omelette every now and then to add variety.

I stick to my egg whites for breakfast, and allow myself a whole egg every once in a while for a special treat, but here we;re talking maybe every few months. We don’t regularly buy whole eggs or keep them on hand in the fridge as a general rule.

Once I began eating clean and discovered what you can do with egg whites, I never looked back.  Get creative with your egg whites: Add mushrooms, onions, and green peppers to add extra flavor, volume and bulk to your meal. Season with pepper, but remember, no salt – unless it’s a little sprinkle of  sea salt or Himalyan salt.  Egg white omelettes are just as delicious as omelettes made with whole eggs, in fact, even more so in my opinion.  I just love the “healthy” taste and feel they have.

You can also scramble egg whites, either plain or again, by mixing in onion, peppers, and/or mushrooms if desired.