Want to eat healthier but feel overwhelmed by what it will take? Intimidated by crazy super fit people talking about it? Turned off by zealots who make you feel bad about that pizza and Coke you just scarfed down? Sad about what you might have to give up? I get it; I have felt all those things. But I took baby steps into clean eating and you can too. There are easy ways to eat clean, to make healthier choices, that don’t have to feel overwhelming.

The basic premise of clean eating is simple: eat whole, unprocessed foods. Foods as close to natural as possible. It sounds simple but it can be harder to put into practice when you think about just how processed our food is these days. Bread that could be made from a handful of ingredients has an ingredient list longer than the Gettysburg Address. But you don’t have to start making your own bread to eat cleaner.

Pick a few easy ways to eat clean. Start with one. Once you get the hang of it move on to another step. Or do them all at once. Even if you decide to go all in with the following steps, it doesn’t have to be a life overhaul. And it doesn’t have to mean a life without pizza, ice cream, or beer.

5 Easy Ways to Eat Clean

1. Read labels. FIrst just start reading the ingredient list on foods you already have in the house. Next time you’re at the supermarket read the ingredients of what you’re putting into your cart. I think this is an important first step: an awareness of what we’re putting into our bodies. Shift your focus from the number of calories and fat grams to the things from which your food is made. You probably won’t know what some of them are! Google some of them and see what you find.
2. Pick a Ditch. Pick one ingredient that you know is bad and try to ditch it from your diet altogether. Some good ones to start with: high fructose corn syrup, “partially hydrogenated” anything, artificial sweeteners. Other good ones that might be more difficult to ditch all at once but will surely make a big difference in your health: white flour and white sugar.
3. Embrace something. While we’re at it, embrace something good. Choose one healthy habit that you’ll do each day. Eat more: veggies, fruit, or lean protein. Drink more water.
4. Cook at home. Pick one meal or treat that you might buy out and make it yourself at home. I’m not talking anything elaborate, just something simple. One of the best things we can do to improve our diet is to make more of our food ourselves. Want mac and cheese? Great! Make it from scratch at home and save yourself lots of unsavory ingredients and scary chemicals. I swear it’s not that hard!
5. Change your mindset. Work on changing the way you think about food. Food is fuel. That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it or it can’t be deilicous. But it does mean we should think about what the food we eat really means to our bodies. Start making the connection between food and health.

Clean eating will make you look better and feel better. It will make you healthier and probably happier. But you don’t have to throw yourself into it 100% or become a “health nut” to get the benefits. Make small changes for a healthier, more positive lifestyle.

If you haven’t heard about Michael Pollan I highly recommend you check out his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. It’s a great insight into what happens to our food today. It is a bit lengthy and dry, but full of information I think we should all know! My daughter read his young readers’ edition and I perused it. I think it might be a better one to start with! You can find it here.

For more easy ideas about how to eat clean without making yourself crazy, see this post about some clean eating “tweaks” or this one about eating clean-er with kids.

What’s one easy change you plan to make? I’d love to hear from you!