How to Eat Clean: 5 Tips to Keep You on Track

Christina Manian, RDNUpdated: Nov. 23, 2023

Food backgrounds: top view of a rustic wooden table filled with different types of food. At the center of the frame is a cutting board with beef steak and a salmon fillet and all around it is a large variety of food like fruits, vegetables, cheese, bread, eggs, legumes, olive oil and nuts. DSRL studio photo taken with Canon EOS 5D Mk II and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens

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From reading nutrition labels to watching your added sugar intake, you'll be eating healthier in no time!

Clean eating is all the rage these days, but what does it entail? Ultimately, it boils down to eating whole, minimally processed foods. Here are five tips on how to eat clean that will keep you on track and eating healthfully.

Start your journey by stocking up on these clean-eating foods.

Read Nutrition Labels

Cutting out packaged foods entirely may be too tall an order when starting to eat clean. One great way to improve the quality of the packaged foods you’re buying is to read the nutrition label, specifically the ingredients. Look for products made with whole foods that you recognize. You’ll want to stay away from foods with ingredients you’ve never seen before or that you can’t pronounce.

Cut Down on Added Sugar

Significantly decreasing how much added sugar is in your diet is a big part of eating clean. This goes hand-in-hand with cutting down on processed foods that tend to have added sugar. Rethinking the sweetener you add to your morning coffee is a great start, and steering clear of packaged foods with refined cane sugar is the biggest step you can make here.

Add More Produce

Starting your clean eating journey may look a lot like an elimination diet, however it’s important that you’re also adding new healthy foods. The foundation to this diet are foods that come directly from the earth—fruits and vegetables. Produce is full of complex carbs like fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals. The fiber in fruits and veggies will keep you satisfied, healthy and full of energy. Check out this clean-eating meal plan to get started.

Choose Whole Grains

Refined grains found in white bread, white rice, traditional white pasta, desserts and snack foods are many people’s most commonly purchased food. The processing required to make these products strips them of their nutrition. A great way to start steering away from refined grains is to choose products made with 100% whole grains. Try these whole-grain recipes that include brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole grain pasta.

Cook More

One important key to eating clean is to cook your own food. By cooking more, you’ll automatically be eating fewer processed foods. It’s also a good idea to start making products that you would typically buy packaged—tomato sauce or salad dressing. By making foods like these, and even baking bread from scratch, you’re ensuring that whole, clean ingredients are going into them. Not only will they be better for you—they’ll certainly taste better.

With these five tips, you can start changing your diet and have a better understanding on how to eat clean. Ditching those packaged foods and embracing the produce section are great ways to start leading a healthier lifestyle!

Clean Eating Recipes You'll Want to Try

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Taste of Home

Chicken Veggie PacketsPeople think I went to a lot of trouble when I serve these packets. Individual aluminum foil pouches hold in the juices during baking to keep the herbed chicken moist and tender. The foil saves time and makes cleanup a breeze. —Edna Shaffer, Beulah, Michigan