The Joy of (Clean) Eating
Greetings 4am Fitness Crew.
For many of us spring is finally here. I am writing this with pure excitement. Everything seems to be celebrating. The cherry blossoms are peaking, along with those gorgeous yellow Celandine Poppies that never fail to leave me speechless. Then there is my perennial favorite, the Virginia Bluebells, she is wild, she is beautiful, she has never failed to show up on time for her March date with me. Every March with her is like the first March. Yes, she also leaves me speechless.
For us outdoor fitness enthusiasts, we can finally head out for our early morning walks, rides and runs without winter nipping at us. Being outdoors during spring is a spoiling experience. Everything seems so finely tuned - it is not too hot, it is not too cold, it is not too windy. And the crown jewel of a spring morning - breathtaking sunrises. Nature has graciously granted us a reprieve between her freezing winter and swelting summer. Well thank you spring.
… and then there is the food. The taste, the aroma, the colors ... The laughter and chatter and characters return to our favorite outdoor cafes. The scents of freshly baked breads and pastries and brewing coffee beckons us to a pastime that winter so cruelly deprived us of. Is it Robbin Williams who exclaimed our collective joys?
Spring is nature’s way of saying Let's Party!
Food is intrinsically stitched into the tapestry of our lives: our civilizations, our histories, our cultures, our conflicts, our relationships, our families. Our consciousness. Our stories. Stories of love and loss, stories of disappointment and resilience. Stories passed on from generation to generation as a sacred trust; chronicles of journeys, sacrifice and triumph. Stories told repeatedly in different periods, languages, dialects, countries, and continents. Stories often told over the “breaking of bread.”
Your family, my family, our families share a commonality; stories over meals that celebrate our histories and our cultures; some dark and painful – but we dare not forget. Often eaten in silence and tears. Anguish is not measured in years – but rather in tears. We still cry.
Food has a way of gently pulling us upward - from anger and anguish, to hope and bold optimism - the indomitability of the human spirit. Yes, his chair is empty, yes, her chair is empty, but their story is still being told generations after – and still evoking the same pride and determination that narrative was built upon. For many of us, our kitchens are bigger and fancier and filled with electrification, automation, and refrigeration, but the recipes have not changed much. The food is still (representative of) the “ties that bind us” together.
My family is multi-cultural, multi-national and multiethnic. In recent years we have also become multi-linguistic. All these “multis” are not walls, but rather bridges to a diversity of cultures, stories, really good food and much love. Nothing beats sitting around the family table for hours eating delicious foods seasoned with lots of love and boisterous family tales.
Every family, every friendship, every community deserves the peace and laughter that nutritious and healthy food brings. Foods that are healthy and clean for our bodies and our environment. Foods that uplift -including the planting and trading of those foods. If the harvest of a crop deprives one group economically and environmentally to ensure healthy eating to another – that is not exactly “clean” eating.
At 4am Fitness Crew, we embrace a fulfilling life 4am and beyond by being mindful of our eight Wellness Pillars. The wellness pillar we celebrate today is clean eating.
What is clean eating
The practice of eating primarily unprocessed and minimally processed and unrefined and minimally refined foods. It means embracing whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, healthy proteins, and fats. Huge emphasis on reducing or totally avoiding added salt, fats, and sugars in foods.
Clean eating might be the newest fad phase among foodies and bloggers, but it should neither be fad nor transitory, but a belief we embrace gladly for our holistic health and well-being.
The road to health and well-being is clearly marked “Well-balanced.” Fad diets do not work because they are not sustainable. Extreme fad diets are not simply unsustainable but might also be dangerous to your health. Clean eating is a way of life. It is the result of actions that are evidence based, well thought out and mindful. These are actions that add nutritional value to what you eat while leading you on a path upward towards a healthier and happier you. Therefore, any discussion on clean eating must remove the term “diet”- and should (instead) include terms such as, balance, lifestyle, sustainability, and fun.
We must also confront some lingering stereotypes, misconceptions, and misinformation about what clean eating is. Firstly, no one person, group, entity or blogger has a philosophical, scientific, or moral claim to this term. Within your culture, region, country, and religion - clean and healthy nutrition can thrive. In fact, clean eating thrived for many generations before modern, large scale industrial agriculture ushered in a mixed bag of reliability (in our food supply), convenience, variety, economies of scale, obesity, and … 500 million people living in hunger.
This is not about “clean” versus “unclean” – but rather a wholesome, balanced, and mindful approach to nutrition, wellness, and well-being. A priority recognition and action that every human is deserving of and has an unquestioned right to eat peacefully and healthy.
Feel free to ignore the “clean” label or whatever labels someone has attempted to brand. Go ahead and insert your country, region, ethnicity, even your family name to replace the fad word “clean” if you choose (but not the principle and practice). We at 4am Fitness Crew will not allow clean, healthy, and stress-free nutrition to be commoditize. Within your ecosystem there is abundance. Embrace it. Protect it. Sustain it. Eat it. Grow it. Support it.
I am confident that we are on the same page. Now let us dig into the meat (or tofu – for us vegans and vegetarians) of our conversation.
The Food-Mood Connection
Wellness is as much about the mind as it is the body. They are intimately and dynamically connected. The gut is a superhighway to the brain – by way of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Hope and depression, anxiety and confidence, energy and fatigue can all be triggered in the gut – by what we eat.
The exciting news coming from credible studies of this gut-brain axis is the connection between gut bacteria and brain health. Simply put, eating healthier, cleaner, and minimally processed foods can dramatically improve your gut health and may also have a beneficial effect on your brain health. Several studies cited and funded by NIH confirm this fascinating connection; that both probiotics and prebiotics – classed together as psychobiotics - have been shown to have a positive impact in reducing levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. That is a “happy meal” we can all celebrate. (source: NIH)
How can you benefit from the potency of psychobiotics? By eating gut healthy foods, also known as, clean eating, healthy, wholesome and wholefoods. We will explore these classes of foods in the following sections.
Clean Fuel
Our bodies are anatomical wonders that must be fueled through proper nutrition. Similarly, to high performance vehicles, our bodies need to be fueled by high quality nutrition to optimize its functioning over a protracted period. The perplexing question is, why do we compromise with the “fuel” we put into our bodies when a similar action on our luxury performance vehicles will be unthinkable. You don’t have to possess a degree in mechanical engineering to know, fueling your high-performance vehicle with an inferior grade gasoline will not only compromise its performance immediately, but will also set in motion a speedy descent into engine failure. This analogy – engine to body – tragically holds true.
A timely reminder of the benefits of clean, healthy eating.
May help you live longer
Beneficial to the environment
Keeps skin, teeth, and eyes healthy
Supports muscles
Boosts immunity
Boosts brain health
Reduces stress
Improves sleep quality
Strengthens bones
Lowers risk of heart disease, type2 diabetes, and some cancers
Supports healthy pregnancies and breastfeeding
Helps the digestive function
Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight
Now that we have been reminded how positively impactful clean eating is for our health and happiness - even for our environmental and economic stewardship, let us execute this. You should be bursting with excitement by now.
Transitioning to Clean Foods
Let us keep it simple.
1. How to tips. Read Labels!
a. Cut out added sugars
b. Nope to refine carbs
c. Plant-based! Eat the rainbow - fresh veggies and fruits.
d. Prepare most of your meals at home
e. Cut out highly process foods
f. “Natural” does not always mean natural. Read Labels!
g. Plant-based does not always mean healthy or “clean.” Read Labels!
h. Eliminate any food labeled “Diet”
i. Cut out high sodium foods
2. What to eat tips
Clean Fruit: Organic suggested. Local if Possible. List not Exhaustive. Apples, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, mangoes, frozen fruit (no sugar or additives added), can or bottle fruit (no sugar or additives added. Dried fruit (no sugar or additives added).
Clean Veggies: Organic Suggested. Local if Possible. List not Exhaustive Carrots, broccoli, corn, salsa, frozen veggies (no added salt or additives), Bok choy, fresh herbs
Clean Dairy: Organic and Grass-Fed Suggested. Goat milk, cow’s milk, cheese, butter, yogurt – sugar-free suggested.
Clean Non-Diary Alternatives: Read labels. Sugar-Free Suggested. Almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, non-diary yogurt, vegan cheese.
Clean Meat Protein: Organic, Grass-Fed, Free-Range Suggested. Eggs, chicken, turkey, fresh and sustainably caught sea food.
Clean Plant-Based Proteins: Organic preferred. Read labels for minimally processed packaged and frozen products. List not Exhaustive. Lentils, beans, legumes, quinoa, black eye peas, tofu.
Clean Fats: In Moderation. Keep an eye out for added salt and sugar and other unnecessary “stuff. Peanuts and peanut butter, nut butters, coconut, cocoa, olives. Seeds: Flax, pumpkin, hemp, sunflower, chia. Use coffee grinder. Oils: Olive, avocado, flax, coconut, sesame, canola.
Clean Wholegrains: Organic preferred. Read labels for added sugar and salt and all manner of unnecessary “stuff.” Black rice, brown rice, wild rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat bread, ancient grains, teff, air-popped popcorn.
Clean Sweeteners: In Moderation. Maple syrup, raw sugar, honey, agave, date paste, coconut sugar.
Clean beverages: Unsweetened. Water and seltzer, tea, coffee, coconut water, kombucha
Quick note: You are probably both relieved - at the wide variety of clean food options available to you - and also confused at the wide variety of food options available to you. We have you covered (in section below) with some of the best recipe resources available.
3. Recipe Resources
For many of you already on the clean and healthy eating path – you will know – since you are already preparing many of your meals from scratch – you will be spending a couple hours a week in food prep. Put on some of your favorite music and start washing, cutting, sorting and storing. It can be a fun and fulfilling activity.
These recipe resources are very easy, but I am confident that very soon you will be curating your own list of exciting, healthy and tasty recipes.
Note: Our caution still holds; use salt, sugar and oils in moderation – and when possible, avoid. Read labels.
A. General Healthy Recipes
B. Vegetarian Healthy Recipes
C. Vegan Healthy Recipes
D. Healthy smoothies
E. Oatmeal Vegan, Gluten-Free Breakfast
Recommendation:
If you are new to this pathway, I recommend easing into it. Be reminded, you are embracing a healthy eating lifestyle, not a passing fad. Start off with a clean meal – maybe a breakfast smoothie. After you have established the one clean meal a day routine, you can expand to other meals - slowly, stress-free, and happily integrating clean eating into your wellness journey.
Closing Thoughts
My wish for you, our 4am Fitness Crew is may your table always enjoy healthy foods, hearty laughter, and the overflowing love of family and friends. And when pain and loss attend, you will gather in solidarity, comfort and communion around that table.
That table that has weathered every storm, reconciled many a broken relationship, celebrated improbable successes, will continue unbroken, generation after generation, fueled by a commitment to clean foods, a clean environment and a healthy and happy circle of family and friends.
p.s. One of our wellness pillars is “community” – we implore you, our 4am Fitness Crew, to support a charity in your community committed to fighting hunger.
Thank you.
Ready to start your wellness journey?
Visit our Wellness Coaching page to learn more and schedule your consultation today!