need dinner ideas to "eat clean"

[Anonymous]

I don't really need to lose weight, but I do think I need to up DH and I's eating for better health. Throw into the mix that I'm not a great cook, and I have littles 5 and under, so I can't spend a lot of time cooking in the evenings.

I see the phrase "eat clean" alot here, and I get it (I think.) But I need to be spoon fed recipes or meal plan ideas. I can't go with "saute a piece of salmon and steam some veggies." I need recipes, fleshed out ideas, etc. (for example, how to season the veggies?)

Again, we don't need to "diet" just need to eat clean. And just fyi, we're not awful eaters, but sure, we have a lot of pastas, tortillas, prepared stuff from trader joes, pizza on the weekends (boboli or the take and bake from costco.)

Any suggestions of meals that work for you, including specific recipes? Or places to look on the web, or cookbooks?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

"littles?"

[Anonymous]

Clean Eating magazine is great. But they're really strict with the clean definition...no refined sugar, etc.

If you're not so strict with the "clean" part, Cooking Light magazine is my favorite. The recipes are interesting and appetizing. Each magazine (and their free site with sister magainzes, myrecipes.com) has Dinner Tonight recipes that are quick. When Cooking Light first started out, they were into replacing butter with applesauce, etc. Now their philosophy has evolved into everything in moderation...so instead of a pound of bacon, the recipe will have one slice of bacon crumbled up so you don't feel deprived.

Our library has Clean Eating in their e-magazine selection. That would be an easy way for you to try it without purchasing it. And the myrecipes site is free...just be sure to steer clear of most of the Southern Living recipes that are delicious but not always healthy!

[Anonymous]

wash the food first

[Anonymous]

^^^lol

[Anonymous]

Only eat what was recently alive. Plus eggs.

[Anonymous]

Start with salt, pepper and olive oil and add additional seasonings when you get bored with that. Break free of recipes. Take vegetables (any kind almost), cut them into uniform pieces (any size almost), toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and put on pan. Roast on 400, checking and turning every 10 minutes until done. This works from everything from kale to sweet potatoes to broccoli to fennel, to spring onions, you name it.

Take meat or fish of any kind, season with salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil (or skip the oil). Heat a pan to medium with a touch of olive oil. Put protein in the pan, flip when browned.

There is a clean dinner that can be made in hundreds of permutations. Or you can add just about any spice to just about anything and then you will create thousands more permutations. Have fun, and have variety.

[Anonymous]

These are some flavor combinations I use often, we grill almost every night, so easy for veggies and protein

Steak: chopped garlic, rosemary, olive oil salt/pepper

Fish: lemon juice, olive oil/s/p dill

Chicken: lime juice, cumin, salt/p/oo

Marinade in plain yogurt, garlic, lemon juice mint s/p

Soy sauce, garlic, citrus juice

Dijon mustar, lemon juice

Veggies:

Sweet potatoes baked with oo/a/p cinnamon

Broccoli/zucchini/squash/corn tossed with s/p/oo garlic powder

Like PP said start with salt pepper olive oil and figure out how to properly cook your proteins a d expand from there. Get a meat thermometer so you can tell the temp of your protein and not over cook