As I was typing up a clean baking post, I reached for my Diet Coke and then silently cursed. Diet Coke was processed. I was a hypocrite. Good-bye Diet Coke. Good-bye Old Friend. Good-bye Loyal Lover.
The next morning, I got up and poured some Crunchy Corn Bran into my bowl, set the box down…oh, wait. It’s in a box. Yep, that’s processed.
Manatee and I sat down to have another talk. Where do we draw the line? How strict are we going to be? We don’t have to give up booze (gasp), do we?
The rules
We agreed on some terms. Yes, we are going to eliminate processed foods but each of us get a kryptonite. Manatee keeps his sugar free popsicles and I keep my chips (my current fave is gluten free Beanitos-yum!). They may be processed but we love them.
We will also continue to drink, because frankly, we really enjoy our wine, beer and martinis. And soda with a mixed drink doesn’t count. Okay, maybe that is still hypocritical, but I am working on it. Lucky for me, I usually drink wine and am not a big mixed drink kind of a girl. I guess I could just drink it straight on the rocks but where do you draw the line between clean eater and hard drinker?
The transition
We are not going to throw out what we have, but we won’t replace it. So for now, I am not letting go of my Eggos but I will. We will not buy any more Fiber One, Crunchy Corn Bran, Nutrigrain Lowfat Eggos (sniff) or Sugar Free Apple Cider. We will continue to eat them until they are gone and then we will be forced to adapt.
The obstacles
The only thing I am really nervous about is breakfast. I hate oatmeal. I have tried to eat it several times and I gag. I also hate eggs. I can eat them once every few months and that’s about my limit. I’m not sure what I will do for breakfast. Toast and waffles seems a bit carb heavy. Any ideas? Yogurt is out too. Not only does fruity yogurt make me gag but I don’t like starting the day off with dairy (I’m lactose intolerant, if you remember).
P.S. I feel like an angst teenager talking about what makes me gag, but is there a more eloquent way to describe that feeling? I think not.
Why do it?
So you may be wondering, why on earth are we deciding to do this? We truly believe that you are what you eat. If you eat processed crap, you are…well you get the point. On a more positive note: If you eat well, you feel well.
Living a healthy lifestyle is important for both of us and we have both experienced the slippery slope of processed foods. By completely eliminating it, we will be much closer to achieving the level of health to which we strive.
90/10 Rule
While we are striving to be ‘clean-eaters,’ we also recognize that life gets in the way. When we travel and when we go out to eat, we recognize that we cannot always control what ends up on our plates. So, we know that this will not be an all encompassing quest. Not to mention, we both have our kryptonite.
Moments of weakness
There have been and there will be moments of weakness. Yes, I did break down and drink a Diet Coke this week. But you know what? It really didn’t taste that good, or at least it didn’t taste as good as I had built it up in my mind. We will have slip ups and we will transgress but from the Diet Coke experience, I think it may actually help us resist that food (or drink) the next time we are tempted.
Will you join us?
If you are interested in taking on the Clean Eating Challenge. I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you have about clean eating. We are really excited about this!
