First of all, I'd like to brag that I'm writing this post from my new gadget, my Dell XPS tablet, that also has an attachable keyboard dock, so it's basically a tablet that converts to a touchscreen laptop. Uh, it's pretty awesome. I typed last night's post with the touchscreen keyboard but I like this much better. I basically got a new tablet and a new laptop in one!
Anyway, the title of this post came from a great entry from my cousin's blog Melanie's Journey to Tinier Pants. In her entry, she talked about how shocked she was about portion sizes on containers and boxes and how you can think you're putting healthy things into your body, but you don't really see the serving size intended. You can eat something thinking it's only 200 calories, but that the package contains 2-3 or even more servings. Therefore you unknowingly consume 400-600 calories!
This is why I have to reiterate why eating clean is the best option. Some people (including myself) forget exactly what this means. Clean eating does not mean eating "healthy". Microwave dinners can be "healthy". Clean eating means AVOIDING packaged and processed foods whenever possible and going for the fresh options. For example, why spend almost five dollars on a 16oz bottle of juice (that tricks you into thinking you're getting a healthy deal but you're really consuming a LOT of sugar and can easily down almost 400 calories) when you can throw a handful of spinach, a banana that you just tear apart with your hands, a handful of berries, a splash of coconut water an a couple of ice cubes in a single-serve blender really quick? You avoid all the extra preservatives and chemicals needed for bottling, and the five bucks you would have spent on a calorific juice drink would make several smoothies for you at home. That's all it takes. And when eating clean, one has to remember that fresh fruit > fruit juice. ALWAYS.
It may take a little more time to eat clean, as it's much easier to pop a lean cuisine in the microwave or grab a sandwich from the deli instead of having a clean meal. But it can happen. My dad steams several cups of vegetables and cooks several chicken breasts and makes a pot of rice on Sundays, and then measures out the serving sizes and pre-packages his lunches for the week and then freezes them. Then he does the same as what a normal person would do, pops them in the microwave real quick for a few minutes but he is saving himself all the preservatives and sodium that would commonly come in a packaged food.
As for snacks, avoid the pre-packaged foods, even somewhat healthy ones. In my entry "clean is mean", I mentioned how I was able to eat an entire meal and then some for the same amount of calories in a granola bar and Special K chips. The best snack that you can pack for yourself is fresh fruit and veggies, and many fruits and veggies don't need refrigeration. Just bring a banana or apple to work or a plastic baggy with carrot sticks. It takes the same amount of effort as grabbing a protein bar or a bag of "low-calorie" snack crackers. Not to mention all the nutrients you'd get that NATURALLY occur in those foods rather than when they are "enriched" into them. Our bodies absorb these nutrients much more efficiently when they are naturally occurring in our food rather than being added in or in a supplement form.
Now I understand that we live in a packaged world and therefore some packages are necessary. I still grub on cereal that comes from a box like everyone else and I like to munch on granola bars for energy, but I am trying to eat fresh, clean foods whenever I can. It's always a good thing to think outside the box.... food included.
PS- Half-point pictures will be taken tomorrow! Eeek!
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