How To Make A Clean Eating Grocery List – And What Is Clean Eating?
What is a clean eating grocery list? A clean eating grocery list is a list that supports clean or organic food choices. It involves choosing minimally processed foods that are ethically raised and provide maximum nutritional value. It’s important to eat a clean diet so that you can have the best lifestyle possible.
Eating clean provides the health benefits of the nutrients we need to fuel our bodies. There are many ways to eat clean from buying organic, starting a food garden at home, buying only foods that are not processed, and many more. I recommend having a balance when you begin to start eating a clean diet and have fun with it. Once you have a concept of how to eat clean then you will be ready to make the clean eating grocery list.
What is Clean Eating?
Clean eating focuses on foods that are minimally processed, organically grown, rich in nutrients and of ethically raised standards. Basically it’s foods low in salt and sugar, foods with limited ingredients on the label, and foods without ingredients that you can’t pronounce. Some examples are fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and lean proteins.
9 Tips to Clean Eating
- Limit processed foods-usually loaded with preservatives and no nutrients
- Eat more fruits and vegetables-considered whole foods with lots of nutritional benefits
- Read labels-the packaging might claim “natural” or similar term but always check ingredient labels
- Avoid vegetable oils and spreads-usually highly processed and linked to causing disease
- Lower sugar intake-can be added in excess to foods and addictive to some people
- Limit alcohol beverage consumption-excessive drinking of alcohol is linked to higher risk of disease
- Avoid packaged foods-packaged foods are high is processed ingredients and not nutritional
- Enjoy a glass of water-always choose a glass of water before any other high sugar drink
- Choose from farms using ethically raised animals-some people would agree with this but vegans and environmentalists will not
If you can’t pronounce it then don’t eat it
Eating clean is not a diet-it’s a lifestyle
How to Make a Clean Eating Grocery List?
First of all, I recommend to start organizing your list by aisle. This way everything will be organized when you go down each aisle. Just a heads up, the center aisles of the grocery store usually have the most processed selections. So if you focus your attention to the outside perimeter of the grocery store, you will stay clear of most of the processed foods. The list can be broken down into categories which will usually fall into aisles. Categories can include: vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, protein (dairy, eggs, meats), nuts/seeds, pantry items, baking supplies, and healthy drinks. Check out the article for my healthy college grocery list here.
The below list can serve as a guide and to help with ideas when you are getting ready to go shopping. If you plan to shop online then it will also provide guidance when you’re still learning which foods are clean. A suggestion would be to decide what the dinner plans are for the week and then use the list as guide of what foods items are clean.
Sample clean eating grocery list:
>>=Buy organic when possible<<=
Limit sugar and salt consumption
Be aware of the dirty dozen list of produce that should always be bought in organic. This list of produce has the highest pesticide residues. Here is the list: Apples, Peaches, Kale, Strawberries, Spinach, Pears, Potatoes, Nectarines, Cherries, Grapes (imported), Celery and Tomatoes.
Simple washing does not remove all pesticides
Check out my article How to have a Healthy Relationship with Food
Weight loss is sometimes a goal when improving your diet. It’s important to note weight loss is 70% diet and 30% exercise. When we are exercising, we are burning more calories so its wise to eat healthy. If we don’t choose our food wisely it can result in gaining weight since exercise increases appetite. I hope this information helps you to learn more about clean eating and how to make a clean eating grocery list. Please comment below if you have any experience with clean eating.
Are you looking for some support to help you learn more? Check out this article and review for Trifecta Meal Plan which has a clean eating meal delivery program.
This is a very helpful article. I found it quite interesting, and I learned some cool tips. I love how you advocate for clean eating and share advice on the categories of foods and how to go about making a list.
I didn’t realize that the inner aisles of the grocery stores are concentrated with processed foods. When I read that, it made me think about the local supermarkets.
I’ll definitely put your advice to use whenever I go grocery shopping again.
Thank you for this amazing resource, keep up the great work.
Mikhail
@ Mikhail I’m so glad that you enjoyed my article. Thank you for visiting my website!
Great informative article! I find this a very important topic for people who want to learn more about clean eating. Thank you for sharing!
@Catherine thank you for visiting my website today! I’m glad you enjoyed my article CLEAN EATING GROCERY LIST.
Thanks for sharing the great content! I can use your clean eating list + my work out exercise to get weight loss.
Keep it up for more great content!
@samuel I’m glad that you can benefit from the clean eating grocery list! Thanks for visiting my website!
I love your quote “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it”. 🙂
As for the article, I can only agree with everything you pointed out. We eat organicly for years now and although here in Spain it is at times harder to find the right stuff, with some effort we always succeed.
Thanks for your information 🙂
Dear Alyse.
Thank you very much for your fantastic website. It is amazing that you show people where to start and what steps to take towards their healthy living. I hope more people will know about your website and follow your guidance.
Kind regards,
Andrey
@Andrey I’m so glad you enjoyed my article and website! Thank you for visiting my website today.
Hi Alyse, great article you have here, my dauther she do the grocerie and she will be happe to have a look at your post
thanks
Lyne
@Line please share my article with your daughter and have her contact me here if she has any questions.
It is a shame that clean eating can sometimes also be expensive eating. I know not always but when you keep in mind organic and unprocessed foods then this is usually the case.
I so much want to consume unhomogenised, unpasteurised, organic milk straight from the farm as I feel that even the pasteurisation process is getting rid of valuable nutrition and not as nature intended it to be. Unfortunately due to the high health risk here I am settling for second best with unhomogenised, organic milk, although pasteurised.
@Schalk I want to do another article on clean eating on a budget. It would probably helpful so I will consider that soon. Thank you for your comment.
Sounds good, you most welcome!
Thanks for this article! It’s very helpful and informative. I especially like the clean eating grocery list and the ‘dirty dozen’ produce list. I’m always striving to make healthy choices and searching for helpful info. This article has definitely given me some helpful tips on improving my eating habits:)
@Lori thank you for visiting my website and I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Great article and very useful information. I personally use lists and separate all the items in their own categories. Thank you for the information.
@Felicity I usually don’t use lists but then I forget items at the store. The sample clean eating grocery list is going to help so much. Thank you for visiting my website.
Great post and even better site. Thanks for sharing your ideas on how to get involved in clean eating. I learned a lot from you. Thanks!
@Ivan thank you for visiting and I’m glad you enjoyed the article and website.
The ingredients that we cannot pronounce are normally the food additives, right? I tend to choose the products with the least additives in the past, but I would train myself not to pick anyone with something I don’t even know or I cannot pronounce the next time I do my grocery shopping.
Matt
@Matt thank you for visiting my website and I hope you learned a lot. Yes the additives that are hard to pronounce could be preservatives.
A healthy mind lives in a healthy body. If you supply your body with everything it needs, it will let you feel it. Not only will clean eating reduce mood swings, some foods even help your body to reduce the release of the stress hormone cortisol. You will feel more balanced, fitter and healthier and enjoy life to the full.
@Satz thank you for visiting my website and for the comment on a healthy body.
Clean eating is becoming very popular,
Your article gives a great deal of wonderful
Information on the subject.
The shopping list is a very helpful touch to those who may need a little guidance.
processed foods are something I tend to stay away from.
@Lisa thank you for visiting my website. I’m glad you enjoyed my article on HOW TO MAKE A CLEAN EATING GROCERY LIST.
Very useful article for every household who are keen on healthy eating. I personally keep a list on my phone for all the grocery we have in our household . But after looking at your list, I will sub-head each area and possibly write down your recommended healthy foods under each heading so we can focus on them when we go shopping next time.
Thank you
@Habib GREAT! I’m glad the list can help you. Best wishes!
I think this is a terrific article for people interested in being healthy and fit, (which I am). It is also good for people who want to lose weight, (which seems like most adults these days). I especially like the guidelines: “If you can’t pronounce it don’t eat it.”, and, “Eating clean is not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.”
@Glenn thank you for your kind comment! Best wishes.
I have been thinking that I need to improve my shopping list.
My problem is that I through in other things to my cart that was not on my list, such as chips.
Do you have any advice on how I can resist this?
@Catherine Improving your shopping list will be helpful for making healthy choices. I recommend staying on the outer aisles of the store which usually have the healthiest selections. Best wishes.