Shopping better, choosing certain foods over others or even rehabilitating dishes by making them healthy. 12 tips to follow to eat according to the rules of the art of Clean Eating without breaking the bank!
If you are a woman in a hurry, you may be tempted by ready-made meals. Except that ready-made meals are often synonymous with additives, trans acids and other delights that are not very kind to our scales, our health and our food budget. So, it's decided in 2022, we cook like a pro, all without spending too much. Here is a little survival guide!
1- Consume fresh and unprocessed foods
The tragedy in our modern societies? Everything is done to simplify our lives, but sometimes with serious consequences for our health. According to Anses (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety), we consume between 6.5 g (for women) and 8 g (for men) of salt per day. That's too much, way too much. The same goes for sugar . We're at 100 g per day, the equivalent of 20 sugar cubes. The ideal would be to reach 50 g for women, or 10 cubes, and 60 g for men, or 12 cubes. How is this possible? Because of hidden sugars and salt. Did you know, for example, that 5 slices of sandwich bread contain 1.5 sugar cubes? That in a slice of vacuum-packed ham, there is also sugar (in the form of dextrose for example)? As for salt, it also knows how to be forgotten and slips, unnoticed, into breakfast cereals, cheeses, bouillon cubes, etc. The moral: to eat healthily, you should avoid industrial dishes as much as possible and eat fresh and unprocessed foods. It's much better for your health !
2- Focus on plants
Raw or cooked , as a starter or main course, eating "green" is easy. The advantage? Organic fruits and vegetables allow us to stock up on vitamins and minerals and vary the pleasures throughout the seasons. To avoid the carbon impact, favor short and local circuits (buy directly from producers, it's better). Don't be tempted by strawberries in December or avocados in May. You can be sure that these vegetables have traveled around the planet before arriving on your plate. Especially since seasonal fruits and vegetables are much more accessible (price). Another tip: if you are comfortable with the idea of negotiating prices, you can go to the last-minute market and ask for a small discount. Finally, remember to garnish your yogurts with overripe fruits ( to avoid throwing them away ) and think about making soups with slightly stale vegetables .
3- Enjoy cooking
TV shows (do you know Norbert Commis d'office, on Saturdays on channel 6 Ter which "straightens out" the kitchen bandits or even Petits plats en équilibre by Laurent Mariotte every day on TF1?), but also many books /Instagram accounts of chefs and cooking enthusiasts are precious. Today it is quite easy to create boards on Pinterest ("easy meals", "desserts that throw", "meal ideas") to get inspiration while cooking. All the professional gestures are dissected and, even for the least gifted of commis, it is quite easy to get started. The secret to success? Set yourself a challenge (make a dessert that is known to be difficult, put more green in your dishes, etc.) and have fun! Learning to cook also means learning to make do with what is in your cupboard, to throw away less and to use the freezer better. And that's good because homemade food, which is all the rage, really costs less! The proof? According to Cerin (Center for Research and Nutritional Information), homemade food costs between 5 and 10 times less than a ready-made meal bought in a store! And the good news is that by cooking yourself, you can keep an eye on the amount of sugar and salt added, for example. This is particularly true for homemade baking, which can combine pleasure and weight without worry!
To read to get started: the collection of Petits plats en équilibre ( Foolproof desserts , Grand apéro , Grandes tablées , etc.), Éditions Solar, €8.95.
4- Learn to listen to yourself
Relearning to listen to yourself, to feel hunger and then satiety, also means relearning to eat less . In this way, you can reduce the proportions and appreciate more what you consume. How can you do this in practice? As in sophrology or meditation, the idea is to reconnect with your sensations (of hunger, but also of taste). To do this, don't hesitate to eat your meals in silence (without TV, without phone) and to refocus on your sensations, with each bite. Eating mindfully is as easy to explain as it is difficult to put into practice, with each meal.
Our advice: start by eating mindfully for three minutes, then five, then ten. Until you can eat a full meal. The advantage? You will eat less and better.
5- Appreciate water
Eating without drinking, what a strange idea. Water is a vital element for humans. To reduce your receipt and your sugar intake, we limit sodas! We (re)learn to appreciate water throughout the day. Added to a lemon juice (in the morning), or as an infusion before meals, promotes faster satiety. To avoid buying bottles of water packaged in plastic, do not hesitate to invest in filter carafes or, even more simply, to buy activated carbon sticks to place in your carafe.
6- Have fun
When you eat healthily, you automatically eat less. Saying goodbye to snacking between meals (because you're not hungry) doesn't mean you're not going to enjoy yourself anymore. You can definitely bite into a chocolate bar if you're feeling hungry, as long as you only eat a few squares. It's all about moderation and common sense. The day after a boozy and copious dinner (starter-main course-cheese-dessert) at a friend's house, you can compensate by eating lightly.
7- Start fasting
Beware of pure and strict fasts, they must be carried out under medical supervision. On the other hand, you can absolutely introduce yourself to the benefits of the 16-hour fast . The principle? Skip a meal (dinner or breakfast) in order to rest your body. During this intermittent fast, the body will draw on its reserves (especially glucose) to continue to function well. It is also beneficial for your figure.
8- Limit meat
We now know that excessive meat consumption is bad for our health (increased risks of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, etc.) and for the planet. On the environmental side, intensive red meat farming is, among other things, criticized for its high water consumption. What can we do in practice? Without becoming vegetarian, the idea is to limit our meat consumption to two or three times a week, and to buy more eco-responsible meat (organic, direct sales from producer to consumer, etc.).
9- Organize yourself differently
To adopt this new way of life, you have to change your habits a little. Eating healthier means shopping differently .
- First, sort out your cupboards, using the Marie Kondo method applied to the kitchen: I keep (a little), I throw away (a lot).
- Complete with the missing and essential elements for healthy cooking: seeds, whole foods, etc.
- Shop as you go, so that you prioritize buying fresh food.
- Make a shopping list and… stick to it!
- Plan your menus over several days in order to learn how to balance your menus over the week.
- Shop on a full stomach. It's silly, but you'll be less tempted to make impulsive (and not necessarily healthy) purchases, which are often expensive.
- Beware of fake promotions. Yes, it may be cheaper to buy three packets of biscuits on sale… but are they really the cakes you wanted in the first place? So beware of promotions that end up making you spend more. If you are loyal to a brand, taking the loyalty card (free) is often more advantageous.
10- Rehabilitate the homemade sandwich
Why not, from time to time, prepare a good homemade sandwich? With good bread (wholemeal or cereal) and foods that tick the right boxes (tuna-raw vegetables, eggs-cucumbers-tomatoes, etc.). You can easily replace mayo with hummus or (re)discover the benefits of olive oil instead of butter. You can also prepare one in the morning for your lunch on the go at the office. Another possibility for your lunch boxes, rehabilitate homemade soups (cheaper, less sweet, less salty than those from the store). Here too, you can quite easily prepare a soup and freeze individual portions for later (batch-cooking)!
11- Also think about bowls
Does bowl mean anything to you? Pronounced "bol" in French - we can't change our ways - this complete dish (served in a bowl) is the top trend in Clean Eating. The rule? Arrange fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, animal proteins or not, all without mixing them but arranging them by family, to create a nice visual effect. For inspiration, we recommend reading the book Bowls by Clemfoodie , Marabout, €16.90 with its many bowl recipes for lunch, dinner and even breakfast!
12- Buy in bulk
In most organic stores, there is a bulk section for cereals and dried fruits. In addition to the zero waste gesture , you save on the price per kilo and can quantify "custom-made" what you buy.
