Kitchen Staples For Clean Eating

What's in your kitchen? The answer may be the key to unlocking your weight loss and fitness potential. So start making some smart swaps. You have to transform your kitchen to transform your body.

 There are a few staples you'll want to work into the mix as you start to transition away from processed food into clean eating choices.

At the Stove:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use it to saute veggies, and for baking, instead of butter. I also brush meats with olive oil, stir fry with it, and drizzle it on pasta. Use it sparingly. Don't act like a celebrity chef and swirl it into the pan!

• Cooking spray: I use an olive oil spray or a canola oil spray.  It's super convenient to coat a pan before cooking eggs, limiting calories. You can also spray it on chicken before grilling. Spray bottles like "Misto" are available at culinary stores and allow you to spray your own olive oil. 
• Coconut Oil: It's light, heart healthy and gives great flavor to stir frys. Flavored varieties are useful for baking. Remember, it's a "good" fat, but it's still a fat. Limit quantities of all oils.

In the Pantry: 

• Switch to whole grain flour: Or at least try to alter some of your baking recipes with half whole grain, half white flour. There's an excellent variety of whole wheat flour called "white" whole wheat, which is a softer grain and it's not so gritty.
• Choose whole grain pasta: It's a little nutty, but if you cook it a little longer, it won't be tough. Boil it in chicken broth or vegetable broth for a naked sauce option. Toss it with parmesean cheese and add veggies. Remember, a serving size is the size of your fist. 

A fist-size serving of pasta.

• Old Fashioned Oats: Move over instant oatmeal, this is an excellent energy source and whole grain. Eat 1/2 cup cooked with Stevia and berries on top.
• Brown Rice: Brown rice isn't stripped of its outer fiber layers like white rice. It gives you more fiber and more staying power in terms of delivering even energy to your body. 
• Beans: Dried, or canned, keep a supply of lentils, black beans and kidney beans to make a protein rich salad, side dish or soup. 
• Onions: Have them on hand for soups, stews, salads, and stir fry. I love to season ground meat with onions, making meatballs juicy and flavorful. 

On the Shelf: 

• Stevia: It's an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener that doesn't spike your blood sugar like honey or agave syrup. Use it in place of sugar in the same ratios. 
• Spices: Eating clean doesn't mean giving up flavor. Choose a flavor profile like Italian, or Tex-Mex, and spice up your food. Italian flavors include basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Tex-Mex includes cumin, chili powder and cilantro. Experiment with flavors that make you happy. Make your own spice mixes like seasoned salt.
• Salt: Toss some in water before boiling pasta or cooking rice. 

In the Refrigerator: 

• Hot Sauce: Delicious on eggs or in soup. 
• Low sodium soy sauce: For stir fry or to add flavor to brown rice.
• Vinegar: For homemade salad dressing. 
• Minced garlic: For everything!
• Parmesean cheese: Excellent on eggs, pasta and whole grain cheese bread.
• Eggs: I eat two a day, usually scrambled with veggies.
• String Cheese: This is an awesome source of lean protein. I eat 2 at a time to get 16 grams of protein. 
• Greek Yogurt: My children whine that this is the "secret" ingredient in everything I cook. I agree. I use plain Greek yogurt and flavor it to suit my needs. Use stevia to make it sweet, or seasoned salt and herbs to turn it into dip. 
• Natural Peanut Butter: Peanut butter shouldn't have added hydrogenated fats or chemicals. Look for one with peanuts and salt. It must be kept in the refrigerator so it won't spoil. 

In the Fruit  and veg Drawer: 

• Apples keep well, and I always have lemons for squeezing on fish or turning into salad dressing.

Someone decorated the lemons in my fruit bowl.

• Pre-packed, pre-washed spring mix or romaine lettuce is convenient for quick salads.
• Portobello mushrooms make an easy base for a veggie pizza. 
• Avocado makes an excellent salad dressing base or sandwich spread. 

Snacks: 

• Keep nuts available, but limit the portion size on these good fats.
• Beef jerky: I found a lean, all natural product here in Nebraska with no preservatives. It's called Beef Bark. Find it at www.beefbark.com. It travels well and comes in dozens of flavors. 
• Whole grain crackers: Find a cracker with 5 ingredients or less and eat the proper serving size.