Clean Eating: A Full Day's Menu

One of the issues with eating right and choosing what to eat is all the overly processed foods! When you read the ingredients on the side of a container, there are countless additives you can't even pronounce. Bread is not just bread any more, it's grains but with tons of fake ingredients to make it taste better. That's where clean eating comes in; it's for people who are fed up with all the overly processed foods.

>> Read more: Clean Eating 101: Change Your Body the Healthy Way

When you're trying to eat clean, it can be a bit of a hassle. You have to become mindful about how your food came to be. "How processed is my food and where did it come from?" are just a few questions that you should remember the next time you go grocery shopping. You want to eat the foods that are as close to their natural form as possible. For example, you would eat more apples rather than applesauce or peanuts rather than peanut butter. You're trying to take out all the additives that you would find in processed foods, which means a lot more cooking at home. Try to reduce the sweeteners that you use like sugars and creamers. You should also cut down on how much salt you use, choose whole grains rather than refined grains, and cut down on how much alcohol you drink because it's full of sugars.

In the beginning, it's hard to get used to eating clean because you really have to think about what's in your food. Rather than eating like this all the time, why not set aside one day a week to eat clean? You'll want to prepare ahead so that you'll be ready to eat clean and won't be tempted to skip. Here is a meal plan for your first day of clean eating to get you started!

>> Read more: Clean Eating: Dos an Don'ts for Getting Started

Breakfast: A delicious and colorful protein-packed Scallion and Feta Omelet to start your day off right!

Snack: How does a mid-morning smoothie sound? Delicious, right? This Mango-Banana Smoothie with Chia Seeds combines whole superfoods for your nutritional benefit. Plus, the chia seeds add fiber, antioxidants, minerals and Omega-3s to your diet!

Lunch: This recipe requires a bit of cooking but it'll all be worth it when you're ready to eat your Shaved Asparagus Salad with Shallot and Fried Egg. It's filling, tasty and good for you! What could be better?

Snack: When it comes to clean eating, you eat a lot more veggies than you normally would. Hold yourself over until dinner with your Cucumber and Carrot Sticks with Hummus!

Dinner: These Napa Cabbage Wraps with Chicken, Tomatoes, Mango and Avocado are a little crunchy, a little sweet and a little salty for a perfect flavor combo! Enjoy these wraps that are filled to the brim with hearty, good-for-you clean food.

Drink: Having a drink while eating clean is difficult because you have to watch out for all the additives and sugars that you know are in alcohol. You can opt not to drink alcohol and have a cup of green tea instead or try out some organic red wine! It uses the natural sweetness from real fruits so it's less processed.

Dessert: Now to top it all off is a yummy dessert to end your successful day of clean eating. Treat yourself to a Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting. You won't believe that this is a clean dessert recipe!

>> Read more: 8 Baby Steps to Clean Eating

What tips do you have on clean eating? Share with us and our readers in the comments below!