I  often hear people exclaim they don’t know where to even start when it comes to getting healthy, feeling better, or tackling a specific health concern.

This is where I always start: eat clean food!

But what does that really mean?

To me, it means: eat food found in the form nature intended. Avoid pre-made and pre-packaged food with added ingredients that don’t sound like food. Eat food sold by your local farmers and fishermen. Shop the outskirts of the supermarket, avoiding the aisles with all the junk.

I created a list that helps outline the standards I set for what “eating clean” actually means:

 START HERE: EAT REAL FOOD

FRUITS & VEGGIES

~Aim to eat all colors of the rainbow in your produce

~Veggies at every meal

~Organic & local is ideal to reduce exposure to pesticides

~Avoid genetically modified food (GMO’s)

~Greens such as kale, spinach, collards, arugula

~Starchy veggies such as carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, beets

~Cruciferous veggies such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage

~Fruits such as berries, pineapple, kiwi, mango

PROTEIN

~Wild fish such as pacific salmon (no farmed fish)

~Grass-fed beef & lamb

~Poultry should be pasture-raised (organic & local also ideal)

~The same goes for eggs! Pasture-raised, ideally organic & local

~Pork: also should be pasture-raised, ideally local & organic too

~Get to know your local farmers & fishermen

~ Shop at farmer’s markets & ask questions

DAIRY

~Approach dairy quality as you would meat

~From grass-fed cows

~Look for local & organic sources

~ Full-fat ONLY! Low-fat does not = healthy

~ Raw milk & raw milk cheeses ideal

~Non-homogenized

~These standards stand for milk, cheese, yogurt, butter & ghee

~You’re better off avoiding dairy if you can’t adhere to most of these guidelines

HEALTHY FATS

For cooking:

Unrefined, organic, cold-pressed coconut oil

Butter or ghee from grass-fed cows, organic ideal

Sustainably sourced palm oil- do your reaserch

Animal fats such as tallow or lard from pastured, ideally organic & local sources

For Cold Use (but not for cooking):

These fats do not hold up well to heat & light. Store in cupboard and use on food after it has been cooked, or in salad dressings

Cold-pressed organic extra-virgin olive oil

Avocado oil

Macadamia Oil

Flax oil: use in moderation

UNHEALTHY FATS

I will poke you in the eye if I ever see you buying this garbage

These products are highly processed, refined, and oxidized concoctions; they promote inflammation and are not healthy to consume:

Margarine

Earth Balance

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

PAM

Canola Oil

Soybean Oil

Grapeseed Oil

Sunflower/Safflower Oil

Corn oil

Olive Oil (as in, not extra-virgin)

I hope this list helps to give some overarching quality guidelines that I consider incredibly important for a healthy lifestyle.