Clean Eating Boot Camp: Week 9

Note: You can sign up for the Clean Eating Boot Camp here, completely free!

This week, we’re going to re-commit ourselves to the practice of both diary-keeping and planning.

Seasoning fresh cod with a homemade old bay blend

I’m going to spend the week introducing you to making your own clean condiments – or, at least, finding clean versions of your favorites – and whichever one you picked, you’re going to commit yourself to making it once I’ve shared the recipe.

I asked you, a couple of weeks ago, to plot out your nearest farmer’s market and how to get there, because in a few weeks you’re going to actually go and – gasp – pick something out! You’re free to go now, but most cities don’t have year-round farmer’s markets – while I’m lucky to have markets all over my city year-round, the farmer’s market in my hometown in Indiana is only from April-November – so I’d rather wait until we can all partake together.

The point of the boot camp isn’t just to tell you “Don’t eat this!” or push a bunch of weird products on you – if anything, it’s to encourage you to be adventurous with things you’ve never tried, experiment with different tastes and textures, learn how to mix herbs and spices, and develop a better sense of competency in the kitchen. These are characteristics that you’ll need to help you on your own quest to be a clean eater. Learn to blanch, learn to braise, learn to pan-sear without burning. You can roast every vegetable you want, but you can’t roast everything, and you can’t eat that way forever; do you know how to do anything else? (Hell, is “roast” your polite euphemism for “I lowkey burned it, but I’m gonna call it something classy?” because…. let’s just say I have friends who “roast” things. I just hope your “roast” isn’t like theirs.)

This week, we’re going to plan. For real.

A couple of years ago, I made this clean eating chart. It is blank, and it is awesome. Download this chart, print it out, and plan out your meals. If you’re a snacker, don’t worry – there’s space in there for you to include and plan out your snacks, as well.

Try to map out the next week’s worth of meals on your chart. If you haven’t done your week’s worth of shopping yet, then map out what you want for dinner, then use that to create your shopping list and get shopping for the week. If you’ve already shopped, then use this chart to write out what you’re having for the week, so you’ll know what to expect. Sometimes, knowing that you’re going home to cook something tasty and filling can help you fight the urge to snack unnecessarily.

And, if you eat something outside of what you planned for, make sure you write that on your chart, as well. This not only makes for easier diary keeping, but helps keep you accountable, too!

Tweet me (@bgg2wl) or instagram (also @bgg2wl) me your completed charts and meals! Use the hashtag #CEBootCamp and share it with others! Happy planning!