How To Get Organized To Eat Clean

From the Desk of Clearissa Coward’s Command Center/Divinely Organized

How To Get Organized To Eat Clean

Monday Memories

Last week I shared with you how I had been living like a hermit and how I had gained 17lbs sitting at my computer day and night. Aside from the weight gain, once I stopped going to going to the gym, I also put eating healthy on the back burner as well. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my southern roots comfort food and will have it ocassionally but on the regular, I think/no I know I should infuse my diet with some healthy eatting as well.

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With that said, and with it being the perfect season to include fresh veggies and fruits into my diet, I thought I would share with you,  my attempt to get organized in order to live a healthier life. I am beginning with trying to eat cleaner (again) for a bit and hoping it will carry over into my life pattern and become my norm (again). I am always a work in progress. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-meat, but I am pro-health and I am at an age where I have to help my body along in the endeavor to remain healthy.

With that said, I have embarked on changing my eating habits. And I’ll bet you did not realize it, because I did not, but that requires a bit of organization if you do not want to be defeated before you begin. Also, eatting healthy can also be costly, so I am trying to get organized to make this change in an organized and economical way.

I began my organization in my pantry. Although, I could not very well throw out all of the cookies and chips, I could and did place them on higher shelves, out of reach shelves and replaced the regular chips with totally natural ones from my local Whole Foods. I moved stuff around to make the items that are acceptable accessible. Besides, I have grandkids who expect to find goodies when they visit MiMi, and I try to never disappoint which means I have to keep snacks on hand. 🙂 I just have to be strong and not eat them everyday. They can no longer be my go-to snacks.

My cabinets were already organized. Canned goods are not an issue so there was little or nothing to do there except take inventory to determine if I needed to add any items before winter sets in. You know like soups and the like, but I decided to even make my own soups from scratch for the most part, but I

will always have a few cans of chicken noodle soap on hand. It’s a quick lunch in a pinch. Like today for instance, we were out of town this past weekend so I did not get to food prep for the week. So to break up the salads and fresh fruits  for lunch this week, I brought a can of soup today. Sometimes you just want something hot…right? Therefore, as I said, there was little to do in the cabinets.

The refrigerator and freezer, on the other hand, were a totally different story. First I organized the freezer. I gave each category of meat a shelf of its own. I have a poultry shelf, a pork shelf, a beef shelf and a seafood shelf. There is also a miscellaneous shelf and the frozen vegetable and fruit drawer.  After organizing, I made a list of the frozen items I would need from the market to facilitate my new way of eating. Such as, frozen fruits for my smoothies and seafood to replace some of those red meat meals. Although I am not eating any meat 3 or 4 days during the week, I will have either fish or chicken on the weekends so I needed to pick up some of that. I made my shopping list and headed out to the market.

Once back the hard job began, cleaning out the fridge. The potato salad had to go, as did the sausage and bacon (I placed both of those in the freezer). All really good leftovers had to go as well because we all know that anything that is really, really good cannot be healthy…right? 🙂 Just kidding, a little. At any rate, anything tempting to the palate had to be either frozen or disposed of and replaced with – the good for you stuff.

Note: Ignore the beer and the bottle of wine, I can’t freeze it and I could not just throw it away. After all, the wine was a Christmas present. But I am working around that because it is not allowed on this journey with me.I want  you to focus on the Almond Milk, fresh kale, lettuce and fresh pink grapefruit in the mason jar. 🙂 Okay, a glass of wine is good for you…right? 🙂

So now the fridge is clean, I wiped everything down while I was at it. Added some bins from the dollar store to keep like items together and I’m all ready and “organized” for clean eating. There is kale, mushrooms, and lettuce and I have fresh spinach in the sink soaking in a vinegar and water bath. There are cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, oranges and grapefruits on the counter waiting to be a part of my smoothies and/or some other recipe I find here and there. I am all set!

I just need to remember, as any organizer would, to prepare at night as best I can so as not to feel rushed and overwhelmed in the mornings. That would just push me to give up and I do not intend to do that. I will prepare my snacks, salads and smoothies/green drinks the night before. I think I can do this. I know going to the gym 3 days a week is motivating me to eat healthier as well. I am also tracking what I eat with my Fitbit app.

My Fitbit app has come in handy in other ways as well. It reminds me to get up every hour at work and walk around. It was aggravating at first. Especially when I was in the middle of a project. But now, if I am not in a meeting, I just get up and make a circle from my office through the lobby and back. I was surprised at how alert it makes me feel. Little changes, right?

My Fitbit app also tracks my sleep pattern and my goal is to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Of course I don’t always make it. But my Fitbit app reminds me at 10:00pm to wind down and get ready for bed. It’s like the app holds me accountable and I need that.

Note: This is not an affiliation with Fitbit. I simply use it and like it.

What about you? Do you have tips on living a cleaner life? If so, share them with me. I need all of the help and encouragement I can get. Wont you join me and let’s get organized to get healthy together!

Healthy life…Here I/we come!!

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Until next time…I remain in my Element – God Bless!

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