Clean Eating U: A Beginners Path to Healthier Food Choices

Explore whether this course helps you navigate confusing labels and choose healthier, plant-based options from granola to yogurt by understanding sugar, sodium, preservatives, and processing.

Explore clean eating as a flexible approach that emphasizes where food comes from, how it is grown or raised, and eating more fresh all-natural foods.

Discover what to eat on a clean eating plan, including fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, optional organic dairy and healthy fats, while avoiding heavily processed foods.

Learn how to navigate grocery store labels, distinguish health claims from marketing buzz, and choose clean, affordable ingredients that support a healthier, leaner, more energetic you.

Understand how convenience and processed foods shape American eating, spot healthy versus pretenders in frozen meals, and read labels for lean protein, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats.

Explore the Nova classification of foods from unprocessed to ultra processed, with real examples and a hands-on activity interpreting nutrition labels to distinguish processed from ultra processed.

Discover five common food labels and third-party certifications, including USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project, Fair Trade Certified, Certified Humane Raised and Handled, and the Heart Healthy label.

Explore freshness by growing in your own backyard or shopping within 100 miles at farmer's markets, comparing certified organic, pesticide-free, and conventional produce while noting GMOs and fertilizers.

Discover how CSA produce delivers ultra-fresh, flavorful vegetables through farm subscriptions, and compare with grocery store options on freshness, seasonality, and organic choices like the clean 15 and dirty dozen.

Frozen fruits and vegetables retain nutrients and can outperform fresh when flash frozen at peak ripeness; avoid frozen vegetables with sauces, and choose low-sodium canned options, rinsing to reduce sodium.

Explore what constitutes a whole grain, its nutrient-rich bran and germ, how fiber slows sugar release to sustain fullness and energy, and examples like barley and oats.

Explore amaranth, barley, and buckwheat as nutritious grains: amaranth provides gluten-free protein rich in lysine; barley offers high fiber that helps lower cholesterol; buckwheat's soluble fiber aids blood sugar control.

Explore corn’s global versatility, from sweet, dent, and flint varieties to uses in food and industry, while examining GMO concerns and organic options for cleaner eating.

Explore millet, oats, and quinoa as ancient, gluten-free grains rich in fiber and minerals, with quinoa offering quick cooking and complete protein.

Explore rye and wheat basics, including rye's winter growth and nutrients like manganese and fiber, wheat's gluten role, and listening to your body's needs.

Explore the global role of rice as a staple, its varieties and processing from brown to white, and how arsenic concerns influence safe consumption and dietary choices.

Wild rice isn't actually rice; it grows in water and has a similar flavor. It has more protein, fiber, iron, and copper, and can blend with other grains.

Explain why traditional semolina pasta acts as a sugar bomb and advocate 100 percent whole grain, unenriched options, with whole wheat, spelt, brown rice, buckwheat, and chickpea pasta.

Explore whole wheat, graham flour, rye, spelt, durum, and gluten-free flours, with substitution tips like 25 percent less liquid for spelt.

Learn what to look for when buying bread: avoid GMO corn/soy and enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup, and colorings; choose organic 100% whole wheat or bake your own.

Explore legumes like beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, and peanuts, rich in protein, fiber, iron, and magnesium with low fat and no cholesterol. Discover their versatility in clean eating and cuisines.

Discover how beans deliver soluble and insoluble fiber for fullness and digestive health, and how to use beans in clean eating with dried, canned, or fresh varieties.

Discover how peas, lentils, and peanuts boost health with fiber-rich lentils, minerals and B vitamins, and versatile uses from sides and soups to peanut butter and snacks.

Learn to build a clean eating emergency tool kit with three fast meals you can make in 20 minutes, using staples like brown rice pasta, beans, tortillas, spinach, and shrimp.

Explores the nutritional benefits and processing of soybeans, contrasts Asian and Western soy use, and guides choosing processed soy products like tofu, miso, and tempeh in a clean eating plan.

Explore chicken labeling and the meanings of natural and free range, plus issues like salt injections and deceptive practices under USDA rules to help you choose cleaner poultry.

Explore poultry labels like pesticide free, 100 per cent vegetarian diet, no added hormones, antibiotic free, organic, and pastured, and learn how certification and farm practices affect quality.

Explore heritage poultry and exotic labels such as certified humane and welfare-approved standards to guide healthier meat choices.

Explore beef choices and labels, from organic grass-fed to grass-fed and conventional, and learn how nutrition, omega-3s, vitamins, hormones, and cost shape health, welfare, and sustainability.

Explore how beef is produced under organic and conventional systems, including the USDA National Organic Program, grass-fed versus grain-finished diets, antibiotics, hormones, and labeling distinctions.

Explore pasture-raised, grass-fed beef and why it beats industrially raised meat, highlighting omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and environmental benefits, with tips to find wild beef online and locally.

Explore how modern pork production has transformed pork into a leaner meat. Learn about growth promoters and antibiotics used in production and challenge traditional beliefs about pork fat.

Discover how pork is produced with antibiotics and other growth promoting additives like paleo, and how heritage pork from outdoor-raised breeds differs in flavor and price.

Learn about organic pork, nitrate-free bacon and sausages, and why nitrates form nitrosamines; discover how to identify nitrate-free labels and homemade options.

Discover mason jar meals for clean eating lunches, featuring a Mediterranean garbanzo beans salad with vinaigrette, vegetables, and feta that stay portable and microwave-friendly.

Explore seafood's role in human health, highlighting omega-3s, protein, and B vitamins, while weighing mercury risks and sustainable choices like wild salmon, oysters, trout, and perch.

Explore clean eating seafood options, ranking sardines, clams, tilapia, shrimp, and striped bass for omega-3s, B12, iron, and selenium, while noting mercury levels and farm-raised sourcing.

Explore which seafood choices support health and which to avoid, balancing omega-3s, niacin, selenium, and mercury or sodium risks from tuna, anchovies, halibut, cod, and lobster.

Assess why seafood is risky, such as imported farmed shrimp with antibiotics and toxins, and high mercury in shark, swordfish, bluefin tuna; wild caught shrimp is preferred.

Discover why seafood is essential, three weekly servings, fatty fish like salmon and sardines, omega-6 to omega-3 balance, mercury considerations, and the role of fish oil with seafood.

Explore offal's global appeal and nutrition, highlighting liver's high protein, vitamins, and copper, plus dishes like liver and onions, pâté, and haggis.

Explore offal options like tripe, heart, and tongue and their nutrient profiles. Calcium, zinc, selenium, and protein are highlighted, with stews and low-and-slow methods to tenderize heart and tongue.

Discover lamb as a nutritious, protein-rich option within a diverse range of meats, highlighting its vitamin and mineral profile, omega-3 fatty acids, and benefits of grass-fed, organic lamb.

Explore venison and bison as lean, iron-rich exotic meats. Learn to pan fry venison with a fat source and compare their iron and B vitamins to beef.

Compare farmed and wild duck varieties, including Peking and Mallard, with fat differences and Chinese preparations. Note rabbit's lean, high-protein profile and eco-friendly sourcing.

Discover goat meat, a lean red meat with fat like chicken and rich in B vitamins, zinc, iron, and phosphorus, often curry-spiced to diversify your diet.

Learn how to choose fats by comparing omega-3, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated fats with saturated fats. Explore evidence on saturated fat and heart disease and olive oil and trans fats.

Compare traditional fats and clean eating oils, such as cold pressed extra virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil, and learn label terms like unrefined, virgin, refined, and hydrogenated trans fats.

Discover dairy options from raw milk to organic full-fat milk, note fat is good for health, and learn how yogurt with probiotics supports immune health.

Explore probiotics and yogurt choices, focusing on full-fat and Greek/European styles, mindful sugar, and cleaner ingredients; compare real versus processed cheese and non-dairy substitutes.

Explore egg varieties, sizes, and colors, and learn that shell color does not affect nutrition. Understand egg grading (AA, A, B) and labels pasture raised, cage free, and free range.

Explore egg labels from certified organic to omega-3 enriched, and learn how they reflect farming practices, nutrition, cholesterol concerns, and the egg's role as a 75-calorie, protein-rich staple.