How to Eat Clean Step-by-Step

Over the next three weeks we will provide expert guidance on how to eat clean. Today, we focus on evaluating food sources.

Step 1: Evaluate Food Sources

The first thing people ask whenever we talk about better health is where to buy fresh food. The importance of finding fresh food cannot be understated in the state of our industrialized society today. The food industry has over-processed the soil in our nation and much of the ground does not have the soil vitality to sustain healthy fruits and vegetables.  But before I go into all of that, let me tell you how I discovered that veganism was NOT for me.

So, before I could find solutions for my husband who was suffering from symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, I had to find solutions to what I was going through.  I was struggling to get up every morning, feeling sluggish, my brain felt foggy every morning. 

I was devastated and overwhelmed by having to take care of three children under three on top of caregiving for my husband.  Having to help him walk to the bathroom was TOUGH!  And my back was already hurting for the past three years because of my twin pregnancy.  My foot pain would not leave so walking was hard on my body.  I worked in a place with basically cement floors with a little linoleum on them.  Meanwhile I wasn't getting enough nutrients to heal and recover from all the pain I experienced from my c-section.

Fresh Food is Nutrient Rich

Fruits and vegetables are supposed to be viable meaning they are intended to deposit certain nutrients and minerals into our bodies. They are the main way to get vital nutrients from the sun into our bodies that help our bodies execute vital functions to sustain our lives. Our bodies sustaining our lives means our bodies were created to execute the basic functions of hydrating, cleansing, replenishing, and healing.

Life was so difficult, but in the midst of all of that, we had all of our needs met.  I was not content though, I could not accept that this would be my life.  So, I worked to find solution after solution to help my husband walk better and get his independence back that would not help.  Finally, the epiphany was, I needed to change myself before I could help anybody.  The solution I experimented with on and off was veganism, particularly eating raw food.  And it worked! I felt extremely better after eating raw for just 3 days.  Then I tried it for a week and felt great, but I needed more.

I hope you can see through my story why the sources of our food are of vital importance to help our bodies do the basics. It is simple science that just adjusting our food sources can fix. Great food sources can include farmer’s markets and farms of all kinds. We have provided a great resource to find local sources of great foods in various counties in Maryland. If you do not live in Maryland, you can execute a search for local farmer’s markets and farms in your area. Also, look for fresh food shipping options online.

Places to Find Fresh Food

One day I found fresh herbs and used my science background to research the best combinations.  I found guidance from a few trusted places and started trying the combinations.  With the proper guidance and education I gathered, I found a combination that I thought would help me find relief, and it worked! I combined these detoxes with the raw food recipes I was tinkering on and in 30 days, all my symptoms left!  So, I decided to go vegan.

Years later, after struggling to maintain two different types of cooking and managing allergies of of all of us, I decided I was tired of cooking and got very lazy.  Back to processed foods it was not knowing I only lived 10 minutes from a farm.  I was new to the neighborhood and a friend looked it up for me after a prayer call.  During that prayer call, another friend revealed the scripture in 1 Timothy 4:1-5 that says:

"Now the Spirit ^[a]expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, ² speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, ³ forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; ⁵ for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

A Good Servant of Jesus Christ

I Timothy 4:6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. 

I instantly became a good servant of Jesus, nourished by those words of faith of the good doctrine I just received.  I mean, it was as clear as day! I was following doctrines of demons believing that all the food we were eating were horrible and there was no hope if I had to start eating food that wasn't from the best sources.  The balance is, I would actually fear certain symptoms coming back when I would not eat as organic and that simply was not true!  1 Timothy 4:5 says "for it [every creature of God] is ^[b]sanctified by the word of God and prayer." So, I didn't have to fear eating meat and thinking symptoms were going to overtake me and I was going to feel like I felt when my body was racked with pain.

Accessible Fresh Food

So, that farm my friend found near me, sold freshly made rotisserie chicken.  And I got me one the next day and never looked back.  I never had issues with headaches or any symptoms from transitioning from being vegan to a meat eater either.  God sanctified my food as I received it with thanksgiving.  If you can's find accessible fresh food near you, you have options!  Many farms are dedicated to shipping fresh, in-season produce nationwide like Farmer Jones Farms in OH, Melissa’s Produce in CA, iHeart Fruit Box in GA, and The Fruit Guys in PA. Don’t assume you can’t afford it. Sign up for their emails and stay on the look out for coupons or sales in your inbox.