How To Simplify Your Clean Eating Meal Plans

Since I’ve recently moved, it has caused me to focus on re-filling my cabinets. We moved 1,000 miles and couldn’t bring things that were in the refrigerator or foods that were opened. It’s a shame to have to waste food, but it would spoil in the back of a U-Haul truck.

I’m always wanting to start eating healthier and I took this chance to try to improve my diet. Being new empty-nesters, my husband and I both wanted to lose weight and get better nutrition. I decided to work towards eating real food. We certainly ate too many processed foods, even though we didn’t realize it.

Eating real food means that I can’t easily eat out or order take-out. Real food is hard to find in many categories. Nice soft bread isn’t real food, because of all the additives, preservatives, and other chemicals. But, there are organic breads that list ingredients that are whole.

Other foods are easier to find, because I just have to look in the produce isle, the meat and fish section, and some frozen foods. Because it’s easier to prepare meals with some foods that are processed, new recipes are now necessary.

I love cooking and am excited to improve my diet, and hopefully, my health. I have a few cookbooks that include healthy recipes, so I’m trying those. These have helped us enjoy some delicious meals and snacks.

To continue eating whole foods I must be intentional. Planning ahead is necessary. Living simply means not wasting food. When I don’t plan meals, there are always ingredients or leftovers that end up being wasted. In this economy, wasting food is just throwing money down the toilet.

My meal planning begins with finding meals/recipes for three days. In the past, I always planned seven days worth of meals. When I purchased food for seven days, some things would go bad before we could eat them. Purchasing only three days of food is saving me money.

If you want to try to simplify your meal plans there are many ways to do it. One of my favorite ways to begin is to get inspired. I do a google search to look for whole food recipes. Keywords that can be used include: whole foods, clean eating, and real food. Here are a few examples:

• Taste of Home
• Green Healthy Cooking
• The Clean Eating Couple

Many articles online can have misleading text. Although the article may say whole foods, they may sometimes share recipes or links that lead to meals that include processed ingredients. I love the helpful processed ingredients, like cream of mushroom soup, but it isn’t a whole food. So, if a recipe calls for a canned soup, it would have to be altered (to make it a clean food). I prefer to just find a recipe that is good to go. That’s part of the simple living hack.

Making your own bread could be a good way to eat clean, but some ingredients are not exactly healthy. If you eat gluten, it’s important to use organic flour. Wheat may have been sprayed with pesticides before it was ground into flour. I’ve been buying organic sprouted bread in the freezer section of our grocery store.

I keep a loaf in the freezer and only take out what I need for a meal. This bread doesn’t have preservatives so the freezer keeps it fresh. I don’t buy all organic food, but organic bread has natural ingredients.

Whether you find new recipes or adjust your favorites, following a simple meal plan can make eating clean so much easier. Don’t feel like you have to be perfect. Try to have three meals planned and jump in. Cutting out sugar and processed food offers the possibility of eating food that is real and good.

It may be faster to go through a fast-food drive thru but, serving your family delicious, simple, and clean meals can make a great difference. If you carefully plan your meals you’ll find that there are whole foods at a variety of prices. Buying seasonal produce and checking all the grocery stores and farmer’s markets for the cheapest prices can help.

Living simply, while eating real food, is not going to necessarily take the least amount of time. But, cutting out unnecessary ingredients is important to me. Is this important to you? Please share below some of your best ideas for living simply with a clean diet.

@2025, copyright Lisa Ehrman

‘

Author Profile

Lisa Ehrman

Lisa has been blogging since 2013, and loves sharing resources and ideas for living a simple life. To get free printables, bonus words, and more - sign up for the newsletter.

Latest entries

• GiveawaysJuly 19, 2026Summer Bathroom Refresh Giveaway from Delilah Home
• GiveawaysJuly 16, 2026Sip Sip Hooray! Giveaway Hop
• GiveawaysJuly 13, 2026Winner’s Choice: August New Games & Puzzles Giveaway
• FinancesJuly 13, 2026How to Budget Without Financial Anxiety Taking Over