The Ideal Clean Eating Fridge: How to Change your fridge from a reservoir of disease-causing foods to a haven of health

Purge the Fridge!

Now that Spring is upon us it is time to clean out the garage, sweep  clear out the closets.  Though important for well-being and not turning into a hoarder, the aforementioned don’t directly affect your health.  What does?  What you eat!  Nothing affects you more than the foods/drinks that your family ingests on a daily basis.  It is cliche, but nothing is more important than your health.  We are all pursuing different careers and life goals but one commonality we all desire: a long life with a functioning mind and body.  So let’s create an clean eating fridge (which incidentally is an ideal ketogenic diet fridge).

As we have discussed the naturopathic mentality is that most of the cardiovascular, metabolic, metastatic, and chronic diseases that afflict us may be avoided and even treated by clean eating, natural remedies, sensible exercise, and avoidance of foodborne and airborne toxins.

{Read our articles on natural remedies for ear infections, UTIs, and Bad Breath.}

A major leap in that direction is removing from your kitchens foods that directly oppose longevity of life.  So let’s get these guys out!  So let’s purge from your fridge items laden with following:

• Refined sugar
• Artificial sweeteners
• GMO corn & soy
• Food dyes {Read our article on food dyes.}
• Growth Hormones (rBGH/rBST)
• Preservatives (like Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, the Nitrates)
• MSGs
• Even flour.

Wow! I know you must be thinking.  “What exactly am I going to have in my fridge?!”   Well let’s first talk about what we are taking out…then let’s image an ideal “clean eating” fridge.

Items to Purge

Beverages {Read our article on toxic beverages.}

• All sodas, pre-packaged sweet teas, energy & exercise drinks
• All pre-made juices (apple, orange, kid’s juices)
• Frozen treats
• Beer, wine coolers, and other alcohol

Dairy

• Conventional Skim, 1%, or 2% milk {Sugar, Antibiotics, rBGH Hormones}
• Margarine {Tranfats}
• Flavored cream cheese {Sugar, Food Dyes}
• Conventional ice creams {Sugar, Food Dyes, Artificial Sweeteners}
• Low-fat sour cream {Sugar}
• Low fat and/or flavored yogurts {Sugar, Food Dyes, Artificial Sweeteners, High Fructose Corn Syrup}
• Processed Cheeses (Cheese sticks, cheese slices, etc.)

Meat

• Commercial eggs
• Processed meats (hot dogs, all sausages, deli meats, most forms of bacon) {Sodium Nitrates}
• Any ready-to-eat meals and frozen dinners (Hot Pockets, Burritos, Breakfast Biscuits) {Sodium Nitrates}
• Frozen breaded or fried fish sticks, chicken nuggets.  {Tranfats, Sodium Nitrates, Processed Meats}

Condiments

• Honey Mustard {Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners, MSGs}
• Mayonnaise {GMO Soybeans, GMO Vegetable Oils}
• Most Ketchup {High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar}
• All Creamy Salad Dressings {GMO Soybeans, MSGs, Sugars, Vegetable Oils

Produce

• Keep all produce but ideally purchase Dirty Dozen ones organic or local. {Read Dirty Dozen article.}

Remember Naturopathic Earth‘s motto: “If God didn’t make it…don’t eat it.”  Can you find any of these foods in nature? Does Cookie Dough Ice Cream or breaded fish hang from trees?  No, they have all been processed from a once natural item to a Frankenfood.  And how do they accomplish this?  By adding toxic fillers, dyes, preservatives, and alike.  Goodbye, toxins…hello new fridge!

The Ideal “Eat Clean”Fridge

Beverages

• Freshly made green juices. {Smoothies vs. Juices: Which is better?”}
• Homemade smoothies {Article on ideal smoothie.}
• Homemade Fruit-infused water (lemons, strawberries, mint, cucumbers, etc.)
• Unsweetened Green Tea

Dairy

• Full-fat Cow &  Goat’s Milk, preferably unpasteurized locally-purchased or Organic
• Cottage Cheese
• Organic Butter or Ghee
• Full-fat unflavored Greek Yogurt {See Article on Greek Yogurt.}
• Full-fat Sour Cream & Cream Cheese
• Natural cheeses (preferably those that are fermented, See Article)
• Ice Cream (If Dairy then full-fat premium ones (Ben & Jerry’s); if non-dairy opt for Coconut Milk.)

Meats

• Pastured or organic eggs
• Locally-grown or Organic Beef, Chicken, or Pork
• Wild-caught Fish (See Article)
• Nitrate-free bacon and deli meat, sausages (still limit the latter)

 Condiments

• Mustard
• Salsa
• Ketchup (Use sparingly and make sure doesn’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup)
• Mayonnaise (Use sparingly or purchase Paleo-aligned Mayo made from Avocado seen below.)
• Olive Oil, Avocado Oil,  or Vinegar salad dressings (All others use sparingly)

Others

• Hummus (Read article on hummus particulars)
• Olives
• Guacamole

Produce

• All fruits & vegetables are fine.  Buy organic or local the Dirty Dozen. The rest purchase conventional.
• In all truth, the majority of your fridge space should be devoted to produce.  Even the FDA plate will attest to that. 

It will take time and effort to implement the ideal “Clean Eating” fridge.  Don’t be hard on yourself.  Now I know it will be difficult to implement this in one day, but remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day after all.  But transforming your fridge from “fake to fresh” will make you feel better in the short run and live longer in the long one.

For example, I have seen first hand the effect of taking out food dyes from an overactive kid’s diet and how it changed him for the better.  (The Internet is full of these stories.)  Instead of a life of taking psychotropic mind-altering medications with adverse side-effects the child will be now unencumbered of them after implementing some fundamental “eat clean” principles.

Always go naturopathic before allopathic (conventional route).  There is no harm in it…Exhaust all natural remedies and if they don’t work go to pharmaceutical intervention.  And even when taking medication for any remedy still “eat clean,” exercise moderately, biohack, sleep well, and keep away from the toxins.  It will only make the drugs work better.

Now get to work…purge the fridge!! You won’t regret it.

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A. Gregory Luna (call me Gregory)

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