What is Clean & Hungry? HG's Real-World Approach to Clean Eating

Feb 3 2016
https://d2gtpjxvvd720b.cloudfront.net/assets/emails/question@2x-a02b76db47a4ac32799e8b19315b3cbf.png Hi Hungry Girl,

Recently, I’ve noticed the term "Clean & Hungry" on several of your recipes. Is that a reference to clean eating? What exactly does Clean & Hungry mean?

Curious about Clean Eating
https://d2gtpjxvvd720b.cloudfront.net/assets/emails/answer@2x-5ee5d524b01e4c5483f379894f2fa825.png Dear Curious,

Clean & Hungry is our real-world take on clean eating! Since I launched Hungry Girl more than 10 years ago, the recipes have evolved along with the preferences of HG readers and my own personal tastes. And now that cleaner ingredients are becoming important to everyone, it's the perfect time to incorporate clean recipes into what we do...

First, a little about clean eating, in general. While there's no official definition, clean eating tends to focus on natural whole foods: fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, natural protein, etc. What won’t you find in the clean approach to eating? Refined sugar, heavily processed food, and anything artificial. There are different degrees of clean eating... and to be honest, some approaches are a little extreme and intimidating. And while they're certainly healthier, clean ingredients alone aren't good enough for weight management. That’s where Clean & Hungry comes in...

Clean & Hungry combines the best of Hungry Girl with the best of clean eating. The Hungry Girl philosophy has always been, and will always be, all about real-world solutions; Clean & Hungry is no exception. The recipes are still very easy to make and don't call for super-obscure, hard-to-find ingredients. The portions are still huge. And, of course, they're impressive in the stats department: low in calories and starchy carbs, and high in fiber and protein. But these recipes are our healthiest ever.

So what makes a recipe Clean & Hungry? First of all, it's completely natural: made only from all-natural ingredients (like fruits and veggies) and ingredients that are readily available in all-natural varieties (like cheese and yogurt). And you won't find heavily processed ingredients in these recipes. But that’s not all...

Clean & Hungry recipes contain little to no added sugar, which means low SmartPoints® values! With lots of fruits, veggies, and lean protein -- and not a lot of added sugar or saturated fat -- these recipes work fantastically well with Weight Watchers' new SmartPoints® plan.

FYI: Not every new Hungry Girl recipe will be Clean & Hungry. There are no hard-and-fast rules in Hungryland. And there are times when we’ll want to use a Laughing Cow cheese wedge or a strip of lean bacon in a recipe. But Clean & Hungry is a fantastic way to incorporate more clean foods into your diet. So where can you find more Clean & Hungry recipes? In addition to your HG emails...

Our next book (out April 5th) is Hungry Girl Clean & Hungry: Easy All-Natural Recipes for Healthy Eating in the Real World! It features 141 incredible all-natural recipes. More than 100 of 'em are gluten-free, over 90 are vegetarian, more than 50 take no more than half an hour to make, and over 40 can be made with five ingredients or less... Ahhhhh! Click here to preorder your copy of the book, but save that order confirmation -- our preorder special is coming later this month!

Chew on this:

Today, February 3rd, is National Carrot Cake Day. Celebrate with our Carrot Cake Overnight Oats... So good!

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*The WW Points® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by Hungry Girl and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by WW International, Inc., the owner of the Points® trademark.

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Hungry Girl provides general information about food and lifestyle. This information and any linked materials are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. Click here for more information.