Clean Plates is a restaurant review system designed by Jared Koch (pre-med graduate of University of Michigan, by the way!). It covers restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin to help people find healthy, sustainable food that tastes great. Sustainable farms rely on people power instead of heavy machinery, and depend on nature instead of manmade chemicals for soil fertility and pest management. The restaurants are organic and non-GMO. Besides a restaurant review system, there are also a healthy eating tips and Jared has a cookbook.
The five precepts of Clean Plates from the website are right in line with Real Food:
- Embrace bio-individuality: Every body is different — which means there’s more than one right way to eat. One person might thrive as a carnivore, another as a vegan. Some bodies tolerate gluten or dairy, while others don’t. Embracing healthy eating means finding the way of eating that makes your body thrive.
- Choose real food: The overwhelming majority of your diet should consist of natural, high-quality and whole foods — in other words, food that comes from nature, not factories. If you can picture a particular food item growing on a branch or sprouting in a field, then chances are, it’s “real.” (Many manufacturers misleadingly label products as “all-natural,” read the ingredients and use your own judgment to determine whether the claim is likely to be true.)
- Eat more plants: Plants are the most nutrient-dense food source and everyone would be better off if they ate more of them. When possible choose local, organic vegetables (especially leafy greens), fruits, nuts and seeds, because they suffer less nutrient loss than their long-distance counterparts, while reaping the benefits of nutrient-rich, organic soils.
- If you choose to eat animal products (see #1), consume only (a) high-quality and sustainably raised animals (ideally pasture-raised and grass-fed, but at least hormone and antibiotic-free), and do so (b) in moderation, so you’re eating smaller portions with less frequency.
- Reduce toxins: To feel better immediately, simply reduce your intake of artificial, chemical-laden, processed foods as well as sugar, caffeine and alcohol.
You can even download a free Clean Plates app. I’ll pick something to make out of Jared’s cookbook soon. Now that I have the kitchen put back together, I need to figure out where I put everything.
