Below you will learn all about clean eating and will find a printable grocery list to make your shopping trips easier. Switching to cleaner foods can improve your family’s mood, immunity, attention span and overall health.

Switching to cleaner foods was the first step on my real food journey. Reading labels and learning all about food was a lot of work at first. Having a clean eating grocery list would have made shopping so much simpler. One of the things I love to do is share all of the information I have been learning, that’s why I wanted to create the ultimate clean eating shopping list to share with you. But before we get into it, first let’s talk about what clean eating is and why it is important.d why it is important.
What is Clean Eating?
Clean eating is a way of eating that chooses the cleanest, highest-quality options instead of a processed, packaged, or cheapest option. One example of this is to choose a block of cheese over a bag of pre-shredded. Most pre-shredded cheeses contain chemicals or anti-caking agents but if you choose a block of cheese and grate it yourself you can avoid the harmful additives. To take this another step further you could purchase an organic, grass-fed block of cheese. This would ensure the dairy has fewer chemicals and more nutrients.
You want to choose foods that are free from toxins and unnecessary chemicals. This means choosing foods that are free from artificial dyes, preservatives, fillers, additives, processed sugars, and seed oils. Clean eating has many meanings and levels. It can be as easy as choosing the organic option of produce or packaged goods. It can also mean choosing more whole, real foods, like meat, dairy, eggs, fruits, and vegetables instead of pre-packaged and processed foods. Lastly, you can get to know local farmers and choose foods that are clean but also cleaner for the environment because they do not have to travel as far. For this article, we will mostly discuss clean eating as a way to eat more whole, real foods and choose more minimally processed options.
Why is Clean Eating Important?
Food additives, hormones, genetically modified ingredients, pesticides, and herbicides have been linked to health issues like: eczema, ADHD, autism, epilepsy, IBS, infertility, and cancer. Unnecessary chemicals put extra stress on the body, overwhelming it, which can lead to increased health issues. Clean eating is especially important for children and babies because of their small size. An over-accumulation of toxins in a child’s body can burden it, affecting growth, anddevelopment and even leading to disease. An example that is rampant in our food system and especially in children’s processed foods is artificial food dyes. In studies, a popular dye, Red 40, is linked to cancer and increased inflammation along with DNA damage, hyperactivity, and allergies. This dye is present in so many snacks, even ones that claim to be healthy or made from fruit.
Easy Clean Eating Food Swaps
There are so many ways that you can make easy clean eating swaps to what you are already buying. There are even cleaner processed food items that you can add to you clean eating grocery list. Don’t feel discouraged or overwhelmed, once you have all of the information your clean eating grocery shopping experience will be so easy. Make sure to do research (like download the clean eating shopping list below) and flip packages over to read the ingredient label. To get started, below is a list of simple swaps but if you would like to learn more I go into lots of detail in my Clean Eating E-Book. You can purchase it here.
- Eggs – swap conventional for organic, pasture raised, try to source from a local farmer if possible
- Dairy – swap conventional for organic and/or grass-fed, low-temp pasteurized, take it even further and purchase local raw milk
- Cheese – swap pre-shredded, bagged for an organic and/or raw block of cheese that you shred at home
- Meat – swap conventional packaged meats for organic and/or grass-fed beef. pasture raised chicken and pork, take it even further and find a local farmer who offers true grass-fed, grass finished meats
- Fruits and Veggies – swap conventional for organic, if possible shop at a farmers market and get to know a farmer who uses organic practices
Ingredients to Avoid in Processed Foods
As mentioned above, when shopping for a clean-eating grocery list, it is important to read ingredient labels. Healthy claims may be made on the front of a food package to draw your attention, but when you flip it over, you may find artificial food dyes, processed sugars, seed oils, and unnecessary chemicals. These are all ingredients that you want to avoid because they are linked to inflammation and disease.
- Avoid artificial sweeteners and processed sugars like: aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, cane or beet sugar, choose options that contain: organic cane sugar, raw honey, organic maple syrup or organic coconut sugar
- Avoid artificial food dyes like: red 40, blue 1, yellow 5, find options that replace artifical dyes with natural options like: turmeric or spirulina powder
- Avoid processed seed oils like: canola oil, sunflower oil, cotton seed and corn oil, instead look for brands that use: avocado oil, olive oil, butter or tallow. Below I have included a list of healthy oil swaps for your clean eating grocery list.

Where to Shop for Clean Foods
You can find clean brands and options at most grocery stores but I choose to shop at Whole Foods, online health stores like Azure Standard, farmers markets, and directly from local farmers. Whole Foods offers more clean brands than most grocery stores and they also offer local options. If there isn’t a Whole Foods Market in your area you can talk with your grocery store manager and ask them to carry specific brands or organic produce. I have done this before and had lots of success. Another great place to shop for clean foods, specifically packaged items is online stores like Azure Standard, Thrive Market, and Vitacost. It is important to read ingredient labels when shopping from these stores but you can save money by buying in bulk. Lastly, shop local farmers markets and farmers. Building relationships with farmers and understanding their practices can be so beneficial. You can buy eggs, meat, fruits, and vegetables all locally with a little bit of research. Ask around on Facebook groups or visit the Westin A.Price Foundations page to speak to local chapter leaders who can help you find farmers. It may seem overwhelming, so start slowly, but once you have established a relationship and know who to trust, buying locally can be convenient and easy.
Printable Clean Eating Grocery List
Download a free printable version of the clean eating grocery list. Just fill out the below form and you will gain access to your automatic download. The list includes the best option to purchase for different food categories, a list of clean brands to try and ingredients in packaged and processed foods to avoid. To dive more into clean eating you can also check out my clean eating e-book. The clean eating e-book goes into more detail about each category of food and also includes an extensive list of clean brands to try.

I so agree with this post on clean and real food. It’s my passion too. Thanks for sharing this important information!
Heidi, so good to hear from a kindred spirit!