Clean Plates Makes Healthy Eating Easier

Clean Plates Makes Healthy Eating Easier

Mon 20 Feb 2012

Story by Jared Koch
 

Healthy eating doesn't have to be hard.



That's the guiding principle at the heart of Clean Plates, a company I founded three years ago as an extension of my work with clients (I'm a nutritional consultant). Launched as a Zagat-style guidebook to healthy, sustainable and delicious dining options, today we're that and much more -- a full-fledged media company with a series of books, websites and (as of last month) an iPhone app.

Our goal is to meet people where they are, literally (the app, and even our books, which are portable by design) and figuratively. I'm a huge believer in bio-individuality, which basically means that there's no one right way to eat; different bodies thrive on different diets. With this in mind, at Clean Plates we create content and services for eaters of all stripes, carnivores, vegans, those on gluten-free diets, and everyone in between.

Whether your idea of delicious is a burger or a kale smoothie, we'll help you make the healthiest choice possible- highlighting restaurants whose burgers are made from pasture-raised, hormone- and antibiotic -free cows, for example, and juice bars that use organic produce and natural sweeteners.

In addition to helping you find restaurants that use better-for-you ingredients and healthier cooking methods, Clean Plates is dedicated to providing news and tips to make healthy eating a breeze. On our website, you'll find recipes, profiles of forward-thinking food companies, and more, plus blogs for the cities we cover -- Manhattan, Brooklyn, and LA, as well as Clean Plates National (we're expanding to more cities in the coming year - let me know if you'd like to see Clean Plates in your town!). Again, the goal is to make healthy eating as easy- and enjoyable- as possible.

I really do believe that you can eat healthy, sustainably produced food that's good for your body, good for the planet, and tastes great, too. Now, if you'll excuse me -- I'm off to eat one of those hormone-free burgers I mentioned.

About the author: Founder of Clean Plates, Jared Koch graduated pre-med from the University of Michigan and completed graduate work at the Global Institute for Alternative Medicine and Institute for Integrative Nutrition with certification by Columbia University, Teachers College. He is a nutritional consultant and health coach certified by the Teachers College of Columbia University, the Global Institute of Alternative Medicine, and the Institute for IntegrativeNutrition.