What's with this eating clean??

I'm definitely not a granola-eating, organic, all-natural kind of girl. However, I recently came across the concept of clean eating and it sparked my interest for a few reasons:

* I've recently run into some minor health issues and family history has revealed some potential future issues. I am hoping eating clean will help alleviate the current issues and prevent any future issues. 

* I have always been athletic and into fitness, but have realized that diet plays a huge role in overall weight loss, weight management and health. As I get older (30 in February!!), my metabolism continues to slow down and I can't rely on just working out to keep my girlish figure :)

* I want to teach my kids how to eat healthy and make good food choices.

Starting January 1, my family will start to "eat clean" and attempt to eat food that are natural, with only ingredients we can pronounce, no preservatives and no additives. This blog will chronicle our adventures and the process it takes to change our eating habits. We definitely will not be quitting processed foods cold turkey, but will take a gradual approach. We also will not give up processed foods completely...for us, it's all about moderation! I want to aim for 75% natural, 25% not-so-natural. :)

The second part of the blog will be eating clean while saving money. I'm an avid couponer who finds a lot of great deals on processed foods. I want to see if I can get the same savings with natural foods. Eating organic and natural foods can be expensive...$5 for a gallon of organic milk, twice the cost for organic produce...I want to see if I can save as much or more money eating clean as I do eating regular and processed foods.