When you decide you want to clean up your diet, the first step is cutting out the junk. Then you realize there are other steps that involve planning, shopping and cooking. Even if you love pursuing the health food store, there are only so many hours in the day (and you’re still trying to figure out what oat groats are).
Registered Nurse Abigail Keeso and her web designer boyfriend Christopher Hopkins are much more than a cute couple. They’ve found a way to bring their talents together to make the That Clean Life web based app, which launched on January 1st this year.
Abigail expressed tremendous gratitude for Christopher’s talents and told us that she thought it was time to take the business leap with “no mortgage and no kids.” They certainly have amped up their responsibilities but Abigail took the time to let us in on what clean living is really all about (and it doesn’t even involve the hokey pokey).
As a registered nurse and clean living devotee, do you encourage Christopher to eat clean?
I get him on board 80% of the time. I don’t believe you have to be perfect.
Did you ever have a dirty lifestyle that led to this clean revolution?
In my first year of University, I put on a bit of weight and became really obsessed with my weight. I was dieting and depriving and starving. I had to have kidney surgery and I realized I didn’t want to hate my body. I wanted to be healthy. Clean eating made sense to me. I started to eat clean and figure out delicious recipes. The weight fell off effortlessly and I didn’t crash. Even my family thought I was totally different!
No more hanger?
It doesn’t need to be hard. You don’t need to diet. There are so many gimmicks. It’s simple: eat healthy and exercise.
There can be some confusion when it comes to the terms “clean eating.” How do you define this?
I consider it to be whole, real foods. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, organic meat. I feel it’s important to be gluten free and dairy free. Those are the two things I cut out that really changed me.
As the recipe designer, how do you get your inspiration?
I am cooking and photographing 1 or 2 recipes a day. I actually get inspiration from unhealthy recipes. I challenge myself to clean it up by swapping unhealthy ingredients. Milk or cream becomes cashew milk or cashew cream. There have been some pretty epic fails, which can be a bummer!
No one said creativity was easy! We have to say we love the grocery list, which takes your app one step beyond meal planning.
We add recipes every week and plans every month. We want people to have fun planning their meals! It takes out all the guesswork.
What is the difference between the basic $9 a month plan and the premium plan?
Three one on one nutritional consultations with me! I love doing this, because everybody has different food and financial restraints. One size fits all doesn’t work for everyone and I can help the user to use the app for their lifestyle.
Have you been surprised at the response, or did you feel that there was a market all along?
We tested our philosophy with eBooks. The response has been very overwhelming! We launched on January 1st and we are always growing. It isn’t perfect but we are working to make it better every day.
What would you do with your free time if you no longer had to write a grocery list?
Keen to give your body a spring clean this year, but don’t want to give up your tasty meals? Us too. The 21-Day Eat Clean Challenge is designed for health-conscious foodies like you. Sign up now to start May 4th!
