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What is clean eating?

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  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    sullus wrote: »
    How do you make lard at home in your kitchen?

    it is extremely easy. Render pork fat on low heat. Strain out the Cracklins/lardons. Let the remaining liquid fat solidify.

    It's just about the same process as clarifying butter.

    Huh, neat. Not like I'd ever make some, but still neat.


    Next question: Wine was mentioned. You need quite a bit of equipment to make wine that is not found in your average kitchen or needs to be made DIY. What differentiates that equipment needed for equipment to make anything else that you'd not usually make yourself?
    For example there's kits to make your own candy for sale, with all ingredients you need. Does that make candy clean?


    Also you don't seem to understand my point about 'clean'. The question is if you could replicate all the ingredients shown on a good item and make it at home. If the ingredients for a loaf of bread are flour, yeast, salt then yes, you could. If there are 10+ ingredients most of which you have no idea what they are then no, you couldn't. It's not a complicated idea but you seem to be unable to grasp it.

    Why is yeast clean? Can't really make it at home, S. cerevisiae doesn't really remain that pure if you do so, generally must be store bought.

    Is blue cheese clean?
    Cazu marzu?
    Yoghurt? Only if you make it?

    Well, for the yeast, you don't have to make it and it doesn't have to be pure - bread often tastes better when it's made from a mix of yeasts anyway.

    Yeast is in the air and on your skin. Leave out a mix of flour and water for a while, knead it occasionally with your hands - it'll start to rise and fall. Keep removing a portion and adding back in an equal portion of fresh flour and water to keep it going. Store in the fridge for longer times between 'feedings'*.

    That's your starter for bread.

    *Much better instructions in Tartine.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    I can't think how grass fed makes beef cleaner.
    It's just the meaning of the word natural. Nothing man-made is natural.

    I'm a little confused by these statements. The cattle are forced to eat grain by humans. That would seem under your terms to make grain-fed beef less clean than grass-fed beef. Unless the cattle choose to eat grain all on their own. Or if bees were to herd cattle (the way ants herd aphids) and force them to eat grain.
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    CollieFit wrote: »
    Seems we've been aware of this on 'the island' but it just hadn't appeared on my radar yet....

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/nov/25/bulletproof-coffee-is-adding-butter-to-your-morning-coffee-a-step-too-far


    "The most noticeable thing was not the taste – which was like a richer, buttery (go figure!) version of milky coffee – but the texture: in particular, the thin layer of oil that coated my lips. With each gulp, the coffee got worse – the once-uniform liquid quickly separated into a dark base topped with little droplets of yellow grease, and it was accompanied by a weird and pungent smell..."


    **gags**

    Yeah that's my reaction too...of course I drink my coffee black, and the thought of ANYTHING creamy in my coffee isn't terribly appetizing.

    But yeah this is one fad I hope dies a short, quick death. I can't possibly imagine getting well-rounded nutrition, when up to 1/3 of your daily calorie allotment is coming in the form of oil-slicked coffee.

    Same here. I think non-black coffee is nasty, but beyond that I think wasting the calories by dumping them in coffee or, as some posters claim, consuming tons of calories from coconut oil in coffee is a sad thing.

    Coconut oil is all fat, so the "tons of calories" are 9 cals per gram; in the grand scheme of my day of consuming 2,500 calories (plus whatever I burn), it is relatively insignificant.

    How many grams of coconut oil does it take before you think it's significant? My guess is that these folks don't just put in one gram.
  • Josh_lol
    Josh_lol Posts: 317 Member
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    Clean eating is where you wash your food before you eat it. Because who wants to eat dirty food?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
    edited February 2016
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    reisbaron wrote: »
    To me clean means foods that grow out of the ground, or that come from living things with faces. Not that I eat only those foods, but if I want to be satiated so I don't overindulge in junkier foods I make sure foods in those categories make up the majority of my diet.

    OK, I think I get it now. No sea vegetables, hydroponic vegetables, yeast, or salt. I can't think of anything else I consume that doesn't ultimately grow out of the ground or come from a living thing with a face. Can I have salt if it's harvested from stalagmites (because the stalagmites actually "grow" over time), and if so, is stalactite-derived salt OK--after all, the roof of a cave is still part of the ground, even if it's above your head?

    Edited to explain why stalagmite salt would be different from ordinary mined salt.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    Josh_LoL wrote: »
    Clean eating is where you wash your food before you eat it. Because who wants to eat dirty food?

    People with a vitamin B12 deficiency but an objection to intentionally eating animal products might.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    CollieFit wrote: »
    Seems we've been aware of this on 'the island' but it just hadn't appeared on my radar yet....

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/nov/25/bulletproof-coffee-is-adding-butter-to-your-morning-coffee-a-step-too-far


    "The most noticeable thing was not the taste – which was like a richer, buttery (go figure!) version of milky coffee – but the texture: in particular, the thin layer of oil that coated my lips. With each gulp, the coffee got worse – the once-uniform liquid quickly separated into a dark base topped with little droplets of yellow grease, and it was accompanied by a weird and pungent smell..."


    **gags**

    Yeah that's my reaction too...of course I drink my coffee black, and the thought of ANYTHING creamy in my coffee isn't terribly appetizing.

    But yeah this is one fad I hope dies a short, quick death. I can't possibly imagine getting well-rounded nutrition, when up to 1/3 of your daily calorie allotment is coming in the form of oil-slicked coffee.

    Same here. I think non-black coffee is nasty, but beyond that I think wasting the calories by dumping them in coffee or, as some posters claim, consuming tons of calories from coconut oil in coffee is a sad thing.

    Coconut oil is all fat, so the "tons of calories" are 9 cals per gram; in the grand scheme of my day of consuming 2,500 calories (plus whatever I burn), it is relatively insignificant.

    How many grams of coconut oil does it take before you think it's significant? My guess is that these folks don't just put in one gram.

    I do a teaspoon per day, 5g
  • nikkimendez666
    nikkimendez666 Posts: 2 Member
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    Clean eating in my opinion is having a plant-based whole food diet. No processed foods
  • sking0072
    sking0072 Posts: 9 Member
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    Raise it, kill it, butcher it. Plant it, grow it, pick it. If you want it done right, never underestimate witnessing it with your own two eyes or doing it for yourself.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    @nikkimendez666 if you have followed the thread you must know your answer is full of holes. What is a "whole food"?

    Eggs are whole but aren't plant-based.
    I imagine you'll allow grains and nuts to be shelled and hulled. How about grinding for flour? Is that much processing allowed in your plan?
    How about pressing olives for their oil?
    Drying grapes in to raisins?

    If you eat only unprocessed "whole foods" could you eat a meal of hemp seeds, raisins, and broccoli as long as they weren't mixed together?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    Jruzer wrote: »
    Two more definitions to throw into the mix.

    1. Panera has been touting their "Clean Eating" menu. They know how to make tasty food at Panera, to be sure. Here is the link to their page:
    https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/articles/what-does-eating-clean-mean.html
    “We’ve made a commitment to remove artificial additives from our menu before the end of 2016,” John says, further explaining that the pledge means taking out any artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and sweeteners from any food product made or served in a Panera Bread location. The goal: a cleaner menu.

    It seems to me that they dance around the issue. I don't disagree with the approach, by the way. I do wonder if some (many) of the self-proclaimed "clean eaters" would agree with this, or not? Is bread "clean?" How about their "Clean Pairings" menu? Are broccoli cheddar soup, Thai chicken flatbread, or Mediterranean quinoa salad "clean?" Not according to many of the definitions here. Maybe they fit into @jgnatca 's "no sign of industrialization" set, but that's kind of laughable coming from a restaurant chain.

    2. Leviticus 11: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus 11&version=NIV
    You may say that these restrictions are ridiculous, but I'm not sure they are more ridiculous than some of the restrictions I've read here.
    Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.
    All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.
    Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean.

    Four legged insects?

    You must kill them humanely, not by tearing off two of their legs. :wink:
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
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    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural

    Simple Definition of natural
    1 : existing in nature and not made or caused by people : coming from nature

    (Haven't read all the thread yet so someone may have already commented on this bit...)

    By that first definition, crops grown on a farm are not 'natural' because they're planted by people, even if it's a small family concern that does everything by hand and uses no pesticides or other chemicals. If I forage for berries in the wilderness they are 'natural', but if I buy some from the local Farmer's Market that were planted deliberately then they're not? Such things exist because they were "caused (to grow there) by people".

    Not having a go at you for this definition (and you did say it was a "simple" one), just commenting on what seemed odd to me about it!

    Clearly everyone has their own ideas about what is and is not 'natural', 'healthy' or 'clean', and I personally would say that it's not helpful when people post that kind of vague "eat clean!" advice to others without any specifics, and especially when they insist that it's the only/best way to lose weight.

    My personal idea of "clean eating" would probably be foods that have little processing and few artificial additives - e.g. a homemade meal using fresh ingredients rather than a purchased one that may have various fillers, additives, sweeteners etc. in it. I suppose it would depend on the actual list of ingredients in the purchased meal, though - some may still qualify! And I would see no difference in 'cleanliness' between a lump of steak and a pile of ground beef - a certain amount of processing is necessary with some foods (IMO), and whether that's done by the purchaser grinding their own meat at home or by a processing plant doing the same thing makes no difference as far as I'm concerned.

    It's like with the example of fries another poster mentioned - the frozen ones contain only potatoes and oil. How is that any different to buying some potatoes, cutting them up, and cooking them in oil you add yourself, just because one version is packaged and frozen? The amount of processing required is the same whether you do it yourself or have someone else (the manufacturer) do it for you. You may have slightly more control over the amount of oil, but to me that doesn't alter how 'clean' or 'natural' the end result is.

    As for the bagged lettuce - are there really people who would argue that it's not 'clean', just because it's in a bag? Do these people all live in the country and grow every single thing they eat themselves?

    Anyway... the debate is interesting, but I personally would not "eat clean" because there are too many foods I love that would be off limits if I were to attempt it, by most of the definitions given in the OP. I want my new diet to be sustainable in the long term, and I don't particularly want to live in a world where I'm not allowed to have bacon. :smile:
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    edited February 2016
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    There is no such thing as clean eating. It is a silly term used by people who want to feel superior...
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    SueSueDio wrote: »
    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/natural

    Simple Definition of natural
    1 : existing in nature and not made or caused by people : coming from nature

    (Haven't read all the thread yet so someone may have already commented on this bit...)

    By that first definition, crops grown on a farm are not 'natural' because they're planted by people, even if it's a small family concern that does everything by hand and uses no pesticides or other chemicals. If I forage for berries in the wilderness they are 'natural', but if I buy some from the local Farmer's Market that were planted deliberately then they're not? Such things exist because they were "caused (to grow there) by people".

    Not having a go at you for this definition (and you did say it was a "simple" one), just commenting on what seemed odd to me about it!

    Clearly everyone has their own ideas about what is and is not 'natural', 'healthy' or 'clean', and I personally would say that it's not helpful when people post that kind of vague "eat clean!" advice to others without any specifics, and especially when they insist that it's the only/best way to lose weight.

    My personal idea of "clean eating" would probably be foods that have little processing and few artificial additives - e.g. a homemade meal using fresh ingredients rather than a purchased one that may have various fillers, additives, sweeteners etc. in it. I suppose it would depend on the actual list of ingredients in the purchased meal, though - some may still qualify! And I would see no difference in 'cleanliness' between a lump of steak and a pile of ground beef - a certain amount of processing is necessary with some foods (IMO), and whether that's done by the purchaser grinding their own meat at home or by a processing plant doing the same thing makes no difference as far as I'm concerned.

    It's like with the example of fries another poster mentioned - the frozen ones contain only potatoes and oil. How is that any different to buying some potatoes, cutting them up, and cooking them in oil you add yourself, just because one version is packaged and frozen? The amount of processing required is the same whether you do it yourself or have someone else (the manufacturer) do it for you. You may have slightly more control over the amount of oil, but to me that doesn't alter how 'clean' or 'natural' the end result is.

    As for the bagged lettuce - are there really people who would argue that it's not 'clean', just because it's in a bag? Do these people all live in the country and grow every single thing they eat themselves?

    Anyway... the debate is interesting, but I personally would not "eat clean" because there are too many foods I love that would be off limits if I were to attempt it, by most of the definitions given in the OP. I want my new diet to be sustainable in the long term, and I don't particularly want to live in a world where I'm not allowed to have bacon. :smile:

    I'd say unless you're going very deep woods, even then the berries aren't natural. Many "wild" berries are still just variants of the changes people have encouraged in them, particularly if they're still within a few days walking distance of some form of civilization.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    bottled water....gone! well just all water..unless you suck it right out of the creek or your own well.

    Even then it has a scientific name with more than 3 syllables...dihydrogen monoxide.
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    bottled water....gone! well just all water..unless you suck it right out of the creek or your own well.

    Even then it has a scientific name with more than 3 syllables...dihydrogen monoxide.

    ChemiKillz!!!!
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,641 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Carlos_421 wrote: »
    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    bottled water....gone! well just all water..unless you suck it right out of the creek or your own well.

    Even then it has a scientific name with more than 3 syllables...dihydrogen monoxide.

    ChemiKillz!!!!

    I saw "hydrogen hydroxide" on an MSDS recently...

    Oh, excwuise me..."SDS".
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    @nikkimendez666 if you have followed the thread you must know your answer is full of holes. What is a "whole food"?

    Eggs are whole but aren't plant-based.
    I imagine you'll allow grains and nuts to be shelled and hulled. How about grinding for flour? Is that much processing allowed in your plan?
    How about pressing olives for their oil?
    Drying grapes in to raisins?

    If you eat only unprocessed "whole foods" could you eat a meal of hemp seeds, raisins, and broccoli as long as they weren't mixed together?

    I don't think people consider applying physical force (crushing, mixing, shucking, grinding, pressing, etc.) to food as unacceptable processing, at least that is my interpretation. Unwanted processing to me is industrially injecting / mixing / treating food with chemicals to make them more profitable for corporations, ie, food coloring, preservatives mixed in a test tube, steroids, anti-biotics, hormones, etc., that don't add to the nutritional value of the food.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    @nikkimendez666 if you have followed the thread you must know your answer is full of holes. What is a "whole food"?

    Eggs are whole but aren't plant-based.
    I imagine you'll allow grains and nuts to be shelled and hulled. How about grinding for flour? Is that much processing allowed in your plan?
    How about pressing olives for their oil?
    Drying grapes in to raisins?

    If you eat only unprocessed "whole foods" could you eat a meal of hemp seeds, raisins, and broccoli as long as they weren't mixed together?

    I don't think people consider applying physical force (crushing, mixing, shucking, grinding, pressing, etc.) to food as unacceptable processing, at least that is my interpretation. Unwanted processing to me is industrially injecting / mixing / treating food with chemicals to make them more profitable for corporations, ie, food coloring, preservatives mixed in a test tube, steroids, anti-biotics, hormones, etc., that don't add to the nutritional value of the food.

    It's already been mentioned/discussed in this thread. According to the definitions of some, "clean" foods become "unclean" when they've been ground.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    I can't think how grass fed makes beef cleaner.
    It's just the meaning of the word natural. Nothing man-made is natural.

    I'm a little confused by these statements. The cattle are forced to eat grain by humans. That would seem under your terms to make grain-fed beef less clean than grass-fed beef. Unless the cattle choose to eat grain all on their own. Or if bees were to herd cattle (the way ants herd aphids) and force them to eat grain.

    Cattle aren't force fed grain. They are provided grain and they eat it. Same as with grass. Man provides a pasture or hay bale and the cow eats it. Beef is essentially a man-made product. Some may consider this makes beef itself not a clean food. While I can understand that argument I'm not that strict but do believe it is not as 'clean' as wild game. I think pumping the cattle full of antibiotics or other drugs makes if far less clean that what we provide the animal to eat.