Have you ever tried clean eating?

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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    For the most part, I eat clean. I quit eating processed foods completely at the beginning of this year. I don't eat raw though. But I cook everything I eat. It's all fresh or frozen veggies...steamed, baked, broiled or grilled.

    I am also weaning myself off of the microwave. Hope to get that out by the end of this year.

    I don't understand. And I say that genuinely, I feel like people aren't communicating. Just looking at today and yesterday, how are bread products, jelly, and a WW's frozen meal not processed?

    My breakfast was a vegetable omelet with feta cheese plus cottage cheese on the side, and IMO both the cheeses are obviously processed. Last night I had pasta with a homemade sauce. Again, the pasta is obviously processed, as is the olive oil I used.

    I saw a hotdog too...

    tostitoes ...

    not sure people quite understand processed...

    My breakfast was processed...juice, almond milk, fruit...processed in a blender to a smoothie with protein powder...lunch cheese, cottage cheese, crackers, crab, avocado....all processed to a point but very nutrient dense.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    Exactly. Chemical makeup and ingredients aren't the same thing.

    Many of those chemicals are also ingredients in other foods...what exactly is the difference? If these were listed on a banana should you not eat it because you don't know how to pronounce some chemical...stupid is as stupid does I suppose....it's just dumb.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    Exactly. Chemical makeup and ingredients aren't the same thing.

    Many of those chemicals are also ingredients in other foods...what exactly is the difference? If these were listed on a banana should you not eat it because you don't know how to pronounce some chemical...stupid is as stupid does I suppose....it's just dumb.

    I'm not telling anyone what to eat or not eat. I'm just pointing out a bad example.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    But why is it a bad example? What is it about being an "ingredient" that makes something bad, as opposed to exactly the same substance that is not an "ingredient"?

    Genuinely confused.

    It has nothing to with bad or good. One person was talking about ingredients listed on a package and the example was the chemical makeup of such an ingredient. Apples and oranges, my friend. Or perhaps I should say apples and the chemical makeup of apples.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    But why is it a bad example? What is it about being an "ingredient" that makes something bad, as opposed to exactly the same substance that is not an "ingredient"?

    Genuinely confused.

    It has nothing to with bad or good. One person was talking about ingredients listed on a package and the example was the chemical makeup of such an ingredient. Apples and oranges, my friend. Or perhaps I should say apples and the chemical makeup of apples.

    Which is the same thing.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    It's actually an excellent example of why saying "If you can't read it, don't eat it" is so asinine. If a consumer were to see phenylalanine listed as an ingredient in a packaged food, they would avoid if if they were following that mantra...but they'd eat it willingly, happily, and unknowingly in a banana. How does that make any sense?

    It actually makes some sense. It's not as if adding any random chemical that might happen to be in a food naturally to another food that doesn't naturally contain it has no potential for problems.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    It's actually an excellent example of why saying "If you can't read it, don't eat it" is so asinine. If a consumer were to see phenylalanine listed as an ingredient in a packaged food, they would avoid if if they were following that mantra...but they'd eat it willingly, happily, and unknowingly in a banana. How does that make any sense?

    It actually makes some sense. It's not as if adding any random chemical that might happen to be in a food naturally to another food that doesn't naturally contain it has no potential for problems.

    I think it makes more sense to learn about words and ingredients that one doesn't know and then judge whether or not to consume foods containing them. Living according to an arbitrary mantra is for children who haven't learned to reason for themselves yet.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    But why is it a bad example? What is it about being an "ingredient" that makes something bad, as opposed to exactly the same substance that is not an "ingredient"?

    Genuinely confused.

    It has nothing to with bad or good. One person was talking about ingredients listed on a package and the example was the chemical makeup of such an ingredient. Apples and oranges, my friend. Or perhaps I should say apples and the chemical makeup of apples.

    Which is the same thing.

    Um yeah, no.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    It's actually an excellent example of why saying "If you can't read it, don't eat it" is so asinine. If a consumer were to see phenylalanine listed as an ingredient in a packaged food, they would avoid if if they were following that mantra...but they'd eat it willingly, happily, and unknowingly in a banana. How does that make any sense?

    It actually makes some sense. It's not as if adding any random chemical that might happen to be in a food naturally to another food that doesn't naturally contain it has no potential for problems.

    I think it makes more sense to learn about words and ingredients that one doesn't know and then judge whether or not to consume foods containing them. Living according to an arbitrary mantra is for children who haven't learned to reason for themselves yet.

    Just because A makes more sense than B doesn't mean that B makes no sense.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    But why is it a bad example? What is it about being an "ingredient" that makes something bad, as opposed to exactly the same substance that is not an "ingredient"?

    Genuinely confused.

    It has nothing to with bad or good. One person was talking about ingredients listed on a package and the example was the chemical makeup of such an ingredient. Apples and oranges, my friend. Or perhaps I should say apples and the chemical makeup of apples.

    Which is the same thing.

    Um yeah, no.

    Would you also disagree that water and the chemical makeup of water are two different things? You're getting close to worrying about dihydrogen monoxide.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    edited July 2016
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    It's actually an excellent example of why saying "If you can't read it, don't eat it" is so asinine. If a consumer were to see phenylalanine listed as an ingredient in a packaged food, they would avoid if if they were following that mantra...but they'd eat it willingly, happily, and unknowingly in a banana. How does that make any sense?

    It actually makes some sense. It's not as if adding any random chemical that might happen to be in a food naturally to another food that doesn't naturally contain it has no potential for problems.

    I think it makes more sense to learn about words and ingredients that one doesn't know and then judge whether or not to consume foods containing them. Living according to an arbitrary mantra is for children who haven't learned to reason for themselves yet.

    Just because A makes more sense than B doesn't mean that B makes no sense.

    If my choices are between "sensible" and "more sensible", I know which one I'll pick.

    Edit: And I still disagree that the mantra is very sensible. Maybe if you come across something that you've never heard of before, then yeah, skip that product at that time. But then go home and look it up! Learn about it to make an educated decision the next time.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    But why is it a bad example? What is it about being an "ingredient" that makes something bad, as opposed to exactly the same substance that is not an "ingredient"?

    Genuinely confused.

    It has nothing to with bad or good. One person was talking about ingredients listed on a package and the example was the chemical makeup of such an ingredient. Apples and oranges, my friend. Or perhaps I should say apples and the chemical makeup of apples.

    Which is the same thing.

    Um yeah, no.

    Would you also disagree that water and the chemical makeup of water are two different things? You're getting close to worrying about dihydrogen monoxide.

    I'm not worrying about anything, but to answer your question, No.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    It's actually an excellent example of why saying "If you can't read it, don't eat it" is so asinine. If a consumer were to see phenylalanine listed as an ingredient in a packaged food, they would avoid if if they were following that mantra...but they'd eat it willingly, happily, and unknowingly in a banana. How does that make any sense?

    It actually makes some sense. It's not as if adding any random chemical that might happen to be in a food naturally to another food that doesn't naturally contain it has no potential for problems.

    I think it makes more sense to learn about words and ingredients that one doesn't know and then judge whether or not to consume foods containing them. Living according to an arbitrary mantra is for children who haven't learned to reason for themselves yet.

    Just because A makes more sense than B doesn't mean that B makes no sense.

    If my choices are between "sensible" and "more sensible", I know which one I'll pick.

    I would certainly hope so. If not you, who?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.

    Probably never see "trans fat" listed as an ingredient though.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.

    Probably never see "trans fat" listed as an ingredient though.

    Splitting hairs...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.

    Probably never see "trans fat" listed as an ingredient though.

    Splitting hairs...

    Aren't we all?
  • This content has been removed.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited July 2016
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    Exactly. Chemical makeup and ingredients aren't the same thing.

    Disagree. I can call it sodium chloride or I can call it table salt. The only difference is, one is a prettier, more memorable name. But it's the same substance. So really, you're just not eating things based on marketing and creative names for exactly the same thing. That would be like saying humans are human but homo sapiens are not human.
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.

    Probably never see "trans fat" listed as an ingredient though.

    Splitting hairs...

    Aren't we all?

    If you think that encouraging people to become informed consumers is splitting hairs, then yes, I'll confess to splitting hairs.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Totally clean. No processed stuff. Like they say, when you read the ingredients. "If you can't read it, don't eat it".

    63A10o7.png
    I think it's pretty clear that this is an extremely poor example of what the poster meant. Nobody picks up a banana at the store and sees the individual components listed as ingredients that were added to it.

    Exactly. Chemical makeup and ingredients aren't the same thing.

    Disagree. I can call it sodium chloride or I can call it table salt. The only difference is, one is a prettier, more memorable name. But it's the same substance. So really, you're just not eating things based on marketing.

    The ingredients label on the back of the package in tiny print is marketing? Okay then.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    Tam9271 wrote: »
    If I can't pronounce it on the label, then I don't eat it. Mainly stay to outside perimeter of the store now. I have however been known to breakdown and have a spaghetti and homemade meatballs

    >_> Pasta...weakness is strong with this one it is.

    I always find that such a weird thing to say. So... the greater the level of education, the more variety you can eat? People who have studied chemistry can eat far more things than someone who studied, say, arts? Does it mean you can't eat foreign food?

    Yes, I wondered about foreign food. I have a bit of trouble getting the pronunciation of the Indian and Thai food I like just right. It would make me very sad if I couldn't eat that food until I learned to pronounce everything correctly.

    Not to mention that means all blind people would starve to death. They can't read anything (assuming that like my food, yours also doesn't come with braille).

    And I guess we can all eat trans fat since it's so easy to pronounce.

    Probably never see "trans fat" listed as an ingredient though.

    Splitting hairs...

    Aren't we all?

    If you think that encouraging people to become informed consumers is splitting hairs, then yes, I'll confess to splitting hairs.

    How is saying trans fats are okay because it's easy to pronounce encouraging people to become informed customers?
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    edited July 2016
    Machka9 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    rsleighty wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    rsleighty wrote: »
    I eat lots of fresh, one ingredient things. Cook from scratch as much as is practical . Whole grains as much as possible. But "clean" no. I enjoy an occasional diet soda, icecream when it fits into my calorie/saturated fat goals, chocolate, etc. Life should be lived, not endured. And, while I agree with the concept, I detest the term "clean eating ".

    I'm always curious about statements like the bolded. They seem to be in opposition to each other, as I can't think of a single thing that I cook that only has one ingredient. Even roasted veggies, I add olive oil, salt, pepper and other seasonings. Most things that I cook have lots of ingredients, and though I don't consider myself a clean eater, I can't imagine a life without soups, stews, sauces, etc... Or how eliminating them based on the fact that they have multiple components makes me healthier...

    What one ingredient things do you eat, other than maybe fruit?

    Maybe I should have said "one ingredient ingredients ". Sounded too complicated


    I always find this odd too, as when people ask for "clean eating" cookbooks (which if you mean just cooking from whole foods is basically every cookbook I have). When I cook from scratch, of course I typically use single ingredient, ingredients. I really don't think doing the semi-homemade (forget that woman's name, Sandra Lee?) is what most people think of re cooking. I think of roast veg with olive oil and salt (and maybe other seasonings), cook meat, cook starch side. If doing something more elaborate, it's still single ingredient ingredients for the most part (unless something like pasta which really is just flour and water and I could make at home but what difference does it make?). I'm always puzzled how it's assumed other people cook if not like this. Of course, I also don't think using something processed like pasta or flour or olive oil somehow makes my food less worth eating, so maybe we aren't on the same page.

    Oh I have a bookshelf full of cookbooks purchased from schools, churches or charity organizations that are filled with recipes that include ingredients that are not single ingredient ingredients.

    Casseroles that use frozen hashbrowns or corn flakes. Numerous recipes that call for Cheez Whiz or Velveeta, canned cream of <something> soup, or sausage. Desserts that use packaged cookies, cake mixes, pudding or Jell-O.

    I know such cookbooks exist--I love weird cookbooks and have a few Iowa church cookbook from the '20s or some such, as well as a cookbook based on food in books by James Joyce, LOL and a ton of other weird things--but they aren't the main common cookbooks, IME. The idea that you have to seek out "clean eating" cookbooks is odd.

    I don't know what is meant by "main common cookbooks" but my point was that a lot of people cook with ingredients that aren't single ingredient ingredients and wouldn't normally be considered clean. Cookbooks such as those from churches and schools are compiled from recipes parents, members and students regularly make.

    Bittman, Julia Child, stuff like that.

    Those product-based recipes are typically from the back of the product, not a standard cookbook.

    Maybe I'm naive, but most people I know primarily cook using whole ingredients, not Ritz crackers. They will also use convenience foods on occasion (or even regularly for lunch), sure, but I find it odd that some seem to think that normal cooking, cooking from whole foods, is something special and different that needs a self-congratulatory name. I just think of it as cooking.

    Speaking of that Ritz cracker thing ... there's a pie that is, apparently, made from Ritz crackers.

    Evidently it is apple flavoured and I've heard you buy a pie shell, a package of the cheapest Ritz crackers (or look-alikes) that you can find, and the cheapest sugar laden apple beverage that you can find. You soak the Ritz crackers in the apple beverage, then plop the whole mess into the pie shell, and maybe add some more sugar and cinnamon and bake it.

    It's supposed to taste just like apple pie ... without all the hassle of cutting up fresh apples.


    Even though I've heard about this pie from several people, and I'm told it is a poor person's alternative to buying fresh produce, I can't get the word "WHY???" out of my head.

    I need this recipe.

    For reasons.

    ETA Thanks lemurcat!
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    Some people have a lot of free time on their hands...