Okay I promise I'm not stupid

kate21797
kate21797 Posts: 77 Member
in Food and Nutrition
But what is clean eating? I've never heard of it before joining MFP. I gather is has something to do with processed foods versus fresh foods? Just in simple terms, what is it?

Replies

  • lowpro1983
    lowpro1983 Posts: 305 Member
    My understanding of this is fresh fruits, veggies, and lean meats. That whole shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store.

    I aim to eat as clean as possible, but I believe everything in moderation is ok.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.
  • jasoncbackus
    jasoncbackus Posts: 131 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.

    True story.
  • mamacita721
    mamacita721 Posts: 194 Member
    I always eat clean...I wash my hands before every meal.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    OMG - so stupid!! Just kidding! It really depends on who you ask. To me it means eating whole foods, nothing from a box . Shop the perimeter of the store - veggies, fruits, lean meats and whole grains. No sodas, no frozen diet dinners, no boxes of stuff with 50 ingredients I can't pronounced. If it's in a box and has 3 or less ingredients I can pronounce it's okay. I learned about it from Tosca Reno http://www.eatcleandiet.com/ so I follow those guidelines (or wish I did, but I really don't) but there are about a million other variations out there....
  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 662 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.
    Yeah as innocent as this question is Im sure the food police are on thier way..... lol....
  • KimINfortheWin
    KimINfortheWin Posts: 251 Member
    To add to that. It's more like how our grandparents ate. Everything from scratch, using as little chemicals/additives as possible.
    The idea varies from one person to the other. Some people also go fully organic, non-GMO items, etc.

    Definitely one of those things that you can do a little of, or a lot. I am in the middle. 95% of my diet is unprocessed, but I will eat some when there is not an easy way to make it myself.
  • mikejholmes
    mikejholmes Posts: 291 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.
    QFT
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Just wash your food and than you have "clean food"!!! :wink:
  • JessieMaeH82
    JessieMaeH82 Posts: 79 Member
    There are several books on clean eating and it's all organic, meats, veggies, fruits. No processed junk.

    like margarine--YUCK with all the ingredients
    Butter --- YUM with just cream and salt---both natural products.
  • Witchdoctor58
    Witchdoctor58 Posts: 226 Member
    Eating the appropriate calories for your goals. Eating a mix of fats, carbs and protein in the proportion that supports your goals. Eating lots of veggies, fruits, lean proteins, healthy fats while avoiding empty calories, bad fats, and crappy food in general.

    That's the very quick definition. You may need to learn some basic nutrition facts to figure out the good, the bad and the ugly.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Clean is effectively a buzzword meant to make you seperate food into "good" vs "not good" categories in your mind.

    Generally, clean foods are just foods with a low levelnof processing, like veggies, meats, beans, etc.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
    I just like this thread title...
  • InForBacon
    InForBacon Posts: 1,508 Member
    I just like this thread title...
    Came in for the title, left satisfied.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    This might not end well
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.

    LOL it does seem to be a contentious issue around here!

    To the OP: the answer depends on who you ask. My take on it is that you buy food that has not already been overly processed (which is also a subjective word.....pretty much any meat product you don't buy directly from a farmer live and have slaughtered has been "processed" to some extent). Others will opine that you must seek out organic fruits and vegetables, free range chicken, grass fed beef etc.

    I do, however, completely understand the aversion to the use of hormones and overuse of antibiotics in farming
  • delaniecastillo
    delaniecastillo Posts: 284
    Clean eating is drinking a cup of bleach after my Wendy's Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger.
  • SandraJN
    SandraJN Posts: 305 Member
    I guess I've done clean eating my whole life, it was simply called cooking. I'm 60 yrs. old, so I come from a time when mother made the food you ate. For the most part, I did the same after I flew the coop and became an adult, but not entirely. (I used to eat at McDonald's & KFC!) I know what it means, but it is still cooking to me.

    For me it goes a bit further, but I'm not on a mission. I buy my meat from sustainable farmers who raise their animals on pasture, avoid corn and don't use chemicals or drugs. I buy eggs from a neighbor. I avoid GMO products wherever possible. I have the good fortune of having an organic, sustainable dairy in the area with their own creamery. I grow my own vegetables and some fruit. This is clean food to me.

    Once you eat properly raised animals and milk and eggs that have been got from healthy, content animals you know the difference.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Wendy's Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger.

    I was unimpressed. I wanted to love it and it left me unsatisfied :sad:
  • lisamarie1780
    lisamarie1780 Posts: 432 Member
    You're going to regret asking this question here.
    Yeah as innocent as this question is Im sure the food police are on thier way..... lol....

    I can hear the sirens
  • freebirdjones
    freebirdjones Posts: 236 Member
    Id use google before you make a storm ;) LOL

    Here's a link that explains flour. So really a cake can be clean, if you use whole flour ;)

    http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-flour/
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    I'm actually shocked that there is not some huge clean-not clean war going on here yet. What's wrong with MFP today?
  • jenifr818
    jenifr818 Posts: 805 Member
    I'm actually shocked that there is not some huge clean-not clean war going on here yet. What's wrong with MFP today?

    They're too busy arguing in the Boy Scout Jamboree thread
  • awesomek001
    awesomek001 Posts: 167 Member
    I'm actually shocked that there is not some huge clean-not clean war going on here yet. What's wrong with MFP today?

    They're too busy arguing in the Boy Scout Jamboree thread

    Well, darn it. Now I'm going to have to wash my hands, my food - - and find the Boy Scount Jamboree thread. There goes my evening . . . .
  • StacyReneO
    StacyReneO Posts: 317 Member
    For me 'clean eating' is getting rid of not only processed foods, but eating responsibly raised meats, grass-fed beef & pork, humanely raised chickens & eggs, wild fish, everything free of antibiotics. It also means organic fruits & vegetables. In order to do this, I had to cut out cheese, yogurt, grains, gluten, legumes and soy because it's all so processed. Now I make my own almond and coconut milk, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mayo, salad dressings. I would say I eat clean about 80% of the time. You can't help but eat the occasional pre-packaged goodie :)

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