What exactly is "Clean Eating"?

northbanu

I heard this, which perfectly describes the concept to me...
'If you can't kill it or pick it, then don't eat it

Belladonna vs yogurt. I choose yogurt.

Why one or the other? A little Belladona can be fun.
:happy:

EvgeniZyntx

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

Camo_xxx

Don't forget the can itself. Many food cans are lined with BPA which many folks like to avoid as much as possible

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/bpa/faq-20058331
.

Worry about it if you want. I see why one would. But I don't.

I don't worry about it per say as I have already injjested enough poison in my life time to do what ever damage is gonna be done will be done. I just don't use canned foods because I enjoy cooking from scratch and I have a strick sodium limit and I don't need the convienice cans have to offer. That said I do have a years worth of canned food in storage for use in case of emergancy. Bring on the zombie apocalypse !!!

northbanu

I don't worry about it per say as I have already injjested enough poison in my life time to do what ever damage is gonna be done will be done. I just don't use canned foods because I enjoy cooking from scratch and I have a strick sodium limit and I don't need the convienice cans have to offer. That said I do have a years worth of canned food in storage for use in case of emergancy. Bring on the zombie apocalypse !!!

Thats pretty much how I feel about BPA. My past life and current gin and beer consumption is gonna do me in first. Fortunately my gin and beer still comes in a glass bottles. :-)

Camo_xxx

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

I make my own cheese and butter from raw milk. No labels and don't even have to go to a store to buy it. Eggs are plentiful from local sources and don't require labels. Many people make their own pasta and why wouldn't you buy nuts in bulk ?
Eating whole foods as a way of life is easy if you choose to do it. choosing to adopt a local farm to table food approach is more popular then you might guess. Drop the I can't attitude and think outside the box.

Alluminati

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

I make my own cheese and butter from raw milk. No labels and don't even have to go to a store to buy it. Eggs are plentiful from local sources and don't require labels. Many people make their own pasta and why wouldn't you buy nuts in bulk ?
Eating whole foods as a way of life is easy if you choose to do it. choosing to adopt a local farm to table food approach is more popular then you might guess. Drop the I can't attitude and think outside the box.

Because some of us don't have time to churn butter? :noway:

lemurcat12

However many folks could reasonably claim that their concern for their carbon foot print keeps them from buying a spice that was shipped half way around the world and they prefer the local farm to table approach. It's a simple personal choice some people make. Doesn't make them right or wrong. Just what they are into.

They could claim that. Once upon a time I was intrigued by locovorism myself, foolish as I now find that. I certainly hope they are consistent and don't drink coffee or tea and don't buy those "fresh" fruits and veggies in the winter, and many not in the spring or fall either, don't buy bananas or oranges (depending on where they live) ever, and are very careful about their fish choices. Supermarket meat is generally questionable under these standards also (not to mention eating meat generally), and on and on.

I do approve of the consistency, however, even if I don't actually think it's a sensible way to live for most or necessary (and there are good arguments that the alternative to our current carting things around the world would have environmental draw backs too).

Seems funny to focus on the spice trade specifically, though. Makes more sense to just know your vendor.

Camo_xxx

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

I make my own cheese and butter from raw milk. No labels and don't even have to go to a store to buy it. Eggs are plentiful from local sources and don't require labels. Many people make their own pasta and why wouldn't you buy nuts in bulk ?
Eating whole foods as a way of life is easy if you choose to do it. choosing to adopt a local farm to table food approach is more popular then you might guess. Drop the I can't attitude and think outside the box.

Because some of us don't have time to churn butter? :noway:

I am definitely blessed in that I have the 5 minutes needed to make a few weeks worth of my own butter.

lemurcat12

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

Even the dairy I get from the green market has a label. Even the meat from the green market or a local farm I buy direct from or my favorite local meat market has labels. Yes, I know lots of people are anti dairy and anti meat, but it's hardly universally acclaimed as unclean, even by "clean" eaters.

believefsc

I was just reading a great article today, actually, that explained it to me.

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/food-health/food-and-health-news/what-is-clean-eating/#.VB8KdVkiivY.facebook

Camo_xxx

However many folks could reasonably claim that their concern for their carbon foot print keeps them from buying a spice that was shipped half way around the world and they prefer the local farm to table approach. It's a simple personal choice some people make. Doesn't make them right or wrong. Just what they are into.

Seems funny to focus on the spice trade specifically, though. Makes more sense to just know your vendor.

I seriously doubt folks who take measures to reduce their carbon footprint are focused on spices. But nice try.

lemurcat12

Many people make their own pasta

I used to. For some dishes I still might, where it matters. (I've never made pasta with whole grain flour, though, although I buy whole grain pasta sometimes--I think some sauces taste better with whole grain or it doesn't matter, but these are generally not the same dishes where you want fresh pasta, IME.)

Anyway, like I mentioned above, I also used to make my own tomato-based sauce with fresh tomatoes (which means I either have to can them, and sorry that I'm not doing, or can only have it in the summer). The taste benefits of doing this are minimal (if not worse--I think the tomato-based sauces are generally better as well as much less work with high-quality canned tomatoes). More significantly, the health benefits of making every single thing from scratch seem to me non-existent. I can see why people might do it anyway--it's a fun hobby if you have the time and enjoy it. But it's annoying to then assert that makes the diets of those who don't do it unhealthy.

But, you know, I'd probably give a pass to "clean" eaters who do all this, although I think they should find a better term. The ones who bug me are those who preen about eating so clean and yet eat most of the same processed stuff I do, or more.

lemurcat12

However many folks could reasonably claim that their concern for their carbon foot print keeps them from buying a spice that was shipped half way around the world and they prefer the local farm to table approach. It's a simple personal choice some people make. Doesn't make them right or wrong. Just what they are into.

Seems funny to focus on the spice trade specifically, though. Makes more sense to just know your vendor.

I seriously doubt folks who take measures to reduce their carbon footprint are focused on spices. But nice try.

It was spices that came up here. Are you a locovore? My guess is that of "clean eaters" on MFP about .001% are locovores, if any. Far more of them seem to want to dump spices as possibly infected with additives or some such.

lemurcat12

I was just reading a great article today, actually, that explained it to me.

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/food-health/food-and-health-news/what-is-clean-eating/#.VB8KdVkiivY.facebook

Excellent. Thanks!

Eat five to six times a day
Three meals and two to three small snacks. Include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a complex carbohydrate with each meal. This keeps your body energized and burning calories efficiently all day long.

Not really sure why how often you eat or not defines "cleanliness," but this disqualifies me, since I only eat 3 times a day.

Drink at least two liters of water a day
Preferably from a reusable canteen, not plastic; we’re friends of the environment here! Limit your alcohol intake to one glass of antioxidant-rich red wine a day.

Again, not sure why this is "clean."

Get label savvy

Wait! I thought "clean" foods didn't have labels. The thread told me that.

Clean foods contain just one or two ingredients. Any product with a long ingredient list is human-made and not considered clean.

So--as has been brought up here--my pasta sauce or soup or even my omelet if I put too many ingredients in it aren't clean. Because I'm pretty sure I'm a human.

Doesn't it seem like what the ingredients are is what should matter, not how many there are? If I go to a nice restaurant and get some fussy dish made with lots of ingredients (all from local farms and so on--these restaurants will usually list this on the menu or tell you), that's not clean, but perhaps if I make it myself it is? How does this make sense?

Avoid processed and refined foods
This includes white flour, sugar, bread and pasta. Enjoy complex carbs such as whole grains instead.

Both are processed. I'm in favor of whole grains (except where white tastes lots better), but the idea that one is processed and one not or one is "clean" and one not is weird.

Know thy enemies
Steer clear of anything high in saturated and trans fats, anything fried or anything high in sugar.

What if I fry it at home? (I actually never do, but let's just say.) Or what if it's naturally high in saturated fat, like lots of meat, cheese, butter, full-fat dairy? Are these now unclean? Can't we just be honest and admit that this advice doesn't have a thing to do with processing or "cleanliness" but is flat out about calories or some idea of heart health or something?

Also, I think it's bad advice and living on boneless skinless chicken breast is neither clean (again, highly processed) nor the healthiest way to eat, IMO (but then I just think it's boring).

Shop with a conscience
Consume humanely raised and local meats.

Sure, I am in favor of this, but it's not a matter of "clean" or not, and might conflict with the advice re lean meat, IME. It seems more humane to eat the whole animal, and commercial pork has been bred to be leaner.

Choose organic whenever possible
If your budget limits you, make meat, eggs, dairy and the Dirty Dozen your organic priorities.

I'm skeptical about the value of this.

Consume healthy fats
Try to have essential fatty acids, or EFAs, every day.

Decent advice, nothing to do with "cleanliness."

Learn about portion sizes
Work towards eating within them.

Good advice, although there's no set portion size for everyone--someone who eats 3000 calories a day might have a different idea of an appropriate serving of steak than, say, me. Again, nothing to do with "cleanliness."

Reduce your carbon footprint
Eat produce that is seasonal and local. It is less taxing on your wallet and our environment.

I'm personally in favor of this, although I think the environmental argument is more complicated. I don't see that most MFP "clean" eaters do this. And since I live in northern Illinois, I'm sorry but I'm not going to be a purist. It would make a good bit of the year pretty light on fruits and veggies. I do find that eating seasonally when possible makes eating fruits and veggies more exciting, though, so that's a plus, even if not one that has much to do with being "clean."

The rest of it also didn't seem much about "cleanliness," but I generally agreed with the ideas.

nutmegoreo

I hope you make your orange juice at home with that statement: http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/

Interesting reading :drinker:

Camo_xxx

Indeed my comment was spice specific simply because it was a response to a filler in spice comment. Nothing more intended.

Nope not a locolvore but I dig the term. ( never heard it before ). I am just a fat guy who cooks as a hobby and likes to buy as much stuff as I can from small local farmers which are abundant around here.

EvgeniZyntx

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

I make my own cheese and butter from raw milk. No labels and don't even have to go to a store to buy it. Eggs are plentiful from local sources and don't require labels. Many people make their own pasta and why wouldn't you buy nuts in bulk ?
Eating whole foods as a way of life is easy if you choose to do it. choosing to adopt a local farm to table food approach is more popular then you might guess. Drop the I can't attitude and think outside the box.

pffft.

So your raw milk cheese is somehow better than the cheese I buy from my cheese shop because his has a label. Laughably ridiculous. He literally had 60 or 70 different local products that you cannot match. I trust his cheese (tested for a variety of things) much more than your "raw milk" stuff.

And no, my nuts are fine is their lovely packaging.

More "only whole foods" silliness - I do a lot of shopping at the local market (as I posted prior - Europe's largest) but not exclusively nor do I feel it is necessary. It's not a question of can't - but reasonable balance and high variety.

I use a majority locally sourced food approach but I'm not arrogant about it being more sanitary or pure or spend my time labeling food into bad or good categories. I've made butter and a variety of other things - but when the taste and quality of manufactured foodstuff is better than mine then i'm going to go and buy that tasty processed stuff - in this case Breton butter - I seriously doubt yours even comes close. And even if it was as good, I'm perfectly healthy with my local choice.

nutmegoreo

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

Bulk gummy bears! Is it wrong that I read this thread while eating left over take out for breakfast?

OP, clean eating has no set definition.

bwogilvie

Thats pretty much how I feel about BPA. My past life and current gin and beer consumption is gonna do me in first. Fortunately my gin and beer still comes in a glass bottles. :-)

Yeah, me too. Though when I lived in England, my bourbon often came in plastic bottles. I guess it's a little cheaper to ship Jim Beam across the Atlantic if the bottles are a little lighter. It did make carrying them home from the store a little easier.

I'm not worried about BPA. But I do think it's a mark of progress that many of us have the luxury of worrying about BPA, instead of worrying about hunger, malnutrition, or food poisoning. It is a shame that so many people, even in the US, do still have to worry about going hungry, which is why the local food bank is one of my main charities.

Camo_xxx

My doctor defines it as avoiding anything with a label.

thats a great explanation :-)

No cheese for you. No yogurt from the store.
No dairy for the most part.
Oh, no eggs.
No rice or pasta.
No organic anything.
No nuts unless bought in bulk.

Yeah, kinda sucks.

I make my own cheese and butter from raw milk. No labels and don't even have to go to a store to buy it. Eggs are plentiful from local sources and don't require labels. Many people make their own pasta and why wouldn't you buy nuts in bulk ?
Eating whole foods as a way of life is easy if you choose to do it. choosing to adopt a local farm to table food approach is more popular then you might guess. Drop the I can't attitude and think outside the box.

pffft.

So your raw milk cheese is somehow better than the cheese I buy from my cheese shop because his has a label. Laughably ridiculous.

Either you are being a troll or lack reading comprehension. I never suggested my homemade cheese or butter was better . I simply countered the point that you can't eat these things because they come in a package. People have been eating butter and cheese long before plastic packaging became the norm and it is fairly easy to make your own if you wanted to avoid buying packaged foods. I could care less where you get your food or how you choose to eat.