Clean Eating

superwoman25

So i'm sure some of you are going to roll your eyes at this and to be honest i feel pretty silly for asking and i think i have a rough idea anyway but can someone please elaberate on what exactly clean eating involves????

GnochhiGnomes

Eating food which has been irradiated and bleached.

skonly

Basically it means eating whole unprocessed foods. Meat is included and people argue over it a lot on here. I personally don't think meat should be considered clean unless it's organic, grassfed and such. Even then it's a stretch, in my eyes anyway.

You will also hear arguments about dairy and rice being included. Mostly you will hear varied opinions based on a person's preference.

Eating more fresh vegetables and fruits is good for any diet and should be a part of everyone's lifestyle anyway.

My dr told me food from the ground is better than food from a box. lol.

cramernh

Basically if it came from a can, a box, just-add-milk, just-add-water, just-add-margarine, products that you just cant believe its what-ever-it-is, partially hydrogenated, fully hydrogenated.. then its not clean.

superwoman25

Eating food which has been irradiated and bleached.

Are you haveing me on?

sgthaggard

It means different things to different people. I know for some, cutting back on sugar is key.

For me it means eating foods with minimal artificial ingredients. Sugar is fine in whatever quantities, but I prefer sweetening with evaporated cane syrup, honey or maple syrup. Artificial sweeteners are a complete no-go.

skonly

Also.....if you don't know what all those 20 letter words are on a label it's best not to eat it.

postrockandcats

Eating food which has been irradiated and bleached.

Are you haveing me on?

Yes, they are

nxd10

Three rules I found in a book recently that help define what is clean to me:

Your great grandmother would recognize it as food.
It has fewer than five ingredients
It is not labeled on its packaging as 'healthy' 'low salt' or 'low fat'

skonly

Three rules I found in a book recently that help define what is clean to me:

Your great grandmother would recognize it as food.
It has fewer than five ingredients
It is not labeled on its packaging as 'healthy' 'low salt' or 'low fat'

We should all live by that!!!!!

BR3ANDA

To me its anything with one ingredient and unprocessed. For instance, white sugar is processed, but honey isnt (well, I guess the bees process it).

freerange

Eating food which has been irradiated and bleached.

hehehehehehe

GnochhiGnomes

Your great grandmother would recognize it as food.

My great grandmother would give me McDonalds. :huh:

freerange

Basically it means eating whole unprocessed foods. Meat is included and people argue over it a lot on here. I personally don't think meat should be considered clean unless it's organic, grassfed and such. Even then it's a stretch, in my eyes anyway.

You will also hear arguments about dairy and rice being included. Mostly you will hear varied opinions based on a person's preference.

Eating more fresh vegetables and fruits is good for any diet and should be a part of everyone's lifestyle anyway.

My dr told me food from the ground is better than food from a box. lol.

I don't understand why you would think meat shouldn't be on the "clean" list. Yes, it should be grass finished, and organic, but meat is about as clean as you get. Clean means like said above, simple, none processed, in it's natural form or as close to it as possible. Meat fits nicely into those categories

linz1125

Your great grandmother would recognize it as food.

My great grandmother would give me McDonalds. :huh:

Yeah I don't feel this is true for me, my great gramda loved all the "new inventions" that America had once she came over from Italy, she just stuff me with pasta, bread, and italian sausage lol.

My definition of clean eating is as follows:
As close to how it is found in nature (not processed, brined, water added, anything)
No refined/added sugars
If it is a combination of items, around 5 ingredients and I should be able to go to a grocery store and purchase every item on the list to make it.

Its really about finding what you feel is "healthy" and clean for you. I am comfortable with these parameters to keep my eating in check. I do include meats, and whenever possible I buy organic/grassfed meat.
And because I simply can't do without it, I includecheese, but I try not to go overboard. As long as it is not velveeta or a Kraft Singles processed cheese I will eat it.

genevaturtle

As close to the ground or branch--the fewer hands that touch the better.

nxd10

To me its anything with one ingredient and unprocessed. For instance, white sugar is processed, but honey isnt (well, I guess the bees process it).

Cheese? Yoghurt?

I agree with everything everyone said about unprocessed, etc. But I raise my own chickens, make cheese, and grind my own sausage from good, lean meat. So I guess I don't consider any on those things heavily processed.

And as soon as I spice something or cook a casserole it has more than one ingredient.

nxd10

Here is age for you. My great grandmothers were born in the 1860s. :blushing:

thedancingleper

Here is age for you. My great grandmothers were born in the 1860s. :blushing:

Mine was born in 1865 and I'm 29.

jawheb

Also.....if you don't know what all those 20 letter words are on a label it's best not to eat it.

^^^^ absolutely this

henhao

To learn more, take a look at the principles and concepts covered in Tosca Reno's books and website. Her 'program' is fairly intense and certainly wouldn't fit my lifestyle however I like her approach to clean eating. I also like her recipes, especially if you're in north America with ready access to turkey.

Celliott411

I've seen a lot of tips to help with choosing clean foods:

-Eat foods from the outter "ring" of the grocery store.
-Choose foods that have a shelf life that is no longer than 1 month
-Be able to pronounce every ingredient in a food item and know exactly what it is. The less ingredients the better (generally).
-Do not eat anything that has reduced/low fat or is fat free (the fat is just replaced with more chemicals).

Basically, the foods that are as natural as possible and as unprocessed as possible. It's hard to eat 100% clean, but replacing foods that can you normally buy pre-made with the ingredients needed to make the same thing will make a world of difference!

AnvilHead

The definition of "clean eating" will vary according to your chosen diet. For a vegan it may mean no meat, eggs, dairy, etc.; for a low-carb/paleo advocate it could mean no wheat, rice, flour, fruit, etc.; for somebody with a more middle-of-the-road (or generic, or whatever you want to call it) diet, it could mean simply avoiding processed foods and eating a lot of meat, fruits, vegetables, etc. in as unaltered a state as possible. Gross oversimplification, I know - but you get the general idea.

Personally, I guess I'm closest to the above "middle of the road" approach - with the added proviso of "everything in moderation, nothing off limits". I eat meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, etc. (stuff from the "outer ring" of the grocery store, as others have mentioned) - but I have no problem with occasionally chowing down on pizza, or a candy bar, or a few beers, a big plate of nachos or whatever (the key being *occasionally*). My biggest emphasis is on protein and if I get that right, the other macros usually tend to fall more or less into place.

magj0y

Nothing wrong with asking questions to know more about stuff.

My opinion, take it for what it's worth,
I would include whole cuts of red meats (even non-organic), organic chicken whole, in the bag. wild fish, organic pastas, whole grain brown rice, dried beans,
fresh, plain frozen vegetables, plain organic dairy stuff. While dairy has to pasteurized, all they do is bring the milk to a high temp and then quickly lowered again.

I agree with the "closest to the ground/branch, and the fewest amount of hands touching it" If you go with Kosher meats,
they're less people and a completely diff. atmosphere at their slaughter houses than others.

**"organic" doesn't necessarily mean better. I say whole, in the bag on chicken because the process of cutting chicken at the slaughter house and then shipped to the store is NOT a pretty sight. When I was a butcher, I HATED going into the chicken cooler!

5tephoscope

All excellent advice!

Another great consideration:
Processed food often has a looong shelf life. Good food should rot. If bugs, bacteria, and fungi refuse to eat it, why on earth would you put it in YOUR body?

BR3ANDA

To me its anything with one ingredient and unprocessed. For instance, white sugar is processed, but honey isnt (well, I guess the bees process it).

Cheese? Yoghurt?

I agree with everything everyone said about unprocessed, etc. But I raise my own chickens, make cheese, and grind my own sausage from good, lean meat. So I guess I don't consider any on those things heavily processed.

And as soon as I spice something or cook a casserole it has more than one ingredient.

If you grow your own food, then that is clean eating! And of course once you make something it has more than one ingredient, but if you got your ingredients from a can, or a package, well, thats not clean eating, but combing all your own whole foods together is different. Processed food is the issue, not the amount of ingredients it takes to cook food at home.

Lozze

I had a friend who explained it to me as 'If you can't pronounce all the ingridents, then don't eat it'

YMMV of course. I'm slowly moving to clean eating, but still enjoying my chocolate and occasional chips. I'm never going to be 100% at clean eating, but I can eat more nutrient rich foods