Can you "eat clean" if it's processed?

kassiebby1124

I know you shouldn't eat processed food, but that's about all I can afford. How can you eat well with processed food?

neverstray

Good whole food is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much cheaper than junk that it's not even funny.

Ready2Rock206

Processed is NOT eating clean - that's a total contradiction. Eating whole foods doesn't have to be expensive.

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/eating-clean-budget/

http://www.eatcleandiet.com/the_kitchen_table/story/post.aspx?id=249

http://www.livestrong.com/article/143929-how-eat-clean-budget/

kassiebby1124

Thanks c:

Woah! I thought "processed" was anything that came in a package. I guess meat is okay

Chief_Rocka

Putting aside that "clean" is a term without a clear definition, the term "processing" is also not very useful without context.

-Peeling fruit can be called "processing" in a technical sense.

-Rolled oats have been processed, but the way oats are processed doesn't effect the nutrient density of the food.

-The effects of processing can be positive. Brown rice has more fiber than white, but certian micronutrients are more bioavailable in white rice.

-Whey protein powder is a highly processed foods, yet it's considered a staple of a healthy diet for many people, and has a protein bioavailability that surpasses any whole food.

Gramps251

I hope this helps. It's not the only way. Just the way I do it.

Make your own food from fresh or frozen veggies, fruit, meats (if not in a package its probably walking still), dairy (watch the amount of fat in cheese. Control portions if you need to.) and low glycemic carbs and you'll be eating pretty cheaply and healthy.

Read ingredients and if you can't pronounce the name you might want to skip it. That's as "clean" as I bother going. I'll only buy organic if it looks better than and isn't more expensive than non-organic. I skip expensive stuff and eat well.

Concentrate on getting a good portion of protein with each meal. Fill in the other macros the best you can and don't sweat it if you mess up some.

Good luck.

WendyTerry420

Good whole food is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much cheaper than junk that it's not even funny.

So true! We shaved 20% off our food budget by eliminating processed, pre-packed foods from our grocery list.

drmerc

All the meat at the store has been processed as well

pastryari

All the meat at the store has been processed as well

You are so helpful and motivating. If you haven't added this guy yet, you're missing out and you should totally add him. He loves new friends. :flowerforyou:

Sarauk2sf

You have two terms there that do not have a consistent meaning in the vernacular - so you would need to define what you mean by each to get a proper answer.

cuarrech

Bulk foods that are cheap and not pre-packaged individual meals include rice (esp. from an Asian or bulk store), potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains (treat like potatoes - but they can be yummier), big bags of frozen chicken breasts, eggs, and on and on in a similar vein... it doesn't take all that much cooking prowess, either. If you can nuke a pre-made dinner, you can nuke a potato and slap on condiments of your choice. If you can cook hamburger helper, you can simmer chicken breasts, make rice or poach eggs. Add spices as you feel more adventurous and want to experiment.

cuarrech

If you're not vegetarian, you can also buy the giant family size packages of fresh meats (cheaper per pound), take them out, wrap in film, put in a ziploc and freeze for later. Then take out as needed.

Firefox7275

IMO its processed if it no longer looks like when it came off the plant or animal and is no longer easily recognisable. Drying or freezing doesn't make something processed, grinding it up into a fine powder and then cooking or removing nutritious elements like the germ or skin does. If there is only one or two ingredients that is a good start.

There are plenty of reasonably priced nutrient dense wholefoods or only slightly processed foods - for a start dried beans or lentils, canned oily fish with the bones still in, numerous frozen vegetables, longer life fresh vegetables like carrots, cabbage and onions, the more common dried fruits, canned tomatoes, whole oats. Many meats don't give as much 'bang for buck' as other forms of protein such as dairy, nuts and seeds, canned oily fish. Ground beef mince can be stretched with a ton of vegetables and pulses to make more meals than a pricey steak.

There are always things you can get cheap locally - I live in deprived area with a large south Asian population so can get rice, pulses, spice blends and frozen garlic (much cheaper than fresh!) in bulk at very reasonable prices but we don't have much of a variety of fresh produce in the stores compared to more affluent areas.

karriecook

I'm trying to eat less processed food. My goal is to not eat things with more than 5-6 ingredients in them. This is kind of a happy medium for me. I know I would never be able to get my family to 100% eat clean, but I'm taking steps to make their food healthier. It's all about doing what works for you and you have to read a lot of labels. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have great healthy options for amazing prices. I avoided this store for years because I thought it was expensive but boy was I wrong!

Also, real food fills you up much more than the empty calories in processed food so you consume less, thereby saving money.

Akumu

I'm trying to eat less processed food. My goal is to not eat things with more than 5-6 ingredients in them. This is kind of a happy medium for me. I know I would never be able to get my family to 100% eat clean, but I'm taking steps to make their food healthier. It's all about doing what works for you and you have to read a lot of labels. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have great healthy options for amazing prices. I avoided this store for years because I thought it was expensive but boy was I wrong!

Also, real food fills you up much more than the empty calories in processed food so you consume less, thereby saving money.

This is so true. When people hear that I shop at Trader Joes they think I spend a lot of money, when the reality is that the cost is no more than the average grocery store. I buy their chicken strips, bags of frozen veggies, potatoes, eggs, oatmeal packets, etc. All good food, and stuff you can throw in baggies by the serving to quickly grab for the day. Healthier and cheaper than frozen meals.

Once you switch to more whole foods, you will feel fuller with less calories

Rocbola

Good whole food is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much cheaper than junk that it's not even funny.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NikoM5

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/

Dave198lbs

for many, "processed" as it relates to clean eating, would involve looking at the ingredients label

if there is a long list of preservatives and food colorings and a long list of things you cannot recognize, that would be "processed"

when you buy broccoli or good beef, you wont see a list of added crap on the label

Sweet_Pea0107

Clean eating means NO processed food...but I have seen some claim to eat clean and even get preachy about it but their diaries will be full of protein shakes and bars. To me those are processed and therefore not "clean" so...

FYI: I do not claim to be a clean eater. I do eat some processed foods, but I keep it to a minimum.

Selunca

I just wanted to say that I found this thread really helpful, and thank you for everyone who posted!! Apparently I eat mostly clean without even realizing it!

ironanimal

Spray it with Windex.

currierand

Can we please stop using the c word? And by that, I mean "clean" . Most of us are here to lose weight and get healthier while still living our lives. One way to do that is to make better choices and eat more whole foods. To the OP, eating this way does not mean you have to eat all organic or shop at fancy "whole foods brand" type grocery stores. Keep to the perimeter of any supermarket where most of the better choices can be found. Also, in my opinion, cooking at home as opposed to eating out is more economical and tends to help me stay in my calorie allotment.

Good luck to you and yes anyone who says eating well is too expensive isn't doing it right.

Kelly

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Spray it with Windex.

Windex can get pricey, go with the generic brand glass cleaner.

MelStren

bump

kaotik26

I would say no. It's my rule of thumb to "eat stuff that goes bad". I used to think that healthy food was more expensive but I learned that I can hit the produce section and be way better off. Not only do I save some money now, the food lasts longer in my body so I'm not eating 2 package of Ramen every day. Plus it has totally brought out my creativity in the kitchen!

lveh8lve

Can we please stop using the c word? And by that, I mean "clean" . Most of us are here to lose weight and get healthier while still living our lives. One way to do that is to make better choices and eat more whole foods. To the OP, eating this way does not mean you have to eat all organic or shop at fancy "whole foods brand" type grocery stores. Keep to the perimeter of any supermarket where most of the better choices can be found. Also, in my opinion, cooking at home as opposed to eating out is more economical and tends to help me stay in my calorie allotment.

Good luck to you and yes anyone who says eating well is too expensive isn't doing it right.

Kelly

Totally agree! 90% of my food come from the perimeter of the supermarket. In the summer/harvest months I can buy direct from the farmers. Although most fruits/veggies I would not consider "clean" since I know the garbage they spray on the fields. I just try to eat whole foods instead of crazy processed ingredients. I do sometimes eat naughty foods (mac and cheese), but once in a blue moon.

If you are really worried about cost, why don't you start a garden? Or help out in a community one? It's a great workout too!!!

pandoraw

bump

GCLyds

http://stronglifts.com/20-simple-ways-to-eat-healthy-on-a-budget/

em3120

Bump

cmm7303

Putting aside the idea of opportunity cost, wherein whole foods and the work that goes into preparing them makes them much more expensive than processed foods, just because it comes in a package doesn't make it processed. One of the posters below gives examples about oats, rice and whey protein. Generally, a good rule of thumb is if you can recognize a food as something that grows in nature (meat and dairy excepted) it's probably a whole food.

SideSteel

I have an opinion on this:

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/822501-halp-my-sandwich-isn-t-clean