What is Clean eating?

create your own definition

There are always going to be fine lines. People on here say whole grains and wheat, veggies, lean meat, etc.

FOR me though - I don't eat any whole grains or wheat flour but I have plenty of fresh vegetables, lean meats, anything non-processed, fruits, healthy fats like avocado and almonds.

There is no right answer to this, but I've seen some good explanations here. MY definition of "clean eating" would be whole, unprocessed foods in their natural state. That said, I eat "clean" probably 85% of the time. Most of what I cook/prepare myself, I would consider "clean", but I do eat out and at other people's homes occasionally, so in those situations, I try to stick to the simple stuff.

To the OP:

What is the official word on "Clean eating"?---> as you can see from the posts, there is no one official word. It means different things to different people. Most people think of it as eating foods that are less processed, made from ingredients without the use of additives and preservatives. I generally try to choose foods that are not processed over ones that are.

Is wheat ok? For some people, yes. For others, no. Many people do just fine with wheat. Others have gluten sensitivities which result in chronic inflammation and bloating, or outright intolerance which is an autoimmune disorder and can trigger other autoimmune disorders. You can get tested, or you can try eliminating it for a month to see what effect it has on you. I generally try to avoid wheat because its usually used in foods that are triggers for me to overeat. I try to replace the cals I might get from breads, cereals, cakes, cookies etc with cals from veggies.

Dairy? Some people are lactose-intolerant. Some people find that dairy causes skin issues. Some people don't like the growth hormones used in non-organic milks. Some people don't like the idea that humans are drinking something intended for another species. Some people have no issues at all with dairy. Some people only consume raw dairy. I LOVE CHEESE and cream, so I choose to keep dairy in my diet. I choose not to buy raw, because I have little kids and I don't believe the benefits outweigh the risks for them.

organic? Most would consider organic a good thing. I choose organic when I can, especially for the dirty dozen. I prefer to support local organic farms, so I try to buy local organic.

Grass-fed, pastured meats? Yes, these are great. Grass-fed beef has a better fatty acid profile and generally just tastes better. Pastured chickens are AWESOME... they have great flavor and texture. Pastured eggs taste great and are "perkier" than conventional eggs... the yolk is bright and stands up high. Pastured pork is hard to find, but also great when you can get it. Ultimately, meat from pastured animals means that the animals generally were treated more humanely in life and when they were butchered.

I think it depends on who you ask. I think there are two version of "clean eating". 1) eating healthy foods (wheat products instead of white, raw almonds instead of salty nuts, rice cakes instead of chips, etc. and 2) totally unprocessed raw foods, sauces completely homemade or with only a few ingredients, etc.

So i think clean eating for you should be whatever you consider it to be(obviously aside from junk!) For example, I started the whole30 this week and not thinking about it, I used prego spaghetti sauce for spaghetti squash. Not really following the whole30 so I decided this week to either make sauces or NONE at all! Some people would have still considered spaghetti squash with sauce clean eating though.

Washing all the fruits and veggies before you eat them.

Washing in 1 part vinegar (apple cider or white) to 3 parts water - just water will not wash away the chemicals/wax. I just fill a bowl and dip my veggies/fruit in then rinse with water and dry.

I haven't done too much research into the official meaning of "Clean Eating" but to me its food with 1 ingredient and no chemicals

So chicken is chicken
beef is well beef
Tomato is a tomato and so on and so forthe

Whereas cereal, frozen foods, packaged foods etc is a combination of ingredients we cannot pronounce.

Now i've made crackers. Which store bought is a complete no-no but i made my crackers from whole ingredients. Which still makes it food that is clean.

I'm not sure if I explained that well or not :S

So triscuits and fritos are clean, then?

I reread my post to make sure I didn't make a mistake but no triscuits and fritos are definitely not clean. I said store bought were complete no-nos

It's an obnoxious term that means eating whole, unprocessed, real foods only.

Does this include making a cake from scratch?

ETA: with butter churned myself from our cows' milk, of course

Anyone care to answer this? It's a serious question!

Clean eating is ambiguous therefore any answer is in the realm of reality. Making a cake from scratch, adding whole ingredients like butter is perfectly fine, but that's just my opinion. My vegan friend on the other hand would have physical symptoms of anxiety and stress just looking at the butter, seriously and where I would see tofu a popular ingredient for her, totally unacceptable as a food, period.

ButI dont think she can win the argument that its not a clean food. Do you? Some people would use margarine (because they can make "light" versions of it in place of the butter.) If you are eating clean and making a cake from scratch you would use butter not margarine and (in my opion) you are still eating clean.

Anyone care to answer this? It's a serious question!

Clean eating is ambiguous therefore any answer is in the realm of reality. Making a cake from scratch, adding whole ingredients like butter is perfectly fine, but that's just my opinion. My vegan friend on the other hand would have physical symptoms of anxiety and stress just looking at the butter, seriously and where I would see tofu a popular ingredient for her, totally unacceptable as a food, period.

ButI dont think she can win the argument that its not a clean food. Do you? Some people would use margarine (because they can make "light" versions of it in place of the butter.) If you are eating clean and making a cake from scratch you would use butter not margarine and (in my opion) you are still eating clean.

Well, the problem with clean eating at the source is in the dissection of nutritional information where biases are formed where some ingredients are therefore deemed good or bad. Margarine use to be considered good by the majority of people because it doesn't contain cholesterol or animal saturated fats, which was considered deleterious to our overall health, and btw many still believe this. Over the last 5 years or so trans fats, bleached and deodorized vegetable oils aka refined, and the susceptibility of polyunsaturated fats which is used to make margarine to oxidize and form free radicals has brought about more critical thinking and research by the general public and butter is coming out on top as the healthier choice by those that have done that further research. The manufacturers of margarine of course know this and market products that appear healthier than previous versions. All I know is the margarine selection is huge compared to the butter selection and sales are much greater, so to the general population margarine is the healthier option. See how ambiguous this is.
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Yes, yes I do. So i suppose to each their own? Do your own research on clean eating and decide what you think it is and what is best for you and follow that?

Edit: I missed a [ /quote] somewhere and i'm choosing not to fix it haha

so is wheat flour, pasta, bread considered clean? Dairy - only full fat or any? raw?

Not sure about dairy- I know alot of people drink Almond milk...is that considered dairy? idk

Most people think that they are eating "clean" by buying whole grain bread... but unless it is 100% whole grain, its not really whole grain.

Almond milk would not be dairy as it does not come from an animal's teat.

It's an obnoxious term that means eating whole, unprocessed, real foods only.

Does this include making a cake from scratch?

ETA: with butter churned myself from our cows' milk, of course

Anyone care to answer this? It's a serious question!

Well, I don't think there is any mandate to eat the single food items each by itself! You are allowed to cook with them, bake with them, but the point it that they started out whole and minimally processed and then YOU combine them into "clean" meals.

But as everyone else has already said, there is no one set-in-stone meaning for the term, and to some people it's offensively holier-than-thou.

Everyone has their own personal meaning for "clean eating".


FOR ME, it means just eating foods that are:

● non-gmo (i use a barcode & PLU scanner app)

● organic

● unprocessed or unrefined


Which is what i personally eat 99% of the time. It may seem like a bit much, but it works for ME.

I make majority of my own food. So i still get to eat REAL butter, cheese, pasta, & etc. :drinker: