The rules of vegan clean eating

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  • melda6
    melda6 Posts: 35 Member
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    I've been vegetarian for 7.5 years, and I think this a great question! I know most of the time when I read about clean eating (whether here on MFP or elsewhere), it really just sounds like "Eat your vegetables!" which really isn't something I need to be told to do.

    I think the idea behind eating "clean" is to get the food you're eating as close to nature as possible. I eat pretty ok, but definitely have room for improvement! I love sweets. I think to go clean, you should first examine what you do eat and cut out the excess (in my case, candy). Then, maybe establish some rules for what meals ought to look like (ex. greens must cover half of plate) or ingredients (ex. nothing you can't get from the Earth, no more than five ingredients).

    All in all, use common sense, stay healthy, and do what works for you!
  • Oaeneo
    Oaeneo Posts: 65 Member
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    its unethical
    dirty
    expensive
    and makes me want to vom
    however if i really need to i'll sometimes have seafood when eating out as not a lot of places do vegan food

    If you eat seafood you are not a vegan. Also, seafood it pretty unethical depending on what you eat and how it was acquired. What is the difference between killing a chicken and killing a fish. Many ways of catching seafood destroy the ocean and produce a lot of by-catch ( which is all the animals they catch but don't want.) They are thrown away.

    As for there not being a lot of places to get vegan food. This is crap. It is an excuse based on convenience. My partner is a vegan and we traveled along the Mexican, and Guatemalan coast. He not once had to compromise his ethics. There are always options, especially if you are in a first world country.

    Little harsh, lady. The fact that she eats vegan meals at all is huge. Even if one has fish/meat/animal products occasionally that person is still making a significant difference by cutting down on a daily basis.

    What business is it of yours that she isn't 100% vegan? And what good is labeling people based on what they do or don't eat, anyway?

    OP posted this for help, not criticism.

    I'm not labeling. She labeled herself incorrectly. Words do have definitions. If she had started out with "plant based diet" I wouldn't have a problem with it but to say you are something you are not is dishonest. I also did not like to tone of judgement in her list of reasons she doesn't eat meat. Eating seafood when you won't eat other forms of meat isn't any form of vegan.
    The rest was just to inform our "ethical" vegan just how horrible eating seafood can be.
  • SugarBaby71
    SugarBaby71 Posts: 3,630 Member
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    Read "Eat To Live" by Joel Fuhrman. It is a great resource.
  • Ivory623
    Ivory623 Posts: 2
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    i will say this.
    make sure you get your b12 when you have a baby/before you get pregnant. or the chances of this increase
    jama_children_birthdefects_lev20_spinabifida_jpp_01.jpg

    I think that is actually due to a folate deficiency. But yes, vitamin B12 deficiency is very dangerous, although it often does not show up for years after one stops eating meat.
  • dgljones
    dgljones Posts: 89
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    There aren't rules because 'clean living' is a catch all term and means different things to different people.
    I describe myself as a non obsessive Vegan. That means I eat Vegan, but if a granola bar has a milk byproduct as the 17th listed ingredient I am not going to panic about it.
    My main advice if you want to lose weight on a vegan diet is to build your meals around vegetables and always try and include some lean protein. I'd say that was good advice for meat eaters too. Don't think you are going to magically lose weight if you replace chicken with brown rice and broccoli with a triple helping of pasta with sauce and an extra large vegan cookie.
    I have known several vegetarians and vegans over the years who don't even like vegetables unless they are processed or smothered in olive oil. If you don't love eating Broccoli or Cauliflower or lettuce or kale or whatever raw and unadorned then you are probably not the best fit.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    i will say this.
    make sure you get your b12 when you have a baby/before you get pregnant. or the chances of this increase
    jama_children_birthdefects_lev20_spinabifida_jpp_01.jpg

    I think that is actually due to a folate deficiency. But yes, vitamin B12 deficiency is very dangerous, although it often does not show up for years after one stops eating meat.

    actually does. going through lectures that talk about b12 as well.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9327028
  • aresbabe
    aresbabe Posts: 21 Member
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    Just watched "Earthlings," documentary. Definitely changed my thoughts about veganism. Ignorance is bliss for many. I would like to know more about vegan clean eating as well, specifically if one can still maintain lean body mass while eating vegan? I've heard some ppl gain weight but I'm for sure done with red meat.
  • aresbabe
    aresbabe Posts: 21 Member
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    Just watched "Earthlings," documentary. Definitely changed my thoughts about veganism. Ignorance is bliss for many. I would like to know more about vegan clean eating as well, specifically if one can still maintain lean body mass while eating vegan? I've heard some ppl gain weight but I'm for sure done with red meat.
  • aresbabe
    aresbabe Posts: 21 Member
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    Just watched "Earthlings," documentary. Definitely changed my thoughts about veganism. Ignorance is bliss for many. I would like to know more about vegan clean eating as well, specifically if one can still maintain lean body mass while eating vegan? I've heard some ppl gain weight but I'm for sure done with red meat.
  • BluePHX
    BluePHX Posts: 184 Member
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    its unethical
    dirty
    expensive
    and makes me want to vom
    however if i really need to i'll sometimes have seafood when eating out as not a lot of places do vegan food

    If you eat seafood you are not a vegan. Also, seafood it pretty unethical depending on what you eat and how it was acquired. What is the difference between killing a chicken and killing a fish. Many ways of catching seafood destroy the ocean and produce a lot of by-catch ( which is all the animals they catch but don't want.) They are thrown away.

    As for there not being a lot of places to get vegan food. This is crap. It is an excuse based on convenience. My partner is a vegan and we traveled along the Mexican, and Guatemalan coast. He not once had to compromise his ethics. There are always options, especially if you are in a first world country.

    No. No there are actually not always a lot of choices. Unless you order a dry salad every time. Because even tortillas are cooked in lard, which is animal fat. You cannot ever be sure that they do not add cream cheeses, butter, etc to their bean dips, etc. The only way to be 100% sure that you are eating vegan is to prepare the food yourself or eat at a strictly vegan restaurant or restaurant that advertises vegan food without disclaimers. Otherwise, you are taking a risk every single time you eat somewhere. I am not a Vegan. I'm a vegetarian who just happens to have gluten and dairy allergies, so I am constantly on the lookout for vegan foods. They pretty much have what I need. Going out to eat is a very rare occasion for me outside the vegan/organic restaurants we go to sometimes because 9 out of 10 menus only have side items I can have, and even those are questionable. I'd rather just eat at home and go out for DRINKS. :) We're taking a trip to Europe in August and let me just say, I am extremely nervous about my food choices there.
  • BluePHX
    BluePHX Posts: 184 Member
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    Okay I want to start eating clean but I dont really know what I can and can't have

    can i have rice? brown rice? what about pasta?
    sugar? flour? and which types

    but yeah so on, if anyone could tell me what is classed clean and unclean that would be great!

    A good rule to work with when trying to eat clean is to only eat foods that have 6 or less organic, whole food ingredients in them. Nothing processed, no GMO's, no chemicals, just organically grown and fed foods. If you are not eating meat, there are plenty of options for you to choose from in the vegan diet. Some people also feel that this means buying the organic, unsweetened versions of things like Almond Milk; I have personally tried unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it's pretty bland! :p Some people like it a lot, I'll stick with sweetened vanilla. I feel that since it's made with organic sugar and not artificial sweeteners, it's fine. It's really just about eating food that is 100% natural with no additives, all the time. Which pretty much cancels out every single drive-thru in America and all of the Monsanto based food brands. It's challenging at first but once you get the hang of it it's easy. :)
  • mo1700
    mo1700 Posts: 78 Member
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    Bump
  • Oaeneo
    Oaeneo Posts: 65 Member
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    its unethical
    dirty
    expensive
    and makes me want to vom
    however if i really need to i'll sometimes have seafood when eating out as not a lot of places do vegan food

    If you eat seafood you are not a vegan. Also, seafood it pretty unethical depending on what you eat and how it was acquired. What is the difference between killing a chicken and killing a fish. Many ways of catching seafood destroy the ocean and produce a lot of by-catch ( which is all the animals they catch but don't want.) They are thrown away.

    As for there not being a lot of places to get vegan food. This is crap. It is an excuse based on convenience. My partner is a vegan and we traveled along the Mexican, and Guatemalan coast. He not once had to compromise his ethics. There are always options, especially if you are in a first world country.

    No. No there are actually not always a lot of choices. Unless you order a dry salad every time. Because even tortillas are cooked in lard, which is animal fat. You cannot ever be sure that they do not add cream cheeses, butter, etc to their bean dips, etc. The only way to be 100% sure that you are eating vegan is to prepare the food yourself or eat at a strictly vegan restaurant or restaurant that advertises vegan food without disclaimers. Otherwise, you are taking a risk every single time you eat somewhere. I am not a Vegan. I'm a vegetarian who just happens to have gluten and dairy allergies, so I am constantly on the lookout for vegan foods. They pretty much have what I need. Going out to eat is a very rare occasion for me outside the vegan/organic restaurants we go to sometimes because 9 out of 10 menus only have side items I can have, and even those are questionable. I'd rather just eat at home and go out for DRINKS. :) We're taking a trip to Europe in August and let me just say, I am extremely nervous about my food choices there.

    One thing you can do is ask. Which we do. We also did prepare most of our own food. You can buy produce on the street and in markets and we have not found a place yet where we can't find beans or rice. My vegan SO has traveled around the world and to some pretty remote places and has never had to eat something unknown or compromise his values. We have cooked in tents, hostels, and fancy hotels. You don't chose this way of eating because it's easy, but it certainly doesn't have to be hard.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    If you won't eat meat due to ethics, that's one thing. The cost and the taste IMO are another topic. But I know we aren't answering your question. I think most MEAT EATERS will agree that the best protein sources are meat and fish and eggs.

    I'd go for whole grains, tofu, beans, lentils, and nuts to name a few.

    Just corrected your post for you
  • HotrodsGirl0107
    HotrodsGirl0107 Posts: 243 Member
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    So let's be konest... you are not vegan at this point because on occasion you eat fish which is a meat. If you want to be a true vegan it isn't just about the food you comsume. Of course vegans don't eat meat, dairy, eggs, basically anything from an animal. As far as clean eating. The def varies but for the most part eat as fresh and unprocessed as possible. You also need to pay attention to soaps,cleaners and other house hold good to make sure they are vegan and not tested on animals. Makeup is the same way and of course leather goods are a no no.

    I am not vegan btw. I wouldn't be able to do it 100% as my steel toes and some of my equipment for work is leather.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
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    Quinoa is a good alternate protein choice...

    You won't go ovo lacto? I mean...vegan diets are slightly more difficult as far as getting protein. Not impossible...but you might get tired of the same thing all the time.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
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    True. if you eat fish on occasion you can't be vegan.

    Vegan is no animal products at all. Including eggs, dairy...fish...shellfish...etc...broths...

    I mean...If you're willing to eat fish once in a while, try incorporating dairy and/or eggs.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    I havent read through all the posts, but look up thegraciouspantry.com. Beats Tosca Reno and the Clean Eating mag right out of the water. She eats meat, but has a lot of vegan stuff.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
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    Don't you think I would have tried googling it first? I couldn't find anything clear. They're all pretty vague
    Don't eat out of cans or boxes if at all possible. Clean. Clean is an opinion, this one is mine.
  • barb1241
    barb1241 Posts: 324 Member
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    Could we just get back to saying what I can and can't have instead of discussing something that's off topic ?

    No kidding!

    OP-generally the less processed the food is, the "cleaner" it is. That having been said, tofu is processed. Organic canned vegetables are processed. You may need to pick your battles unless you are growing all your own grains and using only raw vegetables. For example-you want to make vegan spaghetti sauce-I am making this tomorrow, more or less. Shred some raw zucchini and carrots. So far, so good. Chop some raw onions. Still good. Vegan. "Clean". Open some canned tomatoes. Still vegan. No longer "clean". Even the kind that are "reduced" sodium are still very processed-lots of chemistry involved. You could make your own tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes. Expensive if not in season, but clean. And not much protein yet either. Add some tofu. OOPS! Great protein. Still vegan. Very processed, not clean again. You could use dry beans in your sauce. Pretty close to clean, good protein. Not really very much like spaghetti anymore.

    That is just a small example, to give you an idea about clean versus not clean eating. I think most people, even those who want to eat clean have to do the best they can within the realm of possibility/sustainability.

    Hope that helps. If you need more info send me a message.

    I am not vegan. I have a daughter who is and a son who is an executive chef at a meat-laden Italian restaurant. When the family all gets together, it is interesting to say the least.

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