What is clean eating?

I'm sure it means something different to each person, but to me it is just a matter of choosing consciously and deliberately a product in a more natural state.

Even most of those items are processed in one way or another, but for instance, instead of choosing a heavy whipping cream with sorbic acid, dipotassium phosphate, produced from cows given hormones, caged and milked by machinery (there is nothing wrong with making this choice in my opinion) you may select/choose a heavy cream from a local dairy that doesn't add preservatives and doesn't give their cows hormones, and maybe the cow lives outside and gets sunshine and is milked by hand.

This can be true of every item we purchase. I tend to shop the perimeter of my grocery store, which I find has items in their more natural states, however, I'm not against convenience and processed foods when they fit my goals. I do prefer to buy fresh vegetables from farmers whenever possible, but it isn't always convenient or affordable for my budget. I also like Birdseye Steamfresh vegetables from the freezer section because they are fast, easy, and sometimes less expensive than the same item from the produce section.

I personally don't see much difference between a fresh head of cauliflower from the produce section versus the bag of frozen chunks of cauliflower. One, I have to wash, remove stem and cut in chunks myself, boil, then use the food processor. The other, I pour from the bag into my pot, boil, then put in food processor. Sometimes I make the choice to save myself a step or two, but I still consider it eating "clean".

Sounds like you have the same approach as I do basically. I would never call this "clean," so I'm kind of curious what it is that makes that designation appeal to you, especially since you acknowledge that it really doesn't mean anything, since people all have their own definitions.

My dislike for the term is that it seems to assert superiority over those who don't "eat clean" and, even more, that it's basically a trendy term that means nothing, but from a more pragmatic POV it asserts that there are categories of foods you don't eat. There are lots of foods I don't eat (I don't care for them, think they are worse for me than something else that serves the same purpose, have strong ideas about how I like to eat, etc.), but I would be hard pressed to generalize about them in a "clean eating" kind of way, as it seems you also would. For example, if I were to buy into a "no processed foods" rule, I'd either be a hypocrite or have to explain to myself why lots of processed foods that I think make my diet healthier (like some you mention or I did above) must be off limit, and I couldn't come up with a reason.

I do make choices between foods sometimes based on one being less processed or more local/seasonable or more natural or for ethical reasons and various other distinctions, as I think we all do, but I wouldn't characterize this as clean vs. not. It's just part of navigating the numerous choices we have as consumers, that really can't be simplified to "eat foods on this list and not that" in any kind of sensible way.

rinse off your fruit before you eat it

Everyone will probably give a slightly different answer (and I'm sure there will be some ridiculous comments like "food that is washed), but I strive to eat clean as often as possible.

The simplest definition in my book is: whole, single-ingredient foods or foods made with ingredients I understand and would use in home cooking. no artificial ingredients and no meat/dairy/eggs with antibiotics, hormones, etc.

There will be tons of "not off the floor", "I shower", "I wash them" absurd threadjacking comments. There always are.

It doesn't really matter what others consider clean eating.

You decide what fits your lifestyle/healthstyle.

As others have said, great advice.

(Now if only we could lose the annoying "clean eating" label, since it makes no sense anyway.)

well- when you use an completely arbitrary way of describing how you eat- then yes- you tend to get some silly comments. It's less about thread jacking and pointing out with some humor that it's completely arbitrary how you define how you eat.

And yet just two days ago when someone was asking about implementing IIFYM the "expert" reply was basically: "You decide what your macros are set to. There is no right answer for macros". Doesn't that render that somewhat arbitrary as well? Yet no one disagreed....
I'm not interested in debating IIFYM, because, well, it can be healthy, and hideously UNhealthy.
I guess I just wish that instead of the childish comments folks could offer some reasonable advice about eating a healthful diet, since that's what most folks are really asking about.

I guess I just wish that instead of the childish comments folks could offer some reasonable advice about eating a healthful diet, since that's what most folks are really asking about.

I'm not convinced that's so. There seems to be a focus on the label and starting groups for "clean eating" and finding "clean eating" cookbooks and plans, as if those were really a thing, as if there was something different than a normal cookbook that explains how to make a meal with whole foods you buy is different than a special clean eating recipe that leaves out whatever it is. Like I've said before, I love cookbooks, have about 100 of them, and not one relies on packaged food or whatever it is that "clean" eating is supposed to be against. And not one claims to be about cooking "clean" foods. But obviously most of them do have recipes calling for flour or sugar or olive oil or dairy or potatoes or whatever random things specific "clean" eaters may consider unclean.

If it were about healthy eating, why try to exclude the numerous people here who also try to eat healthy but just don't happen to follow rules that eliminate foods. I mean, that I eat fish I buy frozen and greek yogurt from a container and some treats in (I think) moderation and like eating at local restaurants (not fast food, personally, not because I'm "clean" but because I'm picky) doesn't mean that I don't eat lots of vegetables and cook mostly from whole foods and focus on filling my diet with nutrient-dense tasty foods I cook myself. Of course I do, as do most of the people who mock the "clean" label. It's just I see no reason to exclude "processed foods" that I consider healthy and most of the kinds of boxed foods people are talking about are ones I see no reason to exclude, since I don't like them anyway (and if I did I'd see no reason not to try to fit them in in moderation).

It's those who buy into the "clean" eating label who are creating this idea that it's some special way of eating that is different than just normal efforts to eat a healthy diet, IMO.

It's a marketing term that ignites debate and sells diet books, nothing more...

^^This.

Making certain people think that they need to eat "clean" is a good way to set them up for failure, also. If someone new to weight loss comes on here for advice, and they get sucked into a clean eating group full of people telling them that eating clean is the be all, end all of losing weight and being healthy, it can have bad effects on their long-term weight loss, just like any diet.

If someone is morbidly obese, maybe depressed, with high blood pressure/triglycerides/cholesterol, the last thing they need to concern themselves with is "eating clean." They need to get the weight off in a healthy, sustainable way. The weight is the number one factor endangering their health at that point. Not GMOs, not teh chemicalz, not pesticides - it is the excess body fat and sedentary lifestyle that often comes with it.

If they feel like they have to eat within the parameters of clean eating, they may get discouraged if they break the rules. Then they may binge on Oreos or Doritos, and then say, "Well, I'm a failure. I quit." When really they can have Oreos and Doritos sparingly, within their deficit, and still lose weight. They need to learn to fit the foods that they enjoy into a balanced, sustainable diet. They should not have people telling them that these foods are "bad" to the point that they feel shame when they eat them. No one should ever be ashamed of eating tasty foods within an otherwise healthy diet.

I don't know if any of that was comprehensible or not. But yeah. Someone who is obese needs to focus more on getting rid of excess body fat than some ridiculous set of clean-eating rules.

as others have said, for me it just means trying to limit heavily processed foods and getting more whole ingredients and making things from scratch where i can. do i buy only organic nope not in this podunk town, too pricy. but if i can i will, and farm fresh eggs and meat are nice when available too. if i want cookies i'll bake them. i don't need pre packaged everything and pre made meals filled with ingredients i can't say lol but do i still go out an have a treat sometimes, of course.

"Clean Eating" is following a program set up by Alejandro Junger to sell diet and nutrition books. Anything else is eating the freshest, least processed foods you have available to you.