Help with eating clean

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daisymae9801
daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I want to start eating clean, but I don't have tons of time to make food. Do frozen packaged foods from say Trader Joes or Whole Foods count as clean? I'm talking like frozen fish that has spices on it already and stuff like that that I could serve with veggies.

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  • GalaxyDuck
    GalaxyDuck Posts: 406 Member
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    If it comes frozen in a package, it's probably not clean. The best way to know for sure is to check the ingredients label. I would consider most frozen veggies to be "clean", as they generally have zero added to them (sometimes salt, again you need to check!) but anything that's seasoned or breaded, like fish sticks, is not clean.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    Can you define "clean"? Because it doesn't really mean anything.

    At the end of the day, calories are what matters. "Clean" foods usually have less calories per unit volume. But if you can manage to stay satiated, you can get lose weight eating "unclean" foods.
  • daisymae9801
    daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
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    I know that, and I didn't ask if it did. It has nothing to do with losing more weight by choosing "clean" over "unclean." I want to try to cut out preservatives and things like that to see if it makes me feel better.
  • daisymae9801
    daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
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    If it comes frozen in a package, it's probably not clean. The best way to know for sure is to check the ingredients label. I would consider most frozen veggies to be "clean", as they generally have zero added to them (sometimes salt, again you need to check!) but anything that's seasoned or breaded, like fish sticks, is not clean.

    Thank you!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
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    Just wash your veggies!

    No seriously, just eat as much whole quality food as you can. Don't feel like you have to be 100% "clean eating" all the time.
  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    To me, if everything on the label sounds like food then its clean i.e.

    fish, pepper, herbs = clean

    fish, wheat powder, rice starch etc = not clean
  • emberlatrella
    emberlatrella Posts: 14 Member
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    Frozen foods like dinners or meals are not clean , cakes, cookies soda chips pretty much anything thing that comes in a package ( processed) and will live for years on your shelf is not clean . examples of clean foods are chicken breast , ground turkey , any kind of dried beans, fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain bread whole grain cereal with out added sugar , plain oatmeal , honey , agave nectar things like that . I read Oxygen magazine and Clean Eating magazine alot there are tons of clean recipies and it shows how to live a fit life style , I just started on the clean eating journey about a year ago , its hard at first to give up all those other foods but once you do you will feel better . Good luck with everything and I hope this has some what helped you out
  • amyindm
    amyindm Posts: 93 Member
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    To me, if everything on the label sounds like food then its clean i.e.

    fish, pepper, herbs = clean

    fish, wheat powder, rice starch etc = not clean

    Agree!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-nutrition/the-dirt-on-clean-eating/
    "Wash your food" is easily my favorite quote about clean eating.
  • daisymae9801
    daisymae9801 Posts: 208 Member
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    Thank you for the people that answered my question (as opposed to trying to get me to not eat clean?) I see no harm in eating whole foods.
  • pobski
    pobski Posts: 42 Member
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    There's no harm, but no measurable benefit either. It's a lot bigger pain the *kitten* (nearly impossible) to try and get all your micronutrients out of food than to just take a multivitamin and hit your caloric goal.

    But if it works for you then go for it.

    Broccoli is a low calorie high satiety food. I'm going to eat a truckload of it tonight
  • zoeluiisa
    zoeluiisa Posts: 392
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    I never heard the term "clean eating" until I came on MFP. I find it odd that there's a special term for eating normal, real food - as if it's a weird, unusual thing to do! To me what's weird is putting things into your body that were created in a lab, instead of grown in a field.

    That's not to say I never buy things in packages, I do (butter, rice cakes, frozen veg, cheese, Covent Garden Soups) but if there's stuff in the ingredients that aren't in my kitchen at home, I don't want it.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    Thank you for the people that answered my question (as opposed to trying to get me to not eat clean?) I see no harm in eating whole foods.

    No one was trying to get you to "not eat clean" because "eating clean" doesn't mean anything, and therefore your question does not make sense. I suggest you read the link that Acg67 posted.
  • zoeluiisa
    zoeluiisa Posts: 392
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    Thank you for the people that answered my question (as opposed to trying to get me to not eat clean?) I see no harm in eating whole foods.

    There's no harm in it at all, its how millions of people eat, all over the world. Enjoy!

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