What is “Clean Eating?”

Steph Wagner MS, RDN

July 9, 2013

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Have you heard this term? Clean Eating?

It sounds so nice, doesn’t it? But it feels hard to pin-point. What is clean? What is unclean?

Clean Eating, in my mind, is slightly open for interpretation. In general the idea is eating food in it’s most natural form. A clean meal has few ingredients and none that have been processed.

Example of “Clean” Meals:

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The recently posted Lemon Dill Grilled Chicken and veggies. 

Balsamic Chicken Salad with Summer Squash. Low carb and weight loss surgery friendly!

Balsamic Chicken and Summer Squash Salad.

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One of my favorite sides: Broccoli Slaw. 

What I have determined, however, is that “Clean Eating” is open for interpretation.

Some would say no to most all mustards due to added sugar content. Some would be very particular and order ingredients online to avoid any additives of any sort. Which is highly admirable! I, myself, am not that diligent in my ingredients.

Others may eat “Clean” but use some dressings or sweeteners on occasion. I think this is also awesome- it’s still following a diet of foods in a very natural state. Lean meats and non-starchy veggies is a very “Clean” way of eating!

I do love the idea of it all. God created this world and it’s a beautiful thing to remember how food comes to us. How it’s grown from a small seed- a miracle of it’s own. I don’t want to take that for granted as I pick through piles of produce. Food is still a provision for us, one that is easily forgotten because access is not nearly as difficult as it once was.

I digress. What I am saying, is “Clean Eating” is just a great way of life. Eat things that you could somewhat track the history of how it got to you, and not so much things from bags and boxes. Food really is still fuel. We might be cautious to fill our car up with super, super cheap gasoline because we would question how good that really was for the car. It’s a good reminder that our bodies need high quality gasoline to run well.

So I will start tagging “clean meals” so you know what on here would be considered clean. I think many, many of the meals would meet that category. But again, it’s so open for interpretation…you may want to make your own guidelines of a “clean” meal.

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