What the Heck is Clean Eating?

Clean eating? It is a term tagged on tweets, blogs ;), posted on Instagram and Facebook, and even seen on television. Is it a diet? Is it a lifestyle? Does anyone know what the heck it is?

The truth is, it is a very simple concept. In some ways, clean eating is what eating was always about.

Food that's "clean" is food that is, for the most part, real food and not encumbered with things that compromise health: artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, and artificial sugar substitutes.

The clean eating rule of thumb: the shorter the ingredients list, the better. No specific food is off-limits as long as it's real, honest-to-goodness foods. In other words, it isn't a"diet" that bans breads or sacrifices sugars.

It take things back to the way things used to be in the past. Where people prepare their food from scratch and grow fresh produce-limiting the harmful side-affects of pesticides.

Where Did It Come From?

Clean eating is mostly a new aged concept that began when we had enough cultural advancements to create excess.  Books such as Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore Dilemma" and popular documentaries like "Food, Inc."helped bring ingredient awareness to forefront of people's mind.

More importantly is the desperate need for healthy eating in our country. Heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are in almost every household. This was the main factor that sparked my ignition to change my life. My mom had her first stroke at the young age of 30 and that wasn't her last. Her lifestyle of being a hard working mom on-the-go to eating fast food weekly, along with her constant freezer aisle meals, probably contributed to our overall health.

Is It Any Good?

If you are trying to lose weight or just longing to be healthy, then clean eating is solution for you. Keep in mind, clean eating is a lifestyle not a quick-fix-diet-solution. Try adding a few clean meals to your weekly routine and continue to add more every week. Make commitment as a family. My husband and I are committed, as a couple, to eat clean and raise our kids that way.

Motto: Eating whole foods and less packed foods.  If it has shelf life, then it will have a shelf like on you.