What clean eating means to me

Add some more protein, maybe dark chocolate and avocado 

I’d like to think I have a good handle on nutrition news. I may skip some of the endless, depressing political articles but I read the food-related ones. There was an article in the Guardian that I missed and, more than that, I seem to have missed when “clean eating” went from being a descriptor and morphed into a cult.

There are a lot of annoying diet terms. Yesterday, I talked about plant based. Now, let’s tackle clean eating. For me, clean eating is akin to sensible eating. More veg, fewer sweets. More whole foods, fewer packaged items. In my eyes, clean eating isn’t perfect eating, clean eating isn’t unreasonable.

This article on clean eating conflates clean eating with orthorexia. Orthorexia is an eating disorder characterized with an obsessive relationship with consuming healthy foods. I don’t’ understand this, that’s like assuming hydration is similar or ove rhydrating (a dangerous type of hydration). The Guardian piece also makes clean eating seem like a club. Either you’re in or you're out, clean or dirty? If that’s the case, my eating since my kids arrived home would be dirty, I’m out? C’mon. We all have times where we lean more clean and others where the picks or treats are a little too frequent. Find me the person who is 100% clean and I’ll find you issues may more damaging than any French fry or margarita (just examples, not saying they are my favorite friggin’ things) can inflict.

The other issue is Instagram and those without qualifications offering advice. Let’s start with Instagram. If Instagram is real, no houses have clutter, no food is ugly and we’re all off in exotic locations all the time. We all play a role. I like Insta stories as I don’t filter and tend to present less pretty things. The more we all do this, the better. I have a ways to go. As far as credentials. I am not a snob. There are people who are fantastic cooks without culinary school and others who have a ton of knowledge without letters after their names. BUT, I find that when you have someone who only offers advice on social media or blogs they are sharing their story. When you see clients, or have experience beyond your own, you are more conscious of being general.

I’m halfway through my coffee, I don’t think I’m expressing that well. I’d see bloggers and “influencer’s” (talk about annoying terms) posts as inspiration versus prescriptive.

So, that’s that. I’m trying to write and blog more so please let me know if there are topics or articles you want me to address. Off to have my “clean” breakfast. We’ll see if I veer dirty as the day drags on.

My son stopped eating fries and I had nothing to do with it

I have two sons. One is more curious about nutrition;  he’s currently is into acai bowls, helps Carolyn and I test recipes etc. Then there’s my older son. He isn’t super technologically-inclined but figured out Postmates/Shake Shack really quickly. While he’s very diligent about fitness and enjoys our organic, veggie-loaded family meals, he doesn’t care too much about nutrition. That’s fine, I have made a point not to shove nutrition down my kid’s throats (in the idiomatic sense, I guess those family meals are forced on them).

Last week, this study made the rounds. Less-healthy son is a current events buff. He came into the kitchen and declared he was giving up French fries. He told everyone about this study. The study found that those who had fries more than twice a week were twice as likely to die prematurely. For the record, non-fried potatoes (roasted, baked) were exonerated.

 I wasn’t going to tell my son to keep eating fries but this study has some issues. These fry lovers, we don’t know what else they did. They could also be soda drinkers or couch potatoes or super stressed out. It’s very difficult to tease out one relationship. And there’s a portion issue too, twice a week of fries makes you die but once is perfectly fine?

I get it, “fries twice a week is associated with early death but the relationship isn’t causal” isn’t too catchy. What interested me most of all of this was that this fact so changed my son’s attitude toward a food he loves (too much). Maybe, I need to be blunter? Video games, body odor and rudeness make you die early too? In any event, don’t tell my son about the technicalities of the fry news. And while we’re deceiving my kids, don’t tell my younger son about the sugar in those acai bowls.