Jennah Ferrara, 2011
A nation's dietary preferences--or what, how and why its people eat--have always said much more than a mouthful. The fad diets and "lifestyle choices" of the American public over the past few decades speak a lot about us, who are, as a group, fatter than ever.
Bizarre trends such as the infamous cabbage soup, grapefruit, and "lemonade" (lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, to be exact) diets emerged in the 1970s. Then more eating plans attached to titles such as The Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, and The Zone came to pass. Jenny Craig and her ilk delivered pre-made meals to dieters' doors.
But all along the conventional wisdom of the times was "eat in moderation." The secret is a single sentence: "Eat less and exercise." But eat what? Even the U.S. government is coming right out and saying the American plateful should be half fruits and vegetables, and by the way, don't eat so much pizza and dessert already.
Fruits? Vegetables? Trends? Now the clean-eating tradition birthed by the dirty natural-food munching hippies who once turned U.S. society upside down is the latest thing, and people of all sorts are its devotees.
What do clean eaters eat, anyway?
A more rigid clean-eating plan rejects the processed foods of a stereotypical American diet: Avoid the inner shelves of the grocery store--shop at the perimeter! It's the natural food movement of the 1960s updated for the new millennium. If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.
Yes: Fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and legumes, lean meats. Use fresh garlic, sea salt and spices such as cumin, making the unfamiliar additives unnecessary in cooking. Eat six small meals a day. Exercise 5-7 times week. Drink lots of water. Know the ingredients of what you're eating. (Some "clean" diets or plans involve a "cheat" day where the eater can flout the rules.)
No: Refined or processed foods, three large meals a day, soda, white flour, alcohol, fried food, sugar, trans or saturated fats or caffeine.
The History of Eating Clean
What do Ralph Nader, bodybuilders, Shawn Wayans, a Canadian fitness model and an unorganized community of bloggers sharing nutritional and fitness ideas have in common? Clean eating in some form.
Eating clean is a philosophy that originated within the counterculture of the '60s, when returning to natural, whole foods was a rejection not only of the artificial and processed comestibles "The Man" put up for sale, but also of a conformist way of life.
Another rebel placed the concept of clean eating in the midst of American society. Horrified by the effects of pesticides and other chemicals, consumer advocate Ralph Nader wrote books such as Eating Clean: Overcoming Food Hazards and Eating Clean: Food Safety and the Chemical Harvest. (Convinced of the transformative power of good food, his Lebanese mother Rose also produced a book, It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought, which includes her recipes for hummus and tabouli, among other dishes.)
Competitive and otherwise serious bodybuilders also have "eaten clean" in a less activist way to enhance their performance, some creating programs so other lifters can learn (and pay for) some of their secrets.
This scenefrom the front page of the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times of June 2009, where part of the entertainment dynasty of Wayans (namely, Shawn and nephews Craig, Damon and Damien) gather at a restaurant, illustrates one of the difficulties with this way of eating. It's difficult to find acceptable food when eating out. And in some interpretations of clean eating, there is no room for compromise.
Their food arrived ? heaping plates of fried chicken, collard greens and corn bread. Shawn asked for an apple, which he ate in chunks.In an article in the 2009 Today's Dietician magazine Diane Welland, MS, RD, dietician and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Clean does recommend a more gradual, accommodating type of clean eating lifestyle: "Like most eating regimes, clean eating strives to meet the 80/20 rule, following the diet 80% of the time. Obviously, the closer people follow a processed-free diet, the more health benefits they will reap.?.Although some people do well throwing out all processed foods and going clean cold turkey, others need to make a more gradual transformation and take small steps. Either way, their goal is clear: maintaining a clean, healthy diet that makes them look and feel their best.""I'm eating 'clean,' " he said. No fried or fatty food, sugary desserts or alcohol.
"It's an L. A. kind of thing," Craig explained. "I'm eating clean, too."
"What are you talking about?" asked Shawn, pointing at Craig's plate. "You're eating macaroni and cheese."
"Well, I try to eat clean," Craig said.
While Canadian physique model Tosca Reno, who reinvented herself at age 40 after being overweight and sedentary, did not invent "clean eating," she and her publisher husband Robert Kennedy more than anyone else have capitalized upon it. Reno has published a series of eight Eat-Clean Diet books since 2007, and her husband publishes Clean Eating Magazine and Robert Kennedy's Oxygen Women's Fitness, for which Tosca (everyone in the Clean-Eating universe refers to her by her first name) writes a column. A cult of personality and celebrity play a unique role here. Through following Tosca's four blogs, you know where she is, what's she's thinking and what she's doing and will be doing every day. And if you want to send her ten dollars plus three for shipping, you can buy an autographed photo of Tosca and her breast implants in a bikini (pink or purple) to tape to your refrigerator for inspiration.
Bloggers are integral to this emerging clean-eating tradition. These writers, some inspired by Reno, helpfully share recipes and exchange their experiences with living the clean lifestyle. For example, Amie Valpone, HHC, AADP is a Manhattan based culinary marketing consultant and culinary nutritionist for the NBA Fit Program, who "believes in everything in moderation." Her blog, The Healthy Apple, also includes dairy- and gluten-free recipes.
Weight trainer Jennifer Murray, the nutrition feature writer for Suite 101, co-authors cleaneatingclub.com with her friend Jennifer Esposito, a massage therapist. The two "30-something moms" who explain they feel better than they did in their 20s because of clean eating, also guide newcomers to this wellness trend. This recent blog roundup includes sites that specialize in different types of recipes.
Tiffany of Graciosu Pantry defines herself as "a stay-at-home-mama and full time student, adapting to a clean eating lifestyle and hitting a few major speed bumps along the way. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I'm tryin'!" Her unpretentiousness, honesty and sense of humor are charming, and her blog includes a variety of recipes that have guidelines for having "little ones" help with the cooking process. I'm going to try her recipe for butternut squash soup. I've always wanted to make it, and this seemed like a good time.
Are "Clean Eating" and "Slow Food" the Same Thing?
Not exactly. The clean eater and the Slow Food proponent may both be mindful of the food they're eating, and some of it may even be the same food, but the clean eater won't necessarily be viewing her dietary choices as multi-dimensional actions. (Since strict clean eating considers some foods as "good" and some as "bad," in some definitions it is a fad diet.)
The Slow Food movement, symbolized by a snail, was founded in the late 1980s when outraged Italians protested the construction of a McDonald's near the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. The three tenets of the Slow Food movement's approach to food and food production, as outlined in the Manifesto on Quality, are
- Good: a fresh and flavorsome seasonal diet that satisfies the senses and is part of our local culture
- Clean: food production and consumption that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health
- Fair: accessible prices for consumers and fair conditions and pay for small-scale producers.
Although some proponents of eating clean are also concerned with the impact of food choices upon the environment, the "eco-gastronomical" International Slow Food movement is more complex in its goals and philosophy. Some clean-eating supporters (such as Diane Welland) do emphasize the use of local and organic ingredients as well as consider the effects of food production upon the environment. But Slow Food also aims to sustain local food traditions, restructure the way food is transported and build fair trade networks. The 2,000 food communities of Tierra Madre, a global community organized by Slow Food, aims to create a community that supports sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
Slow Food boasts 100,000 members in 153 countries, and Slow Food USA, with over 200 chapters nationwide, continues to grow and plan events with an eye on individual communities, the future of the country and the world. These range from cooking classes to programs that help schoolchildren grow their own food.
Slow Food USA president Josh Viertel recently asked President Obama, "Why is it cheaper to feed our kids Froot Loops than it is to feed them fruit?" (Obama's response, which began with his explanation of the First Lady's negotiations with Wal-Mart to make more fresh produce available there, wasn't acceptable to Viertel, who wants to see more of a change to the models of food production.)
In the cities one of the best places to experience clean eating and the Slow Food movement both in action is the weekly farmers' market, where people from different classes, races, religions, and economic backgrounds converge to load up on locally grown fresh food, visit with neighbors and support community farmers. Below I've included links to clean-eating and Slow Food sites, as well as other subjects mentioned in this article. Bon appétit!
WH Foods Nutrition Unplugged
Black Girl's Guide to Weight Loss
Clean Plate (Slate) Slow Living Essentials
Slow Food
Slow Food USA
NY Times article on government view of US dietary habits
Fad diets
Body building and clean eating
Ralph Nader on food
