The Donut Duel: Me vs. Top Pot

You are being lied to about what clean eating really means.

I’ve recently seen recipes online for clean eating brownies, doughnuts and, most recently Pop Tarts.  Yes, you read that correctly. Pop Tarts.

Now, if you look through this website you’ll find recipes for Clean Eating Cupcakes and a few cookie recipes so I’m not saying that you cannot make certain recipes a bit healthier by changing a few ingredients.What I have a problem with is promoting junk food as healthy simply by  slapping a “Clean Eating” label on it.  This is just a slimy way to sell you a cookbook or promote a product. The whole point of eating clean is not to eat “healthy” junk food. It’s about turning away from that stuff and turning toward eating real, healthy whole foods!

So what does clean eating truly mean? It means eating vegetables, lean protein, whole grains (unless you’re gluten intolerant), fruit and healthy fats. The point of eating clean isn’t to take junk food and make it “clean” by simply changing the sweetener or eliminating corn syrup in a recipe. No one should be eating Pop Tarts and doughnuts if they want to be healthy!

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t have a cheat every now and then. The occasional cheat meal or snack is what keeps many people (myself included) motivated and allows them to stay on a healthy eating plan the other 99% of the time. I’m all for a cheat as long as it is an every once in awhile thing and not an all day eat fest. It’s also worth noting that a cookie, no matter how healthy it is, is still a cookie. You’ll need to practice moderation because these items are usually pretty  high in calories.

Clean eating is about health and eating foods that will improve  your way of life. Are Pop Tarts and doughnuts really the direction we want to be going?