How Clean is Clean?

Of course I'm talking about food again....how clean is clean? There's no denying food you pick out of the ground, or from a tree that hasn't been treated with chemicals, is as clean as a food can get, but we all can't, want or need to eat only raw natural foods. But let's say we could.....

What is the purpose of eating clean? Is it just about our bodies, and health, or is it about the health of our planet, and environment? So much about organic farming and local eating is about using less fossil fuels to transport unseasonal, unregional foods. So is a organic bell pepper shipped and then ground transported from Holland, to your local Trader Joe's, that's been wrapped in plastic for weeks, clean? What about that organic leg of lamb from New Zealand?

Until I write a blog post about the differences between commerically raised chicken (or should I say commercially caged chicken), organic chicken, free range chicken and pasture fed chicken, does eating any of these choices affect how clean a homemade meal is? Is a homemade roasted, un-organic chicken "cleaner" than a organic roasted chicken from Whole Foods, that has been brined or marinated in salt, un-organic spices, and sometimes sugar?

And since I'm on the subject of chicken..... Right now I have homemade chicken stock in my freezer, three kinds, one made with completely organic, pasture fed, chicken bones, and organic veggies from the farmers market, one made with industrial organic chicken bones, and some industrial organic veggies, and one made from chickens grilled at the Mexican market that had been marinated in who knows what, but for sure not organic chickens....(I just couldn't bring myself to not use the left over bones!) Is one homemade chicken stock "cleaner" than another, and would organic chicken broth from Whole Foods be better than my un-organic homemade stock?

And what about the homemade soup I make from my un-organic chicken stock. Is it still less clean if I use organic veggies? Or is my homemade soup made with organic stock, less clean if I use industrially grown veggies? What if I add meat to my soup? Is it less clean if I use anything but pasture fed, orgainic animal protein? (meat) How does any un-organic homemade soup compare to orgainc canned soups?

The difference between a processed dry cereal, no matter how "healthy" it is and oatmeal is obvious, but are highly processed"quick oats" better and cleaner than dry cereal? Quick cooking oats are more processed than old-fashioned oats, that are more processed than steel cut oats, so what level of clean do you choose? What if you pour un-organic milk over your oats, or God forbid use white sugar in your oats (one of my favorites, lol!) All are still better than a breakfast burrito, even most dry cereals!

What about juice? Can you buy an orange juice as clean as picking the oranges and juicing them yourself? Does it really matter that much, or does how much juice you drink more important for your health?

What is the difference between clean eating and healthy eating? Is there a difference? I, personally don't think using ingredients like real butter, or cream, makes a meal unclean, or unhealthy. Does the freshness of a food make a difference? Like I mentioned earlier, does storing or heating foods in plastic make a difference? For that matter does cooking food at all versus eating raw make a difference? How about the cooking method? Grilling, roasting, boiling, etc....how about using a microwave? Do unseasonal, unregional foods make a difference? How many levels of "clean" are you willing to break it down to before you jump on the "I only eat clean" bandwagon? What is your personal philoshoy or ranking system?

What ever it is, unless your standards are through the roof, then don't judge, less be judged, lol! I managed to lose over 100lbs without ever eating an organic veggie, much less a pasture fed chicken! Lets not forget what's really important. Eating fresh live foods. Making and preparing your own foods. Using quality ingredients, and eating healthy portions. If you move toward healthy foods, you also move toward cleaner eating practices, and visa versa! Whatever choices you make feel good about them.....we all do our best, until we learn to do better, then we do better.....right?