Clean eating is an idea that eating whole foods in their most natural state is good for our body because it offers certain benefits and to avoid processed foods such as refined sugar, refined oil etc.  There are variations in the clean eating diet which excludes gluten, grains, milk and dairy products. It advocates the consumption of raw food. The principals of clean eating are: eat for nourishment, eat regular balanced meals and healthy snacks that are nourishing and not too rushed. Eat at home more often and prepare food in healthy ways. Pack food to eat away from home when on the road, at work or at activities. When you do eat out, choose wisely. Eat more plant-based foods. Ramp up on plants by eating more plant-based proteins, such as beans, lentils and peas, and high-protein whole grains, like quinoa, barley and buckwheat.

But, regardless of being discussed nearly everywhere, and by many, clean eating has no specific definition. Normally, it means avoiding packaged and processed foods and eating food as close to its natural state as possible. This doesn’t mean that all food must be eaten raw. Characteristics of clean food generally include: home cooked, basic, whole ingredients, no preservatives, no food coloring, or other additives and minimal processing.

I have seen many of my young students, and many of my upmarket friends falling prey to the clean eating concept. In my opinion, it is an overriding concern for parents and the dieters themselves. The idea of weight loss and obsession of eating healthy is killing. Most of the clean eating people look weak and pale. They literally need to drag themselves; they are left with no energy. They can’t walk up the flight of stairs. The muscle mass reduces in legs, shoulder, head and hand. They are left with no energy. After few days of clean eating they are left with no enthusiasm.

Many are depressed: They complain of being tired all the time, they struggle to concentrate because the brain does not support on grasping. The brain requires a steady supply of glucose to function properly and the diet deprives it for some time. Their body is so desperate for nutrition — especially carbohydrates which binges for a high-calorie, sugary foods as a last-ditch attempt to keep the brain going. But, after having a good sugar rich food, they feel guilty because they have broken their ‘clean eating’ habit.

The problem is that clean eating is not plainly defined: it’s vague in nature. Primarily, it became famous for eating more whole, nutritious foods. But, as days passed, it’s just not about eating better; it is a privilege of consuming nicely packaged foods with influencer-approved ingredients many of which do not reap the claimed benefits. We can’t ignore that clean eating is for those who have access and can afford to shop at upscale grocery stores or fresh farmers markets.

It implies a weird lifestyle: Some proponents of clean eating have an air of superiority; I don’t know when eating style started defining your worth? Plus, the pressure to eat clean can cause anxiety or excessive fixation, too many restrictions around eating. Eating clean unfortunately becomes a competition of who can have the best-looking food or the cleanest list of ingredients. The fact is that most food has been processed in some way, because washing and cutting are technically a way of processing, and there are several processed foods that are used in preparations; nutritious like peanut butter, whole wheat pasta and canned beans.

Make meaningful associations with healthy food: A former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that training yourself to stop craving salty, sugary, and fatty foods can’t be a cognitive process alone. If your emotions do not accept depriving your body of salty, sugary food do not torture it, instead listen to your body. Emotions play a huge role in our eating habits. That’s where your imagination comes in. Many of us connect positive, nostalgic feelings with unhealthy foods.

Each one has unique food needs: Each person’s daily intake of food is different. Each diet is quite diverse, and therefore ‘’one size fits all’’ is wrong notion. It is simply not possible. Each person’s dietary intake is macronutrient balanced by his body. This being the fact, all of the main meals through the day have a balance of complex carbohydrates, protein and fats. It need not be overly controlled.

To conclude, all extremes and restrictive practices of clean eating only lead to disordered eating patterns. I call it just a damaging obsession.

Food is a wonderful way of expressing your inner thoughts. It is the best way of self-expression. Food connects us to our culture and beliefs. Cooking with aromatic ingredients has been proven to reduce stress. The beautiful colors, processes such as cutting, kneading, chopping, seasoning, shapes of ingredients and spices soothe the nerves and a sense of tranquility.

Chopping, mashing, crushing, kneading, slicing, rolling, etc. are all common actions used during cooking that divert attention from stress and provide an outlet to vent out everyday frustrations in a most effective way! Cooking boosts creativity.

I want share here two recipes of GSB food:

Patrado

This is a favorite dish of GSB people, it is prepared with Colocasia/Taro leaves.

Ingredients:

25 Colocasia/Taro green leaves
1 cup fresh grated coconut
2 cups Toor dal
1/4 cup rice
1 small piece of jaggery
10-12 red chillies (preferably Bedagi chillies)
Small lemon size tamarind
1 teaspoon asafetida
Salt

Oil

Method:

1. Soak toor dal and rice in water for about half an hour.
   Heat oil and fry chillis; grind grated coconut, soaked rice, daal, asafetida, tamrind, jaggery and chillis. Grind a stiff good paste. Add salt for taste. When the paste is stickier it’s better for application.
2. Wash the Colocasia leaves thoroughly and flip them over on the non-shiny side and remove the veins with a knife. Soak the leaves in water for some time as it is believed to reduce the effect of Calcium Oxalate crystals which causes the itchiness in throat. Arrange the leaves in order of their size, this helps in preparing the final cylindrical roll. Take the leaves one shiny side and the other non-shiny side; apply the paste evenly on the entire leaf, place another leaf (non-shiny side) covering 3/4 of the previous leaf and smear the paste. When you apply paste to about 8-10 leaves, fold the sides and roll them over to a cylindrical shape, apply paste on all sides and fold the edges in. Once done, you could tie a string to hold them together. Make 2-3 rolls in similar fashion.
3. Add enough water in a steamer and transfer on stove to boil water with the lid on. Place the patrado rolls in the steamer side by side and steam cook them. Make sure that the steamer water should be boiling hot, cover the steamer with a lid and let it steam on medium-to-high flame for 30-35 minutes.

Once done and completely cooked, scoop each of the roll into evenly cut pieces and serve hot with coconut oil. Should they remain for next day, shallow fry them by applying little rava, salt for taste and pan-fry with little oil. It tastes yummy.

Jeera-mirya kadhi

This is another favorite Konkani dishes. It is good for digestion since cumin seeds (jeera) and pepper (miryakan) goes into it. A lot of garlic is added to this gravy to give that amazing aroma.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh coconut

2 red tomatoes
1 tea spoon cumin seeds (jeera)
6-7 peppercorns
3-4 red chillies
a pinch of tamarind
Oil
Coriander leaves

Karipatta (curry leaves)

Salt

 Method:

Take two cooker-boiled and cooled tomatoes. Heat oil and fry cumin, pepper and red chillies. Put tomatoes with coconut, tamarind, asafetida, fired chillies, cumin seeds and pepper seeds and salt together in mixer and make paste. Add sufficient water to the ground masala and heat it for 8-10 minutes. Do seasoning: heat little oil add mustard seed and kari patta. Let the seeds splutter, add the seasoning to curry. Add chopped coriander leaves to the curry.