#Eatclean It’s the hashtag that has taken Instagram by storm, with over 50 million posts dedicated to photos of healthy lifestyle choices, simple foods and clean cooking. You’ll find random pics of apples, fruits bowls, brisk morning walks, gym selfies, six packs and endless photos of food, food and more food.
There is a slow, but very steady shift in the way Americans are viewing health and diet. Long gone are the days of yoyo diets and extreme workouts, such as the cabbage soup diet mixed with rigorous aerobic exercise, where burning an exuberant amount more calories than what you intake, as being the “healthy way” of living. Americans are slowly catching onto the diet that has been the norm for millennials just across the Atlantic – the Mediterranean diet.
This is not to say that the #eatclean movement is a Mediterranean diet movement but take a quick glance at posts associated to the hashtag and you will soon find a pattern. Simple, clean, colorful food is now moving to tabletops, replacing protein bars and whey shakes. Go to any Italian household or restaurant and you will find a plethora of Instagram-able photos which would fit right in to the #eatclean movement.
The staple foods you can find in every food cupboard are few, simple and usually from the local market. A typical refrigerator includes fresh fish, meat or poultry which is usually bought the day of consumption. A typical cupboard consists of extra virgin olive oil, whole grains, legumes, nuts, pasta and of course wine. You will most always find garlic, fresh Parmiggiano Reggiano and parsley or basil, farmer’s market eggs. How is that for clean eating?
The diet is simple, clean and unprocessed. Italians have culturally mastered the healthy diet with one other key ingredient – moderation. They eat well. They drink well. And they know when to stop. This should truly be the essence of any #eatclean movement.
