Clean Eating; The Most Colourful and Photogenic Trend

The 'Clean Eating' trend is rightfully getting heavy backlash right now. There are still many avid devotee though, eating 'plant based' diets (what is wrong with the term 'vegan') and skipping crucial food groups. Being healthy is great, but learn to be healthy from a proper nutritional expert, not someone who is an Instagram or a blogging star expert with no professional dietary or nutritional education. Don't get me wrong it is not completely black and white, some of these 'food bloggers' do have some good recipes, it is just ironically not healthy to follow their supposed lifestyle and diet by the letter.

I won't go on about not believing in the term clean eating, I like cheese and chocolate too much but I live a reasonably healthy lifestyle. Despite the healthy trend, fancy chocolates and baking creations are definitely not in decline, has anyone seen Freak Shakes? The 'clean eating' term to me is different than simply being healthy, it has connotations of shallowness and vanity. Also #cleaneating is ALL over Instagram (28,603,609 tags to date). So my conclusion, is be healthy, but no need to Instagram it. So what is it about Clean Eating that sells so well? Obviously people want to be healthy and that is a good positive lifestyle trait. Secondly, fruit and vegetables looking vibrant and fresh photographs very well the mixture of contrasting bright colours, textures and shapes, and we are all photographing things a lot at the moment. Arranging pretty vegetables next to a bunch of flowers in a patterned coordinated bowl is typically a winning photo on social media for a stereotypical millenial.

So the plethora of a healthy fruits in a bowl (more than your 5 a day) looks wholesome and natural, but hang on a minute are both strawberries and blueberries in season in February? Does out of season fruit and vegetables taste as good as it looks? It isn't good for the the environment and all that natural, certainly not 'clean'. I think it is obvious that the photogenic nature of these 'clean' foods has been the key to the success of this trend.

#Cleaneating #fruit #veg