of the calories US adults ate in 2017 and 2018 came from ultra-processed food.
Juul et al., AJCN 2022
The Clean Plate Method
+508kcal
More food a day, eaten without noticing.
Read any label in five seconds. Cook real food that needs no label.
The study
That is how much extra people ate on an ultra-processed diet in a controlled NIH trial. The meals offered the same calories, sugar, fat, fibre and salt as the unprocessed diet. The only difference was what had been done to the food.
Hall et al., Cell Metabolism, 2019 · 20 adults, four weeks on a metabolic ward · +0.9 kg in two weeks on the ultra-processed diet, −0.9 kg on the unprocessed one
5Seconds per label
7Parts
40Additives rated
48Recipes
The label test
Read the back before the front.
Every product in the shop answers three questions. If all three answers are no, it is food.
Is there an ingredient you could not buy on its own?
Modified starch, protein isolate, dextrose, "flavouring". One is enough.
Is anything there only for colour, taste or texture?
Colours, sweeteners, emulsifiers, thickeners, flavour enhancers.
Is the front of the pack doing the talking?
"High protein", "light", "keto", "no added sugar". A claim is a reason to read the back.
Strawberry "fit" yoghurt, 0% fatSkimmed milk, strawberries (6%), modified maize starch, milk protein concentrate, flavourings, thickener (pectin), sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K), acidity regulator (citric acid), colour (carmine), live cultures.
Fails all three questions.
Natural yoghurtMilk, live cultures.
Passes in a second. Add berries.
Why it matters
Three numbers.
Three numbers.
One pattern.
Large studies point the same way as the controlled trial. Part 1 explains what they can and cannot tell us.
of commonly eaten US foods meet a scientific definition of "hyper-palatable".
Fazzino et al., Obesity 2019
higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease with high intake, graded convincing.
Lane et al., BMJ 2024
What is in the guide
Seven parts.
Seven parts.
211 pages.
Read the first three in a weekend. Use the rest in the shop and the kitchen.
What processing does in the body.
What ultra-processed food does in the body, what the big studies can and cannot tell us, and what changes when you eat real food.
Five seconds per product.
The four kinds of food, the 5-second test, how ingredient lists and front-of-pack claims work, and a dictionary of 40 additives, each with an honest evidence rating.
- Four kinds of food
- The 5-second test
- 40 additives
A few companies shape the shelf.
How a few companies shape the shelf, the research and your cravings. Documented history, no conspiracy theories.
The shop you already use, aisle by aisle.
A route through the shop you already use, aisle by aisle, with label tips, swaps and real food on a normal budget.
Protein first, half the plate vegetables.
How to build any meal, and the science behind it: why fewer carbohydrates, insulin and stress, fasting, milk, protein, fat and cholesterol, why seed oils are not in this book, the gut, inflammation, salt and which supplements are worth taking.
- Carbohydrates
- Fasting
- Fats and seed oils
- The gut
- Supplements
Five techniques. Forty-eight recipes.
A clean pantry, five techniques, what spices do for your health and 48 recipes, each marked very low, lower or moderate carb.
- Breakfasts
- Lunches
- Dinners
- Homemade basics
- Sourdough
- Something sweet
Two weeks, already planned.
A two-week meal plan with leftovers built in and a shopping list for each week. How to cook for one, for a family or for a crowd, how to bring children along, and a card to take to the shop.
Part II · The additive dictionary
Not every E-number is a villain.
Fear of additives sells, so plenty of guides inflate it. This one rates each additive by the strength of the evidence, including the ones you can stop worrying about.
E171
Titanium dioxide
StrongThe European Food Safety Authority could no longer call it safe in 2021. Banned in EU food since August 2022, still used elsewhere.
E466
Carboxymethylcellulose
EarlyReduced gut bacteria diversity in a small controlled feeding study in healthy adults. Worth limiting, no reason to panic.
E621
Monosodium glutamate
FineIts bad reputation has not held up in blinded trials. Still a sign that a product needed help to taste of something.
E330
Citric acid
EarlyAlmost all of it is made by fermenting sugar with a mould, not squeezed from lemons. Four case reports link it to bloating and cramps that eased without it. No controlled trials yet.
Part III · Who makes your food
How the food industry shapes what you eat.
The food industry is not run by villains. It is run by people doing what their companies reward. Part 3 shows what that has meant in practice.
1967
The sugar review
The US sugar industry's research foundation paid Harvard scientists for a review that played down sugar and blamed fat. The funding was not disclosed.
Kearns, Schmidt, Glantz · JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016
1988
Tobacco owns the pantry
Philip Morris bought Kraft, three years after General Foods. Tobacco-owned brands went on to sell more hyper-palatable foods than other companies.
Fazzino et al. · Addiction, 2023
2015
"Exercise, not diet"
A soft-drink company funded a scientific network whose message was that people worried too much about what they drank. It shut down the same year.
The New York Times, August 2015
Part VI · Cook
Forty-eight recipes that need no label.
Ingredients from any supermarket. Most dinners serve four, so tomorrow's lunch is already made. Each recipe is marked very low, lower or moderate carb.
Breakfasts · lunches · dinners · homemade basics · sourdough · something sweet
The complete guide to real food
The Clean Plate Method.
PDF, 211 pages. Instant download link by email.
€19.90launch price
Until 30 November 2026. From 1 December the price is €39.90. Includes VAT where applicable. The price is set in euros; if you pay in another currency, Lemon Squeezy converts it at checkout.
- The 5-second label test and the four kinds of food
- A dictionary of 40 additives with evidence ratings
- Who makes your food: the documented history
- The clean plate: why fewer carbohydrates, and how much protein
- Fat, cholesterol and seed oils, explained in plain words
- The official dietary advice, taken apart rule by rule
- 48 recipes, each with a carb level, including sourdough and ferments
- A 14-day meal plan and two shopping lists
- Every research claim sourced, so you can check it
Secure checkout by Lemon Squeezy. Instant download link by email.
Not ready? Start with the free 5-second label test
Honestly
What this guide is not.
Not a diet.No calorie counting, no weighing, no banned food groups. A default you return to, not rules you break.
Not biohacking.No supplements, powders, tests or gadgets. Ordinary food from an ordinary shop, cooked in an ordinary kitchen.
Not medical advice.Education about food and labels. If you have diabetes or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing how you eat.
Questions
Before you buy.
Is this a keto book?
No. The clean plate is lower in carbohydrate than a typical Western diet, but it keeps roots, beans, berries, oats and other whole-food carbohydrates. The guide explains what the research says about low-carb eating, including its limits.
Do I need special products or a bigger budget?
No. Everything comes from a normal supermarket. Part 4 shows how to eat real food on a normal budget: cheap cuts, eggs, tinned fish, beans and frozen vegetables.
Why are there no seed oils in the recipes?
Every recipe cooks with olive oil, butter, ghee, coconut oil or beef tallow. Seed oils such as rapeseed, sunflower and soybean oil are refined with solvents and heat and break down when you cook with them, and the trials that replaced traditional fats with them did not save lives. Part 5 goes through the evidence.
Is red meat good or bad for me?
The evidence separates unprocessed red meat, which is nutrient-dense and fine for most people in moderate amounts, from processed meat such as ham and salami, where the evidence of harm is much stronger. Part 5 goes through both.
Will it help me lose weight?
It is not a weight-loss programme, and we make no promises. In controlled studies people eat less without trying when their food is unprocessed, and many readers will notice that. What you eat most days matters most.
Is it suitable for families?
Yes. The recipes suit everyone. The lower-carbohydrate guidance is written for adults; children and teenagers need more carbohydrate and energy.
What format is it?
A PDF that works on phone, tablet and computer. You are welcome to print pages for your kitchen.
Can I try something first?
Yes. The free 5-Second Label Test is the first chapter in short form, with twelve additives and three recipes. Get it here.
Your next shop
Read the back before the front.
Three questions, five seconds, and forty-eight recipes for the food that passes.