Ok so people are always asking me what exactly are processed foods. they are foods that are not in their natural form. A whole food is completely unprocessed. To eat clean, you aim to eat food as minimally processed as possible. I just saw a commercial that was a great example to share.
Egg beaters. The ad was two omlettes. One was 167 calories and the other was like 85. The difference? One was made with liquid egg, the other with egg beaters. The egg beaters. Egg beaters have no cholesterol and less calories and it says in the commercial they're the "healthier option". I beg to differ.
An egg is a whole food. Liquid egg is a processed egg. Eggs do not come in that form. An egg beater is an egg that has had half the calories, the cholesterol and prob a good chunk of the nutrients removed as well. That is extra processed.
So what's the problem with processed foods? They're not as recognizable to your body. They're harder to digest and with each process (picking the plant, cutting it, in some cases bleaching it or refining it, cooking it,etc) some of the nutrients are compromised. The closer it is to it's natural form, the better it is for you!
Even bob Harper says that eating a whole egg with a yolk is not bad for you. Now, I don't really want to discuss whether eggs in general are good for you or not, the point is, if you're going to choose between a processed or whole food, regardless of the calorie content, it's almost always smarter to choose the real deal! When it's a choice between egg beaters and eggs, I'd go with the eggs!