Proccessed Foods

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ShortRound82
ShortRound82 Posts: 84 Member
in Food and Nutrition
When you hear the words processed foods what comes to mind. Food processing or package processing?
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  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Food processing
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,969 Member
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    rakeru19 wrote: »
    I think about food processing, something that has been altered where it's no longer one ingredient (i.e: veggies, fruits, meats, cereals, legumes, etc) instead it's in a package and has ingredient and nutritional content

    This is how I see it too.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2017
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    Food processing. Mainly because I have no clue what package processing would be.

    And I tend to think of the foods that are processed that I eat: cheese, Fage plain greek yogurt, goat's kefir (new favorite), smoked salmon, canned black soy beans, bacon (I get it from a farm, but still), dried pasta, olive oil. Or maybe grabbing a lunch at Pret or a salad at Protein Bar or something at Snap Kitchen on occasion. I had a Kind bar yesterday, so that too.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2017
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    rakeru19 wrote: »
    I think about food processing, something that has been altered where it's no longer one ingredient (i.e: veggies, fruits, meats, cereals, legumes, etc) instead it's in a package and has ingredient and nutritional content

    Plain old oats have been processed and are often in a package with nutritional and ingredient contents (ingredients = oats).

    And they are in fact processed.

    And, of course, if I make a salad and put it in a container and bring it to a picnic, it has more than one ingredient. If I bring gazpacho, it's not only more than one ingredient, but I probably used the food processor, as Anvil points out!
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
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    Op, I have no idea what you mean by 'package processing'?

    Most food is processed in some form or another, which is great because it makes food more accessible and usable.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    megpie41 wrote: »
    Of course there is no one answer and not every situation will fit into this definition, but I view processed food as products that have man made ingredients/chemicals in them. I consider Food that has ingredients that you can't easily pronounce processed food. This is not a hard fast rule with zero exceptions...just a general thought.
    Likes of?

    To me that is just a lack of knowledge. The last time I asked this question the poster came back saying cobalamin B)

    To me processed means easy. Like if I buy grated cheese, it is highly processed from the milk that left the cow but it makes my life easier.
    Thankfully we have developed from having to go hunt and gather our food.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited August 2017
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    I see processed food as anything that comes in a form other than how it grew . . . sort of. I don't see cuts of meat or even ground meat as processed and I don't see frozen veggies as processed (canned veggies, yes).

    Foods that are all or partially prepared before purchasing in order to save the cook time (bread, frozen dinners, instant oatmeal, bags or boxes of dried pasta, Moon Pies, Bisquick, Protein powder or bars, etc. are "convenience foods".

    I limit my convenience foods because I like to cook. I have no trouble fitting them into my calorie and nutrition goals. I don't care one way or another if something is processed.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    Op, I have no idea what you mean by 'package processing'?

    Most food is processed in some form or another, which is great because it makes food more accessible and usable.

    Heh, glad I wasn't the only one completely baffled by that terminology. Would love an explanation.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Technically most food is processed, but when I hear "processed food", I think of processing that adds a ton of preservatives to extend the food lifetime way beyond what more natural ways would achieve, or artificial flavouring and colouring to mask/alter significantly the taste, or using substitutes for other ingredients, either to make them more "trendy" or usually to cut the costs.
    So, technically all yoghurt is processed, but what comes to mind when I think of processed yoghurt is some sort of dairy-based dessert, held together with gelative and with some artifical flavouring and sweeteners.
    In the same way, I would not considered fresh ground meat processed, although obviously it is, but I would considered canned meat processed.
    I am pretty sure that in real life and not MFP (at least where I live) my definition of "processed" is very mainstream :smile:
  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
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    Food processing, anything that has been modified so it has more than one ingredient in it (like the previous example of rolled oats, the oats would still be natural as long as it's just the oats in the packaging, but add sugar or salt it becomes processed).

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