Processed Food

jamiehero

What constitutes processed food? Isn't most stuff in the supermarket processed food? Is a package of Tyson chicken breast processed food? Where do we draw the line?

lemurcat12

Yes, I agree with you. People say "processed food" usually when they mean something more specific that they aren't willing to carefully define for some reason. And then they insist that you should know what they mean as if we were mind-readers.

ninerbuff

All foods are "processed" one way or another. Even the wholest of foods were chemically treated for safety.

I would venture to say the only "natural" food anyone really gets, would be food that they grew/raised themselves with no outside interference.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

jamiehero

yes so I don't really understand when people say processed food are bad. How else do you get your food? Do you grow your own veggies and your own chicken and cow?

krysmuree

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

malibu927

When people discuss cutting out processed foods, they generally mean things with added sugar/sodium/other preservatives. Chicken from the supermarket would probably qualify under that definition to some people, as the manufacturers tend to add things to keep it fresh.

ana3067

When most people say "processed" they mean in a general sense things that don't grow on farms/in nature. Then everyone else will further refine this to their own personal meaning. Back when I had this mindset, I basically would only eat produce, dairy (including yogurt though, i'm sure others would consider it processed), poultry/fish/meat, eggs, nuts, oils, and I think that was about it.

lemurcat12

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

A better (and less confusing) term for at least some of these things is probably "convenience foods." (I'm copying someone else around here in pushing for that change. Forget who at the moment, so sorry!)

Also, as you yourself make distinctions between foods you put in the same category it would be ideal to try and come up with a term that pinpoints what it is that the specific person is avoiding. For example, I buy lunch sometimes and there's a wide variety of lunches available for purchase from local restaurants--it would be silly for me to group them all in one category. Even with convenience foods, which can vary from Hungry Man to Lean Cuisine (which I don't like, but present different issues) to the ones I can buy from the local paleo provider and whatever you think of that diet and the silliness of paleo catering they are pretty high quality seeming). To group them all as identical, let alone all "processed" or "packaged" foods as identical is wrong.

mwm158

"Breakfast cereals and commercial orange juice can be considered processed foods. The definition of what constitutes a processed food can vary slightly, but it usually refers to foods that are packaged in boxes, cans or bags."

I stole that from the internet.

samantha1242

Very subjective. Everyone will have their own ideas of what constitutes "processed".

lemurcat12

Like frozen veggies or bagged spinach?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I think you'd like get a different definition from every person that you ask. It's a meaningless distinction for me, as I consider all foods to be processed to one degree or another and I don't see "processed" as a bad word. But generally I assume people mean boxed or frozen dinners, store bought white bread, etc.

mwm158

Yeah, I guess the internet is wrong. Whodathunkit? I think the more it resembles a raw ingredient the better. Banana versus a Dorito?

krysmuree

Pasta sauce and salad dressings are also convenient, just as convenient as

lemurcat12 wrote: »

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

A better (and less confusing) term for at least some of these things is probably "convenience foods." (I'm copying someone else around here in pushing for that change. Forget who at the moment, so sorry!)

Also, as you yourself make distinctions between foods you put in the same category it would be ideal to try and come up with a term that pinpoints what it is that the specific person is avoiding. For example, I buy lunch sometimes and there's a wide variety of lunches available for purchase from local restaurants--it would be silly for me to group them all in one category. Even with convenience foods, which can vary from Hungry Man to Lean Cuisine (which I don't like, but present different issues) to the ones I can buy from the local paleo provider and whatever you think of that diet and the silliness of paleo catering they are pretty high quality seeming). To group them all as identical, let alone all "processed" or "packaged" foods as identical is wrong.

I disagree about calling them convenience food and won't; a lot of food is convenience food. Pasta sauce and salad dressings are things I could easily make but choose not to, therefore are convenience food, and I do not group them into the same prepackaged, premade category as I do Dinty Moore stew and Ball Park hot dogs. I also don't view processed as a negative term - I guess it just depends on the item for me.

I do agree that not all processed/convenience food are identical, however, and think that grouping them is a mistake and incorrect. I would not call the foods I don't allow into my diet convenience foods; I would call them high-sodium mistakes. Hahaha.

GingerbreadCandy

That is pretty much why "I am cutting out all processed food" is always a matter of debate on this forum…

For me, I'd also say it is pre-packaged, pre-cooked foods and instant meals. You know, stuff you just add water to or put in the microwave and they are done. Certain pre-made sauces as well…

I cut them out both because I do fully believe they are not healthy and because I don't like the taste. The exception I make to is broth – I generally make my own, but for those rare occasions where I don't have it stocked in my freezer I like to have some handy.

I guess convenience foods could be an applicable term for that.

avskk

This is why I say "packaged" or "pre-made" or whatever I actually mean when discussing food I didn't prepare myself. "Processed" is meaningless -- washing fruit is a process. So is steaming broccoli or butchering a cow. A leafy green chopped salad from the deli is a processed food, as is a Hot Pocket. It's not useful to conflate these things.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

KrissyMuree wrote: »

Pasta sauce and salad dressings are also convenient, just as convenient as

lemurcat12 wrote: »

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

A better (and less confusing) term for at least some of these things is probably "convenience foods." (I'm copying someone else around here in pushing for that change. Forget who at the moment, so sorry!)

Also, as you yourself make distinctions between foods you put in the same category it would be ideal to try and come up with a term that pinpoints what it is that the specific person is avoiding. For example, I buy lunch sometimes and there's a wide variety of lunches available for purchase from local restaurants--it would be silly for me to group them all in one category. Even with convenience foods, which can vary from Hungry Man to Lean Cuisine (which I don't like, but present different issues) to the ones I can buy from the local paleo provider and whatever you think of that diet and the silliness of paleo catering they are pretty high quality seeming). To group them all as identical, let alone all "processed" or "packaged" foods as identical is wrong.

I disagree about calling them convenience food and won't; a lot of food is convenience food. Pasta sauce and salad dressings are things I could easily make but choose not to, therefore are convenience food, and I do not group them into the same prepackaged, premade category as I do Dinty Moore stew and Ball Park hot dogs. I also don't view processed as a negative term - I guess it just depends on the item for me.

I do agree that not all processed/convenience food are identical, however, and think that grouping them is a mistake and incorrect. I would not call the foods I don't allow into my diet convenience foods; I would call them high-sodium mistakes. Hahaha.

See to me premade pasta sauce and salad dressings are identical to canned stew or hotdogs. I really don't understand the distinction. Which is why all of these terms are pretty subjective.

GingerbreadCandy

avskk wrote: »

This is why I say "packaged" or "pre-made" or whatever I actually mean when discussing food I didn't prepare myself. "Processed" is meaningless -- washing fruit is a process. So is steaming broccoli or butchering a cow. A leafy green chopped salad from the deli is a processed food, as is a Hot Pocket. It's not useful to conflate these things.

Pre-made kind of lends itself to the same misinterpretation though… I can go and get a salad from my supermarket's salad bar and it will be pre-made. Or I could go and get some instant noodles.

krysmuree

ILiftHeavyAcrylics wrote: »

KrissyMuree wrote: »

Pasta sauce and salad dressings are also convenient, just as convenient as

lemurcat12 wrote: »

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

A better (and less confusing) term for at least some of these things is probably "convenience foods." (I'm copying someone else around here in pushing for that change. Forget who at the moment, so sorry!)

Also, as you yourself make distinctions between foods you put in the same category it would be ideal to try and come up with a term that pinpoints what it is that the specific person is avoiding. For example, I buy lunch sometimes and there's a wide variety of lunches available for purchase from local restaurants--it would be silly for me to group them all in one category. Even with convenience foods, which can vary from Hungry Man to Lean Cuisine (which I don't like, but present different issues) to the ones I can buy from the local paleo provider and whatever you think of that diet and the silliness of paleo catering they are pretty high quality seeming). To group them all as identical, let alone all "processed" or "packaged" foods as identical is wrong.

I disagree about calling them convenience food and won't; a lot of food is convenience food. Pasta sauce and salad dressings are things I could easily make but choose not to, therefore are convenience food, and I do not group them into the same prepackaged, premade category as I do Dinty Moore stew and Ball Park hot dogs. I also don't view processed as a negative term - I guess it just depends on the item for me.

I do agree that not all processed/convenience food are identical, however, and think that grouping them is a mistake and incorrect. I would not call the foods I don't allow into my diet convenience foods; I would call them high-sodium mistakes. Hahaha.

See to me premade pasta sauce and salad dressings are identical to canned stew or hotdogs. I really don't understand the distinction. Which is why all of these terms are pretty subjective.

As I said earlier, it's a distinction to me because the sodium doesn't negatively affect me. I later said I'd rather refer to those foods as high-sodium mistakes rather than processed. I agree it's all subjective.

avskk

GingerbreadCandy wrote: »

avskk wrote: »

This is why I say "packaged" or "pre-made" or whatever I actually mean when discussing food I didn't prepare myself. "Processed" is meaningless -- washing fruit is a process. So is steaming broccoli or butchering a cow. A leafy green chopped salad from the deli is a processed food, as is a Hot Pocket. It's not useful to conflate these things.

Pre-made kind of lends itself to the same misinterpretation though… I can go and get a salad from my supermarket's salad bar and it will be pre-made. Or I could go and get some instant noodles.

Right, which is why I don't say "pre-made" as a catch-all term. I would, however, say I bought a pre-made salad at the deli. If I were getting instant noodles I'd say "packaged ramen."

Again, it's not useful to conflate these things. Nobody should be using one word to describe forty different kinds of food.

JohnH71

For me, when I say that I like to try and avoid 'processed' foods, I mean ones that have been subjected to some process in their manufacture that you couldn't / wouldn't replicate in the home kitchen OR foods that have an ingredient in them that I consider 'iffy', which are also usually ones that you wouldn't use at home.

But it isn't a rule set in stone for me, it's just something I aim for. Sometimes, work and time commitments mean I ignore this in order to get fed.

Sabine_Stroehm

I typically refer to heavily refined (processed) convenience foods. Usually it's when I'm discussing foods that have had many of their nutrients removed, and/or/but usually and have had significant sugar or salt added to them.

I agree it's not useful to conflate washing with bleaching, stripping, "enriching", but I also think it's not useful when folks DO understand what a poster is saying/asking and choose not pretend they don't.

GingerbreadCandy

avskk wrote: »

GingerbreadCandy wrote: »

avskk wrote: »

This is why I say "packaged" or "pre-made" or whatever I actually mean when discussing food I didn't prepare myself. "Processed" is meaningless -- washing fruit is a process. So is steaming broccoli or butchering a cow. A leafy green chopped salad from the deli is a processed food, as is a Hot Pocket. It's not useful to conflate these things.

Pre-made kind of lends itself to the same misinterpretation though… I can go and get a salad from my supermarket's salad bar and it will be pre-made. Or I could go and get some instant noodles.

Right, which is why I don't say "pre-made" as a catch-all term. I would, however, say I bought a pre-made salad at the deli. If I were getting instant noodles I'd say "packaged ramen."

Again, it's not useful to conflate these things. Nobody should be using one word to describe forty different kinds of food.

Alright, I misunderstood you then. That makes sense.

lemurcat12

KrissyMuree wrote: »

Pasta sauce and salad dressings are also convenient, just as convenient as

lemurcat12 wrote: »

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

A better (and less confusing) term for at least some of these things is probably "convenience foods." (I'm copying someone else around here in pushing for that change. Forget who at the moment, so sorry!)

Also, as you yourself make distinctions between foods you put in the same category it would be ideal to try and come up with a term that pinpoints what it is that the specific person is avoiding. For example, I buy lunch sometimes and there's a wide variety of lunches available for purchase from local restaurants--it would be silly for me to group them all in one category. Even with convenience foods, which can vary from Hungry Man to Lean Cuisine (which I don't like, but present different issues) to the ones I can buy from the local paleo provider and whatever you think of that diet and the silliness of paleo catering they are pretty high quality seeming). To group them all as identical, let alone all "processed" or "packaged" foods as identical is wrong.

I disagree about calling them convenience food and won't; a lot of food is convenience food. Pasta sauce and salad dressings are things I could easily make but choose not to, therefore are convenience food, and I do not group them into the same prepackaged, premade category as I do Dinty Moore stew and Ball Park hot dogs.

That's my point, though. Convenience foods is a better term for pre-made meals, at least. "Processed" makes no sense. A lot of things far better than store bought salad dressing and pasta sauce (which I somewhat disapprove of personally, if we are going to get all judgy) fall into the "processed" category, and yet people who proclaim the evils of "processed" foods are never remotely consistent.

I'm all for people preferring to eat in a particular way vs other ways, but I wish they'd use words that make sense and not group dissimilar products together. I don't know what words would work for your distinction, since I'm not you and don't know what it consists of, but there's got to be something out there that would be clearer.

I also don't view processed as a negative term - I guess it just depends on the item for me.

Fair enough, no argument then. I find some processed foods quite helpful for me, like yogurt and smoked salmon and the above-mentioned bagged spinach, and I imagine others are quite fond of highly processed meats like boneless, skinless chicken breast (I get my meat from a local farm, and yet it's still, of course, processed).

I do agree that not all processed/convenience food are identical, however, and think that grouping them is a mistake and incorrect. I would not call the foods I don't allow into my diet convenience foods; I would call them high-sodium mistakes. Hahaha.

Again, fair enough.

ninerbuff

KrissyMuree wrote: »

I personally draw the line at prepackaged, premade items. Soups, pasta sauces, pasta, bread, so on. I don't cut those things out of my diet, however - I do cut things like Tyson precooked chicken, Spam, Dinty Moore stew, corned beef hash, hot dogs .. for me, it's personal. Things like soups, pasta and sauces don't weigh me down. When I eat the items I previously mentioned I cut out, I feel heavy, sick and not so well. It's mostly the added sodium that makes me feel that way, I think, so I'd rather make things from scratch and add my own salt or buy something with lower sodium.

Lol, now requesting to be a friend.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

samantha1242 wrote: »

Very subjective. Everyone will have their own ideas of what constitutes "processed".

Yep. I don't consider frozen vegetables as processed.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

krysmuree

Hahaha .. Spam is still in my pantry for emergencies.

Kalikel

I think it's generally used to mean non-fresh food items that come in boxes, cans and bags. That's how I've always interpreted it and have never seen it used in a context where that definition wouldn't fit.

GingerbreadCandy

What about "refined" foods? Would that work?

Lourdesong

I find it mostly meaningless when I stop to think about it, but when people say they are avoiding processed, or more commonly, heavily processed foods, I take it to mean they are avoiding foods that are commonly perceived as containing lots of sodium/preservatives and that seem more manipulated for convenience/taste. Like TV dinners, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs, snack cakes, Chef Boyardee, Cheeto's, Ramen, Mac n Cheese. Basically, cheap easy food where the expiration date is so far off it can be stockpiled with lots of sodium and calories.

MegBMin

jamiehero wrote: »

yes so I don't really understand when people say processed food are bad. How else do you get your food? Do you grow your own veggies and your own chicken and cow?

Not an impossibility! But everyone isn't lucky enough to live on a farm. While, I guess my diet can be considered generally "unprocessed" I still eat things like pudding and jello cups and diet soda because I find them delicious. I also use frozen vegetables in the months when I don't have food from my garden. I also try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, just on farm principle, but it's kind of double sided since I have no problem ingesting artificial sweeteners. You'll lose your mind trying to keep up. Eat what makes you feel good in the long term.