Processed Food Free CLUB! part 1

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funnygirl0940
funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
in Food and Nutrition
Do we have a club of PFF community? I read topics from time to time but would love to start one! Only requirement would be that your home is processed food free or pretty darn close to it! :D I don't have a cow or goat so I still buy fresh cheese and milk. Although I do know how to make cream cheese :o)

The other "exception" that's in our house is that daily piece, I mean one piece, of dark chocolate. It's made trips a fun adventure searching for the best dark chocolate in the area and making a yummy souvenir!

So, yes, not to be too hard nosed, there are exceptions to the rule but over all 95% PFF! Love to meet you and know if you're blogging your adventures or have something new to share that fits within the confines of homesteading or living PFF ;o) Are their any urban homesteaders out there in MFP land??? We're semi...We have a square foot garden and chickens. :o)
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  • Jenn97355
    Jenn97355 Posts: 103 Member
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    Hi Lori :bigsmile:

    I'm with you on the LEAST processed a house can get, and still weeding out "junk" I find...while still allowing my 10y.o daughter to have mac and cheese once a month(she is a kid after all):bigsmile: :laugh: ... My husband is the one having a hard time--some things really bother me, but others are easy to let go! I have been trying to get my house HFCS -free for 2yrs!! NOT an easy job when it seems the WORLD is made out of this junk!! My downfall is I am allergic to honey :sad: so, I have been looking for an alternative--have yet to try Agave, kinda scared due to many food allergies! But--love that I can go to my pantry and get applesauce I canned last season for dessert and organic pasta sauce w/hormone free range beef... This I am proud to say I am doing better for my family. We drink only raw milk, and I make yogurt, and culture kefir daily(Thanks to my BFF) She has taught me to make cheese(and we get the stuff that is too strong for her family!) Also, butter... :heart:
    BTW--one of the things I have been meaning to try is cream cheese!!! I am excited! Does it take long?:flowerforyou:
    BTW--Good idea on the group :flowerforyou:

    Jenn
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    Hi! Would love to participate. I'm not sure what % I am non-processed, but it's a relatively high number and grows all the time as I learn to make new things. I have the will these days and some extra time so am taking it in steps.

    We definitely do the all-natural, no HFCS, whole foods focus. I'm making my own breads and granolas, but haven't done the flour grinding (is that what it's called, or milling?). I bought supplies and a cookbook to make cheese but haven't started that project yet. I would love to make greek yogurt--I eat a ton of it. Maybe a project for this spring/summer? We buy local beef and lamb in season. I have a veggie garden that I'm still learning with, so the output isn't great, but have a wonderful CSA share that provides most of our veggies where we get local organic veggies 9 months out of the year. YUM....can't wait for that to start up again! I forage for wild mushrooms and ramps (leeks) and fiddleheads--soon (spring) we'll have those and morel mushrooms. In the summer, chanterelles and quite a few others. I so can't wait!

    One of the things I think about also is just supporting the local economy. In Vermont we are so lucky. We have the best cheese you can imagine. We have really talented people making things like salsas, jellys, maple syrup, honey, etc. I make some decisions to not make some things in lieu of purchasing from our neighbors and feel excellent about that as well. I believe as long as they have the same unprocessed, all-natural focus, I'm going to support them.

    Anyway, look forward to discussing this topic and learning some additional ways to move along towards a more unprocessed world!
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    Thanks girls!! :D

    The cream cheese & greek yogurt is super easy to make! I use a thin cloth, actually a tortilla towel w/a yarn border but a cheese cloth would be best, i suppose. I fill the cloth with natural yogurt and suspend over a nob on the upper kitchen cabinet. Let the water/whey drip into a pan. Takes about 6-8 hours. You can set it out at night and by morning it should be done. When there is no more whey, it's done! That's cream cheese! Add a tsp of vanilla or spices for a tasty cream cheese spread!
  • Robin1117
    Robin1117 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    so the natural yogurt you use on the cheesecloth--I assume you make this?
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    yes, i do! fill the cloth and tie it up and suspend it so the whey drips out & when it stops dripping it's done! I'd have to refresh my memory but this same method makes greek yogurt and sour cream...sour cream is separated in the refrigerator but I don't remember how to do the greek yogurt. You can find videos examples on youtube. ;o)
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    Jenn, I know that you're doing a great job educating your family about healthy eating. Keep doing what you're doing, they'll catch on!

    My husband is the one that actually initiated trying new things after years of not so along with my adventure of studying nutrition, it's been a mutual consent. I study, pass on the education and it's overall accepted. I did have to ask him to give up sodas. It took a little while but I think he's given it up, occasionally he'll buy a sweet tea while out but that's ok :D BIG CHANGES are worth waiting for!
  • pchann
    pchann Posts: 84
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    Hey I like this thread. No PF is basically the rule of my eating plan. Discovering raw foods has truley been an eye opening journey. . I think the only two things in my diet that are processed is unsweetened almond milk and liquid egg whites. Condiments and supplements also now I think about it.
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    welcome pchann!!! I made raw ketchup and bbq sauce that i don't care for. The ketchup tastes like cardboard! haha Do you have a good recipe for those? I don't have canning equipment.

    I make fresh almond milk twice a week :) very simple to make and after drying the meat, I dehydrate it in the oven on low, grind in the coffee grinder for fresh almond flour and store in the freezer!
  • pchann
    pchann Posts: 84
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    Wow very intrigued by your almond milk recipe. I'm going to try that. For the condiments I just use store bought. The quantity I use is so small that I've rationalized it's just easier :) Whats strange is that the amount of condiments I apply to meals has reduced drastically. Their sweet as heck now lol. Regular milk tastes like soda pop it's so sweet haha. Example: I used to have my scrambled egg whites swimming in ketchup. Now I use less than a single tblspn on four scambled eggs. I always have ketchup left over nowadays. This gettin healthy is really fun. Expanding my universe of healthy natural foods feels very fullfilling. Would love some detailed instructions on that almond milk :)
  • scarletleavy
    scarletleavy Posts: 841 Member
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    What a great idea!

    Ideally I would love to be 95-100% processed food free, but living with people who are diametrically opposed can make that a little bit difficult. I don't know what percent I'm currently at, but I think it's pretty high. I feel really lucky to live in an area with great access to fresh, local and organic foods. I'm mostly a vegetarian, but when I do eat meat it's only from our local organic butcher who keeps all of his own animals. I don't drink cow's milk, but if I did it would come from the cows that live on the farm down the street.

    I love to cook and am beginning to start baking. In the future I hope to make all of my own jams, peanut butters, almond milks, breads, etc. I'm really excited to start all of this. My boyfriend's mother makes her own tofu and tempeh and I can't wait to learn that from her.
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    Welcome scarlet! I cleaned & boiled soy beans this week(huge pain) and was wondering how to make tofu! I'll have to google the info, I'd love to know about it!
  • heniko
    heniko Posts: 796 Member
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    Hi everyone!

    We are mostly processed food free ... exception being canned tuna and dark chocolate (less often now). And my husband drinks coffee and me green tea (does that count) I buy only local organic veg and fruit. Local and free range chickens and grass fed beef. I make everything we eat from scratch including baked goods like bread. I freeze and can summer's bounty. I make jams, preserves and nut butters. I make yoghurt and am an amateur cheesemaker. I recently started soaking grains also.

    We are eating basically a Mediterranean diet mostly grains, legumes and veg, but since I started my weight loss I am trying to limit my carbs and increase my protein.

    Looking forward to reading and sharing ideas ...
  • hotpickles
    hotpickles Posts: 639 Member
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    Love this!

    I just bought a bunch of groceries today, and everything was natural or as far away from processed as I could get. Even my turkey sausages were made at a local, small production turkey farm. The best part was they were incredibly cheap, much cheaper than the processed junk full of preservatives I usually find in the frozen food section.

    I appreciate the idea of cooking from scratch a lot of the time as well. So much more delicious!
  • heniko
    heniko Posts: 796 Member
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    The cheese Funnygirl posted is actually called Labneh not cream cheese that we think of like Philly. you can more info on cheesemaking here in englush: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/cheese.html
  • ppassine1
    ppassine1 Posts: 7
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    Hey all, I am working to be PF free also....I am an avid Crossfitter and I am working on 95% Paleo diet! I still do dairy because i have no issues with it.....Its a hard road, but a life changer for sure. Paleo is definately a lifestyle more than a diet. If anyone is interested in the Paleo lifestyle Robb Wolfe wrote an excellent book called "The Paleo Soluition". Its a really good read even if you dont want to try it. A lot of good info on weight loss and ultimate health information.. Its about 15 bucks on amazon i think or you can kindle it on your smartphone for 10 bucks(thats what I did)....This isnt a plug I promise LOL but it really opened my eyes to a lot. Good job to everyone for tryin to go PFF!!!!!! Good Luck!!!!
  • amycal
    amycal Posts: 646 Member
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    I am interested however I don't know if I am as hardcore as the first few posters. I do buy bread but it is from a local really natural place and I buy cheeses and Greek yogurt and since I can get high quality stuff I am not that interested in making my own. I also eat the occasional snack that is processed such as nature's path granola bars. But I try to cook a lot of healthy homemade things and most of my diet is whole foods. I really believe in "eating real food" and not artificial substitutes.
  • ppassine1
    ppassine1 Posts: 7
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    There really is no really natural bread. I suppose whole grain breads are better than white bread, but it still is basically empty carbs and compared to the calories it costs you it is not very nutritional... Grains are your enemy. The agricultural reveloution brought about the decline of health in the world. It sucks because I love bread and pasta, but there are facts out there to show they are very very bad guys. Some believe even carcinagenic. Who knows, people think im crazy anyways LOL WOOHOO!!! :-D

    Paul
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    I'm so excited to see all the new posts!!! Just checking in and will have more time mañana to catch up! I'm just exhausted. We can't buy clean oat groats in Mexico, unless someone knows where???? Please tell me! So I have to pick out the hull. I spent ALL day picking it out to be able to make chewy granola and enough for porridge in the morning. Did you know oat groat porridge was the first cereal??? We don't buy boxed cereal anymore. You all that have access to clean oat groats & wheat berry, I'm jealous! :D
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    yeah! That's us too, eating Mediterranean! :D Nice to have you here!
  • heniko
    heniko Posts: 796 Member
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    Paul - 2 questions

    What is the difference btwn Paloe, Neoanderthin and Primal? I read Mark's Daily Apple blog - very informatiional. changing habits here and there but not going totally grainless (yet)

    ezekiel bread 4:9 doesn't contain flours but legumes. And was eaten way back in the day of Ezekiel; So what is wrong with this type of bread or soaked grain breads?

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