What is Considered "Processed"?

PANZERIA

I'm confused by the word "Processed." There are so many foods out there, so help me out (essentially, yes or no and any recommendations)

I want to eat clean for 3 months and, hopefully, for forever.

Breakfast - cereals - I usually eat PC brand stuff, but I don't know if that's "processed", same with their oatmeal.

Frozen veggies

Lean ground chicken/turkey

Can someone just tell me what is processed and what isn't? Like, examples, definition...etc. HELP MEEEE!!!

Athena413

If it comes in a box or a can, you probably want to avoid it...

Boxed cereal is processed - and pretty much anything that has more than 1 or 2 ingredients. If you want "cereal" it needs to be oats or quinoa - something grainy like that.

Frozen and fresh veggies are perfectly okay - NOT canned!

Anything that has been chemically altered in any way is obviously processed. If you can't find it in nature in some form or another, you probably shouldn't be putting it in your mouth.

Lean ground chicken/turkey is "processed" in that they de-bone and grind it, but it typically doesn't have as many preservatives and things like that - if you can get organic, free-range, anything like that, then that would obviously be better.

Hope this helps some!

Jesung

Cereal is processed, yes.
Real food would be things that you find in nature as is, like all types of meat, eggs, veggies, fruits
But something like flour and anything sugary is usually heavily processed and you should avoid them.

garlic7girl

I just googled it and it basically is altering the natural state of a food. However, not all processing is bad. An example is the canning our great and other grandmothers did to prep for the winter. But the processing we want to avoid are the ones with added fat, trans-fats, extra sugar, chemicals...you get the picture. You know the joke about the Twinkie...last through and war. I read on 'clean eating' and there seemed to me to be different views. I say do what keeps you healthy and on the right track long term.

Athena413

I just googled it and it basically is altering the natural state of a food. However, not all processing is bad. An example is the canning our great and other grandmothers did to prep for the winter. But the processing we want to avoid are the ones with added fat, trans-fats, extra sugar, chemicals...you get the picture. You know the joke about the Twinkie...last through and war. I read on 'clean eating' and there seemed to me to be different views. I say do what keeps you healthy and on the right track long term.

The problem with canning is not the item being canned - it's all the salt that's used. Canned veggies are LOADED with sodium.

garlic7girl

True but I was talking about old fashioned canning which some folks still do now-a-days...returning to old roots. Most companies go overboard on everything. My mom used to can the old fashioned way and excess salt was not used.

DawnOBRN

Check out www.cleaneating.com or www.eatingwell.com

Tons of info on natural "clean" eating and great recipies!!

DawnOBRN

Forgot to add my new favorite website www.thegraciouspantry.com

LOVE her recipies!! All clean eating!!

Athena413

True but I was talking about old fashioned canning which some folks still do now-a-days...returning to old roots. Most companies go overboard on everything. My mom used to can the old fashioned way and excess salt was not used.

A lot (not all) of natural canning still has a lot of sodium, but I agree that it's better than the stuff you can buy.

AZackery

I want to start off by saying that the reason processed food have a lot of sodium is because the sodium is a preservative. It helps the food from spoiling fast.

Second, I want to say that organic foods are processed too.

In my opinion, it's impossible to avoid processed food. A person can't make a lot of dishes and that includes healthy dishes without using processed foods.

Lift_hard_eat_big

A processed food is a food that has undergone processing? Novel concept right? A process can be as simple as peeling, slicing and packaging fresh fruit, or as complicated as making ice cream out of milk. Not all processed foods are bad, fortifying foods improves the nutrition profile of many foods.

sinclare

okay, I grew up on Velveeta.

It is a cheese product--ie, it has cheese ingrediants... but it is not just regular cheese.

You want foods that are as nature made them. Think of what your grandparents ate.

check out thegraciouspantry.com.

read labels. shop local.

check out nogmoproject. com.

ejohndrow

One thing to remember is to try and eat foods with less ingredients. For example, my dinner tonight consisted of grilled chicken breast which I seasoned with black pepper and garlic, fresh broccoli which I cooked and then a roma tomato. My snacks were an orange and a pear. My breakfast is going to be a baked sweet potato with cinnamon.

There are the processed foods here and there, but my eating habits are decent, they've helped me lose weight and feel better in a matter of just a few weeks.

meerkat70

The problem with canning is not the item being canned - it's all the salt that's used. Canned veggies are LOADED with sodium.

not all. Most tinned tomatoes are fine. As are most tinned legumes. Tinned corn is generally fine. With sodium levels, its probably just important to check the label.