hard time cutting out processed foods

There's a lot left besides fruit and salads, but I realize that it can seem overwhelming when you first try to cut down on processed stuff. Indeed, it helps to start small. What sorts of processed/packed foods to you typically eat? Try to select a few and, instead of eating that food, instead buy the basic ingredients for that food and experiment with making it. Check out online for recipes and experiment.

For example, I used to eat a lot of pre-packed oatmeal (not the worst processed food out there, but I wasn't a fan of the added sugar and sodium nor the expense). So, I started just buying oats in bulk and making it in the morning, adding some cinnamon and vanilla for flavor. Not the biggest leap, but a small step.

Some suggestions:

Finish whatever canned vegetables you have in your cupboards... and switch to frozen or fresh veggies. Canned are loaded with sodium.

Buy a wok and start making stir fries.

If you don't have one, buy a slow cooker.

Buy long grain rice (I am using basmati rice in bulk from Sam's Club.

Because of the nature of our food supply, it is very difficult (and excessively expensive) to completely give up processed foods. Just do what makes sense. For instance, when you buy bread, get breads that are whole wheat, instead of processed wheat. Instead of buying things like frozen entrees, learn how to cook them yourself, using fresh ingredients. Remember that food manufacturers put things in their food to preserve the food. Typically these are salts.

I am inferring that maybe you don't cook or like to cook. BUT you really can make some foods you will enjoy beyond just eating fruit and salads each and every day with a minimum of cooking. IT does take a little forethought though. I suggest you buy a large package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, drizzle with olive oil, lightly salt & papper and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 - 40 minutes (depending on the thickenss of your chicken) (works with fish as well). You can then slice and use in salads, or reheat it to have alongside some frozen vegetables that you like (they just require some microwaving or heating in boiling water). You can also roast a lot of vegetables using the same technique (high heat, olive oil, s & p) such as tomatoes, onions, carrots, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, etc........ and you will be amazed at just how delicious they taste. Cook in large quantities and package for your fast on the go lunches throughout the week. AND of course, there is also yogurt, nuts, hummus and peanut butter options as well! Hope any of this helps you get away from processed foods.

Im trying to cut out processed foods from my diet but need some meal ideas since everything I am used to eating is processed....whats left besides eating fruits and salads all day long?? (I am new at this and lost!)

I find that making meals in bulk and freezing them makes it a whole heck of a lot easier to eat clean..it's the convenienc more than anything that makes the processed food so much easier to make meals around. I'll share a week long meal plan with you that I make for my family, sunday to monday dinners, take into mind that my serving sizes are huge, because I'm feeding 6 kids..
and even adjust the calorie/fat content in the meals to suit you..like using part egg white and eggs, or lower ft cheeses or leaner cuts of meat...which I usually do but i'm not so strict when making meals for my kids, they need the fat in their diets.

so here goes a week worth of meals for you

Sunday:Planned leftovers: Spaghetti and meatballs (make or buy extra meatballs for Tuesday dinner) I buy extra lean ground chicken breast meatballs, and I serve it over fresh (fromthe refrigerator section of the supermarket) whole wheat pasta, i'll serve this with steamed broccoli.

Monday: Open faced lowfat portobello burgers with slices of tomato and sweet onion baked potato chips. Rinse portobello mushrooms. Remove stem, brush caps with a little olive iol. Broil gill sides up,7 min. Turn over brush again with olive oil and broil 6 minutes. I cut up sweet potatoes very thin spread them on a cookie sheet, and bake em. I serve the burgers open faced on half a whole wheat bun.

Tuesday: Meatball heroes. Heat up the leftover meatballs from Sunday, I use laughing cow cheese, but whatever cheese you like. I toast whole wheat rolls, add some roasted red pepper slices and if any leftover mushrooms from Monday's meal add those as well., I serve this with a spinach and mandarin orange salad.

Wednesday:Oven fried chicken tenders, I spray my chicken with a little cooking spray and dip into crushed cornflakes, but use whatever coating you like. Bake 450, 15 minutes. Serve with Steamed cauliflower and a three bean salad..non oil kind.

Thursday: Tilapia,brown rice and snow peas. Mix 1 tbsp each lemon juice and reduced sodium soy sauce with 1 tsp each sesame oil and grated ginger. Drizzle over broiled fish. I add diced steamed veggies to my steamed brown rice and serve alongside some steamed snow peas, which you can add a little of the glaze from the fish to add flavour.

Friday: Pork tenderloin, black bean salad and corn on the cob. toss rinsed canned black beans, chopped red pepper and scallions with vinaigrette.

Saturday: sauteed turkey cutlets with mango salsa, couscouswith pine nuts and mixed steamed veggies. For salsa: mix 1.5 cups diced mango and 2 tbsp each chopped red onion, cilantro and pickled mild jalapeno peppers


This is my menu for next week dinners...just thought i'd give you a few ideas on how you can cook healthy, but without very many processed foods if any....most of the time I double the recipes for the pork, meatballs and cutlets, and freeze for another meal

another way to cut out processed foods and get good nutrients is to avoid "fat-free" and "lo-fat" or "lite" products and eat the real foods, it may seem counter-intuitive, but real cheese, for example, is full of good nutrients and vitamins, lo-fat imitations of cheese have a list on the package that makes it seem like it might good for you and that is it. the promise on the package is the only thing fake cheese has going for it and this is true of all imitation products, i might have to consider changing my screen name to broken record but eat real food!!!

Amen!

I second that, as a matter of fact keep in mind while shopping that it is food marketing that tries to sell you products and after reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, basically it said the healthier the claim on the package the worse and more processed the food actually is. Like activia and other Pro biotic yogurts.......um, yogurt already has probiotics so why buy one that is more expensive and tastes worse just because of a marketing claim?

Anyway, back to your original question you gotta start thinking out of the "diet" box. cookinglight.com, eatingwell.com, marthastewart.com etc etc etc. Pick up a magazine at the checkout stand that has food on the cover that looks appetizing and take it home and give something a try.. BUY A CROCK POT, this has saved my dinners on many occasions.

We have a rule in our house, each month when cooking light comes in the mail or any other magazine I get, I give it to my kids first and have them dog ear the pages with food that looks good to them and we try at least one recipe a week and then we rate it, if it's a keeper I tear it out of the magazine and put it in a 3 ring binder for future use, if it's a loser we put a big x on the page so we don't get tempted again. After years of doing this I have 3 binders, one for meat dishes and soups, one for veggies (salads, veggies, etc) and one for sweets (cookies, muffins etc).

Lastly, throw out all the crap and just don't buy it. If it's not there you won't use it and you will have automatically made a better choice!

I wholeheartedly second reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I'd also recommend Mark Bittman's Food Matters.

I'm relatively new to MFP (just over 1 month) and I've had the same issue. The convenience of prepared foods is tempting, especially when you are really busy or if you have a long commute to work.

I've taken to cooking roasts with lots of veggies on the weekends. I'll freeze some and eat the rest. Depending on how many people you are cooking for and how big the roast is, it could last a long time! I'm going to start making batches of oatmeal for breakfasts as this is my most challenging meal - if I get up and exercise, I don't have time to make a healthy breakfast from scratch.

Look up baked oatmeal...I've done a casserole dish of various recipes before...then you just cut it up and put it in tupperware for the week. I've also made a weeks worth of oatmeal in my rice cooker, added some dried fruits and vanilla flavoring, maybe a bit of sugar or whatever...and then put that in tupperware too. Then you just reheat with a bit of water or milk in it and YUM.

thanks for pulling me back into the non-processed food mind. I kinda got lost in the macaroni and cheese isle:ohwell: