need ideas for non-processed foods

I'm a big fan of eggs. A hard boiled egg is a fantastic snack. I also like string cheese, and although cheese is technically a processed food, it's much better than prepackaged items.

Both are loaded with protein and will keep you full longer than any Kashi type carb snack.

Try yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast and dried fruit and nuts for snacks.

Sliced veggies with hummus. Guacamole. Bean dips, Salsa. Chutneys.
Nothing out of a bag or a box.
As you eat less junk food, you'll stop craving it. (I promise!)

dblpst

I love the flavoured Triscuit crackers. Savour each individual bite and you won't even think about eating chips! lol You only get 4 in a serving of the Rosemary & Olive oil, but they are soooo good :laugh:

I love the flavoured Triscuit crackers. Savour each individual bite and you won't even think about eating chips! lol You only get 4 in a serving of the Rosemary & Olive oil, but they are soooo good :laugh:

flavored triscuits are processed... jus' sayin'

I'd suggest do it gradually.

Take each meal as a separate challenge and work on that. If you eat processed cereal for breakfast, maybe change to oatmeal with fruit (not a little packet of oatmeal, but the raw oats that you cook yourself - it's dead easy in the microwave) or eggs scrambled with mushrooms/spinach.

Change one snack a day for something less processed. Almonds, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, hommus (home made is better but there are good ready made ones) with veggie sticks, yoghurt and fruit are all good snacks.

If you work though your meals/snacks this way, maybe one a week you will find that gradually you get less reliant on packaged snacks. Having said that, I don't think they are all bad, but cutting down is a good idea for most of us.

Thanks for the info. I don't care for eggs and I can handle only so many salads, carrot/celery sticks. I love to still have my sweet/salty snacks and seem to only be able to find that in the processed foods.

not all processed foods are bad, but what's best is to process them yourself so you can control the ingredients. i like to make my own trail mixes, for example...

and as far as carrots & celery, you just have to figure out ways to dress them up, but they're a great substrate for so many snacks. you have to first re-train your tastes if you want to get off processed foods.

i avoid things with barcodes and ingredient lists. that helps cut it down considerably. if i have to buy something in a box or can, it can only have one ingredient. pretty simple and has worked extremely well for me.

i hold true to this most of the time (i work on an 80/20 rule) and i don't get down on myself if i'm at a party and have a few chips. it's a party, after all. but i try not to eat a whole bag, you know?

Beans, rice, oatmeal, almonds, egg whites (yep I crack my own), sunflower seeds, natural nut and seed butter (no additives). These are my staples.

oh dang, you're right plain old carrots and celery will never cut it! you need to make healthy food exciting for your veggies, start adding some herbs and spices, make them flavorful and delicious! my fav is cinnamon roasted brussels sprouts. cinnamon is also great on baked sweet potato slices; yellow curry and hungarian paprika are also an AMAZING combo on sweet potatoes. and if you add a little coconut butter on top, that puts it over the edge. for snacks or treats, you can do some spectacular things with nuts - you can blend up some cashews in a food processor, add in some banana, a little lemon juice, vanilla and salt and it tastes like cheesecake filling, only it's totally healthy you can process some dates and nuts together to make your own larabars. or blend some frozen bananas with peanut butter, maple syrup and a little bit of almond or soy milk for banana ice cream that you don't have to feel guilty about eating (and i swear it tastes just as good as real ice cream)

these are my 2 favorite websites ever for healthy food + treats:


http://edibleperspective.com/recipes/

and

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/chocolate-covered-recipes/
(especially this page):
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/baby-making/

the second site is an amazing resource for healthy, clean desserts and snacks. pretty much everything i've made from either of these sites has been delicious. good luck and have FUN!

if you make a pesto pasta you can throw in lots of veggies. i throw in mushrooms, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, etc. some you can taste and some you cant. i work at whole foods market, and there isnt anything processed or artificial. people say its expensive, but if you get their brand they are much healthier and since ive switched ive lost inches.

There is plenty of processed stuff at Whole Foods. The cookie section, the chip section...I could go on and on.

I love love love Whole Foods, but like any store the inner isles are full of processed food.

If you haven't already, update your diary to show sodium. This was the biggest eye opener for me - it's not so much the processed foods, more the sodium and preservatives that come with them. I can still get away with a frozen meal during the day and snack bars, etc... but I am DEFINITELY more conscious of the sodium! And the suggestion of shopping the perimeter of the store mainly is GREAT advice!!