Processed foods

packersfan0103 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

I eat processed foods, but i also eat fresh whole foods. I try not to make processed foods the majority of my diet, just a part of it.

I’ve heard so many different things. I was just wondering what others thought about the whole processed vs. fresh foods only and was hoping to get some tips on what others might recommend as far as snacking.

Processed foods are such a range of different things that I think anyone who generalizes about them as if you could just isn't thinking it through. And so often the people who slam processed foods the most eat them and just seem to pretend like the ones they eat aren't "processed" somehow, or perhaps not to understand what "processed" means.

I have personal preferences about how I like to eat, and a lot of that is cooking from whole foods (and some processed ones, like tofu or canned tomatoes or dried pasta or steel cut oats, for just a few examples, and some pre-ground spices or even a spice mix or condiment like sriracha). But if asked whether something is healthy I don't think whether it's "processed" is a good measure at all. I'd read the nutrition label and ingredients (if it had one) and think about how it fits into my overall diet and goals. I can make french fries at home, in theory, with a deep fryer (although I never do) or buy them, and that they are "only occasionally" foods for me because hard to fit into my usual goals and something I tend to overeat is not affected by whether I make them from whole potatoes at home or someone else does at a restaurant for me. (Now if I cook them in a less caloric way it might, but that has nothing to do with processed or not.)

packersfan0103 wrote: »

Thank you all for your feedback. I guess it’s really all about making healthy choices. Pretzels over say, Oreos. Whole grain toast over maybe sourdough. Unless maybe one slice of sourdough. Baked potato over French fried. Grilled chicken over fried chicken. As far as dessert goes. I have an ice cream maker and it does say in the little user handbook to consume what you’ve made within a few days because it does not have all of the preservatives as store bought stuff.

I think this is a better mind set than blanket statements about good/bad. I eat pretzels, peanut butter, and chocolate almost daily. But I also eat fresh veggies, a little fruit, and some protein daily. I'm a big veggie eater. One of my friends nicknamed me "Rabbit".

once you cook meat, its processed. pretty much aside from raw fruits and veg, everything is processed in SOME way.

what i consider (and everyone is different) is the prepackaged (often frozen) convenience foods. frozen meals. hamburger helper (which ive always though was gross lol), etc.

i make most things from scratch. its healthier and cheaper once you have a well stocked kitchen of staples. does that mean i never break down and throw a frozen pizza in the oven, or a frozen lasagna, or some kind of frozen skillet meal? no, i do. but i try to keep it rare. but im a single mom, i work full time, am gone 12 hours a day, and if i havent planned .... it happens. cause the kid has to eat something. i really do try to keep it to a couple of times a month though.

preplanning is your friend. the crock pot is your friend. usually on friday i figure out roughly what im going to make, and make my shopping list accordingly. i shop on saturday morning. crock pot stuff i can usually prep ahead and put in a freezer bag to pull out the morning i want it, and the other stuff i have a plan of attack for as to if i need to prep the morning before, or if its something i can toss together right after work.

"Processed foods" just isn't a very useful term in my opinion. I generally prefer food that is altered as little as is practical but there are few rules written in stone and none that I would try to impose on anyone else. My steel cut oats are a lot closer to the way the seed comes off the plant than rolled or instant oatmeal but I buy them that way because I like them better.

Pretty late in life to think about becoming a vegetarian or vegan but the idea appeals to me. Gave away all the smoked hocks, bacon, ham and such from the fridge and freezer the first of the year, Have resolved not to buy processed meats anymore but did it to improve the quality of my life, not the pigs and cattle that I think we're abusing. By processed meats I mean cured, smoked, or salted, for example, bacon, ham, smoked hocks, and most sausage.

Gave up most cheeses in 2018 too; not because I've got anything against the cheesemaking or fermentation processes but because I'm personally unable to moderate my cheddar and swiss consumption. Going to try to keep parmesan on hand though; we'll see how that works out. Nothing against distillers or moonshiners but don't keep whiskey in the house on the same principal. Tempted to quit dairy in general because I disapprove of the way agribusiness treats animals but instead, I'm going to become acquainted with milk alternatives and learn how to cook tofu. Might go further down that road.

I get most of my groceries from the produce, meat/fish, and dairy sections but there are always at least a few "processed" items on my list from the center aisles.