Supid food question

SparklesPlenty
SparklesPlenty Posts: 90 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What is considered processed or not? I am trying to limit my processed foods, but the foods I see people recommending seem processed to me. Isn't Cheese processed? Peanut Butter? Cottage Cheese? yogurt? protein shakes?

I have trouble eating enough and now trying to reduced processed foods I am having an even harder time meeting my calories. Help? What is an ok "processed" food vs one to avoid? I know the obvious ones like Velveeta and Salami :)

Replies

  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
    I see processed cheese as processed, but other cheese as not. Though I'm sure others may disagree with this. Peanut butter is only processed if it has additives in it (sugar, salt, etc). Natural peanut butter is just peanuts that have been ground into a butter. This is not processed because it is still a whole food (even though it is not literally whole....) The key to understanding if something is processed is: is there additives? Is their colour, chemicals, sodium, sugars, and so on? If so, then it is processed.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    I see processed cheese as processed, but other cheese as not. Though I'm sure others may disagree with this. Peanut butter is only processed if it has additives in it (sugar, salt, etc). Natural peanut butter is just peanuts that have been ground into a butter. This is not processed because it is still a whole food (even though it is not literally whole....) The key to understanding if something is processed is: is there additives? Is their colour, chemicals, sodium, sugars, and so on? If so, then it is processed.
    So instead of the actual meaning of the word "processed", you mean "has additives"?
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Processed foods are basically foods that come in a box and have ingredients you can't pronounce. Also many processed foods have HFCS, corn syrup, sugars, and lots of ingredients that aren't found in normal food.

    Cheese, peanut butter and yogurt while technically "processed" are not like the boxed or canned foods that aren't terribly healthy for you. That is not to say that you can't get good foods that are in cans or boxes you just need to read the labels and see what the ingredients are. If there's High Fructose Corn Syrup added in, added sugars, and anything that you can't pronounce or doesn't seem natural then it's processed.

    I'm a big label reader and I'll read the labels on things like canned kidney beans because I was shocked to find out that the brand I was previously buying had sugar as the second ingredient. While I will buy boxed mac and cheese I read the label and found that "Annie's" has less crap in it than the other brands. Same goes for baked beans (Bush's doesn't have anything added in it that I wouldn't put in myself) and my grocery store has a brand of gluten free minimally processed lunch meats that I buy (most of them don't have the nitrates/nitrites)

    I guess the gist of my post is read the labels. If you can't pronounce it and if it's something you yourself wouldn't add to the food then skip it.
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
    So instead of the actual meaning of the word "processed", you mean "has additives"?

    Well unless you want to eat the wheat and potatoes directly from the field as you are picking them without machinery or suck the milk directly out of the cow, then EVERYTHING could be considered processed I suppose. But when thinking of processed foods I see it as something that has been altered from its whole form by adding various chemicals and other things that change its nutritional value (by other adding to it or taking away from it). For example, a pasta with fresh veggies and homemade sauce is not necessarily processed if you use the fresh ingredients. If you buy it in one of those frozen dinner packages, it is processed because there is excess salt, etc added to it, even if what you see has essentially the same ingredients as the first meal.
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    I think you're right.........and as has been said, I generally refer to "processed" foods as being foods with ingredients I can't pronounce.

    On a Paleo website I read two things that really help me with my eating. 1) "Shop the perimeter of the grocery store" (i.e. fruits, veggies, fresh meats, fresh dairy in moderation) and 2) "If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. If it's advertised on TV, don't eat it."

    Those two rules will generally keep you pretty safe. Of course there are exceptions but I generally stick to those rules to stay healthy.
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    im focusing on eating cleaner...i am (at this point) considering processed as anything not homemade..I make my protein bars, dont eat packaged lunches, no kiddie cereals, or packaged rice dishes etc...

    I will eat cheese, PB, greek yogurts, in moderation...I dont have the answer but there are lots of ways to clean up your diet, and I think making all your own foods is the easiest way to start!

    Good luck!!!
  • SparklesPlenty
    SparklesPlenty Posts: 90 Member
    Thank you everyone. This helps alot. Plus I actually laughed out load at the sucking milk straight from a cow comment!

Categories