World of Processed Foods
How often do you make food at home?
More specifically, how often do you make food from scratch at home?
If you answered never or not very often, it’s okay because you’re not alone. The society we live in today revolves around processed foods, because it’s easier and quicker. When people do this more than a few times is when we start to run into problems with our health. Looking at an article published by NPR titled What the Industry Knew About Sugar’s Health Effects, But Didn’t Tell Us, we learned that the sugar industry really pushed carbohydrates to be the forefront of a healthy diet from 1960 to 1980’s. This has resulted in our society being centered around processed and convenient foods that are low in fat and high in carbohydrates.
Just because we’re surrounded by temptation and processed foods it doesn’t mean we should eat them. Look at the health damage in the last 50 years. What you would see is an increase in heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity. We know from experience that what you eat does affect your health, so just imagine how much processed foods has caused.
If you’re reading this . . . processed foods are YOUR POISON. It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf and make healthy changes to your life. To do that it’s as simple as changing up the way you eat. Here are a few simple ways you can cut out processed foods from your diet:
1.) Getting back to a diet centered around vegetables, specifically vegetables of the season is key to good health for people and the planet. This would dramatically decrease waste by the grocery industry, improve farming towns across America by supporting local growers, improve soil conditions nationwide, and improve food quality rather than quantity.
2.) No fast food. This means no Wendy’s, McDonalds, Burger King, Freddy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, etc. Limiting your interactions with fast food will not only save your money, but you’ll also feel better when not eating fast food regularly.
3.) When grocery shopping stay around the edges of the store that has refrigeration, and AVOID the center of the store that typically offers only highly processed foods. This will limit your interactions with processed food temptations like cereal, bakery items, boxed foods, candy, etc.
4.) From home, meal prep and cook multiple meals at once. This will reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the kitchen daily, but also provide you with enough meals to last a few days. This saves you time and your sanity.
5.) Try catering or meal prep businesses. If you really don’t have time to cook or prep your meals, consider paying someone else to make it for you without the processed ingredients. An example in our area is Naomi’s Kitchen, where they prepare keto meals each week for clients to pick up to enjoy for a reasonable price.
Check out the article published in NPR: