My Month of Unprocessed Food

Happy March!  Spring is on its way and is a perfect time to cleanse and renew one's eating habits.  In honor of this time of year I am devoting the month of March to a month of unprocessed, healthy foods. In this month I will list basic ingredients to get your unprocessed, healthy kitchen pantry prepared, recipe ideas, thoughts and challenges, and whatever else arises during this fun little project.

Already this project has presented me with questions as I prepared my grocery list wondering what is considered processed food. Some processed foods are still considered healthy, so how was I going to navigate through this? Well, I decided to use my judgment on what I feel are unhealthy processed foods and stay clear of those. Easy examples of processed foods are: almost anything that is already made for me such as cereal, crackers, granola bars, breads, etc; bleached all purpose flour; pasta made with bleached AP flour; refined sugar and anything that contains it; frozen pizzas, entrees, breakfast foods, etc.; flavored yogurt, processed cheeses, ice cream; fake meats and other tofu products because tofu is processed; white rice and any grain stripped or bleached; and basically anything that is in the entire middle of the grocery store. Obvious foods that I will include are: fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables; dried unsulphured, preservative free fruits; raw, unsalted nuts and seeds; all legumes, including canned ones that are preservative free because I am terrible at cooking dried beans; rolled oats, brown rice, ground flax seed, quinoa, millet, amaranth; eggs; olive oil, spices, seasonings and fresh herbs; and sea veggies. Other foods that I had to question but decided to include are: plain organic yogurt and occasionally organic milk, butter, or local high quality unprocessed cheese; sesame oil, safflower/sunflower oil, tahini, nama shoyu/tamari; occasional pasta made with unbleached and whole grain flours; and potentially seitan or tempeh though I am not sure how processed these are. I am sure some days I will slip because again, some processed foods are still healthy. So, feel free to send me your thoughts on what you think processed foods are. It is a tricky question, because in today’s world it seems like everything is processed even if it is a seemingly healthy item. For the sake of convenience and time in our fast paced society, most foods are already made for us for example: salsa, hummus, spaghetti sauce, pasta, condiments, dressings, bread/tortillas, granola/bars, and the list goes on. We don’t really have to cook much any more except maybe to warm things up. So this challenge is really making me look at food, where we get it, how it’s made, and what exactly is healthy for us. In this fast paced world how can we not eat processed or pre-made foods, especially since they are making them seemingly healthier for us? And do we really have the time to shop, clean, prepare, and cook whole foods anymore? Or is it about striking a balance between cooking and using high quality prepared/processed foods, and making educated decisions to maintain a healthy lifestyle with convenience and ease. Hmmm, well join in on the journey and we'll see!