What do I mean by processed foods? We’ll save the hard science for another day and use a working definition. Processed foods are typically in a bag, box or package and have multiple ingredients and additives. Processed foods often come with added salt (sodium) and sugar or sugar alternatives. Processed foods tend to be low in nutrients and tend to be high in calories. Some examples: crackers, chips, frozen meals, cookies. Processed foods are convenience items with little nutritional value. Americans tend to have diets based on these and these products crowd out more nutrient dense life sustaining foods like fruits and vegetables.
So how do I reduce processed foods?
First, evaluate your day to day diet. What are you eating? Are you buying breakfast at a coffee shop or gas station? Are you skipping breakfast and grabbing a bag of chips from a vending machine mid-morning? Are you ordering pizza for lunch? Are you heating a frozen lasagna for dinner? This would be a diet high in processed foods and changing any one of these things would be a step in the right direction. Pick the area of your diet where the most processed foods are creeping in. It might be a particular meal of the day or the days where aspects of your schedule make healthy meals harder. Consider what you could do instead of relying on processed foods. Could you make a soup on Sunday that provides leftovers for Tuesday night after sports instead of that frozen lasagna? Could you eat breakfast before leaving for work instead of that coffee stop? Could you take 2 fresh fruits in your purse or lunch bag to have as snacks when needed?
The first couple weeks of attempting this will be effortful and challenging. Stay the path. What is hard today will be tomorrow’s normal. You’ll be well on your way to mastering that “Eat Healthy”.