How do you avoid processed foods and what do you eat instead?

16 comments

1. I don’t even try to avoid them completely. “Processed” is a broad term that includes freezing, cooking, pasteurizing, and other things I am really not concerned about.

   I do try to avoid excessive salt, sugars and preservatives. Which for me, means starting with whole ingredients and mixing them together as much as possible. This means, i.e., making mac and cheese with noodles, cheese, and milk I pick instead of boxed Easy Mac. It means paying attention to flour and sugar used in the bread I buy, or I make the occasional batch of bread from scratch. And it means saving foods with little to no nutritional value, like chips and snacks, as rare treats.

2. I eat a lot of salads and popcorn. Those 2 are about 95% of my diet

3. I cook most of my own meals. I have diced chicken thighs and rice with vegetables for at least one meal a day. It’s easy to cook a large portion, separate, and take to work.

4. Most of our meals consist of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, fresh lean proteins, nuts, and grains. No frozen foods. Very little canned foods. Minimally processed snacks like yogurt or granola bars with very low sugar. We try to avoid chips or cookies or junk food unless it’s a special occasion.

5. When you go grocery shopping, buy ingredients and cook from scratch as much as possible. A lot of things are easy to make and much cheaper than store bought, if you just put in a little planning. [Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce](https://www.thekitchn.com/marcella-hazans-amazing-4ingre-144538) and [No knead bread](https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-knead-bread/) are the first two that came to mind and there are a million variations on each, but you’ll feel like a kitchen genius just by sticking with the basic recipes- I promise.

6. I don’t consciously avoid processed food because nearly everything is at least lightly processed, but I do enjoy cooking from as scratch as possible. I have an allotment where I grow my own produce. I buy raw, fresh ingredients where possible. I guess I prefer to do the “processing” myself.

   I make my own sauces, pickles, chutneys and fermented foods. I bake my own bread though obviously the flour is processed (I’ve toyed with the idea of growing my own wheat and milling it myself though!). I make my own granola mix. I make yoghurt and cheeses from local fresh milk. I never buy ready meals or precooked stuff really.

7. I eat Cheerios every morning, and those are technically processed but on the healthier end of the processing spectrum so oh well.

   But my husband and I do bulk cooking on the weekends — we cook large amounts of food for lunch and dinner and split it up so that all we have to do is pop it in the microwave Mon-Fri. So we are eating fast, microwaved food that is all made from scratch. We even make our own bread (though we buy tortillas when we eat those).

   I also make snacks for the week. We prefer hummus or deviled eggs. Always made at home from scratch, good stuff.

   I strongly recommend spending one afternoon cooking and cleaning rather than 7 days and 7 nights cooking and cleaning. Once you get in the habit it gets easier and easier to do this.

   Sometimes we get takeout, but it’s only a few times per month rather than every day or every week.

8. Most of my meals are protein (chicken, eggs, beef) + vegetables, all cooked from scratch. I the winter I make large batches of soup from scratch and freeze them.

9. A lot of my favorite foods are vegetables, so it’s not too hard. I’m a BIG fan of making super stacked salads or rice bowls, and usually throw on a bunch of things with different textures and colors (Ex: spinach arugula salad with shredded carrot, cucumber, chickpea, sesame seeds, meat/tofu of choice, and tahini with lemon as the dressing).

   I’ve also figured out what kind of carbs work best for my stomach issues and try to eat them with every meal, which helps with energy and keeping me from snacking too much. Basmati rice, potato’s, and polenta are my 3 faves because they’re pretty versatile!

   I still eat processed foods and try not to beat myself up about it. If I’m having a chronic pain/fatigue flare up and don’t have the energy to cook something, I’d rather eat something processed than not eating at all.

10. Replacements that work for you.

    Personally, I’ve found dates are wonderful for satisfying any sweet cravings I may have.

    I tell myself they’re better than candy. 😛

11. I grow as much as possible, I buy fresh veggies and fruit and I cook all my meals. I look at labels for low salt and low sugar. However I always have a bag of frozen veggies, cans of tuna and cans of chick peas, lentils and beans on hand.

12. I don’t buy them. I cook.

13. If I’m hungry I will find a snack with protein. It’s hard to avoid processed foods on the go but if there’s protein to it, likely it’s a better choice. I try to have good snacks on hand as well as fruits and vegetables.

    If it’s a busy day I will make a healthy smoothie to bring with me.

14. I don’t buy a lot of processed food, so I can’t eat it if I don’t have it. I cook a lot of vegetarian food and we eat a lot of salads. Every other month I’ll batch cook and freeze a bunch of things like lasagnas, enchiladas, and chili.

15. Eating clean. I don’t go down aisle un the grocery store; a wide or on the fringe of the grocery store. Try not to purchase anything that comes in a box. Oh and read the labels…usually lots of sugar. If I can’t pronounce the ingredients- it stays where it is.

16. I try to avoid processed food by cooking from scratch. It isn’t possible to do all of the time though. And sometimes you just want junk.