Processed but mostly unaltered food

[MickinMD ★]

Beginning with 2020, my spending record divides my healthy groceries purchases into "Groceries processed" and "Groceries mostly unprocessed."  I already have separate categories for snacks, beverages, and restaurants. But the definition of "processed food" is so insanely extensive - it includes milk and canned veggies and most other things virtually unaltered from their raw state - I enamed the 2nd groceries category, "Groceries healthier" so I don't have to go back and rename a bunch of entries if my personal definition of healthier changes later in the year.

The books I've glanced through, ranging from In Defense of Processed Food to Fat Chance - Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, are so rigorously militant that it's hard to take most of them seriously if you have a scientific background.

I'm going to try to eat more healthy food based more on the G.I. index (the lower, the better: I'm a Type-II diabetic), fat content, and how much the food is changed from its original form. That will make it tricky to categorize some things, so I'm going to have to put together a list of what I don't call "healthier," which will include high G.I. Index foods like breads, and fatty, processed meats like hot dogs.

"Processed" has become so extensive that it's hard to make a meal that's not considered processed by someone.  For example, from the book, "Real Food Has Curves: How to Get Off Processed Food, Lose Weight, here's a recipe for "Peach and Goat Cheese Quesadillas."  There are 5 ingredients, four of which are called processed foods by the USDA - all but the peaches!

[donkpow]

I hear 3 bean salad is really good and good for you, too.

[Wilbur ★]

I only have two columns for budgeting.    Essential.   Non-Essential. 

[Ralphie ★]

Very good initiative for the new year.  I could eat almost exclusively from the cheap veggie place if'n I was on my own.

[petitepedal ★]

I try to cook all of my own stuff rather than ready made..to me frozen dinners  all taste the same a somewhat chemical taste.  Some days it is hard when I am tired from working out and just want to eat.

 

 

[Airehead ★]

1 hour ago, petitepedal said:

I try to cook all of my own stuff rather than ready made..to me frozen dinners  all taste the same a somewhat chemical taste.  Some days it is hard when I am tired from working out and just want to eat.

 

 

This is why I make enough from the meals I do cook to make a TV dinner and freeze. 

[dinneR ★]

2 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Beginning with 2020, my spending record divides my healthy groceries purchases into "Groceries processed" and "Groceries mostly unprocessed."  I already have separate categories for snacks, beverages, and restaurants. But the definition of "processed food" is so insanely extensive - it includes milk and canned veggies and most other things virtually unaltered from their raw state - I enamed the 2nd groceries category, "Groceries healthier" so I don't have to go back and rename a bunch of entries if my personal definition of healthier changes later in the year.

The books I've glanced through, ranging from In Defense of Processed Food to Fat Chance - Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, are so rigorously militant that it's hard to take most of them seriously if you have a scientific background.

I'm going to try to eat more healthy food based more on the G.I. index (the lower, the better: I'm a Type-II diabetic), fat content, and how much the food is changed from its original form. That will make it tricky to categorize some things, so I'm going to have to put together a list of what I don't call "healthier," which will include high G.I. Index foods like breads, and fatty, processed meats like hot dogs.

"Processed" has become so extensive that it's hard to make a meal that's not considered processed by someone.  For example, from the book, "Real Food Has Curves: How to Get Off Processed Food, Lose Weight, here's a recipe for "Peach and Goat Cheese Quesadillas."  There are 5 ingredients, four of which are called processed foods by the USDA - all but the peaches!

This is about a one hour read. Pretty simple stuff. Don't overthink it.

[petitepedal ★]

46 minutes ago, Airehead said:

This is why I make enough from the meals I do cook to make a TV dinner and freeze. 

I do that too...but sometimes I get behind!!