How to Eat Less Processed Food

Chocolates, cakes, donuts, pizzas, ice-creams, cookies, pretzels, wafers, French fries, chicken nuggets and many others— even hearing about these foods make you crave them. After all, they are super tempting.

But unfortunately, they are also counted amongst processed food. Which means that they are harmful for you.

The adverse effects of processed food may be even worse if you consume them everyday. So, it is best to eat foods that are not processed.

Practically, that is not really possible. Everything you find at the market these days is processed to some degree. What you can do is eat less processed food.            

If you’re not sure how to eat less processed food, then go through the tips given below.

Drink More Water

Many people automatically reach for a cold drink or a bottle of juice when they feel thirsty. If you’re the same, then it’s time to kick that habit.

Beverages such as cold drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices and sweet teas have a high sugar and calorie-content. And they have very low nutritional value.

So, when you get thirsty, grab a bottle of water to quench your thirst.

We understand that giving up sugary drinks completely may not really be possible for some people. However, you can still cut back on the consumption of these processed foods.

Choose Whole Grains

Refined grains such as white rice, and products made out of refined grains, like white bread and white pasta, are processed in a way that their bran and germ gets removed. As a result, the fibre and nutrients in them get stipped off as well.

When you consume whole grain foods like brown rice, brown bread and whole wheat pasta, you’re giving your body a chance to absorb nutrients like vitamin B, protein, iron, copper, zinc and magnesium.

Whole grains are also rich in fibre. Plus they are antioxidants. Cherry on the top? It is one of the easiest ways of eating less processed food.  

Eat Fresh Foods

Fresh fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals. Hence, they are incredibly good for your health. Also, they are not processed. So, they don’t lose any of their nutritional value.

You can use broccoli, carrots and peas as ingredients while making pasta. You can put spinach and mushroom in an omelette or scrambled eggs. You can even mix bananas, strawberries or blueberries in your oatmeal.      

Adding some sort of fresh food to every meal you eat is a simple yet great strategy for you to eat less processed food.  

Shop Wisely

When you’re trying to eat less processed food, the way you shop determines whether you’re able to achieve your goal or not. The key is to shop wisely.

Read the labels of the products you’re buying. Make sure that you don’t buy anything with too much sodium, added sugar or trans fat.          

Also, if possible, shop frequently so that you purchase and eat fresh vegetables and fruits regularly.

When you stock-up for the whole week, the vegetables become less fresh. The nutritional value is lost by the time you eat all the veggies.

Try Meal Prepping

One of the reasons why people end up eating so much processed foods is because they simply do not get the time to make meals with fresh ingredients everyday. They eat the things which are easy to cook.

More often than not, the ingredients come out of a can. These ingredients also contain artificial flavours and preservatives.

Meal prepping is something that you can practice. This way, you’ll have something healthy to eat everyday. And you won’t get tempted to grab unhealthy food or order in every time you get hungry.

All you need to do is prepare healthy meals in large batches that last the whole week. You can prepare the meals once or twice a week and keep them in the fridge.

This is a feasible method when it comes to eating less processed food.

Swap Food

Another method you can use when you’re trying to avoid processed food is by swapping the processed food with a healthier version.

This way, you don’t have to completely give up something you love. You just need to choose its healthier version. Sometimes, you can swap a particular food item with something else entirely.

You can pop your own popcorn on the stove instead of eating microwaved popcorn. You can use home-made salad dressings in place of processed salad dressing that you get from shops.              

Mix unsalted nuts and seeds to make your own trail mix rather than munching on store-bought salted ones. For breakfast, choose oatmeal instead of sugary cereals.

Avoid Processed Meat

Did you know that processed meats like sausages, bacon and canned meats are harmful for you? Did you know that these types of meat have been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer?

Having these processed foods once in a while may not be that harmful. But if they are a part of your regular diet, it is severely bad for you.

What can you do about it? Cut back on all forms of processed meats. In its place, choose less processed foods such as turkey, fresh chicken and salmon.

You can also opt for plant-based proteins like lentils and beans.    

Whip up Creative Meals

One of the best ways to eat less processed food is by whipping something up on your own. Get creative in the kitchen.

Use your favorite ingredients and make up your own recipes. You can also check out some easy healthy recipes online.

Use fresh ingredients as much as you can so that the food you eat retains most of its nutritional value.

When you make your own meals, you can make sure that you are using only good quality ingredients that are not heavily processed.

Keep Healthy Snacks at Hand

When it comes to eating healthy food, what you snack on also matters. You won’t be eating too much processed food if they are not easily available.

So, when you go shopping, stop yourself from buying fried snacks, chips and sugary treats.

Minimally processed foods are still somewhat fine. Just try to avoid any food that falls under the heavily processed food category.  

Instead, try to munch on healthy snacks such as unsalted nuts (cashews, pistachios, almonds etc.), yogurt with sliced fruit, hard-boiled eggs, crackers & cheese, roasted chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, celery sticks with hummus, etc.

Make the changes slowly

Like they say, “old habits die hard”. If you’re used to eating a lot of processed foods, then switching to healthier foods won’t be so easy.

If you try to follow all the tips for eating less processed food at once, it may not work for you.

So, what do you do? What you can do is change one habit at a time. You can start by swapping one or two processed food items with its healthier version.

Then after two weeks, learn how to meal prep. Two weeks after that, create your own healthy recipes. You get the idea!