Processed foods and preservatives

AshnRobo

I've noticed a lot of you ladies have cut out processed foods and preservatives. I'd like to do that, but how do you take on such a major task?

Also how do you know if food has preservatives?

raynes

Well, its pretty easy, just read the label!

Look into Clean Eating.  Tosca Reno's book The Eat Clean Diet: Recharged is a good place to start, as is Clean Eating magazine.

Basically, if something has more than 5 ingredients, or has ingredients you can't pronounce or visualize where they came from, put it back on the shelf.

It usually means that you prepare most meals yourself from fresh ingredients, but man does it make you feel good.  In my experience, it does take a bit of pre-planning, but not a whole heck of a lot of time.  Plus, I don't mind the time I spend cooking.

Another thing to check out is the book Food Rules by Michael Pollan (and his books The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food).  Food Rules sums up the key points of In Defense of Food (though I've not read that one yet) and is a pretty good way to approach food.  His main mantra is "Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants."

I personally aim to eat clean about 70-80% of the time.  It's hard to do it completely, and some things are just a little too good to give up.  Plus, I'm a big believer of everything in moderation (including moderation!).

mrsthiel2011

Basically anything that comes packaged and doesn't go bad within a few days has preservatives. Also, i would recommend not purchasing any food that has ingredients you can't pronounce. It's best to eat foods as close to their natural form as possible.

Cutting out processed foods takes a lot of planning. I make everything i eat from scratch, except maybe 1 meal every other week. I spend several hours every weekend planning and preparing for the upcoming week - i plan out all meals, grocery shop, get everything as close to ready to cook as possible to save time during the week (ie cut up veggies, if i'm making something like baked chicken, i'll put everything in the baking dish so it's ready to just pop in the oven). It's a major commitment, but it's well worth it.