Why You Don’t Need to Fear Processed Food Anymore
/
What if 2022 could be the year that we stopped hating on “processed” food so much? And, in turn, stopped criticizing ourselves for eating it? Because truth be told, “processed” food can be a wonderful and convenient way to help us nourish ourselves well.
Now, before we go any further, let’s clarify how we are even defining this term. Because another truth, nearly all the food that we eat is “processed” to some extent. But generally, when I hear people reference processed food, they are describing food that comes out of package ready-to-eat, or very close to it. These are foods that may be found in the center aisles of commercial supermarkets, contributing the that unhelpful “shop the perimeter” advice we’ve all heard.
Let me be clear, I’m also not saying you should:
Abandon cooking from scratch…if that’s something you have the time, money, desire, and skill to do; or
Ignore the very real issues that exist with our food system and the giant corporations that feed into it.
“But let’s not determine our own value, our worth as human begins, by whether we made our pizza from scratch, dough and all, or pulled it from a box we got in the freezer section.”
But let’s not determine our own value, our worth as human begins, by whether we made our pizza from scratch, dough and all, or pulled it from a box we got in the freezer section. Those are moral equivalents, which is to say they are both morally neutral. And let’s not compromise our well-being by denying ourselves access to foods that can making nourishing our bodies even slightly easier.
Healing our relationship with food is very much about getting out of the black and white and into the gray. It’s about letting go of rigidity and embracing flexibility. It’s about challenging the unhelpful ways diet and wellness culture have taught to think about food and our bodies. It’s about being way less critical of and far more kind to ourselves. And the items that show up in our grocery carts might be a reflection of where we are in regard to those things.
Untruths About Eating Processed Food
So, in an effort to help you reclaim a freer relationship with food and simplify feeding yourself at the same time, I’d like to offer an alternative take on some of the beliefs I often hear clients report in regard to buying and consuming processed foods.
Relying on pre-made, prepackaged, processed foods is a sign of laziness.
First of all, no human who has ever said this to me would ever be described as “lazy.” Perhaps tired. Because they’ve worked all day, or taken care of all the other humans in their life, or been otherwise occupied with the many other things that consume time in life, and by the time it comes to feeding themselves they just don’t have the energy to make it into a whole production. Pulling out that frozen meal is 100% better than forgoing eating for feeling like you can’t do it “right.”
Or already too hungry. And the time required to make something from scratch is incompatible with their need to feed themselves now.
As a person who works into the evening many nights, I can say that I am usually both of these things by the time I leave my office for the day and the idea of cooking a meal from scratch almost always sounds terrible to me. That’s despite being a person who generally does like cooking and considers myself quite good at it. I rely a lot on prepared, packaged, convenience food items to build nourishing meals for my household. It’s certainly not a point of shame, but rather a source of gratitude. I’m grateful that I can feed myself a pretty tasty and balanced meal without much effort and instead use that time I would otherwise be using to cook and clean to unwind, which is usually what I really need.
Or lacking confidence in their culinary skillset. If you don’t know how to prepare many foods, creating the expectation that you should be preparing meals from scratch can feel incredibly overwhelming. So, a person may rely on the same few meals that they do know how to make over and over again leading to very limited variety or feel immense shame that they are using processed foods to meet their needs and somehow failing at being an adult. Neither of which are very health supportive.
Or many other things. But not lazy.
Secondly, even if you do have all the time, energy, access, and ability in the world to prepare your food from scratch, it’s still okay to choose not to! You don’t need to like to cook. You don’t need to want to cook. You don’t need to spend your time making food from scratch if you’d rather be spending it doing something else. And forcing yourself to do a thing you don’t want to do because you think you “should” may not be the most supportive for your overall wellbeing.
“Processed” food is unhealthy.
This is such a loaded statement that it’s hard to figure out where to begin. Usually, I ask my clients to explain what they mean when they say this. Sometimes they have a hard time articulating exactly what they mean other than they’ve been trained to believe that anything that comes prepared and in a package is somehow bad for our bodies. Sometimes they reference specific nutrients or the quantity of calories in some foods. But, what’s really important to remember here is that a single food item does not determine the nutritional quality of an entire meal or diet (and when I say “diet” I simply mean that foods that we eat). And, “healthy eating” includes more than the nutrient value of the food.
There are lots of ways we can build more nutrition in and around some of these meals to balance them out if they aren’t already (I’ve provided some examples at the end of this post). Even if the packaged food doesn’t match your nutrient ideals, again, it’s almost certainly better than forgoing eating all together.
Additionally, many “processed” packaged foods have nutrient profiles that aren’t all that different from what they would be if we did make those foods from scratch. It’s a wellness culture belief that we’ve created that from scratch is somehow nutritionally superior, but that’s not universally true. And again, it’s definitely not morally superior.
Let’s not forget, eating for pleasure is important, too! Even if a packaged food is lower on the nutrient density scale, it doesn’t make it bad or unworthy. I guarantee it still has some nutritional value and the pleasure it provides when eating it is also an important part of health supportive eating.
This belief that all “processed” food is bad, unhealthy, or devoid of nutrients is simply untrue and creating the expectation of ourselves that we’ll prepare all foods from scratch isn’t particularly helpful either. Mostly because it’s just not realistic for most of us and the shame that results from not living up to our expectations of ourselves is probably far more compromising to our wellbeing.
“This belief that all “processed” food is bad, unhealthy, or devoid of nutrients is simply untrue ”
Bottom line: I’m glad you are feeding yourself. However, that looks. Here’s to a year of being kinder to and gentler with ourselves. To nourishing our whole selves – mind, body, and spirit. And to allowing ourselves to accept some help, when needed, to make it all a little bit easier.
3 Quick, Easy, and Nutritious Processed Food Inspired Meals
Here are a few of my favorite quick, easy, and nutritionally complete “processed” food meals.
Ramen
Any package of ramen noodles that comes with a seasoning packet will do here. Check the soup aisle and the international foods aisle to consider all your options and to find the brand that works for you.
As the ramen is boiling, I also cook up a soft-boiled egg.
I keep frozen edamame and sweet corn on hand to add in and usually have fresh baby spinach in my drawer so will add that to the final dish, too. But any combination of protein and veg will work here. For example, I’ve also added left over beef short rib to the dish with fresh mushrooms and scallions.
But what about the sodium? I know some people worry about sodium in food items like ramen. For one, the ramen you make from scratch or purchase at the noodle shop are both likely high sodium, too, so the packaged form is not necessarily “worse” than those. There does tend to be a lot of variability in sodium content from one brand to the next, too, so you can check for that if it feels important to you. You can also adjust how much of the seasoning packet you use to reduce the sodium content, since this is where most of the sodium is going to live. If you have a health condition that can benefit from being mindful of sodium intake, these may be things that you choose to do. If not, it might not be something to worry that much about. It may even be a good exposure for letting go of rigidity around food rules.
Also consider that while this might be a higher sodium meal, it’s not necessarily representative of ALL of your meals. Having a single meal that is higher in sodium with other meals that are significantly lower will likely all balance out without needing to micromanage it.
Tortellini
Combine a large bag of prepared tortellini. (My favorite is 4-cheese tortellini but try a few to find your favorite flavor!) You can find this with the fresh pasta, which is often near the deli section, or in the frozen food aisle. Both are fine choices.
While the pasta is boiling, I chop up a pint of cherry tomatoes. When the pasta is done and has been drained toss the tortellini with a jar of prepared pesto and the cherry tomatoes. Toss to coat. The cherry tomatoes will hold their shape but will soften a bit in the heat from the pasta.
Another trick I often use with pasta is to throw some chopped up broccoli into the boiling water with the pasta a minute or two before it’s done cooking. Drain it all together and then toss with whatever prepared sauce I am using.
Again, because I often have baby spinach on hand, I’ll toss some of that in the bottom of a bowl, dress it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and pile the tortellini with pesto and tomatoes on top. Quick. Easy. Delicious.
Frozen pizza
Find your favorite frozen pizza. I tend to buy a multipack of frozen cheese pizza at Costco to either eat plain or top with things I have on hand in my refrigerator to use up. But, our grocery store has a few brands that we really like that already have fun toppings, too. We usually pair it with baby carrots, celery sticks, and prepared dip or hummus or a salad kit from the produce section. I don’t know where salad kits have been all my life, but I really love the convenience of mixing one of these up to round out an easy meal.
I hope this gives you some ideas. And if you are a person who sticks to the same items over and over again, it might be helpful to take yourself on a grocery store field trip, solely for the purpose of exploring what lives in those aisles you may have not allowed yourself to wander down in quite some time. You might be surprised by what you find.
Interested in finding food freedom and body trust for yourself? Contact us to schedule a FREE discovery call and see if working together is a good fit for you! We see clients in Vermont, Florida, and several other states. And, be sure to join our email list for more tips and support on your diet-free journey.