Eat nothing processed for one month?

[Eliana]

Could you?

I'm considering challenging myself to this. I was curious about where marshmallows come from so I was googling a recipe for homemade marshmallows and it made me think. We can make our own marshmallows, with no HFS. So why don't why?

I already cook most things from scratch, far more than most people, but I still have my staples. I'm not talking about living off the land or anything truly crazy. I'm not going to grind my own wheat. But I was thinking about some of the things I could make that I normally purchase.

I could make:
marinara sauce
mayonnaise (not that I use this)
pickles
marshmallows
yogurt
nut butter
pudding


What do you think? Could you?

[duckyyellowfeet]

Could I? Most likely. I'm a pretty decent cook; give me a recipe and I can normally figure it out.

But I'd go crazy--baking bread, making my own yogurt, canning fruits/veggies, making pasta, churning butter... God, the list goes on. (I don't know why I'm suddenly turning myself into a pioneer in this situation.) There are some things that I wish I could reduce purchasing: pre-cut cheeses, cubed squashes, sliced deli meats and coffee creamer.

You'll have to let us know how this process goes... I'd be interested to see your updates

[geoblewis]

I'm already doing this. If I don't feel like making something, then I just go without. And my food bill has gone way down too!

I had to cut most processed food due to a serious soy sensitivity, but it's helped me cut a lot of sodium and hidden sugars from my diet. I feel a lot better now, more energized, and no more achy joints.

[theox]

I couldn't do this right now, but it's what I'm (slowly) working my way towards. Ultimately, I'd like to be able to live almost completely self-sufficiently. I would be interested in reading about your experiences if you decide to do this.

[Beck]

Eliana- good to see you back!

I think I could go a month, even much longer than that, with no processed food; it might be more difficult for my kiddos; they eat sandwiches for lunch almost every day, and I don't bake all our own bread (though we do have a bread machine and back it sometimes).

[flourless]

You get used to it, for some values of "unprocessed". I had to be gluten free, dairy free, soy free, legume free, grain free (no corn, rice, sugar) for about a year after my gluten intolerance diagnosis.

I purchased things I could eat that were processed (like potato starch and palm sugar, shelled nuts, etc), but the pickings were slim. In terms of logistics, the big problem is that making -everything- means you have a lot more of everything around. When wanting a marshmallow means three hours in the kitchen - you want to eat them all before they go stale. And then you have to make them -again- and you start thinking "I could just make a double batch of these..."

I lost weight on that diet, but it was remarkably restricted, and the lack of processed options made it even more restricted.

[ubergirl]

You might want to check this book out:

http://www.amazon.com/Make-Bread-Buy...6673622&sr=1-1

I'd say that (unless I'm in binge mode) most stuff I eat is unprocessed/from scratch-- if you define that loosely. I don't make my own cheese, for example. I do buy almond butter-- that would be a pain to make!

We have a bread machine and my hubby makes a loaf every single day. I have a yogurt maker which I haven't used lately, but it's easy to use.

[Eliana]

I am curious to do this. I know for me personally I SAY I eat everything unprocessed, but really I don't. Do many of us? There are so many things we take for granted. Ketchup, salad dressings, even cream cheese could be homemade.

And almond butter is easy. ;o) Just toss a bag of unsalted almonds into the food processor and whirl for 6:00. After 6:00 I add a little honey and pulse it a few times. It thickens and sweetens it. The hardest part is clean up because it doesn't dissolve. I have to wipe it out with a paper towel before putting it in the dishwasher.

[linJber]

I'd lose weight really quickly on your plan because there would be very little for me to eat! LOL. I think I eat pretty well on a whole. I guess when I think "processed" I think cheese single or Velveeta, boxed meals, lunch meats, that sort of thing.

Marshmallows don't even factor in, so that's a day's worth of labor I don't have to worry about. They're all sugar, and the recipe I saw made 1 1/2 pounds of marshmallows and would last a week in the fridge. That's a lot of marshmallows to eat in a week. And I just read the label on my plain, 0% fat Greek yogurt and I'm not sure I can improve on it, so that's another one I wouldn't bother with. I don't use enough mayo to worry about it. I use yogurt with seasonings in it in place of mayo as a spread on the occasional sandwich.

Will you use fresh tomatoes to make the marinara? Or are canned tomato products OK? I make my own sauce, but I use canned tomato puree and diced tomatoes to start. Starting with fresh tomatoes adds a whole lot of labor and time to the process. Almond and / or peanut butter that is just ground nuts is readily available at a local whole foods, so I'd pass on that, too, and save the clean up.

I love the idea of this and hope you can do it. I know I'd never succeed at it. I've found it easier to work around the things that are considered to be "processed" and just eat something else. Maybe that's a cop-out, but I look at the return on the labor investment and I'm sure I'd never be happy with what seems to me to be a big imbalance.

Lin

[berryblondeboys]

I make almost everything EXCEPT my protein bars and I've asked around for recipes and can't find any good low carb things available, so I do buy those.

I have all vey high quality small appliances and it makes things so much easier when you have the right tool. Like I always made my own marinara sauce, but I bought canned tomatoes. Now that I know that canned tomatoes are probably the worst canned food out there, I now buy discounted fresh tomatoes (a grocery store near us sells discounted produce if it's bruised, ugly, etc) and then I toss the tomatoes in a blender (a good food process would work too) - skin and seeds and all, and then when blended I put it on the stove and cook it down a bit. I then freeze them in one meal batches. Costs me way less than canned tomatoes and tastes way better and really takes no time at all.

I make our own bread, yogurt, baked goods, nut butters, and all meals of course.

I won't go as Far as growing my own foods as we have way too many critters to chow down on anything to try to grow here, but I'm joining a CSA and hit farmer's markets during the growing season.

But I will say, without a good blender, food processor, and mixer, I probably wouldnt bother with it as much, but I did invest in it and have the room to store the stuff too. It is true, it's much easier to make multiple batches of things.

And I won't go as far as making my own butter or grinding my own wheat. A lot of what I do is because of better taste, and from scratch really does taste better with most anything, but cost is also a huge consideration for me. If it will cost me more to grind my own flour, then I'll, just buy high quality flour.

[WildThings]

I definitely think you can do it. It would be a fun challenge if nothing else.

Due to some health issues and major food intolerance, I actually eat very little processed stuff. It's definitely a little more time consuming, but most definitely doable. I have fun making some of the stuff, especially mayonnaise (although wow is homemade mayo high in fat). What makes it easier for me is I generally eat things with very few ingredients (meat, veggies and beans for the most part) so I'm not having to make a bunch of concoctions all the time.

Making stuff from scratch can be really fun. The first time I ever made marshmallow I was completely amazed and it tasted so much better than store bought marshmallows.

[Eliana]

Originally Posted by linJber

I'd lose weight really quickly on your plan because there would be very little for me to eat! LOL. I think I eat pretty well on a whole. I guess when I think "processed" I think cheese single or Velveeta, boxed meals, lunch meats, that sort of thing.

Marshmallows don't even factor in, so that's a day's worth of labor I don't have to worry about. They're all sugar, and the recipe I saw made 1 1/2 pounds of marshmallows and would last a week in the fridge. That's a lot of marshmallows to eat in a week. And I just read the label on my plain, 0% fat Greek yogurt and I'm not sure I can improve on it, so that's another one I wouldn't bother with. I don't use enough mayo to worry about it. I use yogurt with seasonings in it in place of mayo as a spread on the occasional sandwich.

Will you use fresh tomatoes to make the marinara? Or are canned tomato products OK? I make my own sauce, but I use canned tomato puree and diced tomatoes to start. Starting with fresh tomatoes adds a whole lot of labor and time to the process. Almond and / or peanut butter that is just ground nuts is readily available at a local whole foods, so I'd pass on that, too, and save the clean up.

I love the idea of this and hope you can do it. I know I'd never succeed at it. I've found it easier to work around the things that are considered to be "processed" and just eat something else. Maybe that's a cop-out, but I look at the return on the labor investment and I'm sure I'd never be happy with what seems to me to be a big imbalance.

Lin

Not a cop-out at all. Gosh, not all of us love spending hours and hours in the kitchen and this "eating right" thing has to work for everyone, right? Your suggestions prove there really is no excuse for eating healthy.

I just like working in the kitchen, some of the time. There are certainly times I have no desire to cook and that's when I find my own easy way around things. My favorite I-don't-wanna-cook-meal is a rotisserie chicken from Meijer. It's the next best thing to making it myself. Just add frozen veggies.

And no, marshmallows don't exactly fit into my plan. I was just plunking mini marshmallows into my boys' hot chocolate and it got me thinking. I've been drinking hot chocolate soy mix and adding a couple marshmallows myself.

[KatMarie]

I couldn't do it either...I hate any kind of cooking, baking, kitchen related anything. Lol
Keep us updated if you do decide to take it on.

[Beverlyjoy]

There's a site on Facebook I am a friend of. This would be very helpful.

The 100 Days of Real Food Pledge:

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/100daysofrealfood

There is also a website:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/