Tips for Reducing Processed Foods
Let's start this article with a question: what is processed food? What's wrong with "processed food", do we need to limit its consumption?
Processed foods are foods that have been canned, cooked, frozen, pasteurized, or packaged. That way, actually canned vegetables, frozen fruits, and pasteurized dairy products, are also part of processed foods. However, some processed foods are loaded with salt, sugar, additives, and preservatives, which can be harmful to health. Thus, reducing the intake of this type of processed food is one way that can be done to improve health.
Check out the following tips from Fitie to reduce the consumption of processed foods!
- Keep healthy snack stock
Stocks of healthy snacks instead of packaged snacks will make it easier for you to reach these healthy snacks rather than having to spend time buying packaged snacks. Some healthy snacks you can keep include fresh fruit, nuts, and edamame. If you have extra time, you can prepare some simple foods such as hard-boiled eggs, sandwiches, and overnight oats.
- Get creative in the kitchen
You can try to recreate your favorite foods with healthier compositions or ingredients. Apart from giving you control over the composition of your food, you can also experiment with new ingredients. In addition to saving money, making your own version of the meal will allow you to eat more whole foods by loading up on ingredients like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and nuts.
- Try meal prepping
Preparing large meals once or twice each week ensures a stock of nutritious, ready-to-cook foods quickly in your fridge, even when you're too busy to cook. To get started, choose a few recipes to make each week and set aside a specific time to prepare your meals. You can choose several recipes that have the same ingredients to make them more efficient.
- Change your shopping routine
It's much easier to limit our intake of processed foods when we don't have them. Therefore, when you’re shopping you can apply the following:
Choose healthy foods that are minimally processed, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. Avoid aisles filled with processed snacks and junk food. Be sure to read labels on food products and avoid foods with a lot of sodium, trans fat, or added sugar.
- Replace refined grains with whole grains
One of the simplest ways to reduce your intake of processed foods is to start swapping them with healthier whole foods. One way is to replace refined grains such as pasta, bread, and tortillas with whole grains, such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, and oats. This is one step to improve health considering that whole grains are higher in fiber and can prevent heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
- Drink more mineral water
Sugary drinks such as soda, sweetened tea, fruit juices, and sports drinks are high in sugar and calories but low in essential nutrients. Swapping sugary drinks for mineral water can help improve the quality of your diet. If you don't like mineral water, you can try making infused water.
- Eat more vegetables
When you’re eating, eat at least one serving of vegetables to increase your intake of fresh and healthy foods. Apart from being a source of fiber, vegetables can also help you feel full, thereby reducing your cravings for food. If you're not used to it, you can try small things like adding spinach to scrambled eggs, sauteing broccoli for a simple side dish, or adding carrots and cauliflower to soups.
- Eat less processed meat
Processed meats such as bacon, sausages, lunch meats, and hot dogs have some downside and are even classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. To reduce processed meat, you can swap it for fresh meat such as eggs, chicken, or fish. As an alternative, you can also consume more plant-based protein, such as beans, tofu, or tempeh.
- Make changes slowly
You don't need to eliminate all processed foods from your diet in just one day. Making changes slowly is more effective and sustainable in the long term. Some research shows that small lifestyle changes help form long-term habits and make initially difficult actions easier over time.
Each week, try experimenting with one or two of the strategies listed above, then gradually apply more. Be Happy and be healthy, Ladies!
Also, read other interesting articles from Fitie!
Sources :
Link, R. & Chin, K. (2021). 10 Realistic Ways to Eat Less Processed Food. Healthline. [online]. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-eat-less-processed-food
Pearce, N., et al. (2015). IARC monographs: 40 years of evaluating carcinogenic hazards to humans. Environmental health perspectives, 123(6), 507–514