Compare that to unprocessed foods, which come in their own packaging.
Processed foods are convenient, tasty and socially accepted. They’re also addictive. Upon eating too many processed foods, your reward center becomes overstimulated and cravings begin.
Food allows for a spectrum of addiction. It doesn’t work the same as drug addiction, where you are either on or off drugs.
If you're currently living off the drive-thru, start by fixing one meal a day at home. You can create your favorite foods in a healthier manner. You have to be willing to put in the work, because you probably won’t find the healthiest version of your favorite recipes on the shelves of your local supermarket. Pressure cookers are great for cooking food quickly but healthfully. Making food at home also saves money.
Convenience at the supermarket isn't limited to processed foods. Produce is available pre-washed and cut into easy-to-eat pieces.
Another must: don’t keep unhealthy foods in your house. Avoid temptation.
Sugar Alternatives
- Dates are a fantastic sweetener. You can dehydrate them to make sugar, boil them to make syrup, or puree them into a paste. Dates contain vitamins and minerals that are missing from white sugar.
- Roasting fruit brings out the sweetness. You can mix dried fruits with fresh fruit to vary the taste.
An Ideal Day
- Breakfast: green smoothie with 1 tbsp. cocoa powder or musli (rolled oats, fresh fruit & almond milk refrigerated overnight).
- Lunch: leftovers from last night’s dinner, like soup over rice.
- Dinner: chili, potatoes, lasagna.
Restaurant Meals
- Find out where you’re going in advance. Research the menu. Call the restaurant during off-peak hours to see if they can accommodate your dietary needs.
- If there’s nothing on the menu you can eat, then eat before you go.
- Champion the foods you’d like to eat. Most restaurants keep meals on the menu that people will eat.
Listen in as Chef AJ joins Dr. Pam Peeke to share how you can begin to conquer your dependence on processed foods and eat healthier overall.
Chef AJ has been devoted to a plant-based diet for almost 40 years. She is the host of the television series Healthy Living with CHEF AJ which airs on Foody TV.