BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Processed Food

In the average week, how much processed food do you eat, vs fresh food, out of food you eat at home? Processed food would be things like macaroni and cheese, dried pasta, all that sorts of stuff. How much of what you eat is fresh?

Very little fresh food, but trying to change that pattern. Struggling with too many carbs, and yes, mac and cheese is a favorite, especially in the winter. Trying to eat more vegetables. Eating fruit is more difficult for me, although I eat a banana every morning.

I eat very little fresh food as well except fruit once in awhile. I think fresh food would send my body into toxic shock. lol.

Of course when the Farmer's market is around, I do get quite a bit of stuff from there.

LOL I think it would be a good type of toxic shock, Vance!

I'm curious, what do you guys think is your main barrier to eating more fresh food? Do you go shopping once a week, or is it that you go shopping less often so you need food that lasts the longer period of time?

living in a rural area, it is sometimes VERY hard to get decent quality and CHEAP fresh food. But I still do it, and I freeze fresh stuff whenever I can. I use the farmers market as my personal grocery ;0)

This year however, I am going to plant my own garden instead of just the couple of tomato pots and cucumber pots I put on the deck.

I like prepackaged convenience food, but now I get it without preservatives and low sodium.

I think the main barrier for most is the price of fresh fruits and vegetables. Then quality is usually so bad for the price that I tend to skip buying it. for example tomatoes....the only ones I like are ones that are grown in a garden, that has been ripened by the sun and has flavor (tastes like a tomatoe) Same with fruit (and I don't like buying it and waiting for it to turn ripe) So most of my fresh fruits and veggies are in the summer since I live in the NE. Then I find a stand where someone is selling their fresh vegetables or the public market where you can get them for a good price. It all involves good planning.

Well, if I'm being entirely honest with myself, I eat processed food when I'm feeling LAZY!

I love to cook, and feel strongly about cooking with high-quality, fresh (or fresh food that I've canned or frozen myself), but sometimes, you get a long day at the office, come home and do a few hours of writing, and you just can't deal with much more than something pre-made.

One thing I did was get rid of my microwave. Shocking, I know, but I realized that I was only using it for processed food - once it was gone, I was forced to cook everything in the oven or toaster oven. It takes so long to heat up a frozen dinner in the oven, I find that it's just faster to make myself a stir-fry or something, so it's a good incentive!

I think it's worthwhile to mention that only a generation ago people didn't even have the *option* to buy foods out of season. They bought them in season and then canned or preserved them for later eating. My mother grew up when a special treat at Christmas was oranges, because nobody could get oranges in the winter. In a way we are spoiled to even expect to see all foods all year 'round

So that being in mind, you can buy inexpensively if you always buy in season. Winter squash in the winter, summer squash in the summer. If you buy in season you can buy cheaply, and the key is to figure out what items that is

Most of you probably know that I'm a diabetic. So I have to eat fresh fruits because they have natural sugars instead of processed sugar and I have to eat a lot of veggies. I still eat stuff that I have to microwave from time to time, if I'm in a hurry, but I really peruse the labels on things and make sure it's something I can eat and still be within my carb limit.

Fruits and veggies and fresh foods are definitely more expensive, so I agree that it's really important to get things that are in season. When I first started trying to buy more organic foods and more seasonal things, I did some research online. This is a site I go to, to see what's gonna be in season when. Thought you guys might be interested in it. Just click on your state to see what's seasonal in your area.

http://www.sustainabletable.org/shop/eatseasonal/

I think eating in season also expands your menu. If you always eat strawberries for example, you'll be inspired to try other items if they are in season at other times. Why pay 800 times the price for strawberries out of season that were shipped in from Chile, when you can eat in-season items from local markets that are cheap?

We are also big fans of microwave steamer bags. For the staples like green beans, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and so on, you can get microwaveable steamer bags. You just pop them into the microwave, they self-steam and are really tasty. So that's great for single serving, any-time-you-want eating.