What you need to know about 30-Days of No-Processed Food

Are you up for the challenge? 30-days, with no processed foods. We can do it…together!

You might be saying ’easy for you’, but truthfully, I struggle with this too. Sometimes it’s so easy to pop a frozen pizza in the oven for my daughter, then we also eat it! The main cause of this is poor planning and lack of prep early in the week. You don’t need a fancy kitchen or fancy tools, just some basic knowledge to eat clean for 30 days. Note: I am not a dietician, nor do I claim to be. This is not about weight loss (although, we just may lose some!) or a cleanse or converting you to veganism, or anything like that. It’s about eating and feeling better, finding balance. That I can guarantee.

Did you know, in a typical American diet, 75% of all sodium consumed comes from processed and restaurant foods?

We will gain a better understanding of what we eat on a day to day basis, and it’s about getting down to basics – being mindful of what we put in our bodies. The challenge is nothing out of a box (there will be a few exceptions), nothing from a drive-through or snack bar, and we will choose our restaurants with care and keep those to a minimum. I also want this to work for you. We’ll start January 5th, no reason to put the pressure on right away, right? If we set some realistic goals, we are more apt to follow through.

• Stop in at my one-hour workshop next Saturday: sign up for the workshop here
• General meal plans and recipes will be given every week
• Free downloadable shopping lists

Do you read labels? Can you pronounce some of those ingredients? Do you know what they are? Is it grown in the ground or in a factory? Those are some questions to ask yourself. During this week before we start, I’d like you to start reading labels on packages right in your own cabinets. Don’t believe the claims on a lot of packaging – those granola bars (check out my granola recipe here) are loaded with extra sodium, those crackers have too much processed sugar, and so on and so on.

One of my favorite quotes is from Michael Pollen ‘Eat foods that rot’ (not eat rotten food, you see the difference, right!?). Because if that loaf of bread stays ‘fresh’ in the cupboard for more than a few days, without molding, you know it’s loaded with preservatives.

Here’s how we’ll do it: 

Join me for no-processed food January (and a little into February). I’ll supply shopping lists and menus with lots of meal ideas for that week. You supply the feedback, and we’ll work on it together. Day by day – eating whole food, real food – starting from their original state, as much as possible. Start by coming to my workshop next week, but you need to sign-up here, limited space avaiable. You can also follow along by following my blog, I’ll be adding recipes and info regularly.

More info and recipes soon, stay tuned.