6 reasons to avoid processed foods

[senior citizen]

.............

[Blessed2BNTV]

Amen sister....amen!

[quirky3]

Very enlightening! Thanks for posting! I remember my Mom told me she was ashamed to take a lunch to school with home-made bread in it when she was a kid because the greatest thing then was "sliced bread"!

[2BNTV]

The only good thing about Lean Cuisine dinners is that you eat it in a controlled portion, for those of us, that can't cook and have somewhat of a control problem. I agree, that processed foods are not good for you. :smiley:

One tip is that you are conditioned at an early age to eat a certain amount. When your mother puts too much on your plate, one gets psychologically conditioned to say, "this is what it takes, to satisfy my appetite". Some mothers equate food with love, in that, the more they give you, the more they love you. At least, that's the message my mother, was trying to convey. Maybe, it's just an Italian thing which I seriously doubt. It's universal, in scope.

"Wrong". The trick is to eat slowly and eat until your still slightly hungry, because it takes a half an hour, before your brain to signal your body, that you are full. If you eat fast, you consume way too many calories, that your body may not need and will have trouble getting rid of. Hence, very overweight people.

Restaurants serve you a double portion of food. One would do well to ask for a doggie bag at the beginning of dinner, and take half the food off your plate, before you start, so you won't be tempted to eat the whole thing.

Remember the commercial, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"?

It was a Alka -Seltzer commercial, I think.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[donb9006]

I'll agree with you here...processed foods are full of chemicals and may be the reason for many of the health issues we modern societies are dealing with. I "try" to eat real food...but I too am addicted to some of the snack "foods" that are DESIGNED to be addicting.

[OBXNana]

I've been a scratch cook since 1978 when it was far less expensive than getting convenience foods. As the years passed and the kids moved away, our budget increased a bit. I still cook from scratch and there are only 2 of us. We have a freezer filled in the fall with vegetables from market that we can't get in the winter. I begin cooking meals in packages for two in October and it's very handy.

I find my stash of healthy meals disappear and I'm thrilled when I need to cook another batch of vegetable soup or stuffed peppers. I know one of the kids has stopped by to pick up dinner for the evening. It's a good feeling they'd rather come to Mom's freezer than stop at McDonalds!

[Villages PL]

http://www.sixstepstobetterhealth.com/processed.html (http://www.sixstepstobetterhealth.com/processed.html)
Continue to scroll all the way down........
Mind boggling , isn't it?

6 Reasons to Avoid Processed Foods and get back to cooking from scratch........This small list is only the tip of the iceberg.

Pre 1965 , for the most part, people ate meals prepared at home from natural ingredients. Slowly, the fast food rage grew to the point where many folks drive through the drive up window for their breakfast, or lunches, or suppers; sometimes all three. Cooking from scratch has become a lost art.

Even chain restaurants use processed foods/frozen foods that they "nuke".

The only way to make sure your food does not have all of this junk in it is to prepare it yourself.....from natural ingredients......or as natural as you can find. Obviously, sometimes one has to rely on convenience.....

In some cases, it's even worse than was stated in your link. Take Cheerios, for example, it mentioned all the many ingredients but didn't say what they do to process "whole grain oats". They first take the whole grain and grind it into an oat flour. Then, somehow, they form it into a circle to look like a miniature donut. This is all part of the processing that makes it bad for your health. When you grind any whole grain into flour, it gets absorbed into your system faster and has a whole different effect, as far as raising your blood sugar and insulin. It's one of the reasons why processed foods can lead to diabetes. Just remember, when you take whole grain and grind it into flour, it's not whole anymore. And yet, manufacturers are allowed to state on their labels that their product is "100% whole grain" because it was whole grain before they ground it into flour. 100% whole grain, in this case, means that it's all there; nothing has been subtracted.

Therefore, I have a problem with homemade bread that was made with love by mother. When mothers made bread, they made it with white flour. No amount of love will make it healthy when it's made with white flour. Ditto for other home baked goods.

[pooh]

The only good thing about Lean Cuisine dinners is that you eat it in a controlled portion, for those of us, that can't cook and have somewhat of a control problem. I agree, that processed foods are not good for you. :smiley:

One tip is that you are conditioned at an early age to eat a certain amount. When your mother puts too much on your plate, one gets psychologically conditioned to say, "this is what it takes, to satisfy my appetite". Some mothers equate food with love, in that, the more they give you, the more they love you. At least, that's the message my mother, was trying to convey. Maybe, it's just an Italian thing which I seriously doubt. It's universal, in scope.

"Wrong". The trick is to eat slowly and eat until your still slightly hungry, because it takes a half an hour, before your brain to signal your body, that you are full. If you eat fast, you consume way too many calories, that your body may not need and will have trouble getting rid of. Hence, very overweight people.

Restaurants serve you a double portion of food. One would do well to ask for a doggie bag at the beginning of dinner, and take half the food off your plate, before you start, so you won't be tempted to eat the whole thing.

Remember the commercial, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"?

It was a Alka -Seltzer commercial, I think.

Just my 2 cents worth.

:):):). Thanks!

[CFrance]

One tip is that you are conditioned at an early age to eat a certain amount. When your mother puts too much on your plate, one gets psychologically conditioned to say, "this is what it takes, to satisfy my appetite".
Just my 2 cents worth.

Or,the child gets conditioned to think, "This is what it takes to satisfy my mother." Another aspect of the problem of mothers overfeeding children is the control issue. "You will sit at the table till you finish this, because I say so."

Thus the child becomes accustomed to finishing everything on his plate. It's such a bad combination: overfilling the child's plate, not allowing him to discard some items if he doesn't like them, and then making him sit there till finished.

By the way, beagles lurking under the table like peas and lima beans... but not beets.

[Villages PL]

The only good thing about Lean Cuisine dinners is that you eat it in a controlled portion, for those of us, that can't cook and have somewhat of a control problem. I agree, that processed foods are not good for you. :smiley:

One tip is that you are conditioned at an early age to eat a certain amount. When your mother puts too much on your plate, one gets psychologically conditioned to say, "this is what it takes, to satisfy my appetite". Some mothers equate food with love, in that, the more they give you, the more they love you. At least, that's the message my mother, was trying to convey. Maybe, it's just an Italian thing which I seriously doubt. It's universal, in scope.

"Wrong". The trick is to eat slowly and eat until your still slightly hungry, because it takes a half an hour, before your brain to signal your body, that you are full. If you eat fast, you consume way too many calories, that your body may not need and will have trouble getting rid of. Hence, very overweight people.

Restaurants serve you a double portion of food. One would do well to ask for a doggie bag at the beginning of dinner, and take half the food off your plate, before you start, so you won't be tempted to eat the whole thing.

Remember the commercial, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing"?

It was a Alka -Seltzer commercial, I think.

Just my 2 cents worth.


That's good as far as it goes but I think there's more to it than that. Most of the time it's totally the wrong foods that are being eaten. There's not enough fiber to give the feeling of fullness. Most restaurant meals revolve around meat and white rolls or items that are breaded and fried etc. And, often, this same pattern exists at home. Too many calories and not enough fiber.

63% of people in the U.S. are overweight; most of them, in my opinion, can't stop eating because they are eating the wrong foods.

Telling them to stop at some point during their meal is like telling an alcoholic to just stop after one or two drinks.

[CFrance]

That's good as far as it goes but I think there's more to it than that. Most of the time it's totally the wrong foods that are being eaten. There's not enough fiber to give the feeling of fullness. Most restaurant meals revolve around meat and white rolls or items that are breaded and fried etc. And, often, this same pattern exists at home. Too many calories and not enough fiber.

63% of people in the U.S. are overweight; most of them, in my opinion, can't stop eating because they are eating the wrong foods.

Telling them to stop at some point during their meal is like telling an alcoholic to just stop after one or two drinks.

I agree. I found it much easier to quit smoking than to diet. You can just never pick up another cigarette, but you DO have to eat. And some foods just trigger overeating.

[Villages PL]

Thus the child becomes accustomed to finishing everything on his plate. It's such a bad combination: overfilling the child's plate, not allowing him to discard some items if he doesn't like them, and then making him sit there till finished.

I agree that overfeeding is bad. My mother, as far as I remember, never made me finish if I was full. But one time, when I was about 3 or 4, she did make me sit until I ate my lentil soup. My brother had whispered in my ear that the baby onions in the soup were slime. So I wasn't going to even taste it. I said I didn't like it and my mother asked, "how do you know you don't like it if you haven't even tasted it?"

She said, "you will just have to sit there until you either eat it or you will have to go to bed hungry." Guess what, the longer I sat there the hungrier I got. Eventually, I got so hungry that the onions didn't look like slime anymore. I started eating and I enjoyed it. Today, lentil soup is one of my favorite dishes. Thanks to my mother for having the backbone to enforce some rules.

[donb9006]

That's good as far as it goes but I think there's more to it than that. Most of the time it's totally the wrong foods that are being eaten. There's not enough fiber to give the feeling of fullness. Most restaurant meals revolve around meat and white rolls or items that are breaded and fried etc. And, often, this same pattern exists at home. Too many calories and not enough fiber.

63% of people in the U.S. are overweight; most of them, in my opinion, can't stop eating because they are eating the wrong foods.

Telling them to stop at some point during their meal is like telling an alcoholic to just stop after one or two drinks.

I agree. I found it much easier to quit smoking than to diet. You can just never pick up another cigarette, but you DO have to eat. And some foods just trigger overeating.

This is true...food is DESIGNED...literally...designed food...to get you addicted so you keep eating and buying it.

[senior citizen]

............

[Villages PL]

Lentil soup is a great and easy meal choice.......especially home made.


http://foodidentitytheft.com/hidden-msg-and-the-soup-wars/ (http://foodidentitytheft.com/hidden-msg-and-the-soup-wars/)
Hidden MSG and the soup wars

LENTIL SOUP Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis THE FOOD NETWORK

Prep Time: 10 minutes . Cook Time: 1 hour Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I use crushed tomatoes)

1 pound bag dry LENTILS (approximately 1 1/4 cups)

11 cups low-salt chicken broth (or WATER)

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs (adds to the traditonal fragrance of lentil soup)

2/3 cup dried elbow pasta

1 cup shredded Parmesan


Directions
Heat the olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrots and celery.

Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices.

Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Add the lentils and mix to coat.

Add the broth (or water) and stir.

Add the thyme sprigs. ....or some dried thyme

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, if desired, and serve with some good crusty Italian bread.

(Next to home made French Onion Soup, I'd say home made Lentil Soup is my favorite, with or without the pasta.........it's quick and super easy)

Progresso and Campbells both have additives.....


　


　

I like the ingredients in the recipe you provided. Although, I haven't been using any black pepper, thyme or grated cheese. Just onion, garlic, fresh tomatoes, barley or pasta, and whatever fresh vegetables I happen to have on hand. It's a little different every time I make it. Then I never saute anything, especially the olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is very delicate and heating it will destroy the antioxidants. So the last thing I do is put one teaspoon of olive oil after the soup is done and in my dish. Sometimes I salt very lightly and sometimes I don't use any salt. I guess I like the simple cleaner taste with fewer spices etc..

[graciegirl]

Lentil soup is a great and easy meal choice.......especially home made.


http://foodidentitytheft.com/hidden-msg-and-the-soup-wars/ (http://foodidentitytheft.com/hidden-msg-and-the-soup-wars/)
Hidden MSG and the soup wars

LENTIL SOUP Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis THE FOOD NETWORK

Prep Time: 10 minutes . Cook Time: 1 hour Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I use crushed tomatoes)

1 pound bag dry LENTILS (approximately 1 1/4 cups)

11 cups low-salt chicken broth (or WATER)

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs (adds to the traditonal fragrance of lentil soup)

2/3 cup dried elbow pasta

1 cup shredded Parmesan


Directions
Heat the olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrots and celery.

Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their juices.

Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Add the lentils and mix to coat.

Add the broth (or water) and stir.

Add the thyme sprigs. ....or some dried thyme

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, if desired, and serve with some good crusty Italian bread.

(Next to home made French Onion Soup, I'd say home made Lentil Soup is my favorite, with or without the pasta.........it's quick and super easy)

Progresso and Campbells both have additives.....




　


　



Senior. Do you ever make it with sausage? We had it with sausage at a Christmas party and my crew LOVED it. I had chosen the minestrone so I didn't taste it, but Helene just raved about it.

[senior citizen]

............

[senior citizen]

..........