Defining “Unprocessed”

So you know I love me some LARA BARS, but let me introduce you to Clif C. While I’m devoted to LARA, I’ve added Clif C to the mix every once in a while – they have a few more ingredients than LARA (including organic juice concentrate – which may or may not be an unprocessed no-no), but they are tasty and a nice change of pace. I really like the blueberry. Check ‘em out at Whole Foods if you’re interested.

Great ideas, I’m going to stick coffee that my local roaster roasts. I have a five day trip to montreal, upstate ny and portland, me in the middle of the month. This is going to be a challenging journey, but so excited!

Not a fan of lara bars, but honestly, airline food sucks, so I’ll be buying some.

Thanks so much for doing this.

As a home winemaker, here is the story on sulfates:

All wine has sulfates. As does beer or any other fermented beverage.

Sulfates are produced by the yeast as a natural by-product of fermentation and have the handy side effect of inhibiting the growth of other microbes in that environment. Essentially, it is one of the yeast organism’s natural protections against competition. It is effective for the purpose that the yeast needs, to inhibit growth of other organisms during the replication and respiration (a.k.a fermentation) phases of the yeast’s growth cycle. After the fermentation is complete, the yeast dies and the sulfate levels drop. As the sulfate levels drop, the risk of spoilage increases. Spoilage can consist of an infection by Acetobacter that will generate acetic acid (a.k.a. vinegar). Another common form of spoilage is an infection by Lactobacillus that will generate lactic acid creating a sour flavor in the wine. There are numerous other types of spoilage, but those are generally the most common.

To combat these types of infection, nearly all winemakers add potassium metabisulfate to the wine. This creates sulfides in the wine that will persist long after the fermentation is complete and the yeasts have been filtered out or are otherwise gone. Please note here that there is no such thing as sulfate free wine. Sulfate additions are simply increasing the concentrations of what is already there the same way acid levels are adjusted with the addition of various types of acid, but it is only adding more of what is already naturally present in the wine.

Nearly everyone recognizes the fact that there are two major divisions of wine – red and white. most people that have some exposure and experience with wine know that white wine should be drank soon after it is produced and many red wines can age for many years. The basic reasons for this is the natural preservative effects of higher alcohol, phenolic compounds, high acids, and so on that are present in the red wine and not present in the white wines. Whites are generally more delicate and subject to spoilage than reds and that is the reason that we generally serve them cold and drink them “young”. Essentially, it is the complexity of the red wine that allows it to remain drinkable for many years, often mellowing and becoming much higher quality with age. This complexity is also the reason that poetry is written about wine; but I digress… The important thing to note here in regards to sulfates in wine is that red wines that are expected to age will contain more sulfates to protect the product during that aging process. This addition of sulfates is performed by the wine maker and is part of the art and science of wine making. White wines also can be high in sulfates because they do not contain a lot of the other compounds that also naturally preserve red wine; but again, it is up to the wine maker.

This blog comment is getting out of hand and overly verbose, sorry about that.

I have read about, seen, and sometimes tasted wines that claim to not contain sulfates or do not have additional sulfates added. Generally speaking, I haven’t been impressed with the product and I believe that a lot of what you hear about sulfate free wine is nothing more than marketing. Remember, all wine contains sulfates, it is an integral part of the wine making process. If you are looking for something that is slightly lower in sulfate content, look for something that is less susceptible to spoilage. Perhaps a Pinot Noir or a Beaujolais nouveau.

If you get a headache from drinking wine, it’s not the sulfates, it’s because you attempted to drink all the wine in the room.

I like this challenge! The trickiest part may be the flour. I often make my own bread using bread flour. I’ve not had very good results with whole grain flours.

LOVE LOVE LOVE your definitions. And the clarifications on wine (wow that’s a lot of knowledge I was just blessed with). I am trying to do research on seitan and whether it would qualify. I found “how-tos” to make your own but then I get confused about the different flours needed. Maybe another reader can help? I looked it up originally because I found out how you can make bread flour but it calls for using wheat gluten.

I was so excited about this challenge I started 2 days early! So I have a head start, but I wanted to ease myself into it instead of bombarding myself with an intimidating new eating plan all at once. I’ve followed a similar plan in the past but fell away from it… and one thing I’ve noticed that I forgot about is how much less I eat now with fresh food! When I eat crap, I eat so much more because it’s just going right through me because my body isn’t processing it properly. And all those low-blood-sugar moments with shakiness and crabbiness? Gone. I feel so much better already
I must confess, though, I cannot seem to convince myself to give up my coffee creamer. So I’m not perfect. But I’m better

Andrew, great list! My own list does include unbleached all-purpose flour, simply because I’m going on a slightly different definition of unprocessed that includes a food item that is a single ingredient. So flour, yes. Any type of “mix” natural or not, no. And ‘no’ to any type of store-bought bar, even with just two ingredients. Also, ‘no’ to sausage unless I make it myself. Of course, a proper cup of tea is always on my “allowed” list, no matter what the criteria is!

seitan is totally simple to make at home! if you don’t want to buy the vital wheat gluten you certainly can make it, there are plenty of sites on the internet on how to make it. i have a recipe for seitan on my website. it really is a versatile product and super easy to make.

Andrew: What about cereal?

Well, I’m assuming that most boxed cereals don’t fit the bill (e.g., Barbara’s Bakery Puffins). But what about boxed granola (since theoretically you could make your own granola at home)? Or a cereal like Uncle Sam’s Original? Ingredients are: whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt, niacin, riboflavin (Vitamin B2), thiamin mononitrate (Vitamin B1). See http://www.usmillsinc.com/usmills/productview_description.php?id=124.

From what I understand about Agave is that it’s made from the starchy root and is very similar in processing to high fructose corn syrup.

Here is a quick article I found:

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2008/11/17/agave_nectar_the_high_fructose_health_food_fraud.htm

I appreciate your challenge and hope y’all enjoy. I try to eat as much “whole food” as possible. Sometimes it can be tricky. Good luck!

for real un processed just try simple Indian ‘Daals’ and ‘chapati’s and vegetables cooked in very little oil….’daals’ are lentils cooked in water and spices which are beneficial for health….and ‘chapati’s are wholewheat ‘tortilla’s made fresh…i relly do not understand the kind of synthetic ‘blitzkrieg’ in food is happening in American as well as European markets…and making everybody so sick….

Two days into ‘unprocessed’ (joined late) and confirm this is mainly how I eat anyway….EXCEPT for my vegetarian protein sources: cheeses and tofu.

Had some Tillamook sharp cheddar for lunch yesterday, which I know can be made at home, but I don’t have time to do it. Quite a basic food, except that it contains ANNATTO for coloring. Don’t know if one would find that in a foods or spice catalog or not? It seems to be a pretty easy-to-make food coloring: “the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used…to produce a yellow to orange commercial food coloring. The achiote dye is prepared by stirring the seeds in water or oil.”

The Wildwood Savory Baked Tofu is more complicated. The most suspect ingredient is Calcium sulfate. (Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_sulfate). Not sure it really qualifies as an edible item, being a rock in it’s natural form. Just can’t quite imagine chewing on a rock?!! Am I really THAT hungry?

Then this morning I had some Clover brand organic 4% small curd Cottage Cheese. Think of all these foods as pretty basic and simple, but the c. cheese has the MOST questionable ingredients of the three. Here’s what I found besides the okay basics: Tricalcium phosphate (derived from rocks & bones….uh,oh! doesn’t sound vegetarian or edible to me), organic Locust Bean Gum (from carob seeds…which I might be able to buy to use in my kitchen), Carbon Dioxide (how do you put a gas in your food?), Carrageenan (from seaweed…do know this is available from the health food store), Citric Acid (which at home I’d use lemon juice, not the chemical powder), Vitamin A Palmitate (which in homemade full fat cheeses is unnecessary to add because the fat carries vitamin A naturally).

Hmmm….looks like I may have to make my own yummy Paneer (Indian cheese) or eat yogurt instead of cottage cheese for the rest of the month.

I have been diagnosed with sulfite intolerance and have to go whole foods – what is the best way to go from a processed drivethru life style – I can not figure out how to do it! any ideas or a sample menu plan would be helpful – thanks again.

Ummm, natural vanilla flavoring can certainly be easily made at home. Just put the whole vanilla beans into a jar with some raw sugar, mild flavored honey (like orange blossom, one that won’t compete too much) or agave syrup. Or you could steep them in whatever liquid you will be using, or split open the pods and use the insides (the vanilla bean specks you see in some ice cream, yogurt, etc) You could concievably grow your own vanilla orchids depending on your climate or if you have a greenhouse.

great post I know I’m coming in too late for the challenge but I really enjoy everyone’s ideas. I will probably try this myself. We were just not made to eat all of this junk or manufactured food… I will try natural vanilla flavoring for baking

Very interesting. For someone who doesn’t buy much in the way of processed foods it doesn’t look that difficult but then it would not have meant the bread I had for breakfast either. Uh oh.

One question though. I cure my own bacon using pink salt which includes nitrates. I’ve read the pros and cons but am following the advice of Michael Ruhlman in his book Charcuterie and using it. Does that put it off the list?

Thanks Andrew. The truth is we don’t ‘have’ to make bacon with pink salt but then it won’t have much of a shelf life (which I could deal with by freezing small portions) but it would also be brown and for some reason bacon that doesn’t look like what we are used to would probably be harder for me to deal with. Brown bacon? That being said, I have 5 lbs curing in the fridge that I’m going to smoke this weekend, so in my case guess I would have to consider this one of those personal opt outs in worse case scenario.

My wife decided that she was doing this and has asked my help, as I will be cooking alot of the dinners. I am a baker by training and will probably be making most of the bread for the household while we are doing this. As my mother-in-law is gluten-free I know that we will have to make some exceptions for her to have bread as well (xanthan gum, and the like), but I can’t find anything here about baking soda. I know baking powder is out, as the chemical acids that they use are not reddily made at home, but I was wondering what your take is on baking soda (as I could use that and add an acidic ingredient like buttermilk).

Thank you ahead of time for anything you may dig up.

You know, I actually hate this project as you define it. I apologize for sounding like a jerk, but it does strike me as conceited and unbalanced (and overall bourgeois, but that’s a separate question). This sounds really extreme and puritanical to me – not unlike the crunchy hippies who demonize sugar and take away their kids’ Halloween candy. For perspective, here is my food climate: I do not buy anything in box form (those salty snacks you’ve mentioned in the other post are non-foods in my mind as it is), make all meals and all bread from scratch, and yet I am more than comfortable with the use of boughten condiments (think ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc – and not because I couldn’t make them myself but because it’s not worth my while, all things considered) and things like sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, beer/wine, etc. Meanwhile, “things you could do yourself” to me are not some abstract concept that one can entertain from the cleanliness of their urban apartment or their Whole foods shopping card – we already make wine and can and put up foods, and I certainly can and have made cheeses, butter, and smoked meats – starting with shooting the deer or raising animals on my farm. And yet the glut of Halloween candy and my bottle ketchup are not going anywhere.

I’ve always attempted to eat non-processed (although this doesn’t always work). The way I’ve defined ‘processed’ is to consider the way the food looks. If it looks pretty much the same way as it started/grew (i.e. an apple) then generally its not processed. If it doesn’t look like any recognisable food that occurs naturally (i.e. one of those fruit roll up thingys) why on earth would you put it in your mouth! It doesn’t even look like FOOD! I find it works for most things. Piece of fish – yes! Fish Finger – no way! I guess for things like bread and pasta this gets a bit more tricky, and to me, technically, these things are a little bit processed… so the ‘if you can make it in your kitchen rule’ works well here – thanks!

I’m gonna give this a shot. I’ve always been a fan of unprocessed, but I’ve never done it in such an active way. I’m also contemplating adding much more vegan food to my diet. I don’t eat all that much cheese in my life and I’ve decided that the pluses of dairy are pretty much an invention of dairy farmers. However, I do believe that there is an ecological basis for the idea that certain animals are prey and others are predators. So while I will still eat meat, it will only be grass-fed, organic, wild-caught, etc. I’m thinking that because those meats are more expensive, they are going to have to become a lesser portion of my diet. What’s the word on turkey bacon? I’m assuming it’s right out, huh? And if not that, what’s the best option? I do like some bacon with my eggs, that’s for sure. But less sodium is always welcome.

Thanks for this project. I wish more people cared as much about what they put into their bodies and those of their children.

Hi Andrew-

I am severely lactose intolerant and frequently use soy and almond milks as a substitute. How would this fit in to the “processed” picture? I’d be heartbroken if I had to pass up adding some to my Irish Oatmeal!

I probably wouldn’t be able to iodize my own salt, would I?

I’m kind of amused that it’s halfway through the month, and this is the first time iodized salt is coming up (I use non-iodized sea salt most of the time, but my husband was asking about it). I looked it up on Wikipedia and it doesn’t seem plausible, but I’d welcome any input from other people if they have it.