A little
change of pace on this post…
I tried the
October Unprocessed Challenge this month. I was intrigued with the challenge
and decided to give it a try. I thought it would be relatively easy since I eat pretty clean, eat at home, have a lot of veggies, whole grain, and really
wholesome treats… most of the time.
For those
not familiar with the October challenge, the challenge is going for an entire month without eating any processed foods.
According to eating rules.com, unprocessed food is any food that
passes the Kitchen Test, i.e. “food that could be made by a person with
reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients.” ”It does not
mean that you have to cook it yourself; it just means you could do it.”
Deliberate Exceptions
In the
challenge, you get Deliberate Exceptions. These would be “cases” where the unprocessed rule will not apply. This was a lifesaver for me, since this was my first time.
Morning
Chai. I added chai to my exception list because I need it to wake up in the morning. I tried to switch to coffee once, but coffee on an empty stomach gave
me issues. It was not good. Choosing chai over coffee was the lesser of two
evils.
I guess technically this can be considered as unprocessed. Although I
can probably make my own chai mix, I have not found the ultimate flavor mix. I
really like one of the packaged chai mix, but the only drawback is that it is
full of sugar. For next year, I will try to cut down on the sugar by combining
it with regular chai tea.
Exploration
Weekends. When we dine out or exploring, I would bend the unprocessed rules a
bit since I love exploring new foods and flavors. Admittedly, I am
not sure how these are made. I will still try to make better choices whenever I
can.
Setting My Intention: Goals
As part of
the challenge, you do need to set what your intention or what you want to
accomplish. I did not really have clear goals since this is my first
Unprocessed challenge, but here’s the direction that I set.
- Know where my weak points are, so I can further improve my diet.
- Make better selections during snack time.
- Be gentle with myself. This is my first unprocessed challenge.
My other
goal was not to waste food, not just for October, but all the time. There is so much hunger in this country that
throwing away good food is unacceptable. I kept my processed foods in our pantry
and save them for “emergencies” or after the challenge.
Challenges within the Challenge
Veggie Burgers. Veggie burgers are usually my go-to lunch
when I am working from home. So easy to make especially when you have a really
busy work day: pop in the pan, put it between bread, add lettuce and tomatoes.
Unfortunately,
veggie burgers are considered processed. I decided that in this case: turkey
burgers would probably be better. I try not to have too much meat during the
day, so I switched to egg salad sandwiches, salads, or veggie bowls. Occasionally, I would have a tuna salad
sandwich. These options seem to be gentler to my system.
Although I
can make my tofu patties (plain, with kale and quinoa, or butternut squash), I
am not sure how tofu stands on the unprocessed list and really did not have
time to make fresh patties (Work has been taking over my life lately).
Chips. One of the things that I really craved was chips!!!
I really need/want that savory (or is it unami?) snack mid-afternoon. I almost
broke down and dug into the Lay’s chips my husband bought. That was really
tough. I was able to resist, but I knew I realized that this is one of my weak
spots.
During the first
week, I was finishing off the remaining snappea crisps and I read an article
that Snap Pea Crisps are considered processed (WHAT!!!). So disappointed…
I went to
Whole Foods and looked for alternatives. The best one that I thought of was the
Terra Chips. I figured root vegetables would be able to pass the kitchen test. Looking
at the label, there are some ingredients that I cannot pronounce. So I do not
think it will pass the kitchen test. I had a handful… and that was the last one
since. Since then, I’ve satisfied my savory craving with nuts… pistachios
mostly. Added bonus: it fills me up unlike the chips. Pair it with some apple
slices, I get a sweet and salty combination and can last through dinner.
Chocolate. Oh, the rules for Chocolate are extensive. As
expected, this would be the biggest challenge. I do cheat on this, but I try to
choose bars where I can recognize most of the ingredients. My savior has been
chocolate-covered almonds – the only ingredient I could not recognize was gum
acacia, which in my limited reading, seems to be natural ingredient. During my
first week, I was having my chocolate chips, but I ran out. I should remember
that for next year.
Verdict
This was
challenge was really tough, even for one who eats pretty clean. You find
certain habits that can have been so ingrained, but should be slightly
modified. Veggie burgers and chips were difficult to break, but I found
alternatives.
I guess my
weakness is unami snacks and convenience.
Other than the chai or the chocolate, I really did not have an issue
with sugar.
Another
surprise (with sugar) is how it appears unexpectedly in foods. Sweet relish has
high fructose corn syrup (REALLY?). I got to find another brand.
This really
gives me an opportunity to refine my diet. Although I plan to do the challenge
again next year, I’ll start these changes now… and we’ll see what other
refinements we can do next year.
One more
week then I can have chips… maybe.
For more details on October Unprocessed... look here.
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