November Unraveled

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So about this whole October Unprocessed thing....it seemed like a good idea at the time.  And honestly, it went really well for a while and I learned a ton just from the shopping experiences alone.  You wouldn't believe some of the processed ingredients that go into the foods we eat everyday.  But, it was way more challenging than I expected, even living alone and only having one person to cook and shop for.  It was almost harder because the quick things still always seem more reasonable when you're on your own. Additionally since I'm always on the go I have to be that much more diligent about having healthy alternatives around so I'm not just grabbing the first snack I see.

Even though I definitely struggled through the month of October, and didn't follow every rule as it should be, there are several things that I've picked up on that I think will continue even though I was a little unraveled in November.

1. Whole Wheat Pasta - I used to hate this pasta, I thought it was grainy and had to cook way longer and just didn't taste the same.  There definitely is a different taste to it but I've found actually the best brand as far as comparability to regular pasta is Hy-Vee's whole wheat pastas! They are quite good.  I really enjoyed using whole wheat spaghetti in my favorite baked spaghetti recipe.  It made it seem that much more hearty and filling. 
2. Healthy snacking - while an occasional cookie or scotcheroo from the cafe at work may find it's way to my desk, I have gotten a lot better about healthy snacking, especially unprocessed things like carrots, apples, hummus, etc. 
3. Grocery shopping - As I said before, this was so eye-opening. I've found some new products that i love and will continue to seek out, and I've learned that when you're eating all of these fresh things, you really can't go two weeks without going to the grocery store.  You have to maintain a balanced pantry and be willing to stop by the store for what fresh ingredients you might need.  

All in all it was a good experience, even if I didn't follow it as closely as I had intended.  I hope my friends who tried it had a pleasant experience with it and have learned a thing or two they can put into daily practice. 

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Supermarket Sweep

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I couldn't resist using that title.  Did anyone else watch that game show growing up? I remember taking it in when I was home sick from school (and probably supposed to be sleeping) and pretending to race around our hometown grocery store looking for specific items for my mom's cart.

That's kind of how it felt yesterday when I went to the grocery store for my first unprocessed grocery buying experience.  Not that I was in a hurry (and good thing, it took me forever!) but that I found myself carefully inspecting anything that came in a box or container to make sure it indeed qualified as unprocessed.

How can you be sure it's unprocessed?  Some things are easy - fruits, veggies - obviously unprocessed. So does that mean everything that is packaged is processed? Well Andrew over at Eating Rules, who created October Unprocessed, uses the kitchen test for these items.  If a reasonable person (like yourself) could reasonably create the product in their own home given they had the ingredients, then yes, it passes and is considered unprocessed.  A good rule of thumb is - if you can't pronounce it, it shouldn't be going in your body.

I started my trip at Trader Joe's to get a few things that I knew they had that Hy-Vee wouldn't have.  For instance, Trader Joe's homemade 100% Whole Wheat Tortillas.  Made fresh and from what I've heard, are delicious! I'm going to try to use them in my favorite Sour Cream White Chicken Enchilada recipe.  Speaking of which - sour cream.  Soooo processed - but delicious. Argh. BUT never fear because TJ's again doesn't let us down and has a Simply Sour Cream product that doesn't have any artificial flavors, ingredients, or stabilizers.  Just sour cream.  Of course, one could argue that sour cream HAS to be pasteurized so therefore is processed, but we're not aiming for perfection here friends, the name of the game is awareness. Side note: I did pick up one "cheat item" at Trader Joe's - Cookie Butter.  Yum.  But definitely processed. It is however somewhat more natural than most store bought peanut butters by looking at the ingredients (potential bias). What can I say, we all have our vices - at least it's not ice cream (more on that later)?! I picked up a few other things at TJ's including some yummy pumpkin spice coffee without artificial flavors and got out of there only spending around $24.00.

My next stop was Hy-Vee.  I love Hy-Vee  I do, I really really do.  Add to that the Fuel Saver card and life is good.  But I digress. At Hy-Vee I purchased all of my produce which proved to be the fastest and easiest part of the errand.  Lots of fruit for breakfast and snacks and veggies which I made into the Southwestern Chopped Salad that I mentioned in an earlier post (review to come - it's for lunch today!). Once that was done my focus was on snacks, and trying to take two of my favorite recipes and turn them into unprocessed recipes.  I did a lot of reading, and most of the time I was pleasantly surprised by how natural some things are.  I struggled though when it came to finding the green chiles for my Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. Who knew one little tiny can could be so complicated!  But pretty much every can contained a little thing called calcium chloride (here used as a preservative - also used to melt ice on roadways...not kidding). So after examining EVERY can of green chiles that Hy-Vee had to offer I finally just picked one that didn't have any other weird preservatives in it and chalked it up to it being a very teeny sacrifice.  It also contains citric acid, but as others on this challenge have pointed out to me, you CAN actually by that powdered for canning and whatnot so technically it passes the kitchen test.  Fair enough.

In the end I spent about $75 at Hy-Vee and walked away with at least a couple weeks of meals and snacks for a grand total of $100.  Not bad. I did learn however that it is hard to buy in advance since you are using so many fresh ingredients! Hence why the chopped salad was prepared immediately!

So there you have it, my first unprocessed grocery experience. I know some of you may be asking - but how is it going otherwise? I have to say - not too shabby!  I've managed to stay on track, even with going out for lunch with a coworker once and having to carefully pick what I would order.  I'm ecstatic to have pumpkin spice coffee that is unprocessed (I've been substituting my favorite Stash Double Bergamot Earl Grey Tea for the last two days). And I've been feeling really good! I don't have the sugar highs and lows that I had before when I would snack on candy or grab a cookie after lunch, which is awesome. The only tough times have been walking through the lobby at work and smelling the cookies baking at the cafe and hearing my friends talk about eating ice cream.  Oh how I miss ice cream.  I do want to do some investigating and see if there are any unprocessed type ice creams out there.  But at least for October I'm going to leave well enough alone and try and kick that habit. Not that I am going to try and never eat ice cream again - because we all know that without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos. And we just can't have that.

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Happies of the Week (because I forgot these the other day): 

FaceTime with my new nephew (with some help from his mom & dad)

Honeycrisp apples (with or without cookie butter)

More energy = more productivity at work and home

October Unprocessed

Well hello! And happy Fall to all of you!

There have been so many things going on lately that I find it hard to believe that tomorrow is October! How did that happen?  The collegiate chapter of my sorority that I advise is back in full swing at UNL, work continues to be busy and provide new challenges each and every day, I have a new nephew (YAY!), I'm still running a lot......um.....er.....well......

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Okay so I haven't been running all that much.  I ran the Lincoln Half for the second time this year and the same thing happened that I went through last year.  Train, train, train, half marathon and then.....nothing.  I lose a lot of motivation in the summer and our lovely Nebraska heat and humidity doesn't help matters.  This was brought to my attention a couple weeks ago when I attempted to run a 10K and it just went poorly.  I still had fun - don't get me wrong - and a week later I ran a 5K where I set a PR for that race, but I found myself left with some disappointment that I hadn't stayed in shape and in good running condition.  

So after hearing a friend talk about a new food challenge she was going to take on, I became curious and read through the material she had posted on her Facebook page.  The challenge?  Eat nothing but unprocessed foods for the month of October.  The October Unprocessed 2013 Challenge asks you to look at your food differently.  Not necessarily cut out specific things or eat fewer calories or whatnot, it's not that type of diet, but instead to make better choices about the food you are putting in your body and getting rid of the chemicals and additives that are so prevalent in our processed foods.  It's a return to eating natural, lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and protein.  

What is great about this challenge is that it allows you to make it work for you and your family (or you know, just you and whatever friends will eat your unprocessed cooking).  If there is something you need to make an exception for - that's okay - but they stress that it's important to make these exceptions at the start - and not in the middle just because you REALLY want to eat something.  For example, they mentioned a woman who was training for a marathon and allowed herself to have sports drinks and gels (pretty well processed no matter what brand you try) because it was necessary for her training. For me, I will make an exception when I have to eat dinner at the house on Monday nights.  Not because they use a lot of processed ingredients, but because I know I don't have a lot of control over which parts of that are processed and which aren't.  And I will make an exception for Starbucks if for no other reason than I have to maintain my Gold status (in my defense, coffee is unprocessed - lattes and Caramel Apple Spice - not so much). 

I've started to look for recipes but I've found that there aren't a lot of "unprocessed" recipes out there and for good reason.  You can find a way to convert almost any recipe to use unprocessed ingredients so I'm eager to try some of my favorites in a healthier way!  One recipe I'm really excited to make for my lunches this month is this Southwest Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing. 

Along the way I hope to keep you posted on recipes, struggles, and triumphs. I know it won't be perfect, but my goal is to at the very least eliminate the blatantly processed foods like boxed or frozen dinners, sweets, and other overly preserved foods. And if you're feeling adventurous - I invite you to join me in this challenge!  

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