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Impossible burgers. Plant based "meat" Which is being marketed as an alternative to real meat. Which strikes me as a bit ironic. I can't think of anything which would require more processing to "transmorgify" (Calvin & Hobbs reference) it into something it's not. But hey, if you want to save a cow, go ahead and have at it.
Everyone has been eating processed foods their entire life. Breakfast I had whole wheat toast with butter and jam and an egg scramble with spinach, bell pepper, tomato. Literally nothing on my plate was unprocessed. Aside from fruit, most things we just don't eat without processing. I've never ran up to a chicken and just started taking bites out of it or walked into a corn field and started eating corn stalks.
Unprocessed foods are in their naturally occurring. state. Minimally processed foods have been cooked or cut or dried but have nothing much added to them.
Most of the decent foods are minimally processed. If you're going to eat an ear of corn, you have to cook it. Most people boil it so it's soft enough to eat. Then add salt and butter. With meat you obviously cook it to kill whatever harmful things might be in it.
It can get unhealthy when manufacturers add all sorts of extras. Most foods, if they're not fresh, require a preservative but there are safe and not so safe. Here are the most common preservatives:
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a common food additive used to intensify and enhance the flavor of savory dishes. ...
Artificial Food Coloring. ...
Sodium Nitrite. ...
Guar Gum. ...
High-Fructose Corn Syrup. ...
Artificial Sweeteners. ...
Trans Fat.
Some harmful additives:
Sodium nitrites--pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Processed meats that contain this convert it to nitrosamines. Read the labels on hotdogs and cured sandwich meats.
Sulfites. Banned on fresh vegetables but they are in other foods.
Trans fats. The oils some manufacturers use to prolong shelf life increase heart disease.
MSG. Can raise blood pressure, can cause other reactions.
FD&C yellow no. 5 and 6. artificial color that can cause severe reactions in those with asthma, possible risk with hyperactivity in children.
These are only five of them. Foods often need some sort of a preservative, of course, but there are safe ones and not so safe ones. It's been said that if you look at the label and there's a big long list of ingredients, many of which are just letters that's a red flag. Other countries ban some of the preservatives that are allowed here. Lots of the additives merely add color or flavor--often a cheap way to get out of using the real thing.
I cut the head and front feet off and hoisted it up using a gambrel and winch and the wife skinned and gutted it. Then she cut it up into pieces some people might recognize if they went to a butcher's shop.
That's how we "process" pork. Sometimes we even grind it up, add seasonings, put it into casings etc for sausage.
We also eat "processed pork" products from the store.
The word "processed" is so over-used I completely glaze over when I read it.
If you're going to eat an ear of corn, you have to cook it.
No you don't. I frequently eat a raw ear of corn just as I would an apple or a carrot. In fact, your statement is just as wrong as saying "if you're going to eat a carrot, you have to cook it."
No you don't. I frequently eat a raw ear of corn just as I would an apple or a carrot. In fact, your statement is just as wrong as saying "if you're going to eat a carrot, you have to cook it."
Wow, MadMan, you must have jaws of steel!
I have to shuck the corn and then dunk it into boiling water for around seven minutes. Butter and salt. mmmmmmmmm. I will not eat it out of season, only fresh from a garden. YUM! I can't grow carrots here but I would eat them raw right out of the garden. I can't do that with corn.
Not surprising- did anyone see the documentary "Supersize Me"? Morgan Spurlock pretty much lived on food from the drive-through at McD's and made it a point to get the Supersized meal any time an employee offered that option. He ended up an absolute physical mess.
I saw another one in the same vein about sugar, called That Sugar Film. The man consumed 40 tsps of sugar a day for 60 days. He thought it would be difficult to get that much but the first morning he had 20 tsps in a typical Western processed food breakfast.
In under 3 weeks, he had fatty liver. He gained weight despite the fact that he was eating the same number of calories, 2300 daily. Most of the fat went to his waistline. It appears that the type of calories is more significant than the number. Someone trying to lose weight while consuming low calorie processed foods and drinks is probably fighting a losing battle.
A month or so after returning to his regular healthy diet, his health markers returned to normal. It took a few weeks for his palate to adjust and enjoy healthy foods again.
I saw another one in the same vein about sugar, called That Sugar Film. The man consumed 40 tsps of sugar a day for 60 days. He thought it would be difficult to get that much but the first morning he had 20 tsps in a typical Western processed food breakfast.
In under 3 weeks, he had fatty liver. He gained weight despite the fact that he was eating the same number of calories, 2300 daily. Most of the fat went to his waistline. It appears that the type of calories is more significant than the number. Someone trying to lose weight while consuming low calorie processed foods and drinks is probably fighting a losing battle.
A month or so after returning to his regular healthy diet, his health markers returned to normal. It took a few weeks for his palate to adjust and enjoy healthy foods again.
And there is the rub. People have a very hard time eating things they don’t like. And they don’t understand that our taste buds are kind of trained. You can actually learn to like things.
Now there’s certain things I will never really enjoy. First things onions. I don’t like onions, and onions don’t like me. They cause physical distress.
And I have some textural issues — sweet potatoes, tiny cubed ones I can eat because I can just sort of get them down. Kiwi — same thing I don’t like the texture. Regular and large sized blueberries. Texture. If I can find small wild blueberries, I can eat those without getting all that texture.
But when I became diabetic, I knew I had to eat better. And it was a hard slog for a little bit and then I started enjoying eating that way. I trained my taste buds to like it.
And that’s some thing that a lot of people have a hard time doing. My late husband used to tell me if something happens and I have to start eating that way I think I’ll just kill myself. My sister who had a transischemic attack had to go on a low salt diet. When she goes out to dinner with friends she has learned how to pick some thing from the menu that will be lower sodium. And her friends say to her that would kill me if I had to eat like you. And she always tells them that’s kind of funny because she’s eating to live. She wants to be there to for her grandchildren’s graduations and weddings.
I think most of the people who cook corn have never grown it. Once it's been picked it starts turning starchy. If you get something from the store it probably should be cooked, but freshly picked corn is great raw. I don't really cook it so much as just get it warm enough to spread butter on.
Foods that are created by humans and doesn't grow naturally or come directly from an animal. Also foods that have a natural source but have been reconfigured due to high heat, addition of manmade liquids, solids, and/or fillers to enhance their flavor and/or appearance.
Highly processed natural foods have been "over worked" (over processed) to the point that their natural origin is nearly unrecognizable because it's been drastically changed or altered.
A few examples of highly processed foods: cheetos, fritos, tortilla, hostess cupcakes, process cheese, powder cheese including box mac & cheese, packaged gravy, hotdogs, luncheon meat, fish sticks, tater tots, candy bars, candy, cookies, etc.
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Solly says — Be nice!
