Oh hey! I am very glad you are back reading this blog post since it will clarify some of your questions or solve this awful and common nutrition myth!
Many years back we all learned that any processed food did not promote any health benefits as they were considered "junk food". Am I right?
When it comes to mind, any processed food ranges from unhealthy chips, sodas, sugary cookies and anything full of trans fat. Doesn't this sound familiar??
But.. is it really true?
The correct definition, described by The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is "Processed food includes food that has been cooked, canned, frozen, packaged or changed in nutritional composition with fortifying, preserving or preparing in different ways. Any time we cook, bake or prepare food, we're processing food."
This definition changes everything, right? There are a lot of foods that we consume and consider "healthy" that are processed. Of course, the regular processed foods like: chips, cookies, sodas, etc. may not promote lots of health benefits, but you now know that the word "processed" is not referring only to these foods.
If you think about it, a lot of processed foods available are truly helpful when it comes to cooking/meal prepping efficiently.
There are some cooked chicken breasts that can come in handy when you are trying to build burritos, salads or even a regular meal with a side of potatoes and veggies.
Frozen fruits and veggies, can be a great addition to your groceries as they can be included easily in your meals and they do not spoil as easy as the fresh ones.
I hope this blog post clarifies one of the most common nutrition myths out there and I am happy to solve these questions to you!
If you have additional questions or topic requests, feel free to send me an email to andrea@thblissfuldietitian.com or send me a DM on IG!
References:
https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-food-labels/processed-foods-whats-ok-and-what-to-avoid. Accessed on April 27th, 2022.
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