9.29.2010

Unprocess This: October's A Big Month!

With October rapidly approaching, I'm doing something a little different for the month; a personal challenge, if you will.  I, along with countless other bloggers, foodies, and just those generally interested in this, have signed on to a month-long commitment of unprocessed food.  

And to think it all started with a Tweet.  

In August, I traveled out to Seattle for the International Food Bloggers Conference.  There, I networked with some pretty amazing people, sat in on fascinating seminars and ate some pretty tasty food.  Simply put, it was awesome.  While at the conference, I was surprised to find that one of my favorite speakers was the author of the blog, Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.  She spoke about how changing her diet, just a little bit, changed her life.  It made her happier.  Full of energy.  Sick less often.  She then encouraged us to eat less "crap" (for lack of a better term) and start paying more attention to what gets in our belly.  I was moved by her argument.  It just made sense.

Being so moved, I sent out a Tweet, "So is every blogger in the room planning a month/week/day of specialty diets?  I'm intrigued by the challenge".  Withing minutes, I got an energetic response from Andrew, the author of the blog Eating Rules, "Let's do it! I'm thinking October would be perfect, right before the holidays".  Without even thinking, I quickly responded with a "I'm in!".  And that was that.  I'm in and up for the challenge.  Not that I think I eat particularly terribly to begin with but now seems like as great of an opportunity as any to spend some time paying some close attention to what I'm eating and how it affects my overall well being.  


So first thing first.  What is a processed food and what will this month look like to me?  By definition, processed food is food that has been altered in some way, either to make it last longer by adding additional preservatives or making it "taste better" by adding additional sugars and flavors.  Essentially, if I'm reading the label on something and I can't pronounce it or have no idea what it is, I'm not eating it.  I'm not planning on altering my lifestyle too much, for example, I'll still be going out to eat and will try to select choices that are more natural and less processed than others.  Of course, I'll be blogging about this whole little experiment along the way.  So hang with and lets see what happens!


If talking about all of this struck a chord with you, you can join the party and participate as well by signing the Unprocessed Pledge.  Does the thought of a whole month without Doritos frighten you?  No worries and no pressure.  You can pledge to try it out for a week, a day, heck even an hour.  It's really all about taking the time to think about and care for yourself via food am I'm psyched about my little endeavor.  


Happy Eating!



11 comments:

Kimmy Bingham said...

Good for you! I did this for about a week back in May/June and your friend is right about the energy benefits. I felt amazingly better. I've carried away a lot of long-term eating habits because of it! Good luck!

Bo Ickrath said...

I recently got into a conversation with someone who was ranting against "gluten". So I did some research. 1/2 of 1 percent of Americans are allergic to gluten. The King Arthur bread flour you use is...guess what? Gluten enriched! That's what makes bread flour bread flour! So have fun tilting at windmills. I know it's the flavor of the day to be gluten free...vegetarian..no trans fats...yada yada yada!

The Small Boston Kitchen said...

Thanks Kimmy, I'm pumped!

Hi Bob, thanks for the comment. I'm well aware that there is gluten in bread flour (something's gotta make it rise and get all yummy!) and hopefully my post was clear, I'm not going gluten free for a month, I'm avoiding processed foods to see what affects it might have on me. I hope that helps clear up my purpose of my little endeavor.

Boston Food Diary said...

Nice way to challenge yourself! It's always fun to test your limits a bit! Go you!

Delicious Dishings said...

Sounds like an awesome challenge. I don't have as much willpower as you, but I'll be sure to cheer you on. It's funny because when I made applesauce on Sunday, I was thinking about how I knew that it was just apples, sugar, and cinnamon in my dish. It's so different when you make something at home as opposed to buy preservative-laden processed foods.

Kristen said...

Good for you! This is such a cool challenge. Can't wait to hear how it goes. I recently "put back" an item I had in my basket because I read the ingredient list and thought to myself, what the F is in here!? (It was guac, because all the avocados in my store were crap.) Instead I ate my tacos without guac last night. see?! I'm already doing it....

Jen said...

Can't wait to hear how it goes!

MichellePC said...

This is a great personal challenge! I look forward to reading all about it. Best of luck!

Biz said...

I already don't eat much processed food - mainly because its so much cheaper to make things yourself!

Good luck on the challenge - I think you'll have no problem!

Gena @ A Bluebonnet in Beantown said...

What a great personal challenge! I've been trying to eat less processed food for awhile now. Reading labels is a bit shocking at first. When did labels start sounding like a chem lab experiment? I'm not completely rigid about it (for example, I still have a soft spot for Chili Cheese Fritos), but I mostly cook from scratch and avoid convenience foods made from things that aren't...well...food. I'm looking forward to reading about your unprocessed journey!

Gena

The Small Boston Kitchen said...

Thanks all for the support, this should be an interesting month! I'm looking forward to it!

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