"Whole Foods"; and preparing food from scratch

[Jade]

I think the threshhold for me when something becomes "too processed" is when we get to additives - artificial flavors and colors are definite nos. "Natural flavors" is barely better (it just means it was originally derived from something that grew on the planet and not completely made in a laboratory, but still a weird chemical), and it's often animal derived so I avoid that one, too. Any other weird things that I don't recognize get avoided - esp here in America where they try to trick you with labels. Obviously a delicious organic vegetable soup might have a laundry list of ingredients, but if they are all recognizable vegetables, I say go for it. The other weird things I watch out for - soy lecithin, for one. It's a byproduct of the soy production process that blends the shells into a thickening agent that's more shelf stable than say, egg. But, since it's the outer part of the bean, you are getting the bulk of all the pesticides if the product itself isn't organic/non-gmo. Same with things like maltodextrin/dextrose - derived from corn, also thickeners/sweeteners, if from conventional corn, can be really, really gross.

It's definitely about being aware and doing research to learn about these things. Most of the additives are to make food taste "better" or at least more intense, so that when people eat "non-processed" foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, they taste plain or bitter. Artificial sweeteners are so much more intense than sugar, that the people who consume them have their tongues become desensitized to sweet, so they get addicted and consume tons more sugar - the sad part being that if you eat artificial sugar, it won't be often that a delicious ripe fruit would even be sweet enough for you to enjoy.