Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Over the last year, YJDKIY has really tried to cut out processed foods in favor of whole foods or whole ingredients. Not just boxed and prepared food. I previously gave the example of eating an orange instead of orange juice, or an apple for fiber instead of a fiber bar/cereal, whole oats and nuts instead of package granola. Get the idea? Baked/grilled chicken breast (preferably free-range, organic!) instead of breaded/fried chicken fingers.

However, there are still some processed, not in their most raw form products I eat. Whatever the reason, taste, convenience, health benefit, this summer I'll be examining these to see if they will stay in my fridge/pantry or if there is a viable whole food alternative (which really isn't an alternative at all) to these products (note the use of the word products instead of foods).

What do you think about the following:

Whole wheat pasta
I don't forsee making pasta from scratch and there isn't a good non-processed alternative. Maybe rice or quinoa in some cases (although I just heard about using big kale/chard/basil leaves as the layer in lasagna instead of pasta!). So, for now I'll stick to whole wheat versions with as few ingredients as possible. Verdict: KEEP

Snack crackers
This one is definitely convenience. I could opt for a whole food snack such as nuts or bananas or chick peas that don't have additives, but is is so much easier to grab a handful of these. And tasty too. Like pasta, I'll stick to whole grains, low sodium and minimal ingredients. With the extra time I save by having a prepackaged snack, I'll read labels more carefully! Verdict: EVALUATE and REDUCE

Light Soymilk
I generally think light versions of anything come at the sacrifice of whole ingredients. I need to do some soy research, but in this case, I tend to think it's ok. I'd like to seek out some research on cow milk v. soy milk to back up my personal belief that it is better for you (and better tasting!). Verdict: KEEP and RESEARCH

Olive oil mayonaise

This one is tricky, I think it's better for you than regular mayo, but still a highly processed product. For this, I'm going to research nayonaise at least, and perhaps eliminate. Verdict: REDUCE and REPLACE

 

Boxed cereal
Again, ease and taste drive this purchase. In moderation, and after careful label consideration of sugars, sodium and other additives, these cereals are a nice alternative to my oat-nut mix. Stick to whole grains and minimal ingredients, again. Verdict: KEEP

Egg subsitute
This is a toughy that I have been considering a lot lately. I feel like the cholesterol benefit and ease of use win. However, it is extremely processed with a lot of extra crap. And, I love the idea of supporting my local farmers with free-range homegrown eggs. So, what I need to do is suck it up and learn to separate egg white and yolk. Maybe the acquisition of a cute egg seperatory tool  (hello Amazon shoppers!) will aid that.  Verdict: DITCH

Corn chips
Hmm...I can't quite think of anything that comes close to this salty crunchy snack. Kale chips are close, but those are labor intensive and don't last long. Stick with minimum ingredients and organic corn, sea salt, sunflower oil. Verdict: KEEP and MODERATE

Oikos
There is of course, no way I could give this up. I guess I could try to make my own yogurt, but that sounds scary and messy and time consuming. Plus, we know I love Stonyfield and like supporting the company's products with my spoon and mission with my dollars. Verdict: KEEP