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Someone asked me for suggestions for how to prepare for the month, as she is feeling nervous. The answer is, “It depends.” It depends on what you’re eating now, whether you are comfortable cooking, and whether you already eat fairly close to unprocessed now. My weekly posts should help you with that week’s target meal (Breakfast week starts Monday 10/1 with the how-to post on Sunday 9/30). But I wanted to offer some more general tips that will help you regardless of your current eating habits. I’m also participating in the Vegan MoFo (Vegan Month of Food) so I’ll be offering even more tips throughout the month on moving to a plant-based diet, sharing some round-up posts, and showing you what I’m eating on my Facebook page.
1. Take an honest look at your eating habits now. If everything you eat comes from a drive-through or a crinkly plastic bag, you will have a harder time adjusting to eating unprocessed. It’s not impossible, but you should be prepared for some challenges.
2. How often do you poop? I know, such a rude question. But if you eat processed food, you might only poop once or twice a week. Unprocessed eaters poop two to three times a day, which is how our bodies are designed to function. You might find yourself with a lot of gas and bloating as you adjust to eating unprocessed foods, so go easy on yourself and drink lots of water. If you don’t currently eat any beans, eat small servings (a couple of bites) once a day to begin. Your body, and your colon, will thank you for it over time!
3. Take a look inside your fridge and cupboards. What do you see? If it’s mostly processed foods right now, start thinking about substitutions you can make.
Five years ago my pantry didn’t look like this!
4. Make a list of what you ate yesterday. You don’t have to show it to anyone. Circle all the foods that don’t pass “the kitchen test.” Now think of an unprocessed item you could exchange for each one, and make a shopping list. The kitchen test: Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients.
5. If you’re really serious about making a long-term change, clean out your pantry, fridge, and freezer. If you think it’s likely that you will turn to these foods in a moment of weakness, you’ll need to get them out of your house. You can donate unopened items to a food bank, and/or see if some of your neighbors or co-workers might want things that are opened. Explain you’re trying something new this month and you don’t want things to go to waste. I have never had anyone say no to free food, even though they might be surprised at first.
6. Remember that you don’t have to cook everything yourself. Purchased food with simple ingredients is A-OK. Consider pre-cooked brown rice, rice or grain mixes with simple ingredients, and canned beans. See this post from last year’s October Unprocessed challenge for more information on how I compared products. If you already cook a lot, then make a list of your go-to recipes and see how unprocessed they are. If they need some renovating, search here for an alternative.
7. Start reading labels. It’s the most time-consuming part of making this change, but it doesn’t last forever. I have a list of great unprocessed, gluten-free items I like and use here.
8. Write up your reasons for going Unprocessed on index cards and post them on your fridge and bathroom mirror.
9. Think about what you are going to eat at work. While we can control everything at home, work is another story. Plan your snacks; plan to start walking or doing the stairs when you might otherwise eat a doughnut or hit the vending machine. Having a plan is key. Don’t leave it to chance.
10. Have fun! This isn’t a test, or meant to be a chore. Think of this month as a 31-day trip to a foreign country. Eat new foods. Try new restaurants. Get together with friends and have an unprocessed party.
And most of all, keep commenting here and on my Facebook page. Let me know how I can help!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
This was a great article that I shared with our Twitter and Facebook fans. I personally cook about 5 to 6 days a week. Never a junk food or binge eater, only on occasion do I eat something “on the go” at a rest stop during a trip Upstate or forget my lunch and have to buy something in the city. Boy does my body instantly reject that! As for your “number 2″ cleverly listed as number 2 (ha!), it really is amazing how one’s body reacts. I am frowned upon for being so candid, but if you don’t pay attention or acknowledge your body’s bodily functions, than that’s just ignorance. I canNOT imagine going once a week. That happened to me in Italy when all I did was eat cheese and pasta. I was so unhappy – can’t imagine how people handle that as a norm!
Great tips! Such a wonderful event–I took the pledge! (And we holistic nutritionists talk about poop all the time. . . no biggie!)
Yes I would think it would be part of your world, but people in general don’t talk about it much. Congrats on taking the pledge!
Once or twice a week? EEEWWWW.
Looking at this list I’m feeling a bit less nervous about October Unprocessed. What I really need to do is sit down this weekend and decide any “exceptions” that I’m going to let myself make.
Chelle, because no one talks about it, I wouldn’t be surprised if many people we both know are eliminating that infrequently. So glad you found the list helpful! I look forward to hearing from you as the month goes on.
This is great–very helpful!
Great post! I’ve been eating raw for about 2 months and started to stray towards the end- this is the perfect reason to get back in gear! Thanks!
You are welcome. We ALL stray. Me as much as anyone. So it will be good for me too! And I’m going back to strictly vegan for the month, as I have let that slide a little bit lately too (mostly with candy).
Most helpful – truly. Loved the “pooping” part as well. Let’s get down to basics, shall we
I remember watching a Dr. Oz segment on Oprah where he was talking about pooping, and many audience members said they only pooped once or twice a week. That’s when I knew how different my diet was from most Americans. I think it’s important for people to be prepared… thanks for commenting. Excited to have you on board this year.
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