How to avoid processed food

How to avoid processed foods? Here are some ideas to help you cut out the processed food in your diet.
What is processed food? Processed food are things that have been changed in some way. Some of it has added extras like sugar, salt, colour to make it taste good or ingredients you can’t pronounce. Fast food and some processed cereal are great examples.
Shop on the outside of the grocery store aisles.
The outside aisles of a grocery store is where you will find produce, milk, meat and the non processed foods. Start there in your shopping and obviously you might have to go into the middle of the store! But plan your trip around the outside where food is less processed. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains are your friends!
Find the local farmers market
As a kid I grew up in Waterloo, Ontario Canada and had access to the most incredible farmers market on the planet the St. Jacob’s Farmers market. At the farmers market food was being sold directly from the farmers and we would be able to buy fresh local produce in season. It was great to able to be in touch with what was growing and eat the foods that were local to us.

Read the ingredients list – If you can’t pronounce it then cut it out
Next time you go shopping and you pick up a box of cereal bars (or anything for that matter) take the time to read the ingredients on the back. If you see lots of words you can’t read or you don’t know what they are, put it back.
Make a meal Plan
Making a meal plan and making food from scratch can help! See my meal planning guide here and subscribe. If you are making your own food then you can avoid processed foods!
Find easy solutions
I became an Epicure rep because I wanted to get back into marathon running shape again and needed to lose the 25 pounds I had gained since having children. Starved for time I wanted really easy meal solutions and became an Epicure rep for this reason. Epicure has easy meal solutions, recipes that don’t have added extra additives and based on real foods. Shop here