Upgrading your diet is simple but its not easy. In our processed food landscape, switching to a real food diet full of nutrition can seem like an uphill battle. As a Fort Collins Nutritionist, I want to help you sort out the difference between real food and what it is not. Here is an excerpt from my brand new book Real Food, Real Simple: A Personalized Plan for More Energy, Less Stress, and Healthy Meals in Minutes:
Processed food is so well adopted by Americans that our grocery stores, the place where most people buy food, are filled to the brim with aisles and aisles of food-like substances. Processed food is not real food, and it’s pretty easy to spot. Food-like substances are usually found in a bag, box, or wrapper and have a nutrition-facts label on them.
Real food is not refined, polished, or processed. When food is processed in any way, it is no longer in its original, natural form. It becomes bits and pieces of the whole, and your body will crave what’s missing. Here is an example: brown rice is a whole, real food. White rice is not. White rice starts out as brown rice with the bran and germ intact. Then the brown rice gets milled to remove the bran and germ, and then it’s polished. The end product is white rice, which contains a lot of starch and little nutritional value.
To help you sort out what real food is versus what it is not, here are some examples:
- Apples vs. pasteurized apple juice
- Tomatoes vs. canned tomato juice
- Green beans vs. green bean chips
- Potatoes vs. fried French fries
- Brown rice vs. white rice
- Whole oats vs. instant oatmeal
- Whole grain bread vs. white bread
- Pinto beans vs. canned refried beans
- Eggs (organically produced) vs. egg whites in a carton
- Chicken breasts vs. chicken roll deli meat
- Turkey breasts vs. turkey sausage
If you’re ready to make the transition to a diet full of real food nutrition, I’m here to help. Diets don’t work. What does work long term is diet and lifestyle change. To learn how I can support you to create outrageous energy, confidence in the kitchen, and a real-food lifestyle plan you can stick with, check out the Get Real in 8 Weeks program at https://www.erinharner.com/get-real-in-8-weeks/
I’d LOVE to have you join us!
