Whole Foods Vs. Processed Foods: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Farm Update

Hi everyone!  Things are finally starting to feel more relaxed at the farm.  The weather hasn't been so intensely hot and we've had a few good rains, so everything is starting to grow more normally.  There is a lot more moisture in the soil now, which has helped the plants substantially, and also cut down on Fred's workload now that he doesn't have to spend so much time moving irrigation lines around.  Now that conditions are more favorable for planting, we've doing a lot of that lately.  We recently planted leeks, beets, carrots, beans, and lettuce that will be ready for the fall.  Our blueberries are also going to be ready for this week, and we are so excited!  They are really looking nice this year!  We also have some resolution to the more-than-a-little-annoying pig saga as well.  We were having so much trouble keeping the pigs in because their electric fence just wouldn't keep a charge, and after a lot of time, labor, and expense trying different things to make it work, we finally got it working.  But by then they were so used to just coming and going as they pleased, and they decided that they would rather be out of the fence than avoid being shocked.  It was one thing when we could just shoo them back into the pen, but recently they developed a penchant for going out to M-46 several times a day, and we just couldn't have that.  There was just too much of a risk of them causing an accident.  So we finally rounded them up (quite an ordeal in itself) and transported them a few miles down the road to Fred's parents' house, where they are safely ensconced in the old turkey yard.  They are a lot less likely to get out there, and even if they do, they'll do a lot less damage on an infrequently traveled dirt road than a main highway.  So there you have it.  Our week in a nutshell. :-)

What to Expect in Your Share this Week

Here are the options in each veggie station this week!  If you have a half share, you'll choose one from each category, and if you have a full share, you'll choose two.

• Blueberries for everyone!
• Carrots or potatoes
• Broccoli, snap beans, or beets
• Basil, cilantro, or kohlrabi
• Zucchini or kale
• Cabbage or romaine
• Cucumbers or Swiss chard

If you have your share delivered to your home or workplace, or if you pick up at our East Lansing drop-off, here are your options for this week.  If you have a half share, choose one, and if you have a full share, choose two.

Share A:                                      Share B:

Blueberries                                  Blueberries
Potatoes                                       Carrots
Broccoli                                       Snap beans
Basil                                             Kohlrabi
Zucchini                                       Kale
Cabbage                                       Romaine
Swiss chard                                  Cucumbers

If you have a preference for share A or share B, just let me know by noonish the day before your delivery day, and I'll make sure you get your preferred share.  If you don't have a preference, I'll just choose for you. :-)

Whole Foods Vs. Processed Foods:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

If you are reading this newsletter, chances are you already know that processed foods are not good for us.  This is probably not news to anyone.  But what exactly are processed foods, and why are they so bad?  You may be surprised to hear that most foods are processed on some level, but they are not what we are referring to when we talk about "processed foods".  For example, a tossed salad of lettuce, chopped carrots, radishes, green onions, and an oil-and-vinegar dressing is technically a processed food.  The "processing" is the chopping of the veggies and the mixing of the dressing.  Or the tomato sauce I canned last fall is technically a processed food, because the pureeing and canning is a process.  But when foodies, nutritionists, and health authors refer to "processed food", they mean packaged foods that can sit on the grocery store shelves for a long time at room temperature without degrading, and that usually have a long list of ingredients that you can't picture in their natural state.  Here are some of the reasons processed foods are not good nutritional choices, and how they stack up against foods made from scratch, which are commonly called "whole foods".

Processed foods are commonly high in sugar and other artificial sweeteners, whereas whole foods are usually lower in sugar and seldom contain artificial sweeteners.  We all know by now that too much sugar isn't good for us, and the amount of sugar commonly found in most packaged foods falls squarely in the realm of "too much."  And it's not just in dessert items either, lest you think you're okay because you aren't eating packaged cookies and snack cakes.  If you look at the labels on many savory processed food items, you'll find sugar or other artificial sugar substitutes pretty high up on the ingredient list.  A little sugar in your coffee or a slice of homemade pie every once in a while isn't going to be a problem, but the only way to know how much you're actually consuming is to make it yourself.  Because food manufacturers know that we like sweet foods and will therefore be more likely to spend money on something sweet, they don't hesitate to put in more sugar than is actually healthy.  And don't even get me started on the artificial sweeteners that claim to be healthy because they're calorie free.  A good rule of thumb is that if you can't see a food growing, walking, or swimming in nature, it's probably not something you should be eating (very often).

Processed foods often encourage overeating, whereas whole foods allow you to be more aware of your natural satiety signals.  Humans are naturally attracted to foods high in salt, sugar, and fat, because way back in the day when access to food was a lot more tenuous than it is today, those were often the foods that would give us the most energy.  It was more caloric bang for the food volume buck, so to speak.  These days, we have the opposite issue.  We don't have any trouble finding calorically dense foods, and we often choose them over foods that will fill us up without giving us way more calories than we need for our energy outputs.  Packaged and processed foods almost always contain more calories than are justified by their size, which causes us to consume way more calories than we need without even knowing it.  Add in the fact that salt, sugar, and fat have a tendency to mess with our natural satiety signals, and it becomes a fairly dangerous proposition if these foods make up a large part of your diet.  If you stick to foods that are less calorically dense, such as fruits and veggies, you'll feel satisfied with a meal that is much more in line with your actual caloric needs.

Processed foods usually include many artificial ingredients, whereas whole foods are made with real foods found in nature.  You've heard it before:  if you can't pronounce the ingredient on the label, you probably shouldn't be eating it.  That is because ingredients created in a lab to make a food more shelf stable/ visually attractive/ appealing to our taste buds are not foods that our bodies are naturally equipped to handle, and constantly stressing your body out with these foods can lead to a whole host of health issues.  It bears repeating:  If you can't see it growing, walking, or swimming in nature, then your body probably isn't equipped to handle it well, and you're much better off choosing a food whose advent predates your grandparents.

Processed foods are usually lower in nutrients, whereas whole foods contain more essential nutrients.  For many decades, food scientists thought they could distill what was healthy about food to a few macronutrients, and if they could figure out the right ratios, we could potentially get all our nutrition from non-foods, Jetsons-style.  But try as they might, they could never distill all that was healthy about a carrot into something that wasn't, in fact, a carrot.  Same thing with tomatoes, beets, blueberries, and all of the other traditional foods we've been eating for millennia.  What they discovered is that the science behind how all the nutrients in food work together is way more complex than we can understand.  But that doesn't stop the processed food industry from trying, and it doesn't stop them from adding artificial nutrients to things to make up for the real ones they've taken out through processing.  The bottom line is that if you eat real whole foods, you're going to be getting more of the nutrients you need than you'll ever get eating things created in a lab.

Processed foods are usually low in fiber, whereas whole foods usually have more fiber.  Fiber is good for us, and helps keep our systems running optimally.  Because we can't actually digest fiber, it acts like like a battering ram to keep food moving through our systems.  This allows us to recognize that we are full sooner before we eat more food than we need, and it also keeps our solid waste elimination regular.  If we don't have enough fiber in our diets, we often eat way more than we need to feel satisfied, and experience uncomfortable constipation.  Processed foods often lack fiber, so if you eat mostly processed foods, be prepared to feel slow and sluggish most of the time.  Fruits and veggies are usually very high in fiber, so a diet full of produce is one of the best ways to keep your systems from getting blocked up.

If you have the occasional soda or potato chip at a birthday party, but your diet is otherwise full of healthy whole foods, you're going to be just fine.  But if you frequently find yourself loading up your shopping cart with crackers, cookies, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals, really reconsider!  Sure, it takes a little longer to cook a meal from scratch with real ingredients, but are the 20 minutes you saved by heating up a frozen burrito really worth it if it means you feel like crap all the time?  Eating a diet full of healthy whole foods is a surefire way to feel good and improve your quality of life.

Recipes

It's cucumber season!  If you're not sure what to do with cucumbers aside from making pickles and putting them in a green salad, here are 13 Delicious Cucumber Recipes from Real Simple!  And if you're looking for something to do with your blueberries (that is, if they actually make it all the way home), check out this Blueberry Zucchini Bread recipe!