Have a Fresh Food Feast
/There’s a lot of conflicting advice about diets out there. One thing everyone can agree on is that we need to cut down our consumption of mass-produced processed foods. Instead, we should be replacing it with fresh food and produce.
What Is Fresh Food?
There is an increasing trend to eat ‘clean’ foods and cut out sugar altogether. Whilst these are new ideas which have faced a lot of criticism, eating fresh food isn’t. The idea of eating fresh food has been around for ages, and scientists, nutritionists, and dieticians alike unanimously agree that it’s best. Before cutting out food groups we should be considering eating a completely fresh food diet.
Fresh food doesn’t have one definition. Societal definitions differ to what large stores may define as ‘fresh food.’ The fresh food we should be eating should be unprocessed, in its raw state when we purchase it and hasn’t been frozen. Ideally, fresh food is food which has been produced in the same state it was harvested so that it doesn’t travel too far.
Why Should We Eat More Fresh Food?
Eating fresh food isn’t without its disadvantages. The main problem people have with fresh food is that it is more expensive and has a shorter shelf life. However, the alternative is eating cheaper mass-produced food which has been sprayed with pesticides and given hormones. These chemicals are then ingested by us. Produce will actually lose its nutritional value over time too. So the nutritional content of fresh food is often higher than food which is supposed to last longer.
Putting health aside for a moment, fresh food tastes better too. The quality of crops, vegetables, and meat improves when it is looked after correctly. Mass-produced produce can’t compete with the care and attention fresh food is given. Foods which have been frozen have to have preservatives to make them last. This makes them taste worse but they are also more difficult to digest. Chemicals which our body isn’t familiar with can stop nutrients from being digested.
How Can We Incorporate Fresh Food Into Our Diet?
Start off small. You don’t have to break the bank and change your lifestyle right away. Instead of buying shop bought sauces, make your own. Salsa, for example, is easy to make from raw natural vegetables and is a tasty topping for fish tacos. Don’t buy dressing for a salad, make your own vinaigrette. This is healthier and tastier. Raw snacks like fruit, nuts, and berries are another good way to eat fresh foods. If you have a sweet tooth there are plenty of raw dessert recipes to try. These substitute creams and butter for creamy substitutes like avocado and sweet potatoes.