Innholdsfortegnelse for Unprocess Your Diet i Unprocess Your Diet

“Are you feeling sluggish or bloated? Trying to lose weight? Or just wanting to be healthier? Shopping for food these days can feel overwhelming with all the conflicting information online: low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie labels are often hiding highly processed, unhealthy ingredients. This book will help you understand what following an unprocessed diet can do for your health. It will teach you how to shop and check labels and give you tips for lowering your salt, sugar and fat intake while still enjoying food. Plus, it’s packed with delicious and healthy recipes for you to get started.”…

REDUCED FAT If a food product is labelled as ‘reduced fat’, it should by law contain 30% less fat than its full-fat counterpart. But it still doesn’t equate to a healthy product. Items like mayonnaise are high in fat in their original form, so even with 30% less fat, they are still high in calories and should be eaten in small quantities. ORGANIC AND NATURAL Using language like ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ can make food sound more appealing. To be labelled as ‘organic’, a product has to contain at least 95% organic ingredients. But organic sugar is still sugar. Meanwhile, no regulations exist for words such as ‘natural’, ‘homemade’ and ‘artisan’, so don’t assume these foods are of a higher quality. LOWER FAT Regulations state that food can only be called…

Embracing a diet that features more whole and unprocessed foods is a great way to ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs to function properly and maintain your overall health. Whole foods contain less calories and keep you feeling fuller for longer, and by adding more fibre to your diet you will improve your digestion, level out your blood sugar levels (lowering the risk of mood swings and those hangry moments) and balance your hormones. And these are just for starters. A low-processed diet can also reduce inflammation, help your heart by controlling blood pressure, aid your immune system in fighting illness and infection and support your reproductive health. Even your skin will be grateful; packed with antioxidants, whole foods can ease inflammatory skin conditions and even reduce…

Caster sugar Caster sugar is a fine white sugar commonly used in baking. It’s a pure carbohydrate and has no real nutritional value. Granulated sugar Granulated sugar is another refined white sugar and provides no vitamins or minerals. It’s often added to drinks, used in baking or sprinkled over food. Maple syrup Made from the sap of maple trees, this sugary sweet syrup contains minerals like zinc and manganese but is still 95% sucrose. Honey People often choose honey for its distinctive taste. It’s sweeter and contains more calories per teaspoon than table sugar so use it sparingly. Molasses Molasses is the by-product of refining sugar cane. It has a lower sugar content than refined sugar and contains a few vitamins and minerals. Brown sugar Brown sugar contains slightly fewer…

Bacon Bacon is the second biggest contributor of salt, with two rashers containing more than 3g of our daily recommended 6g. Stock cubes Most stock cubes found in supermarkets contain around 5g of salt per cube, that’s almost a teaspoon each. Cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a dieters’ staple, but half cup servings can contain 15% of the recommended daily intake of salt. Canned vegetables Canned vegetables can contain up to 15% of the daily recommended salt intake, for convenience, choose frozen or fresh. Baked beans Full of protein, but baked beans also contain 23% of the recommended daily intake of salt per 127g serving.…

WINTER BIRCHER MUESLI WITH A QUICK WARMING COMPOTE This easy brunch can be prepped the night before, involves minimal work and is full of goodness and warmth SERVES 4 READY IN 25 MINS, PLUS OVERNIGHT CHILLING FOR THE MUESLI 200g (7oz) oats500ml (17fl oz) oat milk1tsp cinnamon½tsp vanilla bean paste50g (2oz) hazelnuts, roughly chopped50g (2oz) pecans, roughly chopped1 apple, grated300ml (1ofl oz) apple juice2tbsp chia seeds FOR THE COMPOTE 2 pears, peeled and deseeded1 clementine100ml (3½fl oz) cloudy apple juice 1 Mix all the muesli ingredients together in a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave overnight in the fridge. 2 In the morning, make the compote. In a medium pan, chop the pears into chunks, grate in the zest of the clementine, and peel and chop the clementine fruit.…

Many of the foods you prepare at home are likely to go through some processing, whether that be freezing, cutting, canning or cooking. Each act changes the chemistry of the food’s molecules in some way. However, ultra-processed foods are those that undergo industrial-style processes far exceeding what you can do in your own kitchen. They are the types of food that encourage excessive eating – ‘hyperpalatable’ foods like ice cream, sausages and biscuits. Ultra-processed products often have more sugar and other ingredients that your brain can quickly become addicted to. Natural foods, like fruit, can change in taste and consistency as they ripen. However, ultra-processed foods often have added chemicals and artificial flavours that prolong their shelf life. They are designed for a palatable experience, with less consideration for the…

5 FACTS FOOD-RELATED HEALTH ISSUES 1 Obesity Ultra-processed foods generally contain more calories, sugar and fat. They also lack the nutrients that make the body feel full. This can lead to over-eating. 2 Type 2 diabetes Consuming excessive amounts of processed foods with added sugars causes spikes in blood sugar levels. Regularly eating these foods can cause the body to stop reacting to the hormone insulin, which works to regulate a person’s blood sugar levels. 3 Cardiovascular diseases The higher levels of sodium and fat in processed foods increases your chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. Fats can raise cholesterol and sodium, raising your blood pressure. 4 Digestive disorders The low fibre in processed foods can cause constipation, haemorrhoids and bowel pain. Refined sugars can also lead to inflammation of the gut and unbalance its microbiome.…

PRIORITISE UNPROCESSED Often when we hear the word ‘diet’ we think of a meal plan that’s arduous, restrictive, and even worse: bland. Ditching processed foods from your everyday life, thankfully, isn’t any of these things. Alongside the health benefits an unprocessed diet offers, it’s also the simplest, most open and tastiest swap you can make. Unprocessed foods come in a huge, vivid variety. No cuisine is ruled out, and there are new foodie trends emerging every day. Sticking to an unprocessed diet is practically a guarantee that your meals will be all the more rewarding. Not all processed foods are forever ruled out, either. Occasionally, you might find yourself in a situation where eating processed food is unavoidable. Sometimes, processed food might even be a solid choice. It can be…

Extra virgin olive Olive oil is both healthy and widely available. Olive oil has one of the highest levels of monounsaturated fat of any oil, while 'extra virgin' means it’s less processed. Avocado Avocados, as we already know, are good for you and its oil is also high in monounsaturates. It also has a high smoking point, thus one of the best oils for high temperature cooking. Grape seed Not only is wine delicious, but a by-product of wine production is grapeseed oil. This has the highest level of polyunsaturated fat of any oil. Its nutty flavour works well with salads. Vegetable Vegetable oil is a blend of a number of plant-based oils - including canola, soybean and sunflower oil. It is reasonably healthy, depending on the ratio of the…

Soup One can of premade soup can contain 20g of sugar – that’s five sugar cubes, or two thirds of your recommended daily allowance. Make your own! Low fat yoghurt Check the labels on zero-fat yoghurts; despite being marketed as healthy choices they can contain up to 19g of sugar per serving. Granola bars Some granola or snack bars contain as much as 15g of added sugar. Eat two and you’ve consumed your recommended sugar for the day. Condiments There’s around 4g, or one sugar cube in a serving of the ketchup that you are adding to your dinner – that’s 13% of your recommended daily allowance. Flavoured coffee Order a large coffee with syrup and whipped cream and you could easily be drinking a whopping 25g of added sugar.…

Table salt The most common salt, it’s highly refined with most of its impurities removed. But because it can clump together, substances called anti-caking agents are added. Kosher salt Used in some Jewish culinary customs, it has a flaky, coarse structure and a different texture and flavour burst. It’s also unlikely to contain additives. Sea salt Made by evaporated seawater, it mostly contains sodium chloride but depending on its processing, it can contain trace minerals like potassium, zinc or iron. Finishing salt Finishing salts include Maldon salt, Himalayan pink salt and grinding salt. They are designed to add a final dash of texture and flavour to a recipe.…

DATE AND NUT ENERGY BALLS Enjoy this sweet but healthy snack that will boost your energy levels, too MAKES 24 READY IN 10 MINS 75g (3oz) stoned dates90g (3½oz) almonds2tbsp chia seeds1tbsp coconut oil1tbsp almond butter1tbsp cacao powder1tbsp baobab powder 1 Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend. 2 Roll into 24 balls. Keep chilled for up to a week. “Protein snack labels can be misleading. By making your own you know exactly what goes into them” TRIO OF DIPS Whizz up these three tasty dips in 3 minutes flat using a few pantry staples OLIVE TAPENADE SERVES 10 PREP 3 MINS 300g (10½oz) black pitted olives5 anchovy fillets1 garlic clove, crushed30g (1oz) capers3tbsp extra virgin olive oil2tsp finely chopped chives, to serve (optional) Blitz everything except…

Unprocessed foods If food is unprocessed, it hasn’t been altered much or at all. This includes fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, eggs and fish in their natural state. These are also called whole foods, and natural nutrients like antioxidants are more likely to stay in the food to benefit the body. Processed foods Foods from the first two groups are combined to form processed foods, adding two or three ingredients to create food produce such as cheese, bread, jam, pickles and tinned products. Some of this processing makes food safer to consume and gives a longer shelf life. Processed ingredients These ingredients have been sourced from nature, but have been changed slightly. Examples of processed ingredients include sugar, salt, butter and oils. Some of the processes that these ingredients go through…

No time to cook? Been overdoing the ready meals? We all know too much convenience food isn’t good for us, but there’s a new term on the block: ‘ultra-processed’. These products aren’t just the usual refined fast food but a more extreme version, and they’re everywhere. "If a label has a long list of ingredients or if they seem obscure, it’s likely to be an ultra-processed item," says registered dietitian Reema Patel from Dietitian Fit*. Many of these foods have been linked to poor health, but by knowing what to spot on the supermarket shelves, you can swerve them for a better option. Here’s how to ditch ultra-processed food from your diet. CHECK LABELS Do you fill up your shopping trolley without reading the packaging? Most of us don’t examine…

Whether it’s salty popcorn at the cinema, salt and vinegar on your fish and chips or a bag of ready salted crisps as a quick snack, salt is something many of us crave. While we definitely need salt in our diet, too much of the white stuff can lead to some serious health issues. Read on to find out how much salt you should be consuming and what to do if you think you’re having too much. “The NHS advises that adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day” ARE YOU EATING TOO MUCH? The NHS advises that adults should eat no more than six grams of salt a day, the equivalent of one teaspoon. For children, the amount varies depending on their age, with children aged…

LOW-CALORIE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE Dark chocolate supports your body to generate good-for-your-gut probiotics “You don't have to skip desserts. Just try to keep sugar to a minimum like this high-protein chocolate mousse” SERVES 4 READY IN 15 MINS, PLUS CHILLING 100g (3½oz) dark chocolate, broken up4 medium free-range egg whitesCocoa powder and extra grated chocolate, for decorating YOU WILL NEED 4 small pots 1 Melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Cool slightly. 2 In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff peaks. 3 Take one-third of the egg white and stir into the melted chocolate to lighten. Add the remaining egg white and carefully fold in. Pour into individual pots and chill for at least…