(I honestly ate this right out of the pan)
I loved processed foods. The more processed the better. Macaroni and cheese from a box? I loved that stuff. I’d boil the noodles in a pot and then drain them when they were done cooking. I’d rip open the package of “cheese” and sprinkle it on the noodles, stirring in 1/2 stick of butter at the same time. My mouth would water even before I used the stirring spoon to eat the first bite. I didn’t give my kids the boxed macaroni–that was a special treat for me while they slept.
I also loved frozen dinners. I’d stand in the grocery store aisle looking for the frozen dinner that promised the most food. Two big pieces of fried chicken, starchy mashed potatoes, fried apples and a chewy brownie won my heart time after time.
I had a good relationship with boxed cookies, chips and chocolate cereals like Cocoa Puffs.
Honestly, the only thing I really liked from scratch were desserts. I’d eat the boxed ones, but I usually made my own sweet treats.
What a difference every year that has gone by since I reached my goal weight makes. Instead of eating more and more processed foods, I eat less and less. I confess to being somewhat of a food snob and enjoy the real thing instead of a boxed imitation.
I never would have thought it possible. Do I still eat processed foods? YES. But I try and make better choices. Healthier cereals replaced cocoa puffs, Greek yogurt replaced white chocolate mousse yogurt flavors and real homemade dinner replaced frozen meals. One thing that helps me in maintenance is I never feel like I have my eating and exercise down perfectly. I often think about how to improve the choices I make to stay healthy and strong.
I was wondering what has changed for you with regards to processed foods? Diane
Ah, the iconic blue box of joy !!! I have to laugh because before we made the changes in our life I would hold on to the blue box like some kind of savior because it was the only way I could get anything lose to resembling a protein into my son with all his texture/sensory issues ! He would only willingly eat plain white pasta- cooked or uncooked. It had degraded from tolerating american sliced cheese in those individual wrappers and peanut butter. I was desperate and the blue box was a lifeline ! Big changes in our life , and now the kid requests things like beets, asparagus, jarlsburg cheese, kerry gold cheese and endive lettuce. We passed a display of the blue box stuff in the store last weekend and he picked up a box to read the label. I asked him if he would like it for lunch one day , and he said “no way – it’s not food Mom”. These days we eat a lot differently, making almost everything from scratch. ( Bread is still bought because I cannot master accurate , uniformed potions with it yet). Most recent move is making our own real ice cream and packing it into single portion ( half cup) servings. It is real food, delicious and in portion sizes that allow it to be eaten every day as a snack. Learning how to eat single portions of any food ( even the awesome things like German chocolate ice cream) is the next goal here.
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I too LOVED boxed mac and cheese and ate it right out of the pan. . .
I have gotten down to almost no processed (even the healthier end of things) as time as gone on as most all of it is carbs and I really watch my carbs (even the healthy ones).
I think once upon a time over 90% of my food intake was in the form of carbs. . .
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I think I learned to be a binge eater because of the blue box at a very, very young age. That blue box provided me with a lot of “comfort” when I was growing up.
I’ve moved away from processed foods – not that I’m above them, but eating whole, real, identifiable foods just resonates with me at a deep level. I guess you could say that it’s now a core value of mine. Doesn’t mean I don’t fall back to old ways now and again, but primarily, I shop the outer aisles at the grocery store and cook all my meals.
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Oooh, how I loved boxed mac and cheese!
I’ve totally changed also and don’t eat much processed food at all anymore. However, there is one that I just can’t seem to give up – cheese! I love Kraft 2% singles! So melty…and bright orange
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I used to love that mac ‘n’ cheese. I think my attitude toward processed food changed as I became more aware of what it meant to be processed. Growing up, I didn’t really get it. I mean, I knew cheese wasn’t naturally florescent orange but I didn’t really understand.
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I used to live on them as well….and and and…now I might have packet biscuits from time to time, not often…my my meals are all fresh and cooked by myself..but boy oh boy do I remember those days not so long ago for me where i lived on the stuff.
omgoodness, that picture brings me back! i think we all eat processed foods, and not all are bad for you (hello, milk??) but of course, there’s the bad stuff that is so processed, no nutrients can be found. was it the guy who wrote Food Rules who said you can eat “junk food” as long as you make it yourself(?) that’s what i try to abide by anyway. and nothing deep-fried. yuk.
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I definitely used to eat and enjoy my share of processed food. My favorite was probably frozen pizza. I’d cook up two frozen pizzas for dinner (one for each of us) once or twice a week. When I started this weight loss thing, I had to cut pizza out cold turkey. Now I have it again, but I assemble it myself, using whole wheat tortillas which I crisp in the oven as the base. The tortillas are processed food, of course, but much less so than the pizzas I used to buy.
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When I look at that Mac and Cheese photo, I feel guilty, because I used to feed that stuff to my kids for lunch in the late 60′s and 70′s. Back in those days nothing was said about organic, whole foods, and the perils of processed foods and high fructose corn syrup. We were flying blind “back in the dark ages.” I now wonder how we ate that stuff–it doesn’t taste so good. The saving grace is that I didn’t allow sugared cereals, dinner was always a meal of whole foods, and fast foods were much more scarce. We didn’t even have McDonald’s back in the late 60′s. My how things have changed!
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Even “fresh” foods are processed. The apples I eat are gassed and sit in a dark container for up to a year. The rice I eat (yes, even the organic brown stuff) is sprayed with something that it last a longer shelf life without losing color. Almost all foods are processed, so I guess I eat processed foods every day of my life, the secret is in keeping the processing to a minimum.
As far as the mac and cheese goes, everyone knows that the best mac and cheese is picked right from the ground, brought inside, rinsed, and served.
I lived on that stuff for YEAR…especially college.
Now most of it makes me sick so I avoid it. But I do eat it occasionally in a pinch. I’d rather make a huge batch of stuff to freeze and eat later than buy it 9/10.
I don’t think I had ever eaten boxed mac and cheese till I moved to the states. I still eat some processed items but very few and trying to get away from that as much as possible.
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When I think of processed foods, my stomach turns. I have not been very healthy for the past 2-3 years. I don’t mean in terms of my eating either. I mean I have been physically sick. From stress, anxiety, stomach issues, etc. The processed foods, fast foods, and all that other junk just make it a lot worse! On Sunday I was actually standing in line to order at a restaurant/theater and I actually said to my husband, “I don’t even like to eat out any more.” I think this scares him more than it does me. I just don’t like the way it feels.
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For me giving up processed foods was not exactly a choice. A yr ago today I found out I was allergic to preservatives . I am so thankful for it because I don’t know if I ever would have lost the 130+ pounds with out it. There are times I miss that little blue box because it it easy .
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I never was one for boxed or frozen meals, except pizza and tater tots.
I did, however, eat processed snacks. By the handful! Now I don’t buy most of those snacks (I do like the sugar-free mousse now and then) and opt for nuts or yogurt or fresh fruit for my snacking pleasure. I don’t miss the old way of eating. Except for the tots. Hard to replicate them in any healthy way. 
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I made mac and cheese for the grandkids the other day. ah, I had forgotten. LOL!
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The processed food that I can’t let go of is cereal. I’ve managed to buy cereals for the kids that I don’t want to eat, but I will occassionally “pepper” them up with walnuts and cranberries. For me, I used to be a huge Mac eater too, but since going dairy free–even with processed foods that have minimal dairy, I’ve eliminated. It wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined, but I am sure that if I had the chance to visit my inlaws during thanksgiving, I would sorely miss their homemade southern mac and cheese with crunchy topping–Yum!
I used to eat tons. Frozen meals, mac and cheese, varied junk food. Now I try to eat mostly not-processed stuff. But I don’t mind it all that much if it fits my needs. I keep protein bars on hand for when I am away from home, for example. They have a lot of unpronounceable stuff in the names! And last night, for the first time in ages, I ate a “healthy” frozen dinner. (Since my favorite “go to” meal when eating alone was apples with peanut butter but I have banned the PB for now.)
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It’s very easy to overeat processed foods, thus I mostly try to avoid them. And the ones that I do eat, such as bread, pasta, I buy very whole grain stuff, which is code for healthy stuff that I don’t quite like but will eat anyway. Occasionally I’ll enjoy an ice cream cone, or a sandwich on crusty white bread, but it’s few and far in-between.
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TV dinners as a kid was common. I think my preference for simple in food saved me from staying with the processed pathway. At least I do eat something non-processed every day since i pick it off the tree in the yard
I still love my orange pasta, lol. I have it when it fits into my calorie count…usually with a large salad. I felt victorious when I finally managed to divide it into portions…it’s still a lot of calorie bang for the buck, though, so if I’m hungry I have something more filling.
Me, I loved Lipton’s chicken noodle soup with extra noodles. Sometimes, I’d add extra broken angel hair pasta to make it really good. I think this was really emotional eating as this was what my mom always fixed for me if I was sick (sans all the extra and more extra noodles).
I eat less food on the processed side but I still indulge too much. I know that I can do better. However, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak…
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I eat less processed food than I used to but still indulge in the occasional blue box or chocolate bar. Lately, reading books about whole foods has made me think a lot about what kind of fuel I am putting into my body. The most recent change has been from sugar-free/fat-free vanilla yogurt to plain fat-free yogurt. The plain stuff has just 20 more calories per serving but only 2 ingredients (milk and live cultures), compared with a bunch of chemicals that I couldn’t pronounce.
Over the years I have weaned us off a lot of processed foods and we eat so much healthier. I like you, continue to improve upon our food choices. I make much more food from scratch and we eat a lot of fresh produce in place of processed foods.
I grew up eating mountains of hamburger helper and rice a roni, one of the reasons extra weight was such a problem. Now, I try to avoid most “stuff” with super long, unnatural ingredient lists. Even treats like tortilla chips are typically made fresh at restaurants instead of out of a bag. Sad to admit that your photo today made me hungry…sign I better get some lunch!
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There must be crack in the powdery cheese sauce, because I have a real weakness for good old Kraft Mac n cheese too! What I do these days is occasionally make it for Wednesday lunch for the kids, the low fat version, and we each get a serving. It’s junky, but it is measured out and moderated, just the occasional treat. Most of the time I just make it from scratch and it is more filling and tastier, anyway
I do like some processed foods,ut very fee. And like you, smart substitutions here and ere make my family healthier without cutting it all out. You just do what you can, right?
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Far far less of it than usual, although we never had as much in the house to start with – homemade is cheaper!
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I always loved the first bite of that neon mac & cheese but it was all downhill from there.
I’ve traded my lucky charms for oatmeal or fruit but admit I do miss the magically delicious multi-colored bowl of milk.
I now try to avoid anything with HFCS as much as possible so I’m cutting way down on processed stuff because HFCS is in almost everything.
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Reading your post, I had a flashback to when I was just out of college, working my first job in a town where I didn’t know anyone. When I wasn’t eating at Perkins, my staple was mac and cheese, which I supplemented either with canned ham, frozen corn, or hot dogs. Whoa. Those were my dinners. Hard to believe I gained weight.
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