What does "processed food" mean?

[AllisonR]

I get that a TV dinner is totally processed food, and the chili pepper I grew in my back yard is totally natural. But what about all the stuff in-between?

I thought we were pretty much a non-processed food family, but maybe we are not? We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, often raw. But we also eat grains, beans... and fish and meat....

For example, I don't buy cookies at the store. But I do occasionally make them at home from oats, flour, eggs, white sugar, raisins... The flour and sugar seem obviously processed to me. I mean I didn't grow the wheat in my back yard and then grind it, and I didn't go picking a fresh raw sugar cain and then boil it.... But what about the raisins and oats? Maybe they are also processed because the raisins had to be dried in the sun (or in an oven or however it is done)....? And what about the eggs, which come from free range chickens, but they are not my chickens, kwim?

I'm left wondering what qualifies as processed food?

[mamadelbosque]

It definetly depends on your point of view. I don't count flour/sugar/salt/pasta/tortillas/bread/cheese/tofu/etc as processed, but I know some people do. Everyones definition is going to be different, and I am perfectly well aware that my definition is far more lax than many (most?) others on these boards, but whatever.

[avendesora]

Here's our basic rule: we can eat anything that could be made in our kitchen, but that doesn't mean it had to be. I can make yogurt, butter, spaghetti sauce, pasta, so we feel free to eat those things from the store (but of course we check the ingredient list first - organic whole milk yogurt, spaghetti sauce that doesn't have vegetable oils in it or HFCS, etc). But I couldn't make Cool Whip, for example, so we certainly don't eat that.

Aven

[blessedwithboys]

"processed" is generally meant to express "unhealthy"

if you pick an apple off of a tree in your backyard and then take it into the kitchen and wash and peel it, it is "processed" but it is by no means unhealthy. i think when most ppl say processed, they mean pre-packaged foods with 500 ingredients you need a college degree to pronounce.

[liliaceae]

Good question!

[Rosehip]

Interesting question. I sort of go with the idea that "non" processed is food that I could make myself, if I were so inclined. I also tend to shy away from food that comes with layers & layers of packing. The more individually portioned, plastic-wrapped, brightly colored the packaging is, the further it is from being "real" food. Non-scientific, yes, but I find there's a pretty good correlation.

[AllisonR]

Originally Posted by Rosehip

Interesting question. I sort of go with the idea that "non" processed is food that I could make myself, if I were so inclined. I also tend to shy away from food that comes with layers & layers of packing. The more individually portioned, plastic-wrapped, brightly colored the packaging is, the further it is from being "real" food. Non-scientific, yes, but I find there's a pretty good correlation.

"non" processed is food that I could make myself, if I were so inclined. - I think I'm going to adopt this policy. It makes me feel better, at least.
Actually, your feeling about this is actually a bit scientific! I work indirectly in the packaging industry, and in many cases, a HUGE amount of money is spent on the packaging, not the actual product inside the package. In the case of makeup, up to 95% of the cost can be the packaging, not the actual make-up. And often bottles and tubes are designed so you can not easily use all the product. If you buy something with 100oz product, but you can only squeeze 75oz out of it reasonably, then you replace the product 25% more often, without feeling ripped off.

I'm with you. If I am buying fish in the store, I need to see the actual piece of fish. A gorgeous package with a fantastic serving suggestion image of the fish, but no view of the actual fish, is only going to make me run away.