It’s that time of year again–time to go red, white, and blue. But saluting our nation’s independence doesn’t have to mean diving head deep into a holiday feast loaded with artificial colors. With a little creativity you can enjoy Fourth of July recipes sans food dyes.

1. Patriotic Fruit Pizza

Image: Liz West

It’s a fruit pizza with ample Fourth of July bling. I love Fourth of July recipes that use fruit for color. Make a sweet pizza pie crust from scratch and then load it up with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas to symbolize our nation’s stars and stripes. While the recipe does call for quite a bit of butter, remember the pizza is meant to feed a crowd (35 servings).

Patriotic Fruit Pizza
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks organic butter
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) packages organic cream cheese, softened
3 large organic bananas, sliced – or as needed
1 tbsp. lemon juice, or as needed
1 carton fresh strawberries, sliced
1 container fresh blueberries

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the butter and beat in 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract.

3. Add in flour and make the mixture into a workable dough. Spread the dough out evenly on a 12 x 17 inch baking sheet.

4. Bake until lightly browned for 8-10 minutes. At the same time, combine the cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

5. Place sliced bananas in lemon juice to prevent browning.

6. Once the pizza crust has cooled, begin to decorate the pizza. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly across the cookie layer. Place blueberries in a neatly lined square in the upper left corner of the crust. Arrange alternating stripes of white bananas and strawberry slices. Serve your masterpiece.

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

2. Festive Ice Cubes

Image: Liz West

This recipe isn’t nearly as complicated as the fruit pizza, but it’s still gorgeous.

Festive Ice Cubes
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blueberries
Ice cube trays

Method

1. Place 2 blueberries and 2 raspberries each slot in an ice cube tray and add in water. Freeze until solid.

Tips: For added flavor and color, consider filling the ice trays with fresh mint leaves. You can also add lemonade to make your ice cubes a Fourth of July sweet treat.

3. Fourth of July Potato Chips

Image: urbanfoodie33

Nature’s rainbow makes these homemade potato chips festive–think beets and purple potatoes. I confine my intake of potato chips to those I make on my own and this is an awesome Fourth of July recipe.

Fourth of July Potato Chips
Serves 6

1/2 pound baking potatoes, such as russet or Idaho
1/2 pound purple potatoes
1/2 pound beets, peeled, and greens removed
6 cups vegetable or canola oil
Kosher or sea salt

Method

1. Use a mandoline or a sharp knife to slice the potatoes and beets 1/8-inch thick. Fill a large bowl with cold water and soak the potatoes for 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the potatoes to large towel and dry them off thoroughly.

3. Fill a deep, heavy bottomed pot with 4 inches of oil and heat oil to 350 degrees F.

4. Work in batches and be sure not to overcrowd the pot. Fry the potatoes first and then the beets. Use a slotted spoon to remove rounds when they’re golden brown. Salt immediately. Place on another large towel to remove excess grease.

Recipe: Epicurous

4. Vegetarian BLTs with American Flag Bling

This Fourth of July recipe takes a different tact entirely. Instead of adding food dyes to your food, decorate them with American flag toothpicks. It celebrates July 4th without impacting the flavor of your food.

Vegetarian BLTs with American Flag Bling
Serves 4

1 package tempeh bacon, skillet fried
4 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled (1 1/2 pounds)
Focaccia
1 head Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
1/4 cup organic mayonnaise
2 fresh tomatoes, sliced

Method

1. Slice your focaccia into four even servings.

2. Slather focaccia with mayonnaise. Place 2-3 Bibb lettuce leaves on one side of each sandwich. Place a slice of tomato on the other side of the sandwich. Slice 1/2 of an avocado and add to the each sandwich. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Add 2 slices of tempeh bacon to each sandwich. Close the sandwich and garnish with an American flag toothpick.

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Image: Rubbermaid

The post 4 Festive Fourth of July Recipes: All the Red, White, and Blue, No Food Dyes appeared first on EcoSalon.

They’ve been called the “rainbow of risk” by the Centers for Science in the Public Interest: a group of artificial colors that include Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40.

In fact, in England and elsewhere in Europe, food dyes like these must carry a notice informing parents that the dye may impact a child’s concentration and attention.

In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, “For preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods…” It specifically banned food dyes and artificial colors that were dangerous for human consumption. 

Over time more and more artificial flavors were banned, like Orange 1 in 1950. And today we’re left with 7 FDA-approved colors, that are increasingly coming under fire from health advocates. Yellow 5, for example, is currently undergoing tests from the Food and Drug Administration because of links to hyperactivity, anxiety, and migraines. The link between artificial colors and behavioral problems is growing more concerning.

Renee Shutters, a mother of two from Jamestown, N.Y., says that by eliminating certain foods from her son Trenton’s diet, especially petroleum-based food dyes like Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, his behavioral and focus problems improved and today he excels at school and in sports. “I know for sure I found the root cause of this one because you can turn it on and off like a switch,” Ms. Shutters said to the New York Times.

Shutters started a petition on Change.org asking Mars to phase out artificial colors from its candies and confections. For example, M&M’s in Britain are made with natural colors while in the U.S., they are still made with artificial colors.

The most popular artificial color, Red 40, is also highly controversial. According to a CSPI report, “the most-widely used dye, may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice. The dye causes hypersensitivity (allergy-like) reactions in a small number of consumers and might trigger hyperactivity in children. Considering the safety questions and its non-essentiality, Red 40 should be excluded from foods unless and until new tests clearly demonstrate its safety.”

But there’s hope. In the U.S., many popular products rely on artificial colors but even still, many companies are taking a different approach. For example, using annatto color, it’s a natural food coloring made from the ground up seed pods of the annatto tree. Also, more and more candies are using naturally derived colors and flavors.

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Image: twenty questions

The post Artificial Colors Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6 Called the ‘Rainbow of Risk’: So, Where’s the Pot of Gold? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Should you avoid artificial food coloring?

Mmm…Nothing says homemade like Red #40, Yellow #5, and Blue #1.

If you eat any processed foods, chances are there’s some type of food coloring in it. Even stuff that’s natural might have it; oranges are often injected with dye to give them their bright orange color. Seriously, oranges.

Food dyes are regulated by government agencies around the world. In the United States it’s the FDA doing the work, and what they ban and allow doesn’t always match up.

For example, Blue #1 and Blue #2 are banned in Norway, Finland and France, but allowed in the US and included in everything from candy to pet food. The golden yellow of Kraft macaroni and cheese? Brought to you by Yellow #5 and #6, both banned in the European Union. That bright blue in Nutrigrain Blueberry bars? That’s not thanks to some wild sourced blueberries. Nope, it’s Blue #1.

To be clear, these products exist in other countries, they’re just colored naturally instead of with artificial food coloring. Fanta in the UK for example is colored with pumpkin and carrot extract, while in the US it’s Red #40 and Yellow #6. Food chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s refuse to sell products with artificial food coloring. If they’re not willing to sell it, are you willing to buy it?

There’s a laundry list of research out there that shows how the body reacts to these synthetic dyes. There have been reports of allergic reactions to Yellow #5 and various studies have shown links between the consumption of food dyes and hyperactivity.

Americans are eat five times more food dyes in 1955, and while there are arguments for and against the safety of food dyes, one thing is sure: they’re artificial and synthetic. If you believe in putting whole, natural food in your body, products with artificial food coloring, which are often the processed products to begin with, shouldn’t make the cut.

For a visual of food dyes, where they are banned and health-related issues that they are linked to, check out this infographic, which covers artificial food colorings and their links to everything from brain tumors to insomnia.

Infographic: Special-Education-Degree.net

The post Is Artificial Food Coloring Bad For You? appeared first on EcoSalon.

It seems like an awfully silly question for a healthy food lover, but we suspect you’re doing both anyway. So, would you rather eat artificial colors or artificial flavors?

These sneaky ingredients find their way into lots of foods, particularly when you’re dining out and labels aren’t accessible. They’re also found in vitamins, medicines, mouthwash, personal care products and cosmetics. So, if you had to choose, which would you rather eat?

Artificial Colors

Food dyes sound harmless enough. A little blue here. Some red there. What would Easter eggs be without food dye? Who ever heard of eating a popsicle that wasn’t bright blue, red or orange?

But according to research, artificial colors have been connected with an increased risk of behavioral issues, particularly among children. For children who already displayed hyperactive behaviors, the artificial colors intensified their behavioral issues.

While some colors have been banned because of their origin in coal tar, which is a known carcinogen, others remain on the market, with severe health risks, including allergies and (still a risk) cancer.

Among the most common artificial colors are:

•  FD&C Blue # 1 & # 2
• FD&C Green # 3
• FD&C Red # 3 & # 40
• FD&C Yellow # 5 & # 6
• Orange B

Green #3, Blues #1 and #2 and Yellow #6 have all been connected with allergic reactions and cancer in lab animals. Red #3 has been connected with cancer and genetic disorders. While banned from cosmetic applications, it’s still allowed in food.

Keep an eye out the next time you’re at a sushi restaurant for that bright green seaweed salad, the wasabi paste and even the pickled ginger, as they’re all potentially harboring artificial colors. Same goes for jams and jellies, mustards, hot sauce and ketchup, and other condiments served at restaurants. Read your vitamin labels. Make your own homemade mouthwash or opt for an all-natural mouthwash.

Artificial Flavors

We’re a species driven by the tongue. We love to talk, taste…kiss. Of course, all of those habits can get us into quite a bit of trouble if we’re not careful.

When it comes to taste, we know all too well how much trouble that’s causing us now, particularly for our nation’s children. Sugary, genetically modified fruit-flavored cereals, sodas, Pop-Tarts, candy and popsicles takes precedent over actual fruit.  Ketchup covered French fries and Domino’s pizza sauce are preferred over an actual tomato. That the artificial flavor came to be preferred over the real thing is not only shocking, but dangerous as well.

Artificial flavors can contain hundreds of chemicals, and because they’re proprietary formulations, companies don’t have to disclose what’s in them, making it difficult to identify health risks. They’re usually only identified on labels as “artificial flavors.”

While more research exists on the dangers of artificial colors, there are some known risks with artificial flavors, like MSG (monosodium glutamate). MSG can even be listed as a natural flavor, as it goes by many other names including autolyzed yeast extract, disodium 5-inosinate, and soy protein isolate.

MSG has been connected with serious health issues including asthma, headaches, diarrhea, blurred vision and numbness.

Artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, are often added to foods to boost flavors. They’re most often found in diet sodas, but aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are also found in yogurts, cereals, and even in that artificially colored pickled ginger from the sushi restaurant.

Aspartame has been identified as the most common cause for food-related complaints to the FDA, and includes a list of severe reactions from tinnitus and headaches, to cancer and fertility issues.

Both artificial flavors and colors pose serious health risks. And they separate us from a true food experience. We’re essentially eating perfumes and lipsticks. And that’s not food. That’s more or less a fruity-flavored insanity.

We do our best to avoid these ingredients, hopefully. But still, we can’t help but wonder, now that you know where they’re hiding and what the risks are, which would you rather eat?

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: e3

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The post Would You Rather …Eat Artificial Colors or Artificial Flavors? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Hold the sprinkles? The American love affair with brightly colored foods may be risky business.

What’s wrong with the natural color of a pickled pepper? That’s what I’ve been wondering for at least a year, ever since I decided to avoid artificial food coloring whenever possible and found that jarred Greek peppers only come in FD&C Yellow #5. Willing to accept that perhaps my obsession with natural foods had careened straight past “eccentric hippie” into the territory of undiagnosed mental illness, I’ll be picking my own peck of pickled peppers this year. There’s good reason to do so: artificial food coloring is linked to a multitude of side effects.

They’re linked to allergies, cancer and other heath problems in children and adults.

In the U.S., there are seven FDA-approved, mostly petroleum-derived food dyes currently in use: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Red 3, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. The three most widely-used colors – Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 – contain known carcinogens, and the FDA has admitted that Red 3 is a carcinogen as well.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, studies have found that Blue 2, which is made of coal tar, causes brain cancer in male rats, while Red 3 gave lab rats thyroid tumors. Yellow 5 can not only cause allergy-like hypersensitivity reactions, but can also be contaminated with cancer-causing substances. Yellow 6 has been implicated in tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.

They’re in almost all processed foods – and even some fresh whole foods.

It’s not just the neon cereals, candies, sprinkles and juices that have been enhanced with artificial dyes. Bagels, waffles, tomato juice, crackers, salad dressing, cheese, yogurt and those pickled peppers are among the many packaged foods that contain food coloring. In fact, the blueberries in Aunt Jemima Blueberry Waffles are just bits of food coloring.

Fruit growers are allowed to dip oranges in a carcinogenic red food dye to make them more appealing. That dye is no longer allowed as an additive in foods, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers its use for peel enhancement acceptable.

Food dyes are used to exploit our natural instincts linking color to freshness, and to entice kids to eat junk.

The food industry uses dyes to manipulate us into believing that the food we’re eating is healthier than it is. We’re drawn to the brightest red apples, the most verdant salad greens and the darkest purple berries because we’re biologically wired to recognize foods that are brimming with nutrients. Conventional produce grown in nutrient-starved soil may be lacking in the color department.

They also know that kids, who are attracted by bright colors from an early age, are far more likely to pick Fruity Pebbles over beige, naturally-colored and -flavored cereals.

Dyes are linked to hyperactivity in children.

After meeting on March 30th and 31st this year to mull warning labels on foods that contain artificial colors, the FDA decided there’s not enough evidence linking them to hyperactivity in kids (by a margin of 8 to 6). “If we put a label that long on every chemical and ingredient that hasn’t been adequately studied . . . you wouldn’t see the package anymore,” argued Tim Jones, Tennessee’s deputy state epidemiologist and a member of the FDA panel.

But two recent studies sponsored by the British government, which looked not just at children who have already been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but at a wide sample of children in the general population, found that kids given foods that contain artificial dyes do indeed show a measurable increase in hyperactivity.

Dyes are discouraged in Britain, and require a warning label in most of the European Union.

The British Food Standards Agency advises parents to avoid artificially colored foods, while the European Food Safety Agency warns consumers right on the package that artificial colors may have adverse health effects. In fact, the EU is mulling an all-out ban.

Kraft, Coca-Cola and Walmart have already removed artificial dyes from the products they distribute overseas, but not in America. For example, while Nutri-Grain bars sold in American contain Red 40, Yellow 6 and Blue 1, those sold in the UK contain beetroot red, annato and paprika instead.

Natural dyes aren’t totally off the hook, either.

A natural red dye that is listed on labels as cochineal, carmine or carminic acid has a bit of a squick factor simply because it’s made from bugs. It takes 70,000 cochineal insects to make just a pound of this red dye, which is used in everything from strawberry milkshakes to cosmetics. The substance can cause severe allergic reactions, as can natural dyes annatto and saffron. (It’s worth noting that even the most natural substance can produce allergic reactions in very small percentages of the population, so that’s not necessary a reason to avoid them entirely.)

Safe, natural alternatives exist.

Colorful food is undoubtedly fun. We don’t have to give up pretty colors in foods in order to avoid potential health effects. In fact, many natural sources of food coloring have properties that have the opposite effects on our bodies – like turmeric, a vivid yellow herb that helps protect against cancer. Try matcha green tea powder for green, beet juice or any number of berries for beautiful reds and purples, cocoa powder for brown and red cabbage for blue.

Image: Pink Sherbet Photography

The post The Facts About Food Dyes appeared first on EcoSalon.

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1. Oats. Ever tried to squash a groat? It’s an eye-opener into the effort required to roll an oat flat (above left). But that’s not all: the average rolled oat has also been steamed and lightly toasted. If you’re going for the steel-cut variety (above right), you’ll skip the rolling and enjoy extra bran in your diet, but they’re still steamed and then dried to keep them fresh.

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2. Dried Pasta. Flour and eggs, mixed and squeezed into a variety of shapes. Sounds a simple process…until you look past the pasta and at the flour it’s made of. Industrial flour-making? Next time you have a few days spare, have a look at all the processing involved, especially when preservatives enter the mix.

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3. Ice Cream. Ever fought to run your scoop through a tub of ice-cream fresh from the freezer? If the answer is “I only buy the soft stuff”, you’ll have stabilizers to thank. These compounds (usually polysaccharide gums) stop ice cream hardening and also separating into gritty ice-crystals. And let’s not forget emulsifiers, there to make your ice-cream smooth and whippy.

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4. Olive oil. The first sight of an untreated, unprocessed olive can be a shock. This tiny green bullet is an olive? Imagine the energy expended in grinding it into paste, spread out and pressed until the oil squeezes out – at which point this oil is further processed to get the excess water out. (You’re allowed to feel a new respect for ancient farmers here).

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5. Tofu. Take a handful of soya beans, compress them – get tofu? Sadly no. You need to coagulate soy milk, and that requires coagulants – gypsum, calcium chloride, or a host of other chemicals used in the process. Then comes the straining and pressing. Lots and lots of it. The firmer the raw tofu, the more processing it’s had.

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6. Low Fat or No-fat Milk. In the old days, making low fat milk was as straightforward as skimming of the top layer to remove the cream, leaving the rest of the mix fat-depleted – but now they use centrifugal separators. Those health benefits come with an energy cost. Oh, and since no-fat milk feels watery in the mouth, dairies pop a little of the milk solids back in at the end. Yes, the cream.

7. Corn tortillas. Corn? Flour – and all the processing and additives that entails. Unless you aim for a masa that was made from maiz blanco (field corn) – and even then it can be a lengthy process to go from masa to tortilla.

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8. Cheese. What a marvel cheese is. Leave milk until it forms curds and whey, add a lactic starter and watch as it lumps together into cheesy goodness. Well – kinda. That’s cottage cheese, the simplest form. Commercial cheesemaking requires all sorts of enzyme coagulants, bacteria (eg. penicillin for “blue” cheese), washing, pressing, ripening, and all those special ingredients that make each cheese distinct. There’s an awful lot to it all.

9. Bread. Domestic breadmaking is deliciously good fun, making your entire house smell like your local bakery and providing you with bread that tastes like bread. Go on, you know you want to. But if you insist on the commercial variety, know that the processes involves are many. “Quick breads” (those cheaper loaves at the supermarket) are chemically hurried along the leavening cycle, while yeast breads can still be stuffed with bread improvers.

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10. Herbal Teas. Alas that our modern tastes demand that commercially-produced herbal teas – by their very nature bitter (but invigorating) brews – need a little adjustment before they hits our palates. Artificial flavors ahoy. Check the label carefully!

Images: little blue hen, FotoosVanRobin, St0rmz, Taras Kalapun, avlkyz, R’eyes, lucianvenutian, Karl Palutke, Emily Carlin, blgrssby

The post 10 Foods You Didn’t Know Were Processed appeared first on EcoSalon.

In the wake of Unprocessed October, you may have developed a taste for more simply-prepared fare. Problem is, you can’t trust your senses. Think that rolled oats are as untouched as food gets? Think again – and check out the rest of this list of 10 surprisingly processed foods!

1. Oats. Ever tried to squash a groat? It’s an eye-opener into the effort required to roll an oat flat (above left). But that’s not all: the average rolled oat has also been steamed and lightly toasted. If you’re going for the steel-cut variety (above right), you’ll skip the rolling and enjoy extra bran in your diet, but they’re still steamed and then dried to keep them fresh.

2. Dried Pasta. Flour and eggs, mixed and squeezed into a variety of shapes. Sounds a simple process…until you look past the pasta and at the flour it’s made of. Industrial flour-making? Next time you have a few days spare, have a look at all the processing involved, especially when preservatives enter the mix.

3. Ice Cream. Ever fought to run your scoop through a tub of ice-cream fresh from the freezer? If the answer is “I only buy the soft stuff”, you’ll have stabilizers to thank. These compounds (usually polysaccharide gums) stop ice cream hardening and also separating into gritty ice-crystals. And let’s not forget emulsifiers, there to make your ice-cream smooth and whippy.

4. Olive oil. The first sight of an untreated, unprocessed olive can be a shock. This tiny green bullet is an olive? Imagine the energy expended in grinding it into paste, spread out and pressed until the oil squeezes out – at which point this oil is further processed to get the excess water out. (You’re allowed to feel a new respect for ancient farmers here).

5. Tofu. Take a handful of soya beans, compress them – get tofu? Sadly no. You need to coagulate soy milk, and that requires coagulants – gypsum, calcium chloride, or a host of other chemicals used in the process. Then comes the straining and pressing. Lots and lots of it. The firmer the raw tofu, the more processing it’s had.

6. Low Fat or No-fat Milk. In the old days, making low fat milk was as straightforward as skimming of the top layer to remove the cream, leaving the rest of the mix fat-depleted – but now they use centrifugal separators. Those health benefits come with an energy cost. Oh, and since no-fat milk feels watery in the mouth, dairies pop a little of the milk solids back in at the end. Yes, the cream.

7. Corn tortillas. Corn? Flour – and all the processing and additives that entails. Unless you aim for a masa that was made from maiz blanco (field corn) – and even then it can be a lengthy process to go from masa to tortilla.

8. Cheese. What a marvel cheese is. Leave milk until it forms curds and whey, add a lactic starter and watch as it lumps together into cheesy goodness. Well – kinda. That’s cottage cheese, the simplest form. Commercial cheesemaking requires all sorts of enzyme coagulants, bacteria (eg. penicillin for “blue” cheese), washing, pressing, ripening, and all those special ingredients that make each cheese distinct. There’s an awful lot to it all.

9. Bread. Domestic breadmaking is deliciously good fun, making your entire house smell like your local bakery and providing you with bread that tastes like bread. Go on, you know you want to. But if you insist on the commercial variety, know that the processes involves are many. “Quick breads” (those cheaper loaves at the supermarket) are chemically hurried along the leavening cycle, while yeast breads can still be stuffed with bread improvers.

10. Herbal Teas. Alas that our modern tastes demand that commercially-produced herbal teas – by their very nature bitter (but invigorating) brews – need a little adjustment before they hits our palates. Artificial flavors ahoy. Check the label carefully!

Images: little blue hen, FotoosVanRobin, St0rmz, Taras Kalapun, avlkyz, R’eyes, lucianvenutian, Karl Palutke, Emily Carlin, blgrssby

The post 10 Foods You Didn’t Know Were Processed appeared first on EcoSalon.

Every month it seems that there’s a different blog-driven food challenge. This month, it’s Unprocessed October. Just like the challenge of defining local for September’s Eat Local Challenge, one of the challenges (besides restricting your diet) is defining unprocessed.

Whole, single ingredient foods like fresh fruits and vegetables are obviously unprocessed. Eggs are a pretty clear-cut unprocessed food. As are meats that haven’t been smoked or cured in any way. The tomatoes in the photo above – though technically “processed” to can them safely – would be unprocessed in my book, because they are sold by a vendor I know, at a reputable farmers’ market, and don’t contain anything but whole ingredients. (Extra points if you canned your own tomatoes!) But once you venture outside of those parameters, it gets a little trickier to define “processed food.”

For example, what about grains and flour? Are steel cut oats processed? What about rolled oats? Probably not, because the outer hull is removed. Let’s say you decide that flour is unprocessed as long as it’s ground from whole grains, and butter is okay because you could certainly make it at home with fresh cream”¦

So you set out to make a fabulous dessert with fresh fruit, flour, butter, and eggs. But if you put sugar in it, you’re on shakier ground because both white and brown sugar are highly processed and sometimes bleached with chemicals. You might decide to use honey, or maple syrup, or even turbinado sugar, but for some people those foods might be considered processed.

As another example, what about dairy products? Is pasteurization considered processing? What if you remove some of their fat? Or take those dairy products and make them into cheese, or yogurt?

And what about the other stuff in the bulk bins at the supermarket besides the whole grains? Dried fruit, for instance. Or trail mix? Depends on what’s in it. If dried fruit has sulfur added to it to keep it soft and brightly colored, you might want to take a pass, while unsulphured fruit might be ok.

The trouble with defining processing is that humans have been processing foods forever. Originally, the purpose of processing was to enhance the food’s flavor, nutrition, longevity, or all three. Long ago humans figured out how to turn milk into cheese and other dairy products, grind whole grains into flour, or ferment them to make alcoholic beverages, preserve vegetables through pickling or fermentation, and smoke or dry meats to make them last until the next hunt.

But modern, industrial processing of food is a different story. This type of processing may be done to enhance shelf life but rarely does it enhance the actual food or its health-giving properties. (Don’t get me started on so-called “functional foods.”) It’s these modern processed foods we want to stay away from during Unprocessed October.

But even with those seemingly whole foods, there’s some gray area. For example, would you consider an energy bar processed? It depends on the method and ingredients. One helpful blog resource, Gastronicity, written by Nishanga Bliss L.A.c. says that a Clif Bar would definitely be processed while an 18 Rabbits Granola bar would not, due to its short list of real ingredients. Andrew Wilder’s blog, Eating Rules (where Unprocessed October originated) holds every food up to the DIY test before making the call.

According to Eating Rules, if the food is something you could conceivably make at home, even if it requires specialized equipment, it’s okay. Therefore cheese is fine, beer is all right, cooking oils, and even distilled alcoholic beverages get a passing grade. Likewise coffee and chocolate. These are eating rules I could live with.

But the Eating Rules blog also cautions readers to check labels. If the chocolate has emulsifiers, consider it processed. If the grains are refined, better skip them. There are a number of other cautionary ingredients. Yogurt is another good example. Yogurt at its simplest is easy to make at home by simply heating milk, adding some starter yogurt and then keeping the mixture at the proper temperature until it cultures and thickens. But store-bought yogurt can contain high fructose corn syrup and other added ingredients that would certainly make it processed. Nishanga Bliss of Gastronicity told me that Yoplait lemon yogurt has more sugar and more ingredients than Häagen Dazs chocolate ice cream. Read the labels!

I can’t decide for you what to consider processed or not, but for my own unprocessed October pantry, I’d say that if the food product specialized mechanical equipment or a temperature controlled room, it’s processed.

If you want to participate in Unprocessed October, don’t worry that we’re well into the month. Start with a week and extend your month into November if you’re having too much fun to stop!

There is a sea of packaged foods on a typical grocer’s shelf that you can tell at a glance are processed, but here’s a list of 10 foods to watch out for that you might normally consider whole, healthy foods.

1. Almost any type of commercial cereal, including rolled oats – because they are not made from whole grains, and are produced through a laborious process requiring special rollers and driers

2. Dried Pasta – unless you know the flour used to make it was made with whole grains

3. Ice Cream – commercial brands contain undisclosed stabilizers to keep it soft in your freezer

4. Olive oil and nut oils – laborious process for a home cook, so use butter or home-rendered lard

5. Tofu – unless you make it at home using whole organic soybeans and not commercial soy milk

6. Low Fat or Non fat dairy products – usually have processed milk solids added back into them to preserve mouth feel

7. Corn tortillas – unless you know that they were made from masa that was prepared from field corn, and don’t contain additives to keep them soft. (Store bought flour tortillas are definitely out.)

8. Many commercial cheeses and yogurts – check the labels for unfamiliar ingredients

9. Almost any commercial bread – yup! Even the ones that say “whole wheat” Read the labels!

10. Herbal Teas – some brands (even natural ones) add artificial flavors

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Vanessa Barrington

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