Sprinkling lemon, lime, and orange juice on food offers bright and exciting notes of acidity. The sweetness and crunchiness of carrots, celery, and onions contribute a satisfying and refreshing note when added to a dish in raw and cooked forms. The juiciness and refined flavor of properly cooked salmon are reminiscent of the scent of an early morning walk on a beach or riverfront. These simple flavors create a harmonious and healthy composition of taste and nourishment for the body to be satisfied both in our taste buds and in the absorption of vital nutrients.
Fresh fruit, veggies, and lean meats have many features that add to a dish but share one trait, they each possess one ingredient. A carrot from the produce section has a carrot in it. A lemon plucked from a tree in the neighborhood is comprised of a lemon. It shouldn’t be any surprise that a filet of salmon is made up of one hundred percent salmon. When paired together, these foods have the potential to make a delicious and healthy meal.
Our grocery stores also have other items on the outskirts of the produce and fresh seafood and meat section. These are the foods that reside in boxes, packages, and bottles. The prepared food items in these boxes offer a similar eating experience to fresh fruit, vegetables, and proteins. For example, a pack of healthy cereal could possess delicate notes of crunchy texture, sweetness, and a perfect balance of seasoning that is efficiently composed by pouring it into a bowl and dousing it with milk. A protein bar offers a similarly satisfying experience when unwrapped, and a bite is taken out of the bar-formed vessel. A kaleidoscope of acids, salt, and sweetness courses throughout our palate as we masticate the bar. The convenience of a protein powder mixed into water for a quick meal consisting of strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate flavor is another popular option for immediate gratification to suffice the requirements of a healthy meal.
The difference between these packaged, premade foods to raw veggies, fruits, and lean protein is the number of ingredients in the boxed, bottled, and or ziplock-bagged foods. The ingredients on present the side of packaged foods possess a paragraph’s worth of small font describing the contents that make up the food inside the package. The elements within the food label can range from ten to fifty components, all in various compositions.
Some of these items are processed in sophisticated methods we can’t necessarily describe unless we are food researchers with a degree in organic chemistry. Additionally, some of these packaged foods contain processed and denatured carbohydrates to fill the capacity of the vessel carrying the food. Carbohydrates are beneficial for supplying energy to the body. However, when carbohydrates are cooked down, denatured, and then resynthesized into another form, the sugar content can become high enough to spike insulin levels at suboptimal periods throughout the day. Additionally, the digestive system may not recognize processed food as noticeable as a single-ingredient food in its raw state. This could lead to a diminished absorption rate of vitamins, water, and disease-preventing substances within each food.
Packaged foods offer convenience and a viable food acquisition method to the population. However, all the ingredients present within these premade foods can pose a challenge to individuals less experienced in identifying beneficial qualities in food. Reading the tiny font on the side of the package isn’t the first thing people think of when buying these foods. However, the ingredients in the raw form of veggies, fruits, nuts, and meats are simple to identify.
Creating meals from simple ingredients acquired from the produce section, meat counter, or a simple bag of raw unsalted nuts ensures the consumer they are eating exactly what they expect. Raw and simple ingredients are easily absorbed throughout the digestive system. This means the water and nutrients in single-ingredient foods are synthesized more efficiently throughout the body and delivered to the organs to extract the beneficial properties within the food we consume on a daily basis. Focusing on simple ingredients has the potential to keep us on a healthy track to efficiently manage our weight, heal the body, and fend off disease.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
