Processed Food Meals vs Real Food Meal – How Do They Add Up?

Ever wondered what the big deal is with eating from a package? Ever wonder why I talk about this so much? Does it really matter? What difference does it make nutritionally? That is what I want to show you today!

One of the toughest things for people to do when it comes to changing food habits is letting go of convenience foods, and packaged/processed foods. They have become EASY ways to “eat” and feel comforting to some people because most people today have been RAISED on processed food. It makes them think of childhood and home, however, it’s the NUMBER ONE THING causing their health problems and imbalances at this point in their life (and even for some their CHILDREN’S lives).

What’s the difference? 

There is a HUGE difference in nutrient values from processed meals to whole food meals. This is where people are BLOWN away at the difference. It’s about empty values, lack of nutrients and stripping of foods to put them in a package (in addition to additives and other harmful substances) that causes the problems. The best way to SEE this is by taking a look.

This method and meals is what I do in 1:1 with you to guide you to NEW substitute foods for your favorite classics. Let’s take a look at a few and see how they stack up.

This profile is my own. I am 5’3” and I weigh 130 pounds, and I am 41 years old, and had a child 11 years ago. My background is important (as is yours when we are in this together). I have lupus (since age 15 diagnosed at 21), so I had A LOT of inflammation and took a LOT of meds previous in life back then. In addition, I work out 5 days a week from 30-45 minutes each of those days in a rotation of cardio and weight training. I am dedicated to this and have been for many years now in this pattern with weight lifting. I have plugged in a nutrient ratio for myself of around 40-50% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat as a target as that is what I determined worked best for me and my body and controlling lupus naturally. The nutrient values you see displayed for amounts are based on all these details in my program. So let’s start.

How about this typical meal that so many people enjoy – Spaghetti and meatballs.

As you will see here there are more GREEN and fully filled nutrient values – especially when it comes to protein, and healthy fats, (those are), and other really important digestive nutrients (B12 and A). Sure a few other values are lower, but they are values we would like to see lower. Like CARBS. Carb levels (when too high not balanced with protein and healthy fat, lead to blood sugar regulation issues. So what you see in the typical spaghetti and meatballs is HIGH carbs, low proteins and low fats. This will create a sugar spike. The difference is the second meal has more fat, more protein and lesser carb creating more balance. This one isn’t as stark as a few others. So let’s see. 

Alternative meal – meatballs made from scratch. A cream sauce – homemade. A side salad with mixed greens, olives, cheese and dressing, and wild rice.

Kids Dinner – Noodles with Butter, a Trader Joe’s smoothie, and a Fruit and Veggie pouch

I see this VERY typically with MOST families and children. It’s fast, easy and requires no prep or cooking really.

This profile is a typical weight, 2 year old child.

This particular one shows just how nutrient deprived children get from eating out of packages vs. being provided whole foods. 

The alternative meal for the child is highlighted. It is a real smoothie made from coconut milk, and the fruits and veggies from the pouch but fresh, as well as some fish, carrots, peas, brown rice, some dressing. What a huge difference in that meal and the nutrients needed to have a healthy gut, a healthy immune system, balanced blood sugar and more!

Now one more meal – let’s look at BREAKFAST!

First off, many people skip this all together and in most cases this isn’t the best benefit scenario. It’s not the right type of fasting, and isn’t right for them as individuals at all. Back to the adult profile.

Breakfast: Freezer waffles, with syrup, coffee, muffin, no fat yogurt with blueberries

So this scenario looks like a quick waffle with syrup, a coffee with flavored creamer, yogurt and berries to be healthier, and then they grab a muffin at Dunkin Drive thru.

The alternative – 2 eggs, butter, spinach, seasonings, plain whole fat yogurt with a touch of maple, with nuts and seeds in the yogurt, and fresh berries and apple on the side.

Once again – what we see here is that the CARB level is ENORMOUS on the first meal (waffles). It shoots blood sugar way up – bringing you down for that crash craving more carbs and more coffee? Right? The second meal has far more healthy and balanced fat with protein, way more nutrients like iodine for example (needed for thyroid support). With lesser carbs, slightly more at and protein you feel fuller longer, have stable energy and NO MORE crashing out. 

WHY do people end up deficient? 

Convenience and not realizing that Whole Foods fill all the nutrient gaps we have. As you will see these are SINGLE snapshots in a day – when put together the picture looks different, and most of the time a lot more tweaking and variety is involved to make a day balanced. But this is done with my support and on YOUR INDIVIDUAL needs. Not everyone has the same needs nor the same nutrient gaps or strengths! 

Your body needs RAW MATERIALS to function – from digestion to immunity – and if you DO NOT HAVE THEM from your food, you will not be able to complete the function your body needs. 

Think like a house… if you are building a house you can’t start the structure without a foundation, just like you can’t finish and move in without the raw materials to finish the roof. If you only have 50% of the roofing materials you won’t seal up or cover your whole house. 

When we eat processed foods we are giving only that 50% of materials from that roof and in most cases FAR FAR LESS than that to our body, and then we expect it to function and do all the things it should like properly digest, have amazing immunity, never have chronic issues. But it literally CANNOT DO IT without those raw materials… and those come from whole food.

Need help figuring out what to eat for you? How about meal plans, cooking ideas, what is balanced for your body? Let’s do a consult.