Life without… as many processed foods

Earlier this year I kind of did a few posts about what it’s like to live without some basic things I used to take for granted. Off theshelf soda, store bought rolls, a microwave…

Another thing we (hubby & I) have been living without is an over-abundance of processed foods & ready-made stuff. You know... things like Hamburger (or any of the others) Helper, frozen meals, frozen hash browns, snack cakes, etc.

Not all that many years ago, we used to buy Hamburger Helper on a regular basis. It was cheap & made a decent tasting meal for two. It was among the first things to go when we began reading labels. Wow, what a list that crap had! Several varieties even had the dreaded HFCS, although I have no idea why. All of them have MSG. And lots of other questionable ingredients.

homemade Sweet & Sour shrimp dish

It’s actually been kinda fun making our own homemade versions. And for the amounts you get, it really is cheaper this way. One of the best things was learning that I could make my own sweet & sour sauce! Yes! For real! And, it tastes way better than anything out of a store bottle or jar or packet.

Oh, another BIG thing we used to buy was frozen hash brown potatoes. Or frozen O’Brian potatoes. Another thing that changed when we looked at the label. All that stuff, just to make it last on the shelf.

So, one weekend morning, we took a couple real potatoes & shredded them. Put a little oil in the pan, added the potatoes, a little no salt seasoning & paprika, plop the lid on & cook. Amazing. All it took was once. We have never bought frozen potatoes again. 

Another fun thing we tried (& I need to try a few more recipes for) was from scratch cinnamon rolls. They didn’t come out prefect, but we knew (& could pronounce) what every ingredient in them was!

I just wanted you to see that its not incredibly hard to eat better… It’s fun & pretty easy.