Do you know the difference between whole-foods,
and those that aren’t?
Whole-foods vs Not Whole-foods
The majority of calories in the North American diet come from refined and highly processed foods that are loaded with sodium, sugar and fat. Shifting the majority of your calories to whole- foods is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. So what exactly are “whole-foods”?
We could use the term “natural” to describe “whole-foods” but food manufacturers who use “natural” to advertise products that are anything- but-whole-food have adulterated it so that there is no longer any credibility in the term “natural.” Another important misconception is that whole- foods are always organic, but they are not necessarily so, nor are organic foods necessarily whole. For example, organic refined flour, although free of pesticides, is still refined flour with barely any of the original nutrients that the whole grain provided.
“Whole-foods” seems the best term to describe those foods that have been left as close to their natural “wholesome” state as possible. While some foods require a small amount of processing to make them edible for human consumption (ie. peeling a pineapple, or adding a culture of probiotic to make yogurt), a general definition of a whole food could be:
– Nothing has been taken away (unfragmented, unaltered, unrefined, unprocessed)
– Nothing denatured has been added (contain no artificial ingredients and no added preservatives).
Whole-foods also help to reduce environmental impact especially if they are locally grown. Purchasing whole-foods with nature’s compost- able packaging instead of man-made packaging sends less waste to landfills. Purchasing seasonal, local foods reduces shipping and fossil fuels.
Victoria Laine’s Whole-food Nutrition Kitchen Recipes:
The recipes on this website utilize whole-food ingredients. They are free of isolates (an individual part of a whole-food, for example, soy protein isolate, refined sugar, or protein powder) and are either free of, or use only a minimal amount of sweeteners and oils, including coconut oil.
Get Victoria’s whole-food recipes here!
