Cooking Without Processed Food
Dee's Mighty Cookbook promotes an approach to eating that is free of processed foods. Author Dee McCaffrey heads up the Center for Processed Free Living - a non-profit group that recommends minimizing or eliminating processed foods from our diets.
I read through a copy of the Cookbook and even tried out a few recipes.
The small self-published small cookbook begins with the story of Dee McCaffrey's weight loss. It is a touching story that covers over 20 years (includes over a decade of maintaining her weight).
McCaffrey goes on to discuss a selection of ingredients such as Stevia, Flax seed oil, and oat bran. The book then launches into a collection of around 100 or so recipes.
McCaffrey's focus is holistic nutrition - not calories or macronutrients. .Each recipe in the book uses only whole foods and covers a range of items such as breakfasts, desserts, snacks, meat-based meals, vegetarian dishes, and snacks.
The Real Test
Instead of a small blurb about this book - we decided to actually try out a recipe or two. We chose to make "Dee's Mighty Muffins". It's ironic because just a few days ago I spat out something that I had brought from a coffee shop. It resembled a muffin - but it was actually a gelatinous gob of dough that they had the audacity to call a blueberry muffin. Yes -- we all have our vices...
Dee's muffins are made without vegetable oils or butter, sugar, or flour. As a sweetener raw unfiltered honey is used, along with Stevia.
As we were making these my wife commented "what are you going to write if these taste awful?". I replied that I would be as diplomatic as possible.
Fortunately for us all - these muffins were lovely - beautiful flavor and texture.
In fact this unassuming little cookbook has been one of the few review books that has not been immediately consigned to the bookcase.
If you have an interest in flour-less and sugarless living then go check it out.
Read More
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- 5 Proven Kitchen Hacks To Help You Eat Healthier (Diet Blog)
- Meet Greg, 155 Pounds Down! (DailySpark)
- Brad Pitt Gives His Kids Coke for Breakfast! (Diets in Review)
25 Comments
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Created / Updated: October 27, 2011
Interesting. This is an area I am very interested in, buying very few processed foods currently.
If no oil or butter is used, what is used for fat? Also, are dairy items, like butter and cheese considered processed? (I agree they are, but since raw dairy is so hard to come by, most include these foods when trying to avoid processed foods)
ReplyI'm not sure how flour qualifies as "processed," while oat bran doesn't. Oat bran might be better for you than flour, but it's no less processed.
ReplySemantics. Every oil we have is processed - whether it's flax, olive, or whatever.
The way I see it the phrase "processed food" is being used more and more to imply a level "refining". It really is quite ambiguous.
If you were truly aiming for no processed foods - you'd eat raw, you'd chew the oat seeds off of the grass, and you'd be using honeycomb rather than honey. You'd chew on the Stevia leaves etc etc...
ReplyI think it is modern industrial processing that we need to avoid.
For instance, 100 years ago people churned butter by hand or pressed olives between stones for oil. But now most oil is extracted by large scale industrial processes using high heat and dangerous solvents.
Any "processing" that can be done by hand is OK while any processing that requires a factory or a bunch of industrial machinery is not OK. That's probably the simplest way to look at it.
ReplyWhole olive, avocados, coconut, raw nuts and seeds, peanuts...
ReplyLooking at the woman's web site, I think her story is that she was really obese (there's a before picture on her blog at 210), she got pre-diabetes, and now she's boomeranged in the opposite direction from eating in excess to completely avoiding anything that will spike her insulin level.
Refined carbs don't cause diabetes; obesity does. And refined sugar doesn't make you any fatter than the same number of calories of any other carb or protein or fat.
Avoid extremes, don't get fat, lose weight if you're already fat, and there's no need to go on crazy diets that ban whole classes of food. Eat everything, but in moderation.
And Binko, don't know where you live, but in the U.S. food can't be sold if it contains "dangerous solvents." And what's the problem with "high heat"? Does it create carcinogens? Decrease good nutrients? Is there an epidemic of rickets and scurvy? Even the poor get adequate nutrition: the problem is eating too much food and getting fat.
ReplyI think that if you tried it instead of judging and assuming you might be surprised and less aggressive.... with I'm presuming your PHD or MD in nutrition, etc you can tell me the sources that you are using to make your claim. Just one last note.... you can be "thin" or not fat and still be unhealthy. Best wishes to you through your life
ReplyI find a lot of what you say to be naive and uneducated. Being thin does not make you healthy. You can be thin and still eat the foods that lead to cancer and heart disease. And what about the kids...they have problems earlier and earlier and it's because of the food they eat. Removing a whole class of food has given some cultures the benefit of eliminating heart disease and cancer. Do your research.
ReplyI like to refer to it as "over-processing". I mean, if you're buying ANY food item at a store, it's been processed to some extent. The key is to keep it as simple as possible. I buy natural peanut butter, for example, wherein the ingredients are "peanuts, salt". That's better than some nationally-recognized brands with a paragraph of ingredients, most of which are chemicals. This book sounds very interesting....always looking for some variety!
ReplyI agree with Anushka. I think post-Industrial Revolution processing is the biggest problem here, not stuff like oils and flours/meals that have been made for centuries. It is Little Debbie Cakes, not oatbran.
ReplyMark said,"Refined carbs don't cause diabetes; obesity does." (Sorry, the quote function doesn't seem to work on a Mac.)
Actually you can get Type 2 diabetes without being obese. My mother, who was one of those "lucky" people who never gained weight no matter what she ate, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 6 years ago. The doctors said her high GI, high fat diet was to blame.
ReplyThen how do you explain the 20% of Type II are normal weight at diagnosis?
ReplyAt first I was a little astounded at this post and thought 'is tinned and boxed and microwaved food SOOO dominant in the US that normal/real cooking with fresh foods has become so unknown???'
Is cooking with fresh ingredients such a novelty that a cookbook without listing a box of this or a tin of that in the recipes such a revolutionary idea?? Wow.
Addressing the processed food label: yes, there is a huge difference between white flour and ground oats. The former is practically empty of real nutrients and the later rather much retains its mineral and vitamin content and is far, far better for the blood sugar levels.
Any flour is 'processed' since centuries. But, as someone pointed out, it is the industrial type of processing that happens to foods that changes their nutritional value that is the problem. Good 'stuff' removed and artificals added...ugghh.
For me, anything that has a list of ingredients is the type of 'processed food' that I avoid. Even so called powdered coconut milk has milk solids and soy flour added. No thank you.
It's real butter, real cream and our good olive oil here in Spain that is NOT solvent extracted or not at all. And we are healthy and happy. But the convenience foods are quite prevalent throughout Europe as well as the related health problems.
Honest food is not a problem, such as real butter from organic sources. Thoughtless eating and gluttony is the problem that has to be honestly faced. Most people feed the tastebuds and fill the stomach as a priority over keeping an eye on what the body needs in a tasty way.
By the way, try sesame 'butter' as a rather neutral baking replacement rather than peanut butter. Or pureed prunes or pureed apples as a non fat replacement - excellent and moist products.
I wish the author great success with her little book!
ReplyI have been trying to take processed foods out. Got any other recipes to share? I'm hoping to find some healthy homemade breads, or muffins. Really anything great. I love tossing chickpeas in honey, cilantro, cinnamon and a dash of sea salt. Toast them in the oven, and you have a great snack! Better than popcorn!
ReplyI try and avoid processed pre-made type foods like canned soups, frozen meals, and anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. But I'm very comfortable using butter, oil, flour and those type of raw ingredients to make my own food.
I also avoid stuff that has a very high sodium content which leaves out most processed prepared foods anyway.
ReplyBut I'm not going to go to extremes and start using olives instead of olive oil and stuff like that.
Exactly, Melsky. I already make my own peanut butter, I'm not gonna start pressing my own olive oil... That is where I cross the line.
ReplyI have that book. or rather, my mom has a copy of that book. The banana bread recipe is something we make ALL THE TIME. I like the recipes i just dont think that she goes into the reasoning why you should avoid certain foods very well. I think it was poorly written, but the recipes are ace. :-)
ReplyJan - you make your own peanut butter? That's just cool!
Reply