More and more people want to eat more consciously and are choosing fresh, simple ingredients more often. You may have come across the term clean eating. The idea sounds simple: fewer highly processed products and more cooking with ingredients you recognize.
But what does unprocessed eating actually mean? Do you have to make everything yourself from now on? And is processed food automatically unhealthy? Fortunately, it’s much more nuanced. Unprocessed eating doesn’t have to mean you have to completely clear out your pantry. It’s mainly about returning more often to the basics.
And precisely when you cook with simple ingredients, herbs and spices become interesting. Because eating simply certainly doesn’t have to be boring.
What is unprocessed eating?
Unprocessed foods are products that have remained as close as possible to their original form. Think of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat and whole grains.
In addition, there are many minimally processed foods. These have, for example, been washed, cut, dried, frozen, ground or cooked, without fundamentally changing the original product.
A bag of frozen vegetables is processed because the vegetables have been cut and frozen. Oatmeal is made by processing oats. Dried herbs are picked and dried. Yet these products fit perfectly within an eating pattern where you mainly want to cook with simple ingredients.
Is processed food unhealthy?
No. That distinction is important.
Almost all food is processed in some way before it ends up on our plate. Olive oil is pressed, coffee beans are roasted, milk is pasteurized and tomatoes can be cooked and canned.
Processing in itself therefore says little about how nutritious a product is.
What often receives more attention are ultra-processed foods. These are generally products that are industrially assembled from multiple ingredients and often contain substances you rarely or never use at home.
But even here it doesn’t have to be black-and-white. You don’t need to ban every processed product from your kitchen to eat more consciously.
What does clean eating have to do with unprocessed eating?
Clean eating is not an officially defined dietary pattern. Its meaning therefore varies a lot, depending on who you ask.
Usually it means that you mainly choose fresh, minimally processed foods and eat fewer highly processed products.
The word clean can, however, give the impression that some foods are ‘clean’ and others ‘dirty’ or ‘bad’. Nutrition doesn’t work that simply.
That’s why we prefer to talk about eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods. That describes what you do, without immediately dividing foods into right or wrong.
Why choose more unprocessed food?
Those who cook more often with simple ingredients largely determine for themselves what goes into a meal.
Vegetables, fruit, whole grains and legumes, for example, make it easier to eat more fiber. Eggs, fish, meat, dairy, tofu and legumes can provide protein. Herbs and spices add flavor without you automatically having to reach for a ready-made sauce or meal.
That may be the biggest advantage: you build a meal yourself.
And that doesn’t have to be complicated at all.
Even when you are more conscious about what you eat, for example because you use GLP-1 medication, simple and nutritious ingredients can form a good basis for your meals. In our blog about [GLP-1 and Nutrition] you can read more about the role that, among other things, proteins, fiber and flavor can play and how to keep meals interesting when you eat smaller portions.
The challenge of unprocessed eating: how do you give it flavor?
A courgette is a courgette. A can of chickpeas remains a can of chickpeas. And a piece of chicken breast doesn’t automatically become an exciting evening meal.
Those who cook more often with simple ingredients therefore have to add flavor themselves.
And this is exactly where herbs and spices are incredibly useful.
With cumin, coriander, paprika powder and chili you can, for example, give vegetables or beans a completely different character. With garlic, oregano and basil you head toward the Mediterranean cuisine. Turmeric, cumin, coriander and ginger bring yet other flavors.
So you don’t necessarily need a long ingredient list to eat well. A few well-chosen flavorings can completely transform a simple base.
Simple ingredients, different cuisines
Take a dish of roasted vegetables. With olive oil and Mediterranean herbs you get a completely different dish than when you prepare the same vegetables with Ras el Hanout.
The same goes for chickpeas. You can roast them until crispy with smoked paprika, use them in a curry, or combine them with cumin, lemon and fresh herbs in a salad.
Even a simple combination of rice, vegetables and chicken or tofu can taste different each time. One evening you choose Tandoori, the next time a Mexican spice mix and after that Asian flavors.
That’s what makes cooking with simple ingredients interesting: the base can stay the same, while the flavor keeps changing.
Unprocessed eating without spending hours in the kitchen
A common idea is that unprocessed eating automatically means you have to cook elaborate meals every day.
That’s not the case. Frozen vegetables are, for example, incredibly practical. The same goes for canned or jarred legumes, whole grain couscous, eggs, yogurt and pre-cut vegetables.
Combine a few of those ingredients and you quickly have a meal.
Think of chickpeas, tomato, cucumber and yogurt with herbs. Or roasted vegetables with potatoes and a spiced piece of chicken or tofu. Even an omelet with vegetables and herbs can be a quick meal when you have little time.
The goal doesn’t have to be to make everything from scratch. It’s mainly about increasingly deciding for yourself how your meal is put together.
Start small: you don’t have to change everything at once
Want to eat more unprocessed foods? Don’t make it unnecessarily difficult for yourself.
Start, for example, with one meal you eat regularly. Then look at which components you can easily put together yourself.
Do you normally use a ready-made pasta sauce? Try tomatoes, onion, garlic and Italian herbs. Do you often buy a ready-made lunch? Make a bowl with grains, vegetables, legumes and a simple dressing.
You don’t have to strive for perfection. A dietary pattern is determined by what you eat over a longer period of time, not by one jar of sauce or a quick meal on a busy Tuesday evening.
Cooking with herbs without added salt and sugar
When you cook yourself, you can also more consciously decide how much salt and sugar you add to a dish.
Herbs and spices play an important role in that. Paprika powder gives warmth and depth, cumin provides an earthy taste, chili brings heat and herbs like oregano, thyme and rosemary provide aroma.
Also a good spice mix can make it easy to quickly choose a particular flavor direction.
At Natural Spices you will therefore find, among other things, World mixes without added salt and sugar. With these you can easily give dishes a Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern or other international flavor, while you decide if and how much salt you ultimately add.
This makes cooking with simple ingredients not only easier, but above all much tastier.
Unprocessed eating is not about perfection
Perhaps that is ultimately the most important message.
Unprocessed eating does not have to be a strict diet. You don’t have to be afraid of an ingredient list and you don’t have to judge every food in the supermarket as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
See it rather as a practical way to cook more often yourself with recognizable ingredients.
More vegetables. More legumes. A good source of protein. Whole grain products where appropriate. And above all enough herbs and spices to make sure you’re looking forward to it again tomorrow.
Because healthy or conscious cooking only works in the long run if it’s simply enjoyable.
Frequently asked questions about unprocessed eating
1. What counts as unprocessed food?
Unprocessed foods include products that have hardly changed compared to their natural form, such as vegetables, fruit, eggs, nuts and legumes. Minimally processed products such as frozen vegetables, oatmeal and dried herbs can also fit well with this way of eating.
2. Is processed food always unhealthy?
No. Processing does not automatically mean that a food is unhealthy. Many products are, for example, dried, frozen, cooked, ground or pasteurized. It is therefore more meaningful to look at the food and the overall composition of your diet.
3. What is the difference between clean eating and unprocessed eating?
Clean eating is a broad term without an official definition. It usually means that someone mainly eats fresh and minimally processed products. Unprocessed eating is a more neutral description, because it does not classify foods as ‘clean’ and ‘not clean’.
4. Are herbs and spices processed food?
Dried herbs and spices are technically processed: they are, for example, dried, ground or cut. That does not automatically make them less suitable for a diet that mainly consists of unprocessed and minimally processed products.
5. How can I start eating more unprocessed foods?
Start small. Choose one meal you often eat and try to put it together more often from simple ingredients. Vegetables, whole grains, legumes or other protein sources form a good base. Then use herbs and spices to create different flavors.
