I was just reading an interesting post in Runners World where some runner is trying the "No Processed food in November". It is baffling for lot of people to even think how it is possible. For people like me coming from a culture where every single meal is prepared from scratch, its is not that tough to comprehend. It could be very time consuming, but certainly doable.
I am not into 100% unprocessed food. But try my level best to eat the product close to its natural state. I don’t eat any boxed, canned or frozen food, no boxed cereal, no breads, no deli meat, no sports bar or drink. These rules don't hold good when we go out as a family to eat out which is like once a week. Also, when we are on long road trips, we eat out in Subways or whatever is convenient. Other than that, I cook all 3 meals at home. I buy the organic rolled oats in loose from whole foods, cook my oatmeal and add a banana and honey to it. For lunch, its organic brown rice with lentils and veggies (sambar or kootu). For dinner, I make steamed rice cakes(idly) or brown rice crepes(dosa) or lentil pancakes(adai). I have never bought frozen or canned veggies or beans. I buy the dried beans/lentils, soak them overnight and prepare my own lentil curries. To make the rice cakes, I soak up raw rice and lentils, grind them and let it ferment (no yeast added) by leaving it out on the kitchen counter for about 12 hours. I can use this batter to make rice crepes or steam it in a special utensil to make the rice cakes. For the crepes and pancake, I soak up the lentils, grind them and prepare pan cakes. I do eat chicken, fish and lot of eggs. I buy the meat/poultry/fish raw, add some spices and cook it with onion and tomatoes.
During my long runs (anywhere from 10 miles to 20 miles), I take a lot of fruits with me – dates, bananas, fresh grapes, cut up cantaloupe or honey dew melon etc., take a short break every 5 miles, eat a fruit with some salt added to it and drink water. I use the GU only during the actual half marathon or full marathon race day.
I am not taking any special effort to go for unprocessed food. It just so happens that the country and culture I come from, people still cook their meals from scratch each and every day. So, I am still following the same process. Since the food is cooked by me from scratch, I know what is going inside and I feel very good.
