The 2012 October Unprocessed Challenge (Join Me!)

I’ve done it. I’ve finally decided to take the October Unprocessed 2012 challenge! I read about this last year and I love this idea, but for some reason I just wasn’t ready to commit to the challenge last year. This year I believe I am ready. Will you join me??

There are so many benefits to eating unprocessed foods – such as avoiding all of the unhealthy ingredients and preservatives that go into those processed products. My family usually eats very little processed food, but we do go out to eat periodically and we do buy store-bought bread and a couple of other things sometimes. For the most part, though, we try to eat unprocessed. This challenge will give us the motivation we need to avoid processed foods for an entire month.

I am excited to be taking this challenge as a family. I have been teaching my girls how to read product labels at the grocery stores, so I’m really looking forward to including them in our meal planning. This is an excellent opportunity to teach them why we eat the foods that we eat and why we don’t eat everything else. This is information that will hopefully stay with them as they grow into adults.

From Eating Rules: “My goal here isn’t “perfection” – it’s more to spark a dialogue, increasing awareness about how our food is made, what we’re putting into our bodies, and how we relate to our food”.

One of the main goals of this challenge is to get you aware of what you’re putting into your body. I believe that being in tune with your body – being mindful of what you’re consuming, how certain foods affect how you feel, etc. – is an important key to well being.

While I’m used to eating mostly unprocessed, I know that not 100% of everything I consume is unprocessed. So I’m a little nervous about being able to come up with a menu plan for every single meal of every single day. On the other hand, I’m excited about this challenge and I know that we can do this!

From Eating Rules: Maybe you’re not comfortable with my definition of “unprocessed.” That’s okay, too. Decide what it means to you and take the pledge on your terms.

You can find lots and lots of recipes and tips & tricks on the Eating Rules blog. You won’t be alone in this challenge – as I’m writing this, 894 people have taken the pledge! So spread the word and let’s get the ball rolling into a healthier month!

I encourage all of you to take this pledge. If an entire month seems like too long, challenge yourself for one week. Take baby steps if you need to, but you’ll be so glad that you did this…and your body will thank you!

Be sure to leave a comment on here, telling us that you have accepted the challenge! I will be posting recipes and meal plans, as well as periodic progress reports along the way. I’d love to hear from you, too!