Haagen Das Is a Processed Food

As I was thinking about my non-negotiables going forward, things l am putting below the line and will not put in my body any more, I came up with three things that I just can't see myself eating again. Soda. Artificial sweeteners. Processed foods. 

I was under a bit of pressure to come up with something quickly. I'd frozen the first time we did the exercise and was determined to make a declaration the second. There had to be something, after all this time, that I can confidently say I will no longer eat. 

I may be refining the list a little. Or adding to it. 

Soda still feels right to me. To put it on the list, that is. When I want it, it's more emotional than anything else. Dr. Pepper tastes like my teen years and Coke or Pepsi taste like my childhood. But it's clearly more poison than food. There is absolutely no nutritional value to it. I will say that a can of coke did help me out on a particularly long paddle when I was exhausted and needed a quick burst of energy to finish. It was there in a pinch. It could be that a tablespoon of raw honey would do the same thing and not be so damaging to the body.  

Artificial sweeteners are a no brainer. There are no redeeming qualities to them. They are a non-food additive that simply gets stored because the body doesn't know what to do with them. They likely do some damage before they're stored. 

Processed foods. I needed to rethink this one.

I came up with a refinement. Low-quality processed foods. 

The hummus I use with the simple, clean ingredients is processed. Lightly processed, but processed. The salsa verde I buy at the farmers market is also processed. Clean, but processed. The Saratoga Water and other bottled mineral waters I love are processed. Pretty much anything you get out of its whole state is processed. Coconut milk. Someone else takes it out of the coconut. Tuna, chicken, beef, lamb, pork, seafood. Someone processes it so I don't have to.

The awareness came to me shortly after I made my declaration. I thought about my beloved chocolate Haagen Das. Processed. I'll have to look at the label again, but I think the ingredients are pretty good. Except . . . 

Except for the conventional dairy. Except for the refined sugar. Except for the processed cocoa, or however they deliver the chocolate in chocolate Haagen Das. 

So, yes, even with its higher-end cost, chocolate Haagen Das is a low-quality processed food.

I was talking with a friend yesterday who mentioned that she doesn't worry about ice cream because she lives in an area with good creameries. And yet . . .

And yet, is the milk produced conventionally? Is there still refined sugar? Anything to help the ice cream stay fresh . . . preservatives? What kinds of other ingredients are in the ice cream?

I can't help but ask these questions, having spent the last three months intensively learning about our food supply and the general lack of regulation here compared with places like the UK and the EU. 

It's been so long since I've had chocolate Haagen Das, I don't think I'll miss it. If I do, I'll think about the emotional attachment. I can no longer just say, "Well, I like it." I'm probably thinking about this today because we're having a celebration after church. One of our members turns 95, and her family is hosting a fellowship time following the worship service. Cake and ice cream. 

The Green Wilderness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience.

Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.