Busy single females, process this: Nutrition facts

BY CARLYE WAXMAN RD | Young, busy single females of Chelsea — this message is for you.

Stop using the following excuses as to why you’re not making healthy dinners at home: “I’m too hungry, tired and/or busy to cook.” “I don’t know how to cook” — or my all-time favorite: “I really don’t want to keep giving the roaches and mice a reason to visit by keeping food in my apartment.”

Does this sound familiar?

I’ve heard all of these, and plenty of other, excuses. So the result is takeout, dining out or frozen dinners, which burns a hole in your pocket and can lead to weight gain, bloating and heart burn. This article focuses on what processed foods are, how to shop for better varieties of foods and tips on quick assembling at home.

We live in a world based on convenience. Grabbing dinner on the way home from your favorite restaurant is just “easier” than preparing something at home. It’s also more convenient to keep foods in the house that don’t take too long to prepare. Who has time to cook? Who has time to even think about what to cook?

We don’t have to cook ladies, we can assemble!

The problem with this lifestyle is that we end up eating mostly processed foods. A processed food is altered from its original state for either safety or convenience. Some, such as frozen vegetables, are okay (as is pasteurized milk — processed for safety, to decrease the amount of bacteria).

When processing is done to make food more convenient, it’s usually the addition of chemicals or salt to give food a longer shelf life, change the flavor or the products consistency. Examples of this are cold cuts, breads made with refined flour, cereals, frozen dinners, sauces, margarine and soda. Eating these foods post a severe risk to your health. Not only will it increase the risk of heart disease and cancer, but it also can keep you feeling hungry, make you gain weight, give you headaches and show premature signs of aging.

By eliminating the processed foods in your diet, you can reduce your hunger levels, lose weight, have fewer headaches and fatigue, look younger and decrease your risk of cancers and heart disease.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

These are forms of a processed food to identify and weed out of your diet. Some labels can be tricky, so read the ingredients before an item goes into your cart and onto your shelf!

Monosodium glutamate (MSG): This flavor enhancer can cause headaches, fatigue and dizziness. Examples: hydrolized or autolyzed anything, soy protein isolate, yeast extract and natural flavors.

Trans Fat: Fats altered to keep a longer shelf life. They can increase your cholesterol and lead to weight gain. Examples: partially hydrogenated corn, soybean, and cottonseed oils.

Artificial Sweeteners: Unknown long term effects. It may lead to cancer, dizziness and headaches. Examples include: aspartame, neotame, saccharin, sucralose and acesulfame potassium.

High fructose corn syrup: Altered from sugar, to make breads, cereals, sodas, tomato sauce and salad dressings taste sweeter. Though nutritionally the same as sugar, calorie for calorie, it’s highly processed and cheaper — so it’s found most convenience foods.

Sodium: High levels lead to bloating and water retention or high blood pressure. Most canned or frozen meals have sodium. Opt for no more than 2,000-4,000mg/day. The product should be less than 150-200mg/serving.

Refined flour: Refining strips away the fiber-rich bran and the germ, which contains valuable vitamins and minerals, so the product is generally “softer.” Examples include unbleached flour.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR ON LABELS

YOGURT

Watch out for: high fructose corn syrup or aspartame.

Choose: Fage, Chobani, Dannon plain natural yogurt.

CEREAL

Watch out for: high fructose corn syrup or natural flavors.

Choose: Barbaras Puffins, Natures Path Hemp Plus Granola.

FRUIT

Watch out for: canned, dried fruits with sulfites, high sodium levels, and high fructose corn syrup.

Choose: Frozen or fresh, any fruits will do as long as it doesn’t contain added syrups or sugar.

MEAT

Watch out for: Packaged cold cuts with high levels of sodium, natural flavors, MSG.

Choose: grilled chicken over sliced turkey.

BREAD

Watch out for: White breads, pita, rice, bagels and pasta with refined or bleached flours, high fructose corn syrup or natural flavors.

Choose: Whole grain breads with less than 4-5g of fiber per serving, whole wheat pita or brown rice.

FROZEN DINNERS

Watch out for: Frozen dinners with more than 600mg sodium per serving, MSG, natural flavors, high fructose corn syrup.

Choose: Dinners with less than 600mg sodium per serving (most meals are not processed).

VEGETABLES

Watch out for: Canned vegetables or frozen vegetables with sauces that have added high fructose corn syrup, natural flavors, greater than 200mg sodium per serving, MSG.

Choose: Fresh or frozen vegetables with no sauce (low sodium varieties).

YOUR PLAN FOR A PROCESSED FREE DAY

This one-day meal plan is easy to make. Most of the brands I suggest can be found at FreshDirect.com, Whole Foods or Trader Joes. They are all low in sodium and low on processing.

BREAKFAST: Strawberry Parfait

Layer the 5 ingredients in a large cup/bowl

1/2 cup of Hemp plus granola

1 6oz, Fage Greek yogurt

2 tsp honey

1/2 cup of thawed frozen strawberries

1/2 banana

LUNCH: Grilled Chicken Pita Sandwich

1 Damascus whole wheat pita

Spread with 1/2 mashed avocado with 1 tsp olive oil

4 oz of grilled chicken (faster alternative: 2 Hard boiled eggs chopped)

1 Roma tomato sliced