I’m excited to be participating in the October Unprocessed Challenge this year, hosted by Eating Rules. I invite all of my clients who are working on increasing fertility to join us, and of course steering clear of processed foods is also wise during pregnancy. Andrew over at Eating Rules encourages you to customize the challenge to make it realistic for your situation. If you don’t think an entire month of unprocessed eating is do-able, here are a few fertility-friendly alternatives to consider:
- Try taking the challenge – or a modified version – for one week, or even one weekend
- Avoid refined sugars, sticking primarily to honey & maple syrup
- Avoid refined grains, and enjoy your rice, quinoa, millet and other grains in their whole forms
- Avoid eating out, and practice expanding your repertoire in the kitchen
- Commit to using only fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables when cooking at home
- Shop only the “outer edge” of the supermarket, or exclusively at the farmer’s market
- Choose to eat only unprocessed snack foods
There are many ways to make this work, and you’ll be surprised how much you learn about your food choices when taking a challenge like this. If you need help getting started, please let me know.
My Goals for October Unprocessed 2012
As for our family, we’ll be going (mostly) unprocessed for the month with a few exceptions. My in-laws are in town for a long weekend, and we’ll be relaxing things a bit while they are here – and probably eating out a time or two; we will also be using the occasional ingredient that’s borderline “unprocessed.” Here’s what I’m planning to work on this year:
- Try making my own nut milks.
- Get better at meal planning and shopping/preparing ahead.
- Purchase dairy, eggs and meat at the farmer’s market for the most part.
- Avoid eating out (which is strongly related to #2!).
- Expand my recipe repertoire & try some new foods.
- Prepare and freeze several meals to enjoy after our baby arrives in December.
Week 1 Meal Plan
Our tentative meal plan for the first week of October includes links to most recipes. Many of these are old favorites in our house, and several are new recipes including Roasted Corn Chowder with Chicken, Lime and Cilantro, Honey Lemon Salmon with Roasted Vegetables over Baby Spinach, and Olive oil & Cacao granola. Note that some recipes may need minor modifications to follow the rules. Enjoy!
Camille’s Week 1 October Unprocessed Menu (pdf)
For even more ideas, here is another one-week meal plan designed by Aimee at SimpleBites.net for the October Unprocessed challenge!