Evolution of a Lunch (or Lunch Update)

Currently, my weekly lunches alternate between a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a turkey sandwich, an apple, a couple big carrots, and maybe some no salt tortilla chips.

One thing I've noticed, and, we've all probably heard before, is how much more work it is to chew an apple with the skin and raw carrots than it is a bag of chips or French fries.  I mean I can fill a full ziplock bag with a couple carrots, eat it for 10 minutes, when it seems like I could eat the same volume of potato chips in a couple of minutes.

This really drove home the idea that this convenience food is practically "prechewed" for us, and the result is eating more high calorie low nutrient foods.

So basically, I need to focus on eating more raw fruits and vegetables high in fiber content if o want to be all that I can be.

Here is an article and an excerpt from it on this subject:

 Food manufacturers are always searching for the perfect “mouthfeel,” which is why fat is so prevalent in processed food. Fat not only bestows crunch, creaminess and contrast, but it also blends flavors and even acts as a lubricant, allowing people to eat faster. “Fat adds to a smooth, even bolus (the wad that forms when you chew food) in the mouth,” says Kessler.

Another texture trick is to presoften food by mashing it. “The substrate of today’s foods has been removed, meaning processed food is basically prechewed,” notes Kessler. This allows us to eat things like chicken tenders more quickly and easily, which can lead to unconscious eating — and overeating. 

“We used to have foods that took more work,” Civille explained in a recent NPR interview. “In the [45 years] that I have been in the food business, we used to have foods that we chewed 15 times and 20 times and 30 times before we swallowed. Now, there’s rarely a food out there, outside of a sweet, chewy candy, that you have to chew more than 12 times before it’s gone.” Instead, after a couple quick chews and a swallow, “you’re in for the next hit to get more pleasure.” (For more on exactly how the food industry manufactures the perfect texture, see “Anatomy of a Chicken Nugget” below.)

https://experiencelife.com/article/scary-food-science/