Last year, I took the October Unprocessed challenge. I was slightly terrified – I mean, this is October we are talking about here. This is the month of super-duper processed Halloween candy, and I love Halloween candy!

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I muscled my way through the month, and surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard. I found things that I liked, and was astounded at the things I learned. For instance – I thought that soy and almond milk wouldn’t be a problem until I read the label. There are quite a few more ingredients than just almonds and water! I found this out a few days into October, and strutted down to the local health food store to procure a “nut bag” for making nut milk – in my case, real, natural, almond milk.

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This all started with Andrew Wilder from Eating Rules. He wondered what it would be like to go a month without eating any processed foods. Since 2009, the movement has grown to 6,133 participants in 2012, and it seems to be growing this year! So, if you think this is something you’d be interested in, take the pledge!

Here are some of my recipes that pass my own “kitchen test.” They’ll at least get you started!

Breakfast

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Parfait

Mango Pineapple Smoothie

Berry Lust Smoothie

Mexi Bolita Beer Breakfast

Soups

Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Soup (sans croutons)

Salads

Quinoa Watermelon Salad

Fall Harvest Salad with Balsamic Maple Vinaigrette

Sauces

Blueberry Onion Compote

I really really hope you take the pledge. Check out Eating Rules for all of the October Unprocessed details. Even if it is just for a day. It’s all about simply raising awareness about what is actually IN the food that we put in our bodies.

Happy Un-Processing!