To think it's impossible to eat a UPF free diet as an ordinary person?

I wondered the same.

I've never bought a pre made seasoning mix or packet flavouring for anything with the exception of a 'clean' non upf red Thai curry paste I used a few times.

This!I have a mahhoooosive spice drawer under my hob. Every spice you can think of.

All my friends cook like this. It’s not hard!!

Many many people cook from ingredients pretty effortlessly. Our mothers an grandmothers did.

What is hard about chopping an onion, frying it off with garlic , a few tea spoons of spices then adding a chopped courgette and pepper alongside tinned tomatoes and beans for a veg chilli, ditto Dahl or a left over chicken curry?What is hard about frying off garlic and onion in olive oil with a bag of kale and chilli flakes for kale pasta, making shepherds pie …. look at the roasting tin books, they’re piss easy and all from ingredients .

I work full time and manage it.

Does nobody have a spice cupboard?

Definitely there is also a big difference in price. I don't really see how products are helping you cook dal curry, or a chilli- unless you use a sauce which are usually pretty processed, or jacket potatoes. yes there are plenty of non processed options but they mostly more work. Boxes such as Hello fresh are a reasonable gateway- but the flavour sachets are mostly processed and it isn't cheap.
The point I was making is that products don't really help you , you have to start from ingredients which is more time and effort than most people want or are able to put in.
Don't look to changing products, look to starting from ingredients.

dear @tostaky, and OP, my mum (& everyone's mum) used to bottle fruit in Kilner jars, e.g. sliced stewed apples; blackberries; blackcurrants; gooseberries; plums - seasonal fruit bought when in glut or harvested from an allotment - for the winter. This was because a) it was the fifties b) we were poor c) we couldn't afford a fridge (till 1963). Puddings in winter were always bottled fruit & Birdseye custard.
Bottling fruit is pretty simple, you can still get Kilner jars, rubber sealing-rings, etc. But, now we've all got freezers, it's not really worth the effort, unless you're really keen.

Making your own stock, on the other hand, is worth it if you're regularly left with chicken carcasses - which it is wasteful to throw away. Then you can easily make stock to freeze or to make a delicious home-made chicken soup. Or simply freeze the carcass till you're ready to use it.

Same!

Tbf, I don't ever use or buy any of those.

I make my own mayonnaise and salad dressings.

I haven't bought a breakfast cereal that wasn't porridge in over 20 years.

Never eat shop bought soup and make my own stock,

I didn't ever buy that stuff for my children. I've never bought them chicken nuggets. They did occasionally have fish fingers or the occasional shop bought pizza or ketchup when they were small and had a schoolfriend over for dinner.

Everything my children ate or took to school for packed lunches was homemade without UPF.

I stopped eating it long before it was even called UPF or 'a thing'. I was also a single parent working long hours.

It's not difficult.

It just requires 'some' effort. Not a lot, just more effort than the no effort of sticking beige freezer food in the oven.

It’s literally what the thread is about!! It’s in the op.

if the original post was ‘I’ve accidentally given my kid a stock cube, is this bad’ and anyone responded with ‘yes, flagellate yourself, it’s a UPF’ then your comment would have some merit.

but the thread is literally about if it’s hard to avoid UPFs as they’re even in stock cubes.

organic vegetable bouillon is the answer to replace stock cubes

The hands on time isn't long though. It actually takes very little of your time. Same with making stock. Bung chicken or beef bones in a pan, cover with water and leave to simmer. Very little hands on time needed. Keeps for a few days in fridge or freezer it until you need it to make soup, risotto etc.

There are loads of bread options

cereal- M&S does UPF free cereal and granola is easy to make and comes up as big batches, toast or porridge are easy alternatives

Why do you need tables sauces on a curry on pasta? If you do there are brands out there.

I don’t buy pastes and I cook a lot of curries.

If pickles are so important look for upf free brands

I only use herbs and species don’t feel the need for seasonings. I don’t lose sleep over the odd stock cube split 5 ways once a week. Anybody who does needs to examine their priorities

Soup is so easy and nicer home made.

Don’t really use crackers or oatcakes aside from Nairn’s sometimes and theirs are very low UPF.

Oh come on, can't you take a guess? Here's just a small list of things that are quite hard and/or expensive to replace with non UPF:

Most bread
Most breakfast cereals
Table sauces (ketchups/condiments)
Shop bought pastes and some pickles
Stock, some seasonings and ready made soups/broths
Crackers/oatcakes

Obviously none of these things are essential but also they're pretty common/staple foods for most families aren't they? And not obviously 'unhealthy'. I know when I had primary age kids even assuming I could transition them off the nuggets and fish fingers onto homemade meals without complaint, taking away their ketchup, Weetabix, lunchtime sandwiches as well would have been quite difficult...

This, most recipes in my cookery books are UPF free. What on earth are people cooking and eating that is so hard?

There are loads of UPF free breads available- M&S, Crosta, Jason. They fill you up more too. Nobody needs to be making their own bread. Most evening meal recipes are UPF free. What is so difficult about it?

Not being antagonistic but, I made chilli for tea tonight and there's enough left for another night.

Fried onion and garlic, added spices, added meat, added passata.

Made guacamole while it was simmering.

Avocado, chopped a tomato, added crushed garlic, some chopped red onion and lime juice.

Soured cream and cheddar cheese.

Took about 30/40 mins.

On the menu this week is carbonara - pasta, pancetta, parmesan, black pepper and eggs with a salad. Takes less than half an hour.

Undyed smoked haddock, poached eggs with a creme fraiche, wholegrain mustard and lemon sauce with broccoli or spinach. Takes less than half an hour to do. Admittedly, the fish isn't cheap but we don't have it very often!

The rest of the week will be stuff like pork belly and salad or roasted chicken thighs and veg.

What are people eating that is so labour intensive/difficult to cook from scratch?

None of the above is difficult.

Im a single parent of 3 DC. Work 72 hours a week on minimum wage. We eat entirely UPF free. It is completely possible. Look for swaps, M and S do UPF free cereal and frozen bone broth and pizza dough. Even our coop and now selling UPF free sour dough.

I do it and I would love to help you. I recommend reading the book called nourishing traditions by sally fallon. Sourdough Bread is very quick to make it’s just flour and water, then you leave it for days adding water and flour each day, it really doesn’t take long unless you have to knead by hand. I make rolls and then freeze them for my daughter so you only have to make it once a month. Same with beef bones. Buying real stock is expensive, making it yourself is very easy, just boil bones in water and vinegar and then freeze in small bags. Both take a long time but hardly any of that time is spent cooking or preparing it’s just waiting. Kefir is also really easy to make, you just add kefir grains to milk and leave it for two days. Chicken liver pate is another easy recipe. It’s about prioritising food, it’s well worth it as your health is the most important thing.

There's a difference between processed and ultra processed. Ultra processed foods are made using industrial processes to make them palatable or shelf stable. They contain additives, emulsifiers and gums that you wouldn't recognise as food or an ingredient.

Just processed food contains ingredients you recognise or have in your cupboard at home.

It's the difference between a UPF tortilla wrap - INGREDIENTS: Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Water, Palm Oil, Humectant (Glycerol), Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Sugar, Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Salt, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Wheat Starch, Flour Treatment Agent (L-Cysteine).

And non-UPF tortilla wrap - Ingredients: Italian Reground Durum Wheat Semolina (67%), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (8%), Salt

I make a batch of granola at the weekend. Lasts 2 weeks with Greek yogurt- breakfast

Crosta or Jason bread, wrap or roll for lunch with egg, cheese or tuna. Duchy mayo if I use that. Tomatoes or leftovers from dinner, yog with some kind of compot or honey, fruit that takes 2 mins to make a batch-lunch

I cook all main evening meals from scratch and always have done- dal, curry, jackets chilli etc. Doesn’t take long at all.

Products are processed- if you are completely avoiding UPF which products are you using?

There are loads of shop bought products available. Bread, cereal, yoghurt, soup, sauces.
You just need to read the labels.

Marigold vegetable bouillon is the least processed stock option.

No it isn’t difficult and it’s not a lot of work. There are loads of products to make things easier.

No of course it is not impossible, but it is a lot of work and there are no products out there to help you or make it more convenient- you have to start with ingredients alone, every time. So while it is possible unless you have plenty of time it's very difficult.