Least bad Ultra Processed Foods

[Gufo]

Following on from the Ultra Processed Foods thread, does anyone know the least bad breakfast cereals, squash, crisps and chocolate biscuit bars, etc? Maybe we could share ideas and make a list here?
I know the ideal is porridge, water, and an apple, but I'm trying to be realistic and wean my kids off UPF gently and realistically (for our family).
If there are no least bad options, that would be good to know too!

It's really hard isn't it.

I go for Seabrooks ready salted crisps and shredded wheat. Ingredients in both look fairly clean although I'm not going to think about the manufacturing process.

Plain dark chocolate (still has lots of junk in it unless you go for expensive brands but a reasonable compromise ime)

Interested in responses!

There aren't any l am afraid op, I have dcs and just don't have anything other than water to drink unless a party or friends over, then just enough for that day.

I let them have crisps with lunch if we are out, but don't buy any for at home.
We do have a few kitkats and biscuits bought each week, enough for a dessert daily, but once gone that's it for the week, (l have a weekly order)

Cereals are so sugar laden l only have Dorset Cereals sugar free museli, porridge and weetabix.
Mine have bacon and eggs mostly for breakfast or a ham and cheese toasty.
i always have oranges and bananas in the fruit bowl.
If they want a snack its usually a toasted sandwich. chunks of cheese and grapes, hummus and carrot or cucumber sticks...its not hard at home and when out l am relaxed about what they eat.

They do have excellent teeth..!

@Rafferty10 when you get a mo, can you give a little rundown of food you and your children eat for the week please? I'm of a generation brought up on chicken nuggets, chips and beans and I feel a bit lost. Availability of time is a problem as is lack of sleep so I just don't have a lot of energy and feel like I'm failing my kids.

Of course there are 'lebad'

Whoops posted too soon and with autocorrect nonsense! Will try again

Was going to say of course there are less bad options - essentially it is a spectrum from complete whole foods through to completely artificial alternatives. It is absolutely ok to not be able to manage completely whole foods and to just try the best you can to choose the better options out of the processed alternatives

@LifeBeginsNow If you can put chicken nuggets and chips in the oven then you can change that to chicken breast and homemade potato wedges then switch the beans for peas. Look at what you eat now and make some healthier changes.

I've been reading labels and trying to compare - eg for stock powder, Massel seems to be much less artificial than Oxo for example

Yorkshire provender soups have all recognisable ingredients and no weird seed oils.

Bertinet bread is also very good.

I like riverford for hummus (only uses olive oil) and sourdough.

I also find that a lot of Greek, Spanish and Italian brands are good for only using regular ingredients and using olive oil as standard. Things like Belazu, Odysea etc.

@Battista Kallo Organic or Marigold for stock

@emmathedilemma thank you! 😊

I also have little time as l work and also look after my elderly parents who live with us, so here's my way...
Once a week food delivery with 5 proper meals planned and options for other two days, (saturday is Pizza night to give me a break from cooking)
I only get the odd thing (like more milk) in the week, often don't go to a supermarket at all.
I am not a great cook so fairly basic meals, last week...

Bolognese

Chicken and chorizo casserole with 4 steamed vegetables.

Roast chicken, frozen roast potatoes, 4 steamed vegetables.

Sausages or burgers and salad (Particularly when hot, chips in winter, but added vegetables)

pork chops with rice and 4 steamed vegetables.

Saturday, Pizza for Dh, and Dcs, salad or omelette for me.

Sunday, Shredded duck with hoisin sauce, cucumber, and pancakes.Buy ready to cook.

Desserts, icecream, kitkat, etc for Dcs, mini green and Blacks chocolate bar for me .Often miss desserts.

I am very set on the value of a variety of steamed vegetables daily if possible, not expensive and very quick to prep and cook.

On day where no vegetables are eaten l encourage dcs to do a plate of cucumber, sweet pepper, carrots, and green beans..

They are now 14 and 16 but l have always fed them this way since weaning, just blended whatever we are having.

Anyone notice that the brands that have less UP ingredients are also very expensive? Dorset cereals are almost £4 a box.

I think cutting down on UPF is hard when you don’t have much time to prepare fresh food (I’m think AM especially) and don’t have a fortune to spend. I’m trying to make small changes were I can and constantly on the lookout for more changes. Rather than overhauling everything all at once.

I buy locally made apple juice. On hot days dh and I have this mixed with sparkling water ( we make our own in soda stream type thing). I would happily let Ds have it as he grows sometimes. Much better than actual fizzy drinks in cans pre made.

Recent dinners here, i had a bit of a Gusto revival week so the first 4 are all remakes of their recipes:
smoked mackerel kedgeree
spicy chicken with bulgar wheat and salad
hoisin meat-free mince with rice and greens
spicy rainbow veg & black bean curry
stir fry with chicken / prawns / salmon / tofu and rice noodles
bolognaise
chilli
pesto topped salmon with new potatoes or couscous and green veg
white fish (cod or haddock) with potato wedges and peas
frittata and salad
jacket potato & tuna with salad

Look at the number of ingredients.

Shredded wheat has 1 ingredient, as does milk, plain natural yoghurt, unsalted butter, whole fresh fruit and veg.

Sugar isn't evil, it's the sugar in things that's the problem. Sweeteners are much worse. Sugar-free tends to mean they've used something else to sweeten it

Go for food with a low GI content

Dates are toffee-like

Hummus is easy to make. I make it with chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic - whizz it with a stick blender and job done.

Some shortbread biscuits only have flour, sugar and butter (not healthy but don’t have loads of ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen at home)

we still have weetabix - I fail to see how 4 weetabix a week will make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things

there are some sour dough loaves in Aldi which seem to have only ‘normal’ ingredients

could u make overnight oats with some raisins?

is babybel just cheese? That might be okay for snacks

in terms of cakes etc I have no idea - I can’t find anything unprocessed. - ? I wonder if there is a popcorn that’s not cooked in random oil on the market? Or whether the traditional popadoms that you make a home are any better?

would have thought plain crisps rather than corn snacks might be slightly better (from my understanding, the flavouring on snacks is part of what’s so bad about them?)

Would love to hear some more ideas on this

I have an easy recipe I make a lot.

Chop into large chunks: yellow pepper, orange pepper, red pepper, courgette, packet of button mushrooms, red onion.
Add a few cloves of finely chopped garlic, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Roast in the oven for 45mins on 180 fan, turning everything over/mixing it halfway through and adding 1 tin of butter beans 10mins before the end.

The tomatoes and garlic form a kind of tasty sauce as they cook.

Healthy and can be eaten with some microwave wholemeal rice.

Oops.. forgot 6x salad tomatoes!

I have a son with ASD who is extremely rigid with his diet. some positive changes i have made include using naked oven chips with only potato and sunflower oil, watering down fruit juice instead of squash, making hot chocolate with cocoa, milk and sugar, homemade jelly with gelatine and fruit juices. Chocolate rice cakes for a treat ( they do have emulsifier in the chocolate but that is the only UPF ingredient). Homemade chocolate cakes put in the freezer and included in lunch box. There are some nice lollies that only contain fruit juice. 90 percent Lindt chocolate.

I realise this is all incredibly sugary - my older children don't get fruit juice/jelly/cake etc but the youngest is so limited in his diet plus he has to have multiple meds daily that get hidden in jelly and juice. But at least it is all ingredients I would find in a kitchen.

Shredded wheat has 1 ingredient, as does milk, plain natural yoghurt, unsalted butter, whole fresh fruit and veg.

It is straight forward to home make yoghurt - but home made bread and boiled eggs might work for breakfast. Though mine like doing porridge in microwave themselves and have since they were young.

Instead of squash have you tried flavouring water with fruit - you get jugs with internal sections for fruit infusion jugs.

Ham and sausages are classed as ultra processed.

Dorset muesli is £2.50 at Asda at the moment.

I think some of the Aldi mueslis are almost as good as the Dorset cereals ones and a fraction of the price. I'm sure some of them don't have added sugar.
It's not a huge effort to make your own in a big food storage container if you've got a food processor or ninja thingy to chop the nuts. That way you can add more or less of what you like.

Thank you @Rafferty10 & others for the meal suggestions. I'm going to pick the ones I think my eldest will eat and put them into my meal plan for the holidays (school time isn't as bad as he gets a hot meal every day).

Anyone know what yoghurt I should be buying? I like to put a few spoonfuls over fruit each day for my lunch. I don't look for fat free ever as I know that's laden with sugar alternatives.

I'm going to struggle to replace crisps as I love them so much. Plus the children do too. I know I eat too many and I think I'm allergic to salt & vinegar flavour as they make my lips swell 😱.

Yoghurt is easy to make, as is cheese.

I never manage to make cheese that is anything resembling shop bought cheese, but it's a quick and easy way to use up milk that's past it's sell by date.
It tastes tangy crumbled into salads and bakes

For flavouring drinks, you can make fruit or herb ice cubes.

If they won't eat porridge, try a different way of making it.