Help me change my diet to UPF free...

[FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden]

Hello. Where should I start with this. I'm obese and keen to change my diet .

But I also dont have time/energy to spend hours cooking or feeding a sourdouhgh starter etc.

I'd really love some tips as I am ND I really struggle with this area a lot and need minimal prep.

I think I could get into snacking on raw veg (but with dip? is hummous okay? )

I'd really love some help.

Im thinking about buying more fresh veg and fruit thats easily choppable that could be fun to snack on.

And I like greek yoghurt too.

Its the meals that are a bit trickier.

Is supermarket fresh soup upf free. And any supermarket bread?

I'd try to do it gradually, so think about what's the easiest swap you can make and do that, then make more changes over time. Remember a bit of upf is ok, just try to reduce how much of your diet it makes up. The open food facts app is handy for scanning barcodes quickly.

Cereals can be a good place to start, swap for porridge, overnight oats, shredded wheat or simple muesli/ granola.

Bread is another area where you can make a big difference - there are some supermarket breads that are ok but a bread machine can be brilliant for delicious homemade bread with minimum effort, plus it will make pizza dough etc.

For main meals the roasting tin cookbooks are brilliant, lots of really easy recipes that just need assembling on a single tray and roasting.

I'm not veggie but am eating more healthy over the last few months and a big win for me has been a slow cooker. Just the cheapest one they had in Asda.

I throw whole ingredients into it in the morning and by dinner time I have a hot tasty meal ready to go with spare I can box up for lunches or the freezer.

I tend towards casseroles and soups and just put everything in raw, high for a couple of hours to start it off then low till I remember to turn it off around dinner time.

Just put less fluid in than you would do if cooking on the hob as it doesn't evaporate off, so what you put in is what you'll be left with.

This is a great website for relatively easy meals to cook from scratch and nearly all are veggie. I especially love the mushroom lasagne. https://www.thedoctorskitchen.com/home_recipes.php it also has a processed food swaps section.

Its a good idea to have some batch cooked staples in the freezer for days when you are shattered. I usually have several portions of dhaal and chilli and bolognese sauce (I' not veggie but a mushroom and lentil version should freeze Ok). Bolognese sauce is very useful as you can use it to whip up pasta or add a tin of beans or some cooked peas and make a cottage pie.

In the airfryer... Super quick dinner.... chunks of courgette,.pepper, onion amd mushrooms with a little oil and some dried Shwarma spices served with couscous (made with a Kallo veg stock cube)... add some chick peas from can or some tofu or halloumi for protein. Serve with cucumber and tomato salad.

Stir fry and brown rice (soy, miso paste, lime, honey for quick stir-fry sauce)... Lots of different veg and tofu or cashew nuts for protein.

Another airfryer one, roast veg again, then add to tinned tomato, Italian herbs and cook down to make a sauce to add to pasta or aubergine slices or par boiled cauliflower slices, top with cheese and bake in the oven.

@AltitudeCheck Wow those sound amazing!!!!! I need to start a list

I do get the idea about changing things slowly - and I did try this time last year.

But I think where I'm ND I actually need more rigid rules or I just dont do it. So if I aim to go UPF free with mealtimes but do allow myself upf if out with friends or if I really fancy it for example might work.

But if I dont plan I wont have ingredients int he house and then wont eat properly. Weve got into a real downward spiral with what we acutally do eat .

Its so much easier to open a packet of crisps or put some cheese on a crakcer than start cooking a recipe which is why i need some easy things to start with.

@AltitudeCheck We have an airfryer - if i ut all those veg in would they all need the same amount of time or do i need to do it slowly? And how long would it take?

These are the sorts of things that stop me starting but actually airfried veg and hummous would be nice too.

I need to do this but find it hard to cook family friendly things as my DS is in a beige phase

@Anddrumrollplease Oh I so relate to this. Child 2 has been beige and non touching for a long time - whereas the other child is anti beige. This makes my head hurt!
Child 2 is keen to try things though and will try other things if in a separate section on a divider plate.

I know I need to get over this. I am tired.

@FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden I don't mind if peppers are a little bit crunchy but I don't like under cooked onions so I cut the onions up a bit smaller than the other veg to try and get them to all cook at about the same speed. Mushrooms cook fastest, so I either leave then whole or add them after everything else has had 5 mins.

I think it's probably around 10 mins in the airfryer on 180°c but I check and shake them about a few times during that time and may stop earlier or give them a few more min, depends how much veg is in the airfryer basket. It's different with different airfryers, my mum's cooks much quicker than mine so just have to keep a close eye on it until you've got a feel for the timings.

For lunches some weeks I make a chickpea and quinoa sort of salad with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, pistachios and crumbled feta. I put lemon juice, pepper and olive oil in it as dressing (though it would be fine without I think). Make it at the start of the week and a can of chickpeas will make enough for maybe 4 days and it's quite substantial. The only 'cooking' is the quinoa and that's dead easy.

Thankyou both so much. I really do need this level of instruction or I worry I get it "wrong"!

I've added some things to my next Tesco order!

@FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden

Have a look at vegancocotte.com/

Lots of easy one pot dishes using various beans. lentils and veggies.

Here are a few things I have as storecupboard ingredients for veggie food, it may be useful for you.

I find a lot of my homemade veg bakes, soups etc are pretty bland initially, so a good stock or flavouring really helps.
I like Marigold vegan bouillon powder, pref. the one in the green tub. It has a little TVP
https://www.marigoldhealthfoods.co.uk/bouillongravystockcubes

Some of the Umami products add a depth of flavour. I like this one, a dessertspoon will liven up a whole family sized portion.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156581483064?

Dried Porcini mushrooms are a very handy thing to have, they add a wild mushroom taste. All you need to do is put a dessertspoonful or less in a mug or jug. Add about three quarters of a mug full of really boiling water and leave to stand for 15 minutes. That gives you mushrooms and stock.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/317298381?

Tinned lentils and tinned chickpeas in water or brine are handy to bulk out a main course. Some recipes use the water from the tins too, so do check before you strain them and throw it out.

Oil for cooking or salads, try and get the best you can afford, there's quite a lot to read up on online to help you make an informed choice.

Frozen veg isn't usually UHP, also make your own, cook twice as much veg as you need, then bag and freeze whatever you didn't use that day.

Soon you will be able to prepare a veg dish using your own frozen veg, easier than peeling and chopping it from scratch. I have my own green beans, tenderstem broccoli, carrot swede, parsnips, other root veg.
Potatoes and sweet potatoes boiled, roast,
Bought petits pois as ND dd likes those not peas. Bought M+S frozen Chargrilled Meditteranean Veg, it contains sliced courgette, aubergine, red and yellow peppers. I thought it must be cheaper to make my own with the same M+S fresh veg, but I had a go and found it was quite a bit more expensive for ingredients let alone cost of oven to roast them. And the packet ones are easier to use. Mine which I layered on baking parchment were not easy to separate.

Nuts and seeds are again great to add protein. Aldi and Lidl are probably the best place to buy them for good value. Buy the ones without shells but that still have the inner skin on. Ignore the ready chopped or flaked or ground as they are not as fresh as the ones you do yourself.
There are lots of recipes online for nut dishes that need no cooking. Check out Deliciously Ella, many of them use Medjool dates, coconut oil and Cacao (not cocoa!) powder, so bear that in mind if you are feeling creative.

Vitamin D for immunity and Vitamin B 12 because its only source is meat are worth considering.
Please take on board anything that appeals and ignore the rest.
Good luck with making and eating healthier food, if you lapse, don't worry, just try again the next day.

Butter bean and canollini bean Italian stew is lovely with savoy cabbage.

Chickpea curry.

Romesco butter beans.

https://carolefood.com/tag/beans I like a few of these recipes too.
All are tasty and easy to freeze extra portions.