Can microwaveable ready meals be healthy/non UPF?

[CommuteQ]

sorry if stupid question
My parents will always comment negatively if I’m eating a microwaveable meal and say it’s ‘not real food’ / it’s upf

However if I actually ‘cooked’ something but used a sauce which contains UPF, isn’t that technically worse?

When I look at some microwaveable meals (especially M&S) I don’t notice any UPF ingredients.
for eg yesterday had M&S chille con carne

ingredients:
Cooked Long Grain Rice (30%) (Water, Long Grain Rice), Cooked Beef (14%), Tomatoes (13%), Onions, Water, Black Beans (4%) (Black Beans, Water), Red Kidney Beans (3.5%) (Red Kidney Beans, Water), Mushrooms, Red Peppers (3%), Carrots, Tomato Paste, Cornflour, Ground Spices (Cumin, Paprika, Smoked Paprika, Coriander), Garlic Purée, Roast Beef Stock (Water, Beef Bones, Yeast Extract, Salt, Sugar), Salt, Green Chilli Purée, Sherry Vinegar, Cumin Seeds, Dried Oregano, Rapeseed Oil, Dried Chipotle Chillies, Dried Red Chillies, White Wine Vinegar, Dried Garlic

I have depression and work long hours so find it exhausting cooking from scratch all the time but also paranoid I’m eating too many upf. Surely this microwaveable meal is still healthy as it’s all good ingredients?

I think this one sounds reasonably good? They are possibly thinking more of the microwave burger style of meals….

Nothing about that is "not real food". They're just being snobs.

That meal sounds fine. It’s definitely possible to get non UPF ready meals if you look around. Some people are against seed oils and I think it’s hard to get ready meals that don’t contain rapeseed or sunflower oils.

Do you think your parents are just worried about you? I think microwave meals are useful when you're exhausted for whatever reason. Some will be better than others.

I have them sometimes because I have MEcfs and cooking from scratch is tiring.

But, I know if I make something from scratch when I'm doing better, I feel better. If I eat much UPF then my symptoms get worse.

I think some alternatives like eggs on toast with some spinach or avocado, or even making soup which is fairly low effort, is good instead sometimes. The trick is buying the right stuff in the first place.

I think if it means you are getting something hot and nutritious inside you it’s fine, it’s not cheap and there’s probably more salt than is ideal, but longer term you can gather the energy to cook more. I’d add something green on the side…..

I’d just add some salad, even a handful of bagged green leaves dressed with olive oil/apple cider vinegar. Eating some real fresh food just makes me feel better all round. Hope you find what works for you.