Ultra Processed Food- how much do you eat?

[pigeonpies]

Reading an article about ultra processed foods (UPF) and the link to poor health. Not rocket science I suppose, we all know the risks. But today is for me thinking because a lot of food typically targeted at kids ( sugary cereals ex)

I want to change the way my family eat. AIBU to think this will be more difficult than I imagine?

I thought we were doing ok but then saw how much stuff in my kitchen is ultra professed!

In theory cooking from natural foods feels great but not always practical!

If you are already followed a low UPF way of living I'd like to hear the sort of things you eat!

Thanks

For those making their own bread, do you have a bread making machine, and if so, is it easy and which one would you recommend?

Fresh pesto is actually a 5 min job if you have a food processor. Once I made my own I never went back to the jar as it’s way tastier

I don't eat that much upf but my teen mainlines it. So worrying and he fights every healthier option- won't even eat home made bread.

I just use a mixer. Flour, salt, yeast, oil, water in mixer. Mix with dough hook for 5 mins. Stick somewhere warm 2 hours. Knock back, keep plain or add additional ingredients. Stick in tin and somewhere warm for an hour. Cook for 30.

I do work from home so it makes it easier to do in day. Never had any luck with a bread maker.

Is only raw milk ok?? Yes. I grew up drinking it and have bones of steel. It's amazing how my diet

It's amazing how my diet growing up in the 60s and 70s is now being hailed as being better for us. We had;
Breakfast: Porridge with milk Eggs Bread with homemade marmalade
Lunch Homemade soup. Stews with potatoes and vegetable.
Tea Whole fish from fishmonger Steak Homemade cakes and scones
Butter
We did eat a lot of white bread and biscuits though

We also grew a lot of our own fruit and vegetables. Tomatoes, peas, potatoes, onions leeks strawberries and raspberries.

I have a theory that the move towards vegan or plant-based food is driven by the UPF-industry, they're creating a new market for food which is the antithesis of healthy whole foods, while marketing it as healthy and eco-friendly.

@MoonCatcher

I have a theory that the move towards vegan or plant-based food is driven by the UPF-industry, they're creating a new market for food which is the antithesis of healthy whole foods, while marketing it as healthy and eco-friendly.

Absolutely

Good app to check your food as you go is Open Food Facts - it gives each food a upf score.
Sadly my favourite chocolate is upf and pretty much all shop bought bread

We don’t eat a huge deal, but we have two allergies, I’m diabetic, we’re vegetarian and I am very much guilty of orthorexia.

I do all the cooking and most of it is home made, I do use things like tinned toms, tomato puree etc, but I don’t use jar sauce or jar pastes.

We do still eat processed food, we’re diary free so sometimes we buy oat milk, sometimes I make it, my son sometimes has dairy free yoghurt. Once a week we have ‘shit tea’ quorn nuggets, frozen chips and peas. The odd bag of crisps, oreos etc.

It is easy for us to eat well, I’m a good cook, I make all my own traditional Pakistani food, I have the budget to buy good quality incredients and the time and space to cook/freeze bulk sauces I have made etc.

This weeks shopping list is (it isn’t letting me tag a photo)

Salad leaves (bagged)
Toms
Peppers
Cucumber
Radishes
Cauliflower
Okra
Courgette
Aubergine
Baby corn
Cassava
Mange tout (spelt right?)
Kale
Spinach (frozen)
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Red onions
Butternut squash
Pak choi
Mushrooms (fresh and dried)
Leeks
Bananas
Apples
Sweetclems
Strawberries
Blueberries
Avocado (frozen)
Edamame beans (frozen)
Various tinned pulse eg black beans etc
Tinned toms
Coconut milk (tinned)
Green lentils (sachet)
Veg stock (powder)
Udon noodles
Tamarind paste
Quorn nuggets
Frozen chips
Oats
Dairy free biscuits
Dairy free yoghurt
Skips (the crisps)

Our dinners next week are
Butternut squash risotto, thai soup, cauliflower curry, roast veg fajitas (with home made roti for the wraps) and our friday shit tea of quorn nuggets, chips and peas.

Breakfasts are on a rota of
Monday porridge
Tuesday scrambled egg, turtle beans and avocado
Wednesday pancakes (homemade)
Thursday scrambled egg and roast toms
Friday porridge
Weekend anything goes

Lunches are usually leftovers from the night before as most pack up type things aren’t vegetarian and dairy free friendly and none of us really like bread.

My partner and I were feeling too busy after I returned to work after mat leave to continue to cook every meal from scratch so we were planning to eat more ready meals but now having watched the BBC programme it has reminded me why I do prefer to make everything from scratch where possible. So I am now looking at shortcuts that don’t involve UPF. What about buying frozen chopped onions? (Have never done this before and obviously more pricey than just chopping a fresh onion but might save prep time?)
Am also thinking about getting a soda stream to make healthy fizzy drinks, and a bread maker (we like seeded whole meal bread - is this easy to make at home with a bread maker?)
What other shortcuts are there?

I cook in batch at weekends. Sat morning for an hour or two ish I get soup, pasta sauce, bean chilli's, curries on.

I don't do it every weekend. We do also have a second freezer.

Also plain quick meals. Write them down.

Slow cooker helps. Mainly in winter though.

Yes to the breadmaker @Covidconfuse

@Covidconfuse
For those making their own bread, do you have a bread making machine, and if so, is it easy and which one would you recommend?
Panasonic. We’ve had 2 (I dropped the first onto a slate floor, not it’s fault it broke). They’re great. Only times it hasn’t produced a decent loaf is when I forgot to add the yeast, or accidentally used gluten free flour in a normal recipe. Current one is 10 years old.

I watched the programme this week & it’s a bit of a shocker.
I thought I was fairly health conscious, but obviously not!!
I use a breadmaker to make bread (but we do occasionally used wraps for chilli)
I use a lot less Quorn now - instead use tinned green lentils for veg Bolognaise.
I tend not to eat cereal anyway, and I’ll stop buying crappy ones for DS (DH is culprit here). DS can have weetabix or porridge.
I don’t really buy ready meals as a rule, except decent pizzas (like pizza express), and breaded fish.
I do get veggie sausages and burgers but I could try and make my own v-burgers.
We do eat some meat, only really cos of DS, DD is veggie so I do a mix. Both are a bit fussy in their own ways.
Am def going to read ingredients closer now though. DS has a few ‘ailments’ that could improve w a better diet as nothing intrinsically ‘wrong’ with him.

I'm moving in with SimonJT . Saw the programme and was faintly horrified, although my DM eats pretty much 100% UPF and has done for and she's 92 so go figure (although would have eaten very little UPF in her childhood and younger days.)

My concern is the flavourings - we eat a lot of Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian food etc and use soy, fish sauce, balachan etc, which are pretty processed.

Thank you @newmumwithquestions re the bread maker - will look into Panasonic.
I do a lot of batch cooking too @IceniWarrior (we have lots of fridges and freezers due to inheriting several with the house plus already having our own) but we eat it faster than I can make it. I should make more use of our slow cooker though too, good idea.
I have been checking a lot of our regular buys on the app and actually a lot are catergory 3, rather than 4, which I can live with. E.g. weetabix for DD, Dorset Cereals for DP, kettle chips. I think I am going to do a few more swaps like get rid of flavoured yoghurts and just put honey or fruit in Greek yoghurt (DD only has plain Greek yoghurt so we already buy this anyway). If anyone can recommend any particular branded convenience foods which are tasty and a 3 rather than a 4 on the app, that would be really useful information. I will share other ideas as I come across them.

I second trying using a stand mixer for bread if you have one. As long as I don't have to knead I'm good.
Also wet dough like ciabatta style has worked out so much better than the big solid loaves I made by hand once every decade before remembering I really didn't like my home made efforts!

Check the ingredients on store bread, I've found ciabatta rolls often have no palm oil etc in them. Pittas seem better too.

Then again I buy a white sliced loaf for my teen to make sandwiches for school so I am comfortable with a percentage of convenience foods. As mentioned before UK bread is fortified which is something.

I use an inherited Panasonic bread machine to make and poof the dough. I then put the dough in a tin for the second rise and bake in the oven. I think most machines have a dough only setting. I've found using a little more water than the recipes provided makes for a much better loaf; so for example, for 1kg of flour, the recommended water measure is 320ml and I use 350ml. I also have a secondhand electrical slicer to slice the bread in nice, neat slices. Better portion control.

I'd actually not made bread for ages until this thread, it's inspired me to start again!

Adding more water really turned my bread to something rather nice!

It really does make a difference, Petunia.

@Twenty2

I use an inherited Panasonic bread machine to make and poof the dough. I then put the dough in a tin for the second rise and bake in the oven. I think most machines have a dough only setting. I've found using a little more water than the recipes provided makes for a much better loaf; so for example, for 1kg of flour, the recommended water measure is 320ml and I use 350ml. I also have a secondhand electrical slicer to slice the bread in nice, neat slices. Better portion control.

I'd actually not made bread for ages until this thread, it's inspired me to start again!

Oops, 500g of flour, not 1kg

Just read that link SayHelloBody, this bit shocked me:

"Valuable nutrition, such as vitamins and fibre, are lost during these processes, which leave us with foods that will last, in some cases, for up to 50 years."

Food that lasts up to 50 years?