To ask what highly processed food you eat?

[Lifeswhatyoumakeit73]

I haven’t read the Dr Chris book yet about highly processed food but I have read other stuff & it’s made me super conscious of how much HPF we eat. I cook mainly from scratch but as a family of 3 pescatarians & me who is mainly plant based but eats eggs, I realise I need to look at what we eat & make some changes. I cook from scratch as much as I can but I am a busy mum who works full time so we do reply on some HPF. Looking in my cupboards:

We have:

• baked beans
• veggie sausages
• veggie mince
• oat milk
• vegan cheese
• vegan butter
• Tacos
• crackers, crisps, bread sticks
• shop bought houmous
• shreddies, weetabix
• caramel wafers
• yoyos
• couple tins veggie chilli
• peanut butter (whole earth so just peanuts but still bad apparently)
• jam
• seeded bread sliced
• bagels

How bad is that? How does it compare to others? I use veggie mince to make a spag Bol from scratch but will, for example, use lentils instead.

i feel like most of our food is cooked fresh but judging by this list, we have a lot of processed crap that I hadn’t registered.

Aibu to ask you to share so I can compare?

I do think UPF is to an extent the latest fad, as paleo, low carb, low fat, fasting, calorie counting, syns, f plan have been before it.

Not to say it isn’t important to eat a diet rich in fruit and veg and fibre, with enough but not excessive protein and fat, amwith ingredients close to their natural state and not full of chemicals, and not tons of more-ish sugar/salt/fat killer combo.. But I am guessing you know what a balanced diet is. Plus some definitions of UPF are excessive.

@Mumsday yep - the Pugliese ones are sliced. There are more brands too but these are the ones I’ve seen stocked in most supermarkets

They have pizzas and things like breadsticks too but I don’t think everything is listed on the website - maybe have a look wherever you shop, I keep spotting bits by them everywhere but it used to only be in Waitrose I think

@ostentatiousocelot

I make lemon ice cream, made it a couple of times for friends coming round and it’s been well received- very easy and no ice cream maker needed. Just cream caster sugar and lemons, if you want the recipe let me know

We buy locally made ice cream from our farm shop. It’s got a far shorter ingredients list, not to mention supporting a local business. It’s expensive. But I think things like ice cream, chocolate, red meat are a treat and should be expensive.

Here is the producer we often buy from. Delicious! https://www.saffronicecream.co.uk/artisan-ice-cream-and-sorbet/

Why would avoiding UPFs be a fad? It’s the way humans have eaten for 99% of their existence. Surely eating stuff full of chemicals, made in factories is the fad.

That sounds delicious and I’d like the recipe!

I just wanted to say that decades before Drs Chris and Xand were reporting about this, the rather brilliant Joanna Blythman wrote The Food We Eat. It’s a balanced, superbly researched wake-up call. Ditto The Food Our Children Eat.

And Michael Pollan is also insightful about this: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.

No need for panic or guilt. No need for an eating plan, or expensive dietary analysis. Just get used to eating and enjoying ‘real’ food and it becomes second nature.

Thought I’d done really well today, checked the back of some mixed nuts I’d eaten- rapeseed oil and glazing agent (gum arabic, whatever that is) 🙄

@Whichnumbers yes please, I'd love the recipe!

@LabradorsByTheSea that sounds ideal, and I agree that I'm happy to pay premium prices for premium ingredients. Sadly I'm not near Saffron Walden!

Here it is, I usually freeze for about an hour and 20 minutes then whisk & put back into freezer.

@Whichnumbers thank you. 😊When it says "cups" do you use an actual mug or does it mean American cup measurements?

I eat too much UPF, my daughter definitely eats too much!
I have a reasonable diet but a lot of processed shortcuts/crap marketed at kids has crept in over the years. Full time job, part time degree, fussy child/husband, chronic illness all take their toll. On the other hand I recognise I’m very privileged to have enough money to buy decent food and the skills to cook it (if not the time…)

I'm reading the book just now, it’s excellent and I’m making a concerted effort to cut down. (While not driving myself demented in the process!)

@NoAprilFool I agree, I think aiming for a lot less but not perfect is a good idea-I ordered a bread machine in panic yesterday and then cancelled it- realistically I’m not going to use it and there’s a nice bakery that sells bread without any of the crap down the road from me- and I’m fortunate in being able to afford that, which is huge privilege in itself. I think my rule is going to be to not but the UPF snacks that we’ve just had hanging around as a habit, we already do quite well on main meals! Good luck with cutting down too.

ostentatiousocelot. I’ve used American cup measurements to make & I had assumed that was the measure. I ate the ice cream and got the recipe, so that’s the recipe I have been using & it taste just the same as the original I tried and is delicious.

im now thinking I should get the ingredients to make this week 😂

what supermarket bread alternatives do people suggest? For example is pitta breads, crumpets or something else from the supermarket a viable alternative? is supermarket sourdough ok? are any supermarket brands ok etc

Depending on the size of your supermarket, they may have Turkish/Middle Eastern pitta/lavash/flat breads which have a short shelf life and less processed. There are also some brands of wraps which don't have so many added extras that PP have mentioned above

In London (and probably other cities too), we have lots of cultural shops so I find getting the pittas etc from the Turkish shop, naan type breads from the Indian works better than supermarkets

@maybein2022 I was gifted a bread maker a couple of years ago and can honestly say it is my favourite kitchen appliance (admittedly the bar is low)! It is sooooo easy to use. You just chuck everything in in the order stated and switch it on. I have saved loads of money and had delicious homemade bread. It came with a little recipe book that enables you to make different types of bread, plus brioche and compotes too. I love it!

@TooManyPlatesInMotion thank you! Yes maybe I should stop at the turkish shop a little more often.

a breadmaker sounds good but I do honestly wonder if I would actually use it - they are a big appliance and take up a lot of space. Still, fresh made bread would be lovely/

@betaglucans yes, this was my concern initially - the space it would take up on the work surface in the kitchen, but then my mother in law just went and bought one for me and DH and I gave it a go. Now I used it for all our bread at home and it is fabulous.

Worth looking at different models as some are quite small and slim these days. You can also pick them up second hand quite easily too.

@CosyCoffee Good point. My diet was quite good, little or no UPF, but I overhauled it to exclude all seed oils and they are seriously in just about everything. If you didn't pay attention and especially if you eat out a lot or have convenience foods you'd be rapidly eating large quantities.

I actually had to do a cupboard staples shop from a specialist organic shop to still get the goods I wanted - sunflower oil in Nairns oatcakes ffs.

Interestingly, since cutting the seed oils out my wrist tendinosis that didn't want to heal has almost cleared up.

If people are looking for minimally processed breads with no seed oils then Jason or Bertinent are good - but they are not cheap.

The best thing to do is look at the ingredients label. If there's anything other than flour, water, yeast and salt or any other ingredient you couldn't buy yourself in a supermarket then it's probably UPF. For example, Waitrose own brand pittas contain "wheat gluten". Hovis crumpets have preservatives and "wheat starch". Both are UPF.

Almost all pre-made bread products are UPF.

This pre-made bread looks pretty good but have not managed to find it in stock anywhere. Anyone know where you can get it? Ocado do the white version but it is low in fibre and not as good.
https://www.crostamollica.com/products/bakery/wholeblend-pugliese#ingredients
Italian Reground Durum Wheat Flour, Water, Italian Reground Wholemeal Durum Wheat Flour (15%), Flax Seed (8%), Soft Wheat Bran, Yeast, Salt.

I agree that majority of pre-made bread products are UPF but is wheat gluten UPF? I permanently keep it in my store cupboard and use to make seitan due to good protein content. I was always under the impression it was processed, not ultra processed