To ask how much UPF you really eat?

[CherryValley5]

Just that really!

I mostly try and avoid it but it’s definitely not a no go zone for us - I’m very much a believer of everything in moderation but am seeing more and more MN posts who basically treat eating it in the same way as drugs/alcohol!

For example: since reading Dr Chris van Tulleken’s book I never buy ready meals anymore and don’t see them as real food - it all feels a bit gross to me now which it certainly didn’t used to. I definitely do far more home cooking these days and am much less likely to just pop in to the shops on the way home to buy something quick that can just be shoved in the oven. I feel much better for it but it’s so expensive and time consuming..!

I make all meals from scratch but still use stock cubes, soy sauce etc. I still have the odd treat - bar of chocolate or bag of crisps, but it’s like once a fortnight rather than daily. So even though we’re predominantly UPF free I’ve got no intention of cutting it out completely.

Why does neurodiversity (so often) mean "potato waffles/breaded fish/baked beans" and other processed food?

I don't get it.

I've just ordered the book, hope to God I can still eat Lindt chocolate or it's going straight to the charity shop!

Just this weekend in our household - bread, chocolate, crisps, crackers, ice cream, hash browns
Quite a lot really even though our meals are mostly home.

probably different reasons for different ND folk but my little one also had cancer at 16 months old so a combo of living off paediasure shakes (wouldn’t tolerate a feeding tube and nearly ended up peg fed) and having severe mucusitis (from mouth to anus) - google it if you don’t know what it is, combined with severe sensory intolerances to a lot of food led to massive food aversion. He lived off ready break, baked beans and grated cheese for years. We’ve had paediatricians, dieticians, gastro specialists involved over many years. So yeah I’m actually really f’ing proud he’s still with us, having survived the cancer and actually branched out to fish fingers, nuggets and the occasional satsuma. Believe me it’s taken over 7 years.
Hope that answers your (ever so slightly obnoxious) question.

I never really ate a lot of UPF and these days it's limited to tiny quantities of things like mayo, soy sauce, mustard and the like which I use as flavourings for salad dressings and marinades.

Unless we are eating out, all our meals are home-cooked and consist of protein and lots of vegetables and/or salads, sometimes with a small quantity of complex carbs.

The main foods I try to avoid altogether are refined carbs and added sugar in all its forms.

No idea. A lot? A middling amount?

I can't bring myself to care or invest in the newly packaged food obsession aimed at mainly women, who will take on earn more of the mental load and be saddled with making everything from scratch as well doing all the other bloody things while also working.

I've no desire to (maybe) live a negligible amount of time longer if I've got to waste a significant amount of my life now reading the ingredients on everything I buy. Just eat the bloody tartare sauce.

I reckon it might be about 20% of my diet, though I am trying to reduce it. Teen DS and DH have a much higher percentage through fussy eating, meal deals and drinking lots of diet coke

👏🏻 👏🏻

I try to cook from scratch most days, but we do have crisps, bread, condiments etc. We probably eat less UPF's than the average family, but we are not paranoid about it.

@CherryValley5 , eating real food; it seems so simple doesn’t it? My younger son has a good ploy now insofar as he recommends reading the ingredients of anything you plan to buy. Good for focusing your mind on what you purchase.

Virtually none unless I'm eating out. Hardly any UFP in the house. I make my own bread and cakes.

Oh lots, it's convenient and tasty. I'll probably go through a phase when I shun them, but for now it's white warbutons and pringles.

I think many would be surprised what is UPF. One hell of a lot of food and drink.
Colman's mustard in the little jar? UPF.
Salt and vinegar crisps? UPF.
Hovis sliced loaf? UPF.
Wraps (except Crosta and mollica to the best of my knowledge)? UPF
Fajitas seasoning mix, ice cream (except good quality vanilla), ice lollies, ready popped popcorn, baked beans (except organic), most cereals, a lot of jams (not Bonne Maman), most chocolate, most sweets, most frozen or refrigerated items like burgers, pizzas, sausages, yogurts, cheese spread, chocolate spread, some peanut butters, jelly, Philadelphia (buy own brand), flavoured coffees, hot chocolate powder, cocoa powder, cakes, biscuits, bakery items, doughnuts (bastards), tinned soup, fizzy drinks, most crisps unless just salted, milkshakes, fruit squash, gin, vodka, whisky, rum, and most spirits. It's a bloody mine field. If you read the ingredients and there's a long list or there's ingredients you can't pronounce or most people wouldn't have in their cupboards then it's likely to be UPF.

Totally agree with you, it’s just the latest fad to beat us with.

I’ve always cooked and baked from scratch, it’s all I’ve ever known as it’s how I was brought up. Balanced diet, no ready meals, butter rather than spread, curry sauces etc made from scratch…but there is the occasional packet of crisps etc…I. DON’T CARE

Not much really, I don't have kids at home or work full time so it's easier for me to cook/prep food from scratch. We've never really used ready meals but I used to buy cereal bars etc for snacks, I don't anymore.

My usual day involves oats/natural yogurt/fruit for breakfast, roast veg or salad for lunch (I prep enough for a few days) and a cooked meal in the evening.

Not sure what qualifies as UPF vs PF, but on a daily basis, I eat mostly fresh food. But I assume that stuff like pasta, greek yogurt, cheese, or bread, even from the bakery, is still PF, if not UPF.

I average 3% according to my Zoe app where I'm tracking what I eat atm. I don't think Zoe has made much difference to that though as we already ate very few. I don't intentionally avoid them, and would always say yes to a shop bought cake at a party or whatever. But we try to eat lots of whole foods and cook everything from scratch so it just happens naturally really.

My kids have eaten very little to other than at other people's houses and eating out. I guess that will change with school. They do have things like cake, but I make them myself, and I've never got into buying chocolate or sweets or giving crisps.

If UPF means my step son will eat rather than starve then i’m doing it - he eats lots of things like hash browns, chicken nuggets, sausages etc - but to be fair always with a side of veg that he’ll eat. I’ve tried non processed or little processed versions of those foods but he doesn’t want them so I’d rather him eat!

we don’t stress too much in my house - I cook a lot from scratch for me and DP with lots of veg and meat and pulses. But we like snacks - crisps, chocolate, biscuits and I’m not cutting them out. Everything in moderation. Also I have a filthy Pepsi max habit I refuse to kick - I don’t drink alcohol or smoke so it’s my only vice 🤣

I try not to but it is impossible to avoid them completely. I don't eat ready meals and eat Jason bread. I have not read the book. To be honest eating UPF often makes me feel unwell.

On MN I would probably be considered as vast amounts
In my circle of colleagues and friends - not much

Typical day
Breakfast - porridge (sachets), banana
Lunch - bread or wraps (shop bought) with tuna, cheese or ham and salad. Few crisps and something sweet (chocolate or yoghurt)
Tea - I cook from scratch 80% of the time but I also eat chicken dippers, frozen jacket potatoes, potato waffles

Health conditions and no time, energy or money to be too fussed about it

I like the Crosta tortillas. For fajitas, I season the meat with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, smoked paprika and lemon juice - works well.

@ObliviousCoalmine love it!!

If you eat a mainly UPF free diet then you don't really need to check the labels that much unless you want to avoid something. I might check the difference in ingredients of mayo brands for instance but it's not something that take loads of time. I'm generally buying natural ingredients - meat, veg, fruit, greek yoghurt, nuts etc so I have no need for labels.

In answer to the OP we're a pretty low UPF household. We make all our own bread and cook from scratch most nights although I will use soy sauce, stock, mayo. However, as a percentage of an overall meal then this is really low. I do struggle with snacks for the kids and will resort to UPF for these - bread sticks, rice cakes etc. I find it tricky having an easy snack which they'll eat which is more substantial that fruit and not just sugar. I would also eat crisps everyday if I could!

As I said, I’m definitely not going to read the ingredients of everything I buy. I’m totally fine with the odd bit of UPF slipping in, even intentionally sometimes. As long as for the most part I’m eating good quality, nutritious and natural food than I’m fine with that. As a PP said, breaded fish and baked beans for example wouldn’t bother me in the slightest - in fact I buy both very regularly.