To wonder what people trying to reduce UPFs eat in adult packed lunches and sandwiches?

[Ka1eChip]

I’m not going nuts as regards this and have always cooked from scratch but trying to reduce the amount of processed food we eat .Breakfast and dinner are easy but sandwiches and packed lunches I struggle with.

Can you get low processed bread( if so where) and what about fillings? Cheese sandwiches are dull, processed meat is a clear no and then tuna you can’t eat in abundance… What else do you be put in a packed lunch?

What do other people have?Is 1 or 2 processed items a day (eg a yog and granola bar) ok.

I usually just bulk cook a meal. Cottage pie, lasagne, pasta, stew, my fave to do is a beef pie. I know exactly what goes into them, and they usually work out under 400 calories a portion

Sourdough from the farmer’s market and nice cheese, with home grown tomatoes. I never get bored with that!

Tesco stock really good sourdough Jason’s which makes a decent sarnie. Left leftover Roast chicken, home made pasta salads, cold salmon and potato salad, frittata and tomato salad are among my favourite lunches. Soups and casseroles in the winter

I try and avoid bread (doing the Fast800) but when I do I have sourdough. I usually take the following sorts of things for lunch at work:

Salad with cold chicken/ham/tuna/prawns and avocado

A ‘ploughmans’ lunch of ham, cheese, pickled onions, tomatoes, cucumber, cold boiled eggs, pickle etc plus an optional slice of sourdough. Basically add in whatever you’ve got i.e peppers, sugar snap peas etc.

Cold homemade quiche or frittata

Snack of houmous and carrots/peppers etc

Homemade soup.

I like a website/Facebook page called Eating Well for healthier recipe ideas.

Yeah we both work full time so can’t make own bread, thanks for the link that’s really helpful.

If I’m having sandwiches I tend to make my own bread (machine) which is quick, then add veg, protein and either mayo or hummus which generally I will make myself. Generally though I tend to go with roasted veg and protein (generally just by cooking extra of whatever we’re having for dinner) plus some rice/potatoes.

Yes me too, leftovers are great!

Yeah this. Or home made soup and a Greek natural yogurt. If no microwave- buy a flask. My blood pressure has dropped by an insane amount since I started cooking from scratch - my GP couldn’t believe it - and I wouldn’t have believed it myself if it wasn’t me IYSWIM

Was looking at the Jason bread, is that low UP?

Lots of great ideas here!

But I’m puzzled as to why 58% think the OP is being unreasonable…??

FWIW, today I am having some left over tabbouleh from last night’s dinner, 2 boiled eggs, a Middle Eastern flatbread, and a cup of blueberries 😀

@Mathsdebator - I'm not a fan of mixed beans, but I eat a lot of quinoa, bulgar and couscous. At this time of year I'd tend to have them with eg feta and salady bits and then a lemon/oil dressing. If winter it could be roasted veg with chickpeas and a harissa dressing.

I cook my own grains and freeze in portions. I add my own flavouring.
I tend to use tins of cooked beans as they are cheap and convenient.

Aldi sourdough is UPF free
Aldi also have some olive oil ciabatta rolls which are UPF free.
m and S has a packed white sliced loaf for about 75p which is ok UPF wise.
jasons sourdough is ok.
i struggled to find any non-UPF options in Morrisons so I don’t go there.
also the Crosta and mollica has lots of UPF free options for wraps and pizza.

so I go somewhere specifically to get UPF free bread and keep some in the freezer.
id have cheese, peanut butter, or make a chicken/tuna mayo and sweetcorn mix.

or I make a pasta salad with nitrate free bacon from m and s, and chicken. Big batch.

Leftovers, salad, fruit are the easiest way to avoid UPF lunches. I chop up a big bowl of salad veg, which will last two days at least. Then chuck some of it in a lunch box and add some kind of protein (leftover meat, tuna, hard boiled egg etc). I always have jars of stuff in the fridge to make it more interesting- kimchi, olives, gherkins, capers etc. And I have some little pots for dressing (usually just some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper).

Soup is my favourite packed lunch though.

Home made wholemeal bread, either bread maker or sourdough. The bread machine is literally 5 minutes work, it's a no brainer. I work full-time as well and just start the loaf on the timer before bed.

Spreadable butter, it's only 2 ingredients so not too bad. Cheese or ham salad fillings. Not all ham is a UPF, it's a traditional processed food.

Also a small container of fruit like grapes/melon.
I also make up batches of salad but tend to be fed up of it by Friday. In the winter I make batches of soup and take a bit of bread or a scone with it.

Take a few nuts and dried fruit rather than granola bars, or some plain yoghurt with fruit rather than a sweet yoghurt. (Or a Longley Farm single pot).

The main thing is to have a plan and shop for it. Also don't obsess over the small stuff like is your hummus a UPF.

Yes, it is. I think it is a little bit more expensive though, which I guess makes sense.

That said re the bread machine- any recommendations for a good but easy one. Might give it some consideration.

Once you’ve chosen your bread, fill with
Egg (I mash with a bit of natural greek yoghurt)
cold roast meat
hummus
roast veg and pesto
peanut butter (the stuff that is just peanuts) or other nut butters
homemade mushroom pate (just made from mushrooms, strained nat yog, seasonings)
Banana
Avocado
Felaffel (are they UPF)?
Cheese, salad, Marmite

I bake wholemeal soda bread on Sundays, a biggish loaf, slice and freeze for the week.
I make the easy mayo with a stick blender, lots of recipe instructions out there.
Pesto, veg mousse (leftover veg blended with breadcrumbs from the loaf lol), hummus, tinned salmon (is that breaking the UPF rules), tuna in spring water, eggs, cheese. That's more or less it. Oh and greek yogurt or Skyr, or kefir with fruit.

I'm no angel though and eat dark choc whenever I can get my hands on it lol.

Sourdough bread - Jason's is good or Crosta&Mollica toasting bread
Sliced chicken (cook a whole chicken and use it across the week)
Get an olive oil or avocado mayo with no seed oils
Cucumber
Salad
Cheese
Pepper and carrot batons
Handful of nuts
Crosta and mollica bread sticks with a cream cheese / cottage cheese dip (add garlic powder yum)
Greek yoghurt, add honey and fruit

The possibilities are endless

Most of my usuals have been said already, but also MOB app/website has lots of great batch cook lunch ideas too.

Rice, salmon steak (chilli, garlic powder, salt & pepper), cucumber, tomato, spring onion, lemon juice, avocado.

Rice, prawns (plain, with garlic and lemon, chilli, fried after being dusted with seasoned GF flour, lime juice, snippings of coriander or parsley, etc), cucumber, tomato, red onion.

Boiled potatoes, spinach, tuna, hard boiled egg, olive oil, lemon juice.

GF pasta, tuna, tomatoes, olives, red onion.

Coleslaw - red onion, carrot, red cabbage, sliced in the food processor, salt, rice vinegar, splash of pickled beetroot juice from the jar or orange juice, salt, pepper, sometimes a bit of mayonnaise, all in a tub and shaken up to last for a few days. Goes well with (everything) cold leftover chicken or roast pork.

Potatoes, spinach or mixed green leaves, pickled beetroot and horseradish, bit of mayonnaise to turn it glowing pink, spring onions or chives. Also goes well with cold meat.

Things like that.

Chopped salads or roast veg with homemade hummus

Homemade soup and a sandwich made on bakery shop bread

Panasonic do good bread makers. Cheese needn't be boring especially if you also put in chutney and/or salad stuff. Peanut butter. Egg mayo. Avocado. Also banana. Dried fruit. Nuts.