To think it's impossible to eat a UPF free diet as an ordinary person?

[MyHealthyMission]

I mean ordinary as in, works full time, earns a decent but not huge wage, has free time but not entire days at a time to dedicate to cooking etc.

I'm on a bit of a health kick, and have turned my attention to eating whole foods and ensuring I'm eating as healthy as possible as we come into winter.

I've had a sourdough starter on the go for a while and decided I'd knock up some bread rolls and soup to have for lunch in the coming week because it's turned cold. Figured it would be a great, low UPF meal. Until I googled the beef stock, which is apparently a really bad UPF! Even the super expensive all natural concentrates are UPF. So unless you can afford to buy and boil a load of beef bones, it seems you're out of luck.

Obviously you can do the normal things like avoiding crisps, protein shakes etc. as they're all full of UPF, but when even things like stock cubes are stuffed full of them, it just seems impossible! AIBU to think it's just become impossible to eat a UPF free diet?

I tend to make my own stock, but you can also buy fresh stock in the chilled section, which may not be perfect, but will be better than a cube.

I don't bake my own bread, but I buy it from a local bakery.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing, but finding swaps that work for you

I think it’s fine to just make changes wherever you can and eat UPFs in moderation. Have a small treat every day if you want but make substitutions in other areas and eat whole foods where you can. If you can make your own stocks then great but I wouldn’t beat myself up over a few stock cubes especially with soup for example which is otherwise packed full of good stuff.

Live 80/20. When I first started my UPF free journey I basically made my life hell. Getting obsessed with little things like trying to make my own horseradish for a Sunday dinner. Now I just buy the jarred stuff. I make all my own bread, soups and generally eat well etc but I do it because I enjoy it. It started making me miserable when I was obsessed. What’s the point of that?

I don't mind sourdough bread (usually only have it when eating out for breakfast/lunch) but when it's toasted I nearly break my teeth on the crust!

I just do what I can. Have always made meals from real foods anyway and over the last few years have stopped buying packaged loaves of bread. I do buy fresh sourdough but rarely have it myself. I tend to eat yoghurt at breakfast and a bean or fish or feta salad at lunch and then a normal home cooked meal.

You could replace beef stock with miso which is processed rather than ultra processed.

As someone else has said, aim for 80/20 or 90/10 rather than tying yourself up in knots trying to be 100% UPF free. It is not easily achievable even when you have loads of time. The simpler you eat, the more easily achievable it is.

@MyHealthyMission where are you getting your definition of UPF’s from?
& that sour dough is “more healthy” that a fresh made whole grain loaf?

genuinely interested.

I thought variety was the spice of life the key to a balanced diet?

Tim Spector aims for 80/20.

I just buy Jason bread and rolls or Crosta Mollica. Only eat bread once a day 4 days a week.I have home made granola and Greek yogurt for breakfast.

Some are really over thinking this.

of course a stock cube from a factory is UPF! but you don't need to use one to make soup! just leave it out. the soup will still taste good.

and i've seen a few people mention miso as an alternative to a stock cube, although some falsely describe it as a UPF.

Miso is a traditionally-fermented (so processed, rather than ultra-processed) foodstuff, which you could in theory make at home - something many Japanese people still do each year.

As long as you buy natural, organic miso, it's fine. I would tend to avoid sachets of 'instant miso flavour' style stuff, as it's more likely to contain weird unnessary additives

I prefer to add a stock cube to my soups.
It's one stock cube.
It's fine as part of an otherwise healthy diet.

Exactly. Tomorrow I'm making chicken and vegetable soup, I have some homemade stock to use but I will also add another stock cube which is a quarter of a stock cube per portion if I make 4.

For a chilli I'll put in 3 beef ones along side a couple of squares of dark chocolate but I'll easily get 10 portions out of it and it's packed full of vegetables and beans.

I will not be making my own mayonnaise because I'm pretty sure it will work out more expensive and I don't use that much so it will just go to waste. I would much rather use a tablespoon of shop bought here and there.

I'm not going to lose sleep over my consumption of UPFs which is sometimes too many (like today I'm having shop bought stuffed pasta, a shop bought sauce, I've eaten a chocolate bar, had a can of coke zero and I'm drinking prosecco.

Tomorrow I'll have a cheese and tomato omelette for breakfast, homemade chilli for dinner and something else for lunch. I have sweeteners in my coffee, I will definitely have a can of coke zero but other than that and the oxos in my chilli it's miles ahead of today. Could I make it better? Yes. Am I willing to? No.

I put weight on because I'm a greedy pig with a love of high calorie food like cheese and cream. As soon as I cut back and eat more lower calorie foods I lose the weight. I do naturally eat less UPFs I suppose because I'm conscious of the calories but you will have to prise the daily can of coke zero out of my cold dead hands.

This thread is crazy, and some posts really are peak Mumsnet. It’s a stock cube, not crack cocaine.

OP, I think you’re so deep into the details you need to take a breath, zoom out, and see the bigger picture. UPFs are not poison, and small amounts here and there won’t ’contaminate’ the rest of your diet.

Eat mostly healthy food, most of the time, and don’t overthink things. I seriously think threads like this do more harm than good, as they inevitably attract posters who are prone to the same black and white thinking as the OP, who then fails to see how extreme their views are.

No of course it is not impossible, but it is a lot of work and there are no products out there to help you or make it more convenient- you have to start with ingredients alone, every time. So while it is possible unless you have plenty of time it's very difficult.

No it isn’t difficult and it’s not a lot of work. There are loads of products to make things easier.

Marigold vegetable bouillon is the least processed stock option.

There are loads of shop bought products available. Bread, cereal, yoghurt, soup, sauces.
You just need to read the labels.

Products are processed- if you are completely avoiding UPF which products are you using?

I make a batch of granola at the weekend. Lasts 2 weeks with Greek yogurt- breakfast

Crosta or Jason bread, wrap or roll for lunch with egg, cheese or tuna. Duchy mayo if I use that. Tomatoes or leftovers from dinner, yog with some kind of compot or honey, fruit that takes 2 mins to make a batch-lunch

I cook all main evening meals from scratch and always have done- dal, curry, jackets chilli etc. Doesn’t take long at all.

There's a difference between processed and ultra processed. Ultra processed foods are made using industrial processes to make them palatable or shelf stable. They contain additives, emulsifiers and gums that you wouldn't recognise as food or an ingredient.

Just processed food contains ingredients you recognise or have in your cupboard at home.

It's the difference between a UPF tortilla wrap - INGREDIENTS: Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium, Folic Acid, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Water, Palm Oil, Humectant (Glycerol), Raising Agents (Disodium Diphosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Sugar, Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Salt, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Wheat Starch, Flour Treatment Agent (L-Cysteine).

And non-UPF tortilla wrap - Ingredients: Italian Reground Durum Wheat Semolina (67%), Water, Extra Virgin Olive Oil (8%), Salt

I do it and I would love to help you. I recommend reading the book called nourishing traditions by sally fallon. Sourdough Bread is very quick to make it’s just flour and water, then you leave it for days adding water and flour each day, it really doesn’t take long unless you have to knead by hand. I make rolls and then freeze them for my daughter so you only have to make it once a month. Same with beef bones. Buying real stock is expensive, making it yourself is very easy, just boil bones in water and vinegar and then freeze in small bags. Both take a long time but hardly any of that time is spent cooking or preparing it’s just waiting. Kefir is also really easy to make, you just add kefir grains to milk and leave it for two days. Chicken liver pate is another easy recipe. It’s about prioritising food, it’s well worth it as your health is the most important thing.

Im a single parent of 3 DC. Work 72 hours a week on minimum wage. We eat entirely UPF free. It is completely possible. Look for swaps, M and S do UPF free cereal and frozen bone broth and pizza dough. Even our coop and now selling UPF free sour dough.

Not being antagonistic but, I made chilli for tea tonight and there's enough left for another night.

Fried onion and garlic, added spices, added meat, added passata.

Made guacamole while it was simmering.

Avocado, chopped a tomato, added crushed garlic, some chopped red onion and lime juice.

Soured cream and cheddar cheese.

Took about 30/40 mins.

On the menu this week is carbonara - pasta, pancetta, parmesan, black pepper and eggs with a salad. Takes less than half an hour.

Undyed smoked haddock, poached eggs with a creme fraiche, wholegrain mustard and lemon sauce with broccoli or spinach. Takes less than half an hour to do. Admittedly, the fish isn't cheap but we don't have it very often!

The rest of the week will be stuff like pork belly and salad or roasted chicken thighs and veg.

What are people eating that is so labour intensive/difficult to cook from scratch?

None of the above is difficult.

There are loads of UPF free breads available- M&S, Crosta, Jason. They fill you up more too. Nobody needs to be making their own bread. Most evening meal recipes are UPF free. What is so difficult about it?

This, most recipes in my cookery books are UPF free. What on earth are people cooking and eating that is so hard?