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?

My golden wonder crisps are potatoes and veg oil (rapeseed, sunflower) and salt that isn’t upf

As usual the quite reasonable advice to eat less sliced white bread, pot noodles, pringles and chocolate cereal has begun a purity spiral with everyone competing to eliminate every last trace of commercially processed products and completely losing perspective. Along with lack of cooking skills and knowledge of how normal /old-fashioned food is meant to be made.

If you can eat 80-90% UPF free you are doing fine and will get the benefit.

Also just because something is in a packet doesn't make it a UPF, if it's a traditional preserved food like jam made with sugar, bacon, tinned tomatoes etc.

Wholewheat yeasted bread made in a bread maker is easy, cheap and quick. I make sourdough sometimes but it's still just a wholemeal bread.

Eh?
Did I suggest I didn't have any privileges?
PP understood my point, and responded.

I wish I liked milk and I wish I liked porridge, because I love the idea of it, quick and easy and filling! I make it often for DS and he has it with dried fruit and some honey or occasionally syrup.
I have yoghurt with (harder) grains/seeds/nuts/fruit, which is nice too.

Well you dont have to use milk you can use yoghurt to mix with any cooked grain and essentially have the similar thing. Cook up some grains (if you so fancy) and keep them in the freezer in portions and then just mix up in the morning after getting out the night before

I said on another thread we're too rigid about what makes a breakfast food, lentils and beans are good for breakfasts, gentle on the stomach, rice dishes or other grains for breakfast if people like that is completely fine, soup is completely fine

It’s not cheaper though is it?

Yes I wont get it out again but usually on these threads I have to bring out the basic Tesco lasagne ready meal.

Not a UPF, most are not.

Maybe not UPF free - almost definitely not - but you can make substantial improvements if you're used to a lot. Probably sticking to quite simple food helps. We have got used to using a lot of sauces and more involved meals, I think, and simple meals like soup, salad, casseroles, etc can easily be homemade from natural ingredients. Using a stock cube in a homemade dish is not something I would worry about. And definitely a breadmaker is much quicker than making your own sourdough, though I will admit I don't know if sourdough is better for you - I don't really like it so wouldn't make the effort. It's also things like snacks - so many highly processed snacks available but if you can stick to fruit, nuts, some homemade treats, this is better.

You are probably doing a lot better than you think!

I have found an option I like, I don't need to change it.
I'm well aware of other different options too - tbh I like eggs for breakfast sometimes, or HM savoury muffins or cold crustless quiches.

You can buy a lot of stuff that’s not UPF, you just have to pay for it. Bread, jam, even stock and ready meals. There’s no need to make it yourself if you’re are time poor but have a decent amount to spend on money. The issue is if you’re time poor and money poor.

I don't eat a lot of UPF but not really on purpose. I buy nice sourdough bread, crosta & mollica wraps, make veg soup.

A lot of my meals are made using fresh meat and veg (e.g chicken wraps with salad, fish and veg etc). I tend to snack on fruit or greek yogurt. If was trying to be UPF free I don't think it would take up much more time.

If you badly wanted to you could (for very little money) get veg on the turn at the market and butcher’s bones and make stock, just let it simmer on the hob for hours. Gas costs of course. I have to say, this is very far into “Can’t be bothered” / diminishing returns territory for me.

I don't think it's that hard or time-consuming to eat mostly upf-free.

You are choosing to do things like making sour dough which are time-consuming, but even though you deem it healthier it would still be upf free to use a bread maker, buy Jason's from the supermarket, or eat other things instead of bread.

It took me a while to find swaps that worked for me in the beginning, but now I have them it's quite easy.

I have lots of quick and easy upf free meals. Eg pasta arrabiata. I only make soup after having roast chicken so I can use the chicken bones as stock. I don't make jam because it's easy to find non-upf versions in the shop. I prioritise making things at home which can't easily be found in a shop.

Not to be the negative one again, but some areas don't have markets, sadly. The other option would be reduced supermarket veg, but that's almost always tasteless mush by the time it's actually reduced!
Some areas also don't have mains gas and have to cook with (expensive) electricity (not sure why the places who generate lots of electricity have to pay more for it). I agree with your last sentence. 😁

My local butcher will only give bones to loyal customers. They are also two to three times more expensive than the local supermarkets, and they also don't use exclusively local meat

Lots of things are pretty easy to make yourself but lack of home economics lessons in school have made people disinterested in making their own food.

Eg bread. I don't have a breadmaker I do it in my mixer ( if you are going to invest in equipment then a food mixer can do so much more so more cost effective) 10 mins mixing. Leave to rise. Put in bread tin. Rise. Bake. Less than 50p a loaf

Crisps- use potato peeler to get thin bits. Toss with oil and salt. Bake. Parsnip ones are really good too.

Biscuits and cakes are just so much nicer homemade and with a mixer take little time to knock up. More expensive to make as butter is so expensive now.

Pizza is so cheap to make and so much better for you, loads of veg. Takes hardly any time to knock up too.

Oven chips. Just cut a potato up toss in oil.and chuck in oven.

I make HM pizza, quiches chips/wedges, some breads, some sweet treats, but having no access to mains gas and having to pay more for electricity makes the oven quite pricey to run. I do use the airfryer for some things - I'm not convinced it bakes as well as an oven but it roasts better.

@MyHealthyMission You can also make a quick, healthier version of jam as and when you need it (should keep in the fridge for a week or 2).

I don't measure as such, but it's roughly:

1 cup of diced fruit or berries (frozen or fresh)
1-2 Tablespoon of chia seeds, depending on how thick you like your jam, and what fruit you're using (frozen has more water that'll need absorbing)
1tsp lemon juice
Bit of honey to sweeten, if wanted (I don't often bother)
Any spices, I sometimes add cinnamon and other Christmas's spices

Cook the fruit in a pan, with a tiny bit of water, if needed, (and any spices if wanted), until it starts to break down. Take off heat. Mash up if preferred. Add chia seeds and lemon juice. Stir well and leave to cool. Stir again and store in sterilised jars in the fridge, or serve immediately. Lasts a week or 2 in the fridge.

Never heard of this - sounds interesting. Will have a go.

And thank you @Bulbsbulbsbulbs for the suggestion of using a potato peeler to get thin homemade crisps. Another I'm going to try!

For non-vegetarians, a good way to cut the cost of baking cakes, pastry etc is to use half butter, half lard. It's not just a cost-cutting measure - you may find you get lighter pastry and sponges that way.

The answer, as it always is - it is if you choose to make it cheaper.

Are kallo stock cubes UPF?

We eat pretty much UPF free. We have a few severe allergies in the house that means almost everything is cooked from scratch, so it’s less a conscious decision to avoid UPF, and more a side effect of a lot of pre-made food being unsuitable.
We don’t specifically aim for UPF-free, so the odd thing will be UPF, and that doesn’t bother me. But I think bread is the only UPF thing we buy regularly.

Does it depend where you live? I’ve got at least 5 fabulous farm shops in my local area. I tend to cook like my Granny did in Autumn and Winter.

I’m in a London suburb with a couple of terrific Turkish / Asian groceries nearby, where I go for fruit, veg & all the herbs & spices I could ever need - I’m not sure if spices are UPF but they definitely make my cooking more interesting.