AIBU to think supermarket food choices have got weirdly exhausting?

[ProbablyNeedsTea]

I’m trying to eat reasonably well (not perfect, not Instagram), but every supermarket trip feels like a mental workout now.
Labels, additives, “healthy” claims that don’t seem that healthy, kids’ snacks that are basically sugar… I find myself standing in the aisle googling or just giving up and buying the usual.
AIBU, or does anyone else feel like food shopping takes way more energy than it used to?
If you have cracked it, what actually helps you decide quickly?

Just do a list before you go it will honestly help with your choices stick to your list.

Just make a list and only buy what's on the list.

Isn't it like everything though, there's so much choice it's difficult to know what to get? Someone else will doubtless post banging the anti-upf drum soon, but moderation in calorie dense foods, try to eat a variety of things including a variety of fruit and veg and eat what you enjoy.

This is one of the reasons I shop at Aldi/Lidl.

There's more or less only one version of everything.

A list helps, but when you have 5 versions of the same item, with some labelled "healthier" etc, I find that takes up more brain power than it ought to!😀

Because there’s allergies etc. at play for us, I am used to reading the ingredients, and so much is just garbage! What gets me is that I find something that’s fine, then they go and ‘improve’ the recipe, and it’s no longer something that we can have. I would rather there was more proper choice. As it is, it’s like: there’s this cheap rubbish and there’s this expensive rubbish, that’s it.

and yes, contrary to my user name, a cup of tea will help😄

It's easy, just buy whatever you could make yourself at home.

If it has weird gums or chemicals or emulsifiers in that you don't recognise, then don't buy it.

I realise this means missing out entire aisles of most supermarkets now, but it's worth it.

I much prefer a smaller shop. It's overwhelming. I mainly go to the local greengrocer farm shop for this reason! They sell some meat and dairy too so I can do the full shop almost.

It isn't the answer if you are working full time but I cook most things from scratch. Then, I figure when I do buy something processed, it isn't making up that large a percentage of our overall consumption.

Also I have the Yuka app downloaded to my phone. A quick scan of the barcode is enough to tell me which is the best option.

This is why I shop at ALDI.

Plus most of our shop is fruit/veg with a bit of meat/dairy so it's not like there's really any packaging to read anyway.

I think one general rule for me is that if it has health claims of any kind on it then it's probably not worth buying.

It's always been like this (well, since UPFs appeared in the 70s), you're just noticing it right now.

You have to get into the habit of buying real, actual food and learning how to make interesting and tasty things with it. I buy what other people call 'treats' very rarely. The DC eat them when I do, don't ask for them when I don't. But I have the same core vegetables, fruit, meat/fish, dairy, carbs on repeat order for delivery and spend the time you spend shopping looking up new ways to cook them. I'm also strict with food waste so we normally have at least one "random leftovers" meal a week.

I don’t find this. But I basically buy the same 50 or whatever items per week, mostly. I repeat meals, we probably only eat a rotation of about 15 meals regularly.

if you’re more interested in food and want to cook new dishes all the time / try new products then yes I think it would be mentally exhausting!

I find the variety of choice across things like clothes and furniture completely mentally draining. I’m trying to clothe myself and three children who spurt up every 6 months and it would be much easier to have a 1950s style kids wardrobe where everyone basically wore the same! A lot of my eve admin is spent researching which product is the best, or trying to pick a coat and pair of wellies per child for example.

I take a list and try not to buy stuff that needs tiny labels with lots of ingredients on it. Keep it simple.
Just this morning in Morrisons there seemed to be more people than usual staring at the shelves. Overwhelmed by choice.

As above, buy real food cook it and eat it.
It is ok to be boring and eat local vegetables in season, fruit when it is in season and cycle a small set of meals.
When you only buy real food you can skip 80% of the supermarket.

If you stick to buying mostly whole foods, it's pretty easy. Most processed food isn't healthy, despite the labels! I'm not saying don't ever buy crisps or biscuits, we have them occasionally, but the majority of our shopping is meat/fish, fruit/vegetables full fat yoghurt/cheese, eggs, butter, wholemeal bread/wraps. Healthier snacks are generally nuts, fruit, cheese and crackers, veggies and hummus etc

Some very simple advice that might help.

• Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables;
• Everything in moderation, and;
• Don't buy anything that your grandmother wouldn't recognise as food. This is a very simple rule of thumb that helps to discourage buying category 4 UPFs.*

*Make an exception for some international foods that wouldn't have been around in the past.

I'd highly recommend reading Bee Wilson's book 'The Way We Eat Now'

Make a list based on a weekly menu.
Put whole foods on it then buy spices, harissa, condiments etc to accompany and add flavour.

It's the paradox of choice. Too much choice is exhausting, it's not just food, it's a constant in our lives. I think it's the source of a huge amount of unhappiness and that it perpetuates the idea that there is a right choice and a wrong choice in food, house, job, partner etc.

This is so accurate. Especially since I had DC I find I waste so much of my life worrying whether I’ve made the “right” choice. This ranges from big decisions (new car, furniture, pram choice) to minor things (wellies, raincoats, sleeping bags). I find myself lying awake wondering if I could have got a more effective raincoat for my DD for instance. Madness (of my own making!)

Supermarkets are full of shit food.
Just focus on buying as much 'real' and less processed food as you are able and cooking from basic ingredients.
No need to feel overwhelmed with all the products, just give the more UPF ones the swerve. That cuts out about three quarters of all supermarket products!

I'm not one to bang the drum about UPF (I had very UP pizza last night), but if you don't want "labels, additives, kids snacks that are basically sugar" - then just don't bloody buy them!

Cook from scratch with raw ingredients, buy fruit etc for snacks.

Plan meals, make a list, and just buy what's on that.

As others have already said - you need to buy mostly 'real/whole' foods and ignore the processed foods. If time is limited, do more big batch cooking and freeze it.

Yeah, I do buy a lot of whole foods and I cook every night!
I started to look into my everyday staples like bread, pastas, sauces and it’s a long list of ingredients and I just can’t be bothered to stand there decoding it all when I next go shopping to then have to find an alternative. Not to mention on-the-go snacks or lunches! I'm not going to make my own yogurt for example 😅
Although I try and cook, in a normal week I still end up needing quick things I can grab, and that’s where I find myself hesitating or defaulting to the same stuff.

Finding the most wholesome foods in a supermarket is time-consuming at first what with all the label reading and understanding what is a 'good' ingredient versus not so good, but eventually as PPs have said you come to a point where you're only shopping for specific items ehich you know to be good and I've found it's made my shopping experiences now a lot faster and simpler.
The only disadvantage of this strategy is when dickhead manufacturers decide to randomly change their product to include a crappy ingredient which makes it ultra processed (some sourdoughs are like this, and I've noticed swapping of olive oil for cheaper palm or sunflower oil, or addition of gums into products etc. presumably to make smoother texture).