Not eating processed foods

[Dogmum40]

Hi All,

I’m trying to change the way my husband and I eat, we both now work from home and can be in the kitchen a lot more so I’m trying to say goodbye to the processed foods and eat as clean and healthy as possible . (I should add we don’t have children)

We never have been the takeaway/fast food/microwave meal type people but I am aware that we do still eat a lot of processed foods from cereal in the morning, to bread for lunch and prepared soups/sauces

I always home cook where I can and never buy the stir in type sauces, I mainly buy a white sauce mix or sour cream dips for ease and Canned soups for a quick fix but I want to try going process free if it’s possible so could those of you who have a totally clean diet give me some tips on a process free day of food please from breakfast through to lunch and dinner with snacks.

In sandwiches we have the usual ham, bacon, cheese etc.. and I know these are processed so sandwich ideas would be particularly helpful

I have a sweet tooth so definitely need a snack sugary alternative to cakes/choc and biscuits ( I have tried nuts and seeds for snacking but it wasn’t a major success)

Thank you 😊

I struggle to understand how overnight oats isn't the same as cold porridge.

These threads work well to remind me why I like processed foods & will never give them up.

I think you'd like the book 'How not to die' by Dr Michael Gregor.

I cannot see how canned tomatoes in their various iterations are ultra processed.

I am a big fan of my bread machine. We make a 100% whole grain loaf using a combination of stone ground whole wheat, sprouted whole wheat, and kamut flour. The only sweetener is blackstrap molasses. It has skim milk powder for extra protein.

We keep a backup loaf of commercial bread in the freezer. I had some this morning and to me it was just yuck.

There needs to be a reasonable balance. Eating "clean" can be an additional stressor on mothers in particular. Learning what can actually be harmful as opposed to organic local grown perfection is key.

Not to mention we cannot feed the world with fresh tomatoes only!

We eat very little processed foods and I cook from scratch.

It is very time consuming but I see it as my hobby as I enjoy it so much.

I do a lot of reading and over time have built up a lot of knowledge on nutrition and cooking. We don't really have a sweet tooth or eat desserts. When we do need something sweet we will buy them but I have also learned not to stress when we buy the odd thing that it's not going to kill us.

I'll post later when I have more time what we eat but key kitchen items we use pretty much daily are are slow cooker, nutri billet, air fryer, soup maker, electric food chopper and electric food grinder.

It's useful to know where to go for the best ingredients. I buy olive oil in 5l tins in bulk, sprouting seeds online in bulk, visit Asian supermarkets, have a veg box, shop at Ocado as they stock more of the key ingredients I use to make food tasty.

And that's the key, knowing just what ingredients to add to get the taste just right.

I can become obsessive about it but absolutely love the fact we eat so cleanly and healthily.

Good luck!

I don't really rate overnight oats either. For breakfast I put in a bowl an espresso cup of oats, one of water, one of milk (you can do both milk if you prefer). Put in microwave for exactly 2 mins (for me that's 4 button presses, should be just about to boil when done). While waiting grate an apple. Mix apple and porridge. Whole job takes less than 2.5 mins.

I don't like the whole idea of 'clean food' it sounds a bit eating disorder-y to me.

But it's very clear what a healthy diet is - more fruit and veg, a bit of white meat and fish, not much red meat or processed meat, a load of nuts and seeds.

If you up your veg and beans then you'll be a lot of the way there. The easiest way for you to start is soup I think - homemade is a doddle, cheaper and nice and hard to mess up. Most soup is onion and garlic fried for a bit plus stock and other veg, cook for 20 mins then add optional dairy for texture and flavour. Get a stick blender, good for soup and dips etc.

It's ultra processed foods you want to avoid. But processed foods (tinned vegetables, tomatoes, pulses; milk; cheese, etc) are fine. The NOVA classification lists the differences:
world.openfoodfacts.org/nova

Ideas for meals
Breakfast - eggs & guacamole on homemade toast, porridge, smoothie, homemade granola with yoghurt (plain, full fat)
Lunch - homemade soup with homemade bread, salads, houmous & other dips with vegetable sticks, roast vegetables & humous sandwiches
Dinner - chilli, curry, stew, bolognese, salads, stir fry, tray bakes, fajitas.

@CheekyAFAIK

I don't like the whole idea of 'clean food' it sounds a bit eating disorder-y to me.

But it's very clear what a healthy diet is - more fruit and veg, a bit of white meat and fish, not much red meat or processed meat, a load of nuts and seeds.

If you up your veg and beans then you'll be a lot of the way there. The easiest way for you to start is soup I think - homemade is a doddle, cheaper and nice and hard to mess up. Most soup is onion and garlic fried for a bit plus stock and other veg, cook for 20 mins then add optional dairy for texture and flavour. Get a stick blender, good for soup and dips etc.

Agree with all of this. Particularly "clean eating", which is very Instagram Influencer and encourages disordered eating. As CheekyAFAIK says, lots of vegetables, beans, pulses, whole grains. Cook from scratch. And buy less meat but make it really good quality, e.g. grass-fed organic beef.

I have children and am trying to reduce processed food too.

We make bread using a bread machine. Rolls and loafs.

I make these amazing biscuits which I double the quantity for and keep in the freezer and take out a few at a time to cook. I usually replace the blueberries with sultanas or raisins and sometimes change pecans for walnuts. Can also add chocolate

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/blueberry-pecan-oaties

Lunches I cook gammon rice slice as ham, use egg or tuna filling or hummus, chicken sandwiches.

For breakfast we normally have homemade bread and homemade jam, or eggs or fruit.

world.openfoodfacts.org/nova

I got this installed & played with it.
Both NOVA & YUKA seem to mostly grade food by whether it's high fat or low fat.

Most the stuff in my kitchen was unrecognised by NOVA App, but is recognised by YUKA app. Suspect YUKA is better for UK food bar codes.

My rye bread from Lidl gets an "A" from NOVA & high score from YUKA, in spite of inverted sugar ingredient. Mostly due to being low fat & high fibre. No rating on NOVA about whether it's UPF. I imagine it must be UPF.

Philadelphia cream cheese was unrecognised on NOVA... but I found it in the online database (250g not 320g size). This gets a D ("poor nutritional quality") due to being high fat. Score 4 = ultra-processed. YUKA rates the cream cheese as "poor" due to high saturated fats

Kettle potato chips or Diet Dr. Pepper also get score 4 for being UPF, BUT get a C ("average nutritional quality") on NOVA due to being low fat, I imagine. YUKA rates the Kettle chips as "good" quality food, just calorific. YUKA rates the Dr. Pepper as being just as good as the cream cheese.

NOVA can't recognise my goat cheese. YUKA rates the goat cheese as "poor" due to a trace ingredient, potassium sorbate.

So lowest ratings for the cheeses, basically. Block of cheddar or Shredded cheese get bad scores. Brie or canned baked beans both count as UPF; YUKA doesn't like saturated fats.

I love cheese & like baked beans so not embracing any of these traffic light systems.

*Can you tell I'm procrastinating on a boring task I should be doing instead.

Cinnamon is great as a sweetner. I eat Greek yoghurt with sunflower seeds, walnuts, and cinnamon for breakfast most mornings.

I don't think it's that hard. But you need to be organised. And it's not cheap. Loads of veg etc. Meat. You can't do it if you are on a very tight budget.

Thank you everyone for your input, we both are fairly good cooks and happy to cook anything especially now as we have time so all your process free recipes are really appreciated!

Another idea for lunch is savoury pancakes. We eat them quite a lot. Can put almost anything in them that you’d put in a sandwich. Quick and easy to do.

Or sweetcorn fritters. Similar batter to pancakes, just a bit thicker. Again, you don’t have to use sweetcorn. Can add any veg. We’ve added leftover pulled meat - you can use anything really.

@Vickles20 ...do you mean Bean Book? Do try some of the recipes. They are so easy, usually quick. Many freeze and as I said before so versatile. Enjoy

Someone on another thread put me onto yoghurt pizza base.

It's SO easy. Equal parts greek yoghurt and plain flour, squish it into dough, and you have pizza base.

well I didn't think I did clean non processed eating as I eat according to my taste and education.

My daily diet is;

yoghurt, cooked home grown fruit and home made granola

mixed grains with salad, tuna or chicken

homemade pesto and pasta with home made bread

Seems I am doing non processed without thinking of it.

Although lots of my food has been through a process, so am I really and honestly who really gives a shit.

Just eat well people. You know what you should eat, you dont need telly rules for it

@lljkk

I struggle to understand how overnight oats isn't the same as cold porridge.

These threads work well to remind me why I like processed foods & will never give them up.

overnight oats are cold porridge and tbh vile unless you add a shed load of sweetener !

[quote loopylindi]@Vickles20 ...do you mean Bean Book? Do try some of the recipes. They are so easy, usually quick. Many freeze and as I said before so versatile. Enjoy[/quote]
Yes. It should be here Monday. Can’t wait

We have weetabix of porridge. No nasties in weetabix.

@Aria999

Someone on another thread put me onto yoghurt pizza base.

It's SO easy. Equal parts greek yoghurt and plain flour, squish it into dough, and you have pizza base.

Really? That’s an awesome recipe! Dough is the devil for me so I’m going to attempt this Monday evening thank you 😁

Day 1 of clean eating didn’t go particularly well, we had a family emergency so went to the chippy, then had cream cakes followed by wine! In fact I genuinely don’t think it could have gone any worse! Oh actually yes it did, I ate half a packet of biscuits!

Tomorrow is now day 1!! Any ideas for homemade gravy that doesn’t use flour or gravy granules! Yorkshire puds will have flour so if there’s a gravy that does have a natural alternative for thickening that would be great!

Onward and upwards!

Tomorrow will be:-
Yogurt and fruit for breakfast - I’m going to buy proper porridge oats tomorrow to make something more exciting, I do have ready brek though 🤣

Roast lunch

Maybe cheese and crackers if I’m still hungry later

@Vickles20

We have weetabix of porridge. No nasties in weetabix.

Ooh I can do weetabix! Porridge will be a big test for me as I can’t stand it usually (hence why I have crunchy nut or ready brek) so I’m getting lots of additions from all the posters who commented and will work through them all 😆

I have a feeling I’ll miss my crunchy nut

@FunnysInLaJardin

well I didn't think I did clean non processed eating as I eat according to my taste and education.

My daily diet is;

yoghurt, cooked home grown fruit and home made granola

mixed grains with salad, tuna or chicken

homemade pesto and pasta with home made bread

Seems I am doing non processed without thinking of it.

Although lots of my food has been through a process, so am I really and honestly who really gives a shit.

Just eat well people. You know what you should eat, you dont need telly rules for it

I have a good balanced diet but it’s the sweet foods, breakfast and lunch that lets me down and that I need help with, fruit and yogurt just doesn’t cut it for me! I have a healthy relationship with food and not over weight, I cook from scratch but even when I have a sandwich I have processed meats or processed dairy so I appreciate anyone that can help with my menu, there’s so much advice both good and bad online so seeing what other people eat really helps push in into making better decisions! We don’t eat junk food but I’m aware everything excepts veg soups and salads have some kind of process so the recipes everyone has given me is really going to help, I’ve done screen shots of this and will refer back if I go off track

OP. Have crunchy nut cornflakes.I think the key to this Ultra Processed thing is to be aware of it. And that even foods which are marketed as healthy can still be UP foods. Watch the foods you have been eating once or twice a day. For us it was cereal bread wraps biscuits ham crisps Mine still have UP foods. They had McDonald’s last night. And I bought them coco pops for the weekend.

That Vogel bread from the co op has been a life saver. Ham isn’t really missed. Plain crisps have gone down ok. Bought them Doritos the other day for wednesday’s crisps. I just like to pull it back to UP and healthy where we can. But then inject with UP and their fave treats here and there.

Don’t beat yourself up about not starting it It’s not a diet or a regime. Like the other person said. It’s being aware and making little swaps where you feel you can.

I’ve enjoyed baking and freezing, that works for me. I was fed up of buying pack of crappy biscuits for them. Even plain ones. No goodness in them. Especially for their school snack Whenever I bake little fairy cakes for them to take. I grate veg and fruit and pop less sugar in. Little hacks like that.