Anyone else cutting down on UPFs?

[AtomicBlondeRose]

I recently listened to the podcasts by the van Tulleken brothers and it really convinced me to try cutting down on UPFs. I never ate much of them when it came to meals but do have a weakness for biscuits/snacks. As my DC are away with their dad for a couple of weeks and I’m not at work it seemed like the perfect time to try.

So, I’ve been baking my own bread - this suits me as I don’t eat much bread and enjoy the homemade whole meal style. I make a small loaf and it lasts DP and me most of the week. I’m not so sure how the kids will react to this.

I made some biscuits but we weren’t bothered about them tbh. I have been baking fruit loaves such as a courgette tea bread (we have a glut of courgettes!) as we both like them a lot and they’re hard to binge on. DP is a gardener so gets really hungry and needs some filling stuff but doesn’t like junk so the tea loaves suit us well. I’ve also made granola/granola bars which are easy and which we like a lot. Cereal bars were one of the main UPF foods I ate.

Meals aren’t really an issue as I’ve always preferred to cook from scratch although I worry a bit about how it’s going to go when I’m at work and don’t have all afternoon to potter about! I made chicken kebabs with homemade flatbreads that were very easy and tasty. A good air fryer really helps too.

Yesterday we had sausage rolls from the freezer and baked beans for lunch - I really didn’t see any problem with the beans as I’ve always thought they weren’t so bad and the sausage rolls were decent M&S ones - but I had a terrible stomach all afternoon and evening, really gassy and uncomfortable and I really think it was the baked beans. So I might even have to cut those out. I never intended to go 100% hardcore (I would really like some crisps!) but it’s crazy how my body is getting used to the more nutritious food. I find myself snacking a lot less as there just isn’t anything to snack on and I’m not really hungry anyway. I’ve had one slice of whole meal toast and a poached egg for breakfast and it’s filled me more that two slices of white toast and two eggs did previously.

Yes we are cutting back too and really noticing the benefits. I feel less bloated and more regular (sorry to overshare!).

I am also trying to combine it with avoiding blood sugar spikes and reducing omega 6s. It all seems to come together if I follow a kind of Mediterranean/Blue Zones type way of eating.

I found signing up to a veg box really helpful, as I centre more of our meals around veg first.

Good finds for us have been:

• Yorkshire provinder soups are all recognisable ingredients.


• lots of Spanish and Italian prepared foods are natural ingredients and made with olive oil.


• Crosta and Mollica have some great wholeneal wraps that are just flour, olive oil and salt.


• Really enjoyed the cookbook ‘Use It All’ by the Cornersmith cafe people. Great for simple dips, sauces etc instead of relying on processed stuff.

We have an allotment so naturally we end up centring meals around veg, which is really helpful. I noticed in Lidl the “special” stuff - Greek/Spanish/Italian etc - was much more natural and had olive oil in as you say so they’re really worth looking out for. I got some lovely sesame seed crackers from there and they also have lots of olives and nice things in jars.

I do find that I just don’t get as hungry at all. The only time I’ve felt really hungry is yesterday after my slightly crappy lunch. That’s a real eye opener. I’m a bugger for the 4pm snacking and it’s great to be able to cut down on that without feeling bad. I also don’t crave sweets, chocolate or packaged things at all. It’s like they don’t even register as food. Slices of cake in cafes do still appeal though! But I suppose if homemade they’re basically fine.

Yep, listened to that podcast a couple of weeks ago too.

Bought a bread maker that does yoghurt and porridge and rice too.

We rarely do freezer food etc but our current main UPFs are:

branflakes and weetabix (suggestions for kid-friendly swaps?)
ice lollies (easy to make own with squash but squash is a UPF obvs)
bread
MARMITE. Massive one here!
baked beans
mayo
ketchup

We overall use whole meats (eg chicken breast, side of salmon) although DH is awful for sausages etc. Also DH has just started bloody Huel which is about as processed as it gets!!!!! Mad man IMO.

I wouldn’t stress about Marmite. I actually see it only as processed, not a UPF - they’ve been making it for a really long time and it’s a fairly “natural” by product, not something designed to make you want to binge on it, so I’m fine with eating that. Same with mayo and ketchup actually which I only rarely eat anyway. I do think bread is a worry especially as my DC love the white crappy stuff. I’m going to try to bring them over to the homemade side. They did like the flatbreads though.

Ok that’s great to hear 😁

I need to fine-tune the break maker bread, kids are OK with it but it’s less bendy/soft obviously because it has fewer odd ingredients so that’s the point. But makes sandwiches a bit tricky for fusspot children!

Also crisps for the kids, I really need to stop buying!

I’m pescatarian and doing the Zoe study (looking at blood sugar, blood fat and microbiome and which foods work for your body), DH a carnivore, 3x kids, plus I’m trying to lower the UPFs 😅😅 aaah!

The key phrase from the podcast was about seeing UPFs not as good but as manufactured edible products. If you think about it that way it becomes quite obvious what is and isn’t UPF. Marmite is very nutritious and isn’t trying to “trick” you into eating large quantities through weird texture or flavour tricks. It’s not engineered to make you want more or spike your hunger levels. Chocolate spread however…

What does UPF mean?

At this time of year we eat loads of different types of salad with simply prepared meat or fish and a whole grain or potatoes because I work full time and it’s easy. We buy in sourdough bread from a local bakery that is just wheat , water and sesame, and we aren’t really into cakes or biscuits (they don’t figure much in my culture, so no tips there I’m afraid ).

My tip is to get the best quality raw ingredients that you can afford, then you don’t have to spend much time making them taste good. And always buy or grow decent herbs to use. There’s loads of o lovely veg and fruit variety at this time of year.

We have done taste testing with the children to figure out what to buy and to involve them - farm shop tomato vs supermarket hydroponic tomato. Local growers are often growing tastier varieties on more enriched soil than the supermarket growers, but it’s good to try them side by side, especially if you’re paying more.

For breakfast we have museli (make your own mixes to taste), or porridge in winter, fruit / nuts / seeds with yoghurt, cooked tomatoes / mushrooms / egg / cheese on toast, or on weekends a cooked breakfast or home made waffles / pancakes with fruit. My kids have always eaten these things - it’s what you get them used to.

In parts of Asia people eat noodles and soups for breakfast. I have never done this at home but would give it a go if you think your kids would like it. Just buy simple noodles and add miso, not those packets with the flavour sachets. My lot do like marmite and if it’s just a thin scraping every now and then, I would just continue to eat it.

Which podcast/episode please?

Ultra Processed Foods

Sorry that was to @MrsRhodes

The podcast series is called A Thorough Examination. It’s really interesting and a couple of times I had it on in the car when the kids were there and they really took it on board. There’s no scaremongering or preaching, just pointing out facts which sort of speak for themselves.

Yes I wouldn’t sweat the marmite. And you can claw baked beans from my cold dead hands, they’ve been my favourite since I was a toddler!

There is a recipe for ketchup in the ‘Use it all’ cookbook but it’s time consuming. Mayo however is a two second job if you have a food processor. Pastry too. It’s amazing all these things we normally think of as manufactured which can be whipped up in two minutes at home.

For the wheatabix replacement - shredded wheat is literally just one ingredient, whole grain wheat. I personally like the Eat Natural Low Sugar granola for breakfast. So nutty.

For crisps replacement - Eat Real hummus chips are my husbands favourite. I bloody hate how noisy they are when he eats them though!

Another good tip I got in MN is mascarpone instead of cream cheese.

Are ready salted crisps UPF. I thought the definition was ingredients you don't have at home. The crisps I buy are potatoes oil and salt (not trying to pretend they are good for me but don't think they fall into the UPF category)

Oh this is interesting. I am planning on doing this for cost reasons - going back to buying whole ingredients instead of increasingly relying on snacks for the kids will make a big difference in my shopping budget.

And of course the benefits of healthier home cooked food is great. I'll be getting a slow cooker which should further both the nutritional and cost saving benefits of cutting out processed foods.

I was saying to DP this morning as I brought it up with him - you can pay £1.50 - £2 for a pack of 10 mini crackers with a bit of soft cheese stuck in the middle!

@MassiveSalad22 how is the Zoe study going? I am considering it myself. Also, did you know they have a really good podcast? I recently discovered from there to look at the ratio of carbs to protein in bread in inhibit blood sugar spikes, so that was useful. Also to opt for sourdough bread that is slow fermented if possible.

We have been too.

The main UPFs that we were consuming were crisps in different flavours, bread/wraps, cereals and some processed meats.

So we have started using the bread maker and now got a 'go to ' seeded wholemeal which is good. A little heavy for sandwiches unless on day 1, but have also found the wraps mentioned above with nothing dodgy in which we have swapped to for packed lunches etc.

Ditched the squash and I now have watered down juice with ice for my 'fix'.

Crisps: only buying plain as they are just potato, oil and salt. Not great obviously but better than all the different flavours.

Cereal, we mainly eat Weetabix but have yet to wean the youngest off Cheerios. Granola is normally a bit so going to try that.

Oh and have started making own cookies in place of cereal bars, I make a big batch of dough, make a load of cookies then freeze the rest in balls for easy cooking through the week.

Switched to wholemeal flour in those, and wholemeal pasta etc

Following with interest!

Yes I have Ulcerative Colitus and I massively cut down UPF's 6 weeks ago, mainly baked products - making my own instead - still having the odd mars bar! My UC has been in total remission for 1 month now which hasn't happened for almost 18 months. I've changed nothing else and I was able to totally stop my UC medication 1 month ago too.

I had to read down thread to work out what UPF was too🥴😂

We don't eat processed foods as standard. It has been amazing healthwise. I started this some 30 years ago due to significant kidney disease & it making sense to give my kidneys less work to do.

My CKD is still stable after 30+ years & I am the only person on my very experienced kidney consultants patient list, that has ever managed not to deteriorate

What about cooked meats from the supermarket? I’ve just got some plain cooked chicken breast and it’s got lots of stuff added to it presumably preservatives? Same with ham for sandwiches etc?

Also, I am the only veggie at home. Is Quorn and other meat substitutes UPF? These are my main source of protein.

And hummus?

Thanks!

@Dreamwhisper I really recommend getting a combined pressure cooker and slow cooker like the Instant Pot. I actually use the pressure cooker the most as I can sauté in it first then add the rest of the ingredients for a meal and then pressure cook a meal all in one pot. It's great for cooking dried pulses which I use to make meat go further and for veggie stews. You can also steam with it, so great for homemade steamed puddings and you can also make yoghurt with it. It's brilliant.

BTW there are other makes of electric pressure cooker that I believe do the same thing.

Cured meats like ham and bacon will have nitrates to speed up the drying process, which some people try to avoid. There are more nitrate free versions available now though.

Cooked meats that aren’t cured (like chicken) it depends on the ingredient list. Would you have the time/inclination to buy a chicken breast, butterfly it, sprinkle some seasoning, pan fry and then chop?

Hummus again it depends on whether you’d recognise all the ingredients. Many of them are fine.

I don’t think there is a right or wrong though, it’s just about what you can manage and want to do.

@MrsAlbertaWhisker I would wager Quorn is very very processed unfortunately but happy to be proven wrong! I think of it like does it grow that way - quorn, no. Lentils yes. Potato waffles no. Normal potato yes. But I’m no expert and love a quorn nugget (although gives me wind!).

@ticktickticktickBOOM that is so amazing about your UC!!! So pleased for you.

@cowskeepingmeupatnight I’ve overall really enjoyed the Zoë study so far and absolutely loved wearing the glucose monitor although some days were a bit panic inducing! Knowledge is power though and so great to know what is going on inside rather than guess. I only got my results (glucose monitor, microbiome, blood fat) yesterday so day 1 of eating with my recommended foods etc. The results all seem like a lot of common sense to be honest but I think it’s more of a micro analysis rather than macro as we all know burgers = bad and raspberries = good. Over on the Zoe thread, our ‘food scores’ for individual foods are different, so it is personalised - eg some people have an OK bread score but I have NO acceptable simple carbs! But no food is offlimit and it’s about combining foods and mitigating their effects and stuff. Sorry long winded!