If you try your hardest to avoid “ultra processed foods”….

[ReeseWitherfork]

There’s an article on the BBC website about “ultra processed foods” and it’s got me wondering if I can make some easy swaps on things. I am sure there are some people out there who’ve explored this before. I cook from scratch, eat a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, but I’m wondering if I need to start looking at things like a bread maker (we’re a fan of a sandwiches my house!)…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65754290

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Can you give the name of the FB group please?

I am a vegan and I low-carb (I get fat if I don't!) so I can't really cut them out. I sometimes wonder what my weight would be like if I just did wholefoods but I am too scared to try this as I am sure I'd balloon!

My DD has Crohn's disease and emulsifiers and gums are on the suspect list for exacerbating these conditions.

I only buy full fat milk, butter, yoghurt.

I do make my own foods where possible - cake, biscuits, chicken "nuggets" (dipped in breadcrumbs), home made chips etc

I have also found that the ingredients vary hugely on certain foods. For example, haagen das vanilla ice cream is literally cream, eggs and sugar. Nothing else. Whereas something like Ben and Jerry's or vienetta is full of stuff. I find Bonne Maman products often have a small ingredient list without gums and fillers (but check the pack!) And if I must buy biscuits, Lu brand is the best I have found.

Asda bakery put emulsifiers in everything but premium breads from the bakery of other supermarkets have a simpler ingredient list.

Bonne Maman fruit layer yoghurt list compared with aldi Brookfield fruit layer yoghurt in images.

I mean, look at this. One of these is marketed with a name that suggests you are being good ("halo") as it's relatively lower calorie and is vegan, using oat milk. I appreciate that some people are allergic to dairy but many take up veganism for health reasons.

The other is a "sinful" luxury brand, with added cookie pieces, to try to make a fairer comparison.

The degree of processing involved in the vegan ice cream is astounding. And maltodextrin is one of the top ingredients, also a suspect in IBD.

Food marketing messages are really mixed up.

And it's people who can't afford it that will pay health wise
I can't afford that yoghurt, or premium bread or nitrate free bacon. It's fine people saying well don't eat it but toast and yoghurts are a normal thing to want to eat
I do my best and buy Greek yoghurt and add fruit and cook from scratch but still eat crisps/chocolate. If I'm buying pesto or mayo etc then it's aldis own brand

If it was a health choice only I'm educated enough to know which of those two yoghurts is better for me, but budget wise...

Eh? Can you explain the point about tanning please?

That advice is now out of date

If anyone has any miraculous lunchbox ideas I'd be grateful!

I have a bento type box with 5 compartments, so I do 1 carb, 1 protein, 1 fruit, 1 veg and 1 other.

Protein might be cheese, hard boiled eggs (shell then at home and they don't smell) I might mix the egg with mayo.

Meatballs - home made, can be herby like Italian meatballs or spicy like Asian ones - you can make a load, cook and freeze.

Cooked chicken pieces.

Yoghurt with nuts or mint.

Nuts. If the school allow them.

Cooked fish - salmon is good cold.

Sliced rolled omelet.

Carbs - bread (I have a bread maker, Sainsbury do a lovely seeded bread mix that I add nuts and seeds to) rice, popcorn - home popped in the microwave.

Couscous - plain or with veg.

Pasta.

Potatoes cold cooked new potatoes.

Fruit, for some reason I'm more likely to eat it if it has been 'prepped' so slices of apple (add lemon juice to stop it going brown) easy peelers already peeled, chopped up melon or pineapple.

Veg - salads, finely chopped cucumber and cherry tomatoes, or whole cherry tomatoes, olives.

I make a 'red salad' with tomatoes, red onion, beetroot, orange pieces and a dressing - I have some tiny pots I put the dressing in so it is 'dressed' just before eating.

My extra might be salad dressing or a pudding / cake or a second protein / fruit.

In winter home made soup, I use the bits you don't put on your plate eg the stem of broccoli or salad that isn't fit to eat as salad.

If I have made spicy meatballs then I might wrap them in a lettuce leaves so using the leaves like bread.

Veg sticks with a dip, Greek style yoghurt and mayo in equal quantities and then add a flavour, minced garlic, or chili or herbs.

I’ve always eaten healthy, but I didn’t realise just how much UPF have replaced normal processed foods until last year. I also had gestational diabetes with my second, and the long-term outcomes for mother and baby are not good; and diabetes is no joke.

We are still exposed to UPF outside the house - nursery, school, parties, ice cream in the park etc, so those need attention too when it starts to occur too often.

Short-term it means better health as in energy, normal weight, healthy skin and teeth, better mental health.

Long-term it will hopefully mean reduced risk of diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, autoimmune diseases.

@chelseabunny Quitting Ultra Processed Foods

Sunflower oil is always bundled with the seed oils, and there are many concerns about them - around linoleic acid, the heavy processing…

But the final push for me was, a man I know (who is a scientist), spent a year reviewing research and eliminated 100% of UPF and seed oils from his diet, and the results were impressive - weight melted away, he started sleeping better and his mental well-being improved dramatically.

He says another main concern about seed oils is that they disrupt normal insulin production (cause insulin resistance).

We make our own granola for the cereal fans, though I still can't entirely wean the kids off Weetabix https://cookieandkate.com/healthy-granola-recipe/

My breakfast is always chia, other seeds, Greek yogurt and berries. Make own Greek style yoghurt in instant pot and strain to make it thicker when I have time.

We have made sourdough since lockdown, based on this recipe https://garturstitchfarm.com/blog/kats-basic-sourdough?format=amp
So much better than bread made in a breadmaker and barely any more effort

@7Worfs thank you. I hadn't realised about that. Olive oil all the way then! I've taken a screenshot of your list of ok fats

Aldi do peanut butter that is just peanuts and peanut oil. It is a lot cheaper than the trendy whole food brands. They sell it in big tubs which is great when you have teenagers who just hoover it up.
I got used to the taste really quickly and find other peanut butters too sweet now.

Olive oil is great for salads and low temp cooking, but it has a low smoke point so can’t be used for high temp cooking. I use all these like so:

Coconut oil - for frying eggs and for pancakes

Butter - for toast, to add to mash, pasta after they are cooked

Ghee - for pan-fried meat and fish

Avocado oil - for the base of a stew, but also fine to pan-fry in, though a bit expensive for that

Olive oil - for salads, drizzle or to rub on oven baked/roasted veg

This is a really good point - sometimes own brands could be the cleaner option. I’ve also noticed foods from Italy, France, Germany tend to be cleaner.
Got to keep squinting at labels!

For anyone at the less purist end who’s just trying to make overall improvements, there is a Zoe podcast on UPFs which was really good, and described a UPF as something which has more that one ingredient you wouldn’t just normally have in a kitchen. By that measure I found we’re doing ok, for instance the fishfingers I buy (which are one of my DS2’s only things he’ll eat) are not upfs. And I’ve long been concerned that by some descriptions things like baked beans or fish fingers are seen as equally bad as something like haribo.

We’ll goon reducing where we can, I would like to move to making my own baked goods for kids snacks for example, but for a busy family with 2 full time working parents and a very fussy eater, things like ‘just make fish fingers from scatch’just isn’t going to happen! 😂

I make my own bread (Panasonic bread maker is the best) but I buy microwave rice as there are only two of us and it’s been a game changer. Is microwave rice an UPF ? (Yes I’m assuming - sob!)

This is fascinating I’m going to watch the doc. I’d given up butter as unhealthy and have sunflower marg - plus trying to avoid dairy, but would be happy to bring it back! I’ll have to stick with oat milk though .

When previous posters have said they make their own cake and biscuits what are you making ? I would rather try this as a weaning off , I am a veggie and low carb but I do
Like a nice biscuit every now and then ( too often really )
I'm starting the book today as I'm
Not very clued up on the facts

This is a big part of the problem isn’t it. My food bill has soared recently and I’m already struggling. I’ve had a look at a few of these product suggestions and the prices are eye watering. This is going to take some serious brain power to work out what we can afford and what we need to prioritise. I’m going to need to be seriously organised too, toddlers aren’t overly patient when they’re hungry! If we’re out an about and they need dinner as soon as we get home, I can’t be faffing around making my own nuggets. So for someone who doesn’t have a lot of spare cash right now, and who is insanely time poor, this is very overwhelming.

Thanks everyone for the replies, a lot to think about.

We try and eat as low processed as possible. But it’s not 100%.

I try and buy local and good ingredients where possible. Ie I don’t make ice cream, but we can buy locally made small pots in summer at a honesty shop which is literally milk, sugar, cream, cocoa/ fruit depending on type. I rather buy Ds the odd pot of that, that commercial package stuff even if he gets less of it.

We aren’t in the uk now. It is a lot easier I think to buy less processed for example our local supermarket has a bakery where we can buy really good rye bread, spelt bread, sour dough etc which are all freshly made without preservatives.

For sweet treats at home, we often make scones. I use Paul Hollywood recipe and we have with mascarpone and jam ( bonne mammam or homemade). They are quick to make. Also make the cheese savory versions sometimes for lunch

There is a sourdough seeded bread in Aldi (and tesco do a similar one), that seems ok (I think?!). It’s in their ‘best/specialty’ type ranges and looks like half a sliced fresh loaf. Nice toasted…dry for sandwiches though. I’ve wondered about a bread maker too - are they a lot of faff?

I’m trying to reduce my family’s UPF intake, but we are also vegetarian and have become used to eating a lot of quorn/meat substitutes. Has anyone found a good veggie UPF free type cookbook or any good alternatives?

What an interesting thread, I'm always trying to improve our family food so loving all the ideas. We make all our own bread in batches and freeze. Rolls come out in the morning for lunches, we also slice loaves so we can grab a couple of slices for the toaster if anyone wants toast in the mornings. I make my own yoghurt so it only contains 1 ingredient and we freeze tons of berries we grow in the summer. This means I can do interesting birchers or porridge etc. We use honey as a sweetener. We cook from scratch most of the time and have built up a ridiculous supply of spices etc for this purpose.
I still have a chocolate habit I need to kick and can be very lazy with cereal for the kids, thought the choices I buy them weren't too bad so upset to discover weetabix (although store brand here lol) are on the evil list, ditto whole Earth peanut butter. Also need to have less bacon.
Really want to find a way to stop other people shoveling my kids full of crap under the pretense of 'oh they can have a treat once in a while'. Yes, of course they can, but you're now the 5th person to say it this week now they've seen 2 sets of Grandparents, school pta held a doughnut Friday, 2 people in the class had a birthday and parents insist on giving out bags of sweets to everyone. Sorry, possibly unreasonable ranting but really grinds my gears!