UPF Discussion Thread

[sunlovingcriminal]

Hi all, wondering whether any of us here would be up for a UPF discussion/support group?

We recently watched the panorama documentary on UPF, as well as reading the ultra processed people book- and have decided to make a lifestyle change for our family.

So, out with the cereal, fruit yogurts, packaged breads, squash and pre-made sauces

And in with the homemade everything...

It is taking a lot of prep and cooking. We're both a bit exhausted and overwhelmed but quite determined.

We have 3 teenage boys- so it's going to be interesting seeing whether we can get them to enjoy both the cooking and eating.

We're one week in and I do already feel better. I am not as hungry- my urge to snack has gone- and my reliance on artificial sugar fixes seems to have diminished.

Still on the hunt for alternatives to stock cubes though! Other than making from scratch (which I fear may be inevitable!).

Would be great to hear some inspiration from others, or great non-upf swaps!

I remember when spreadable butter first came out and there was an explanation on how they make oil and butter blendable and spreadable. Put me off eating it. Can't remember how they do it, but it's not a case of using the oil as it is, I'm sure.

With reluctance. But in our case, so far, it's about having alternatives. So having blended fruit and natural yogurt (and a bit of honey) ready for pudding. Having the homemade granola ready, and cutting up fruit... the cake ready for packed lunches etc etc.

But, the hardest thing for us had been squash. We've been buying juices and mixing them half and half with fizzy water, but that is so expensive!

We have kept weetabix as the back up, although not upf free, we decided it wasn't a hill to die on. But at weekends trying to do pancakes, toast from our homemade loaf, eggs...

I'm hoping we can keep them with us on this! I used the analogy that they were like saplings so we don't want to feed them chemicals and crap, as we don't do this to our saplings on the allotment. They seem to get it, but I reckon they'll tire of it pretty soon!!

Thanks for the info on thermomix. I'll watch some you tubes but I suspect I'm half way there with other gadgets- including an instant pot which is used a lot - soups mainly.

It's frustrating with the children. I did a homemade picnic last weekend with baking and home made smoothies but I got talking to someone and daddy had passed the kids some money for the vending machine. I did feel a bit sore after that. It's quite a lot of extra work to keep upf free!

I read that in the Uk that about 80% of our diet is upf

I reckon if I get to 20% upf I'd be happy.

It's definitely taking more thought. For kids breakfast - I make a batch of pancake mixture a couple of times per week and keep it in a milk jug in the fridge. Sometimes they have lemon juice and sugar on it, sometimes Nutella.

I also bend 2 bananas some double cream, a good splash of apple and mango juice and a couple of handfuls of strawberries and blueberries and give them smoothies.

Occasionally it's toast or weetabix.

I need to work on them tolerating salads more for lunch I think

There was a time when my kids were teens that I was made redundant, and for about six months, our income plummeted. It was almost twenty years ago, so obviously things have changed, but all the same, we had a dramatic shift in our shopping and eating habits.

Teenage sons were the ones who complained, but they were reasonable about it - they realised it was hard, and they just got used to it. When they were little, they drank water or milk and that continued for years. I've never bought squash, but we did have fruit juice when they got older. We went back to just water apart from some fruit juice with packed lunches - everything else just a treat. After a while, they just got used to water (with ice, I remember).

I’m new to non-UPF! And I agree, it’s quite overwhelming.

I’m trying to take it slowly - one or two changes a week and starting with the easy wins. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

I’m currently trying to cut out snack bars so have made a massive batch of mueslie bars and put half in the freezer. Also my kids love Cheerios in the morning. I haven’t stopped buying them but am offering more enticing alternatives. I reckon I’ve halved their cereal consumption which will do for now! I’ll try and keep chipping away.

I don’t think it’s realistic for most people to overhaul their entire way of shopping and eating in just a few weeks, especially with the realities of work and parenting.

Hello, can I join? I've been trying to cut back UPF for a while and find it so hard with fussy kids who want the stuff.

I've just looked at the ingredients of the bread I get from Aldi - Specially Selected White Sourdough:
Wheat flour (wheat flour, calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin)
Water
Rye flour
Salt
Fermented wheat flour

I've found bread the hardest, I haven't time to make my own and the kids don't like it when I do. I think this one is ok, although now I'm wondering if the calcium carbonate is bad?

I'm not aiming for zero because I'll never manage it, not least because I'm dairy free and my oat milk, which I can't do without, is def UPF. I tried making my own oat milk but I use it primarily for hot drinks and homemade just doesn't cut it.

You probably do have time to make bread - and if your family eat it every day, it's probably a good starting point. Start with one or two things that will make a big difference.

Look out for a Panasonic breadmaker - lots second hand because they are often a five minute wonder, and you don't need a model that offers extra features. With this machine, you can put flour, salt and yeast in the pan after dinner and wake up to a loaf. You can add oil or butter or sugar, but they are not necessary.

Or you could make no knead bread - essentially the gluten develops over time in the fridge instead of quickly by kneading. Online, there are recipes for Five Minute a Day Artisan Bread that work on this principle. You just need a big bowl that you cover with a shower cap - mix dough, leave in fridge, tip out when needed, oven on as it rises and bake.

If it's too hard - and it may be if you consume a couple of loaves a day, start with something else!

There's a pattern emerging here... It's also my 14 yo DS who is least happy about the disappearance of supermarket white sliced bread, biscuits, cereals and Nutella... to the extent that he bought himself a packet of Cocoa Pops from Lidl with His Own Money! Even he had to admit later that they didn't actually taste very nice...

I've promised to reduce the nuts and seeds in my next batch of granola (which he otherwise liked), and I'll use (even) lower cocoa-solids milk chocolate for my next batch of 'Mumtella'... He likes the home-made white bread, and the homemade cakes/pancakes/sorbets, so I'm hopeful he'll come around eventually!

(And thanks for the yeast info, @Cynderella)

Re. nuts and seeds in cereal bars - you could always make a bowlful of the mix and then do half a tray with seeds and half a tray with say chocolate chips and cranberries. Both popular here.

Chocolate chips would definitely be a hit! Good idea. I also might try whizzing the nuts and seeds up a lot more finely, to see if I can still sneak a bit in that way...

I agree with starting slowly and concentrating on the basics, also. It was the supermarket bread that really annoyed me, as we ate so much of it, and it was just so rubbish... I figure if the fundamentals of what we eat most often most days are healthy, that still leaves plenty of room for less healthy snacks (probably crisps here) around the edges - which is lucky really, as my husband is never going to stop buying treaty snacks...

Im trying to get my head round UPF stuff and am probably going to ask some really stupid things.

Is basmati rice UPF? We like brown too and I assume that's OK.

Dried pasta - OK? I know it's processed but I don't think it's UPF.

Cheese - I suspect cheese spreads are UPF, but is bog standard cheddar and feta etc OK?

I make Mayo in a pickle jar.

crack in one egg, 1 cup of olive oil, salt pepper and lemon juice, then use a stick blender - place at the bottom and watch the mixture turn white

Can I join? I been doing this for a few weeks now. At first my 11 year old was pretty sad about us no longer having Oreo’s etc in cupboard. But he seems to be coming around to it now. I am doing a massive amount of home cooking though with nice alternatives and it is very time consuming.

My biggest hit for the kids are home made granola and Greek yogurt. This is not very time consuming for me

Nutella - ask your 14 year old to find the best homemade recipes for Chocolate spread on TikTok

thete are some decent recipes about

Just saved the thread. Very useful and some good, realistic tips. Thank you!

P.s. Hunter & Gatherer mayo is the only mayo I've ever liked.

Pasta, rice, cheese all fine. It's not actually as much of a minefield as it seems!

My kids are big fans of sweets. I now have to buy very expensive dried mango to have in cupboard instead

I really don't have time to make bread that the children would actually eat - so the least UPF version that they accept is best here (since I rarely eat bread myself, what they like is key)

Having looked further calcium carbonate is one of the 4 fortifiers legally required to be added to all UK flour so I think my Aldi bread is ok. It does have v short date stamps so I often freeze it.

Can anyone who makes mumtella tell me what processor they use to get it smooth? I've tried (as mine are big Nutella consumers too) and my processor always leaves it a bit 'crunchy' which they refuse 🙄😂

For sweets, fudge is fairly easy to make at home, as is honeycomb, and might be the sort of thing teenagers would enjoy making themselves (although I would supervise even teens very closely at first!). Also shortbread, flapjack and fairy cakes.

Yes I wondered about doing fudge etc. it feels strange though as we still find ourselves thinking fudge is not good for you. And I guess it isn’t really, but better than haribos

We are also getting through quite a lot of butter now for making shortbread, flapjacks etc. and cream for making fruit and cream or home made ice cream. And I am wondering if this is actually ok?

Really interesting thread so far, lots to think about. I’ve been trying to cut down on UPFs for a while now but really made an effort since reading the book.

The added issue we have is that DD is coeliac and gluten free food does seem to have a lot added to it. There’s also a degree of lactose intolerance which has got a bit better as the gluten has left her system but she’s still not able to tolerate butter or milk, cream etc very well. So we need dairy free alternatives.

I did make my own sweet chilli sauce this week and that went down very well.

But as I said a really interesting thread and lots of ideas for things to try and make/use.

It’s not that butter/cream are “good” for you per se but that - lactose intolerance aside - they have chemical make ups that the body recognises as food and is able to deal with in a predictable and normal way. They are as a result highly satiating - homemade fudge, shortbread and ice cream are all delicious but compare how much of its you’re actually able to eat to how much you can eat of the commercially-made product. With homemade stuff you literally get too full to eat after a small amount even when you’d like to eat more.