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'm afraid I do it in the v expensive Thermomix, which can pulverise anything silky-smooth.

It's not the texture that my teens object to, it's the taste; I used coconut oil (trying to avoid seed oils) which I quite like, but perhaps they don't... I might try ghee next, and also cheaper, milkier chocolate, as it's also 'the wrong colour' i.e. darker than actual Nutella! 🤪

If you've any market stalls near you they're probably selling a glut of mangoes relatively cheaply right now; you could dehydrate your own slices in a v low/then switched off oven overnight..?

@HBGKC thanks for info!

Thank you!

You need to check which one it is as I’m afraid a lot of them have other crap in them.

Thats the bit that pisses me off, great healthy stuff that has crap added to it. Dates with palm oil, mango with Sulphur Dioxide.

Id happily be told this is not UPF but it’s not in my kitchen as an ingredient.

Thermie again for me

I use frozen crushed garlic. It’s 100% garlic.

The mango we get is just mango and lime juice . It is really annoying when the add sulphur dioxide. I have yet to find apricots without sulphur dioxide

@doingthehokeykokey i use that garlic too. So handy.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon i do a white sandwich loaf in our bread maker. Takes 5 mins to shove in the ingredients. Even my fussier kid likes it. Would that be an option for yours?

@doingthehokeykokey I just looked up thermomix and nearly fell off my seat at the price 😂

@Retrievemysanity sadly, we used to have a bread maker and kids hated the results so I got rid. They were brought up on bakery sourdough (silly price) and we moved and can no longer afford £5 per loaf anyway, so it's Aldi sourdough now. They don't like white sliced 🤦‍♀️

thats great. Where did you find it?

@BewareTheBeardedDragon ive got an old one, but yes they are expensive. That said the time it saves me means it’s been worth every penny.

https://www.blendwithspices.com/raspberry-chia-pudding-recipe/

been making these instead of yogurt, going to try with strawberry next, not sure if mango would work. I do but the frozen fruit in Aldi or Lidl as it works out cheaper

Mango and passion fruit. Urban fruit is the name of the brand. I think it was Sainsbury’s

Marks and Spencer’s do a good lolly with made with only fruit. I think Apple and raspberry and maybe pineapple and coconut. Can’t remember is the coconut one has anything added

Ice lolly that is

That’s brilliant thank you. I’d given up
looking as even H&B seems to chemical blast everything

yes Holland and Barrett are annoying for pretending to be healthy 🙄 no wonder the general public is so confused and eating all the wrong stuff

Dried fruit, much of it with no additives
https://www.healthysupplies.co.uk/dried-fruit.html

I would say although it’s clearly better to avoid any additives in things like dried fruit, they’re not going to materially change what you have eg 99% a whole food in a recognisable form. So while stuff with no additives may well be preferable, I don’t think it’s necessarily worth a lot of stress to avoid.

Can I ask those of you using chocolate chips in your granola which chips you're using? As I'd like to make some choc chip cookies for the grumpy teenagers!!

I make instant ice cream in a vitamin - just frozen fruit and yogurt with a few dates for sweetness, there are many recipes. Peaches and yogurt is my favourite so far

I have yet to find apricots without sulphur dioxide

holland and arrêt self unsulphered apricots, they are far superior in taste to sulphured

https://www.piccantino.co.uk/hochgenuss/dried-apricots - non sulphuric apricots
This site is good in uk, as sells lots of German and Austrian products, which are often organic and better ingredients.

Im actually astonished how hard it can be in uk now to easily buy some things, as I guess been slightly spoilt to get high quality stuff here ( although grocery shopping is higher as result)

Could you break up/bash some dark chocolate like the green and blacks one mentioned?

I've started making some more changes, we eat really well to begin with, but seems the few products we do use all come under UPF like bread etc

Regarding breadsticks, with ingredients of just flour and oil, I assume they count as simply processed, and would be a good alternative for toddler snacks etc