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 do this. I do buy chocolate chips in bulk because I use them for cookies and flapjacks - they don't melt in the same way as chopped chocolate does. But any chocolate chopped will do for flapjacks/granola/cereal bars, and I often use it when I don't have the chips. I try to limit these things because they are so high in fat and sugar, but I don't eat chocolate any more as a snack, so I feel I deserve some now and again.

Pretty sure those things are all fine .

I think that bread looks OK. It's about what you can do to improve and if you make things too hard for yourself you are more likely to give up. I have bought supermarket sourdough too - I'm keeping it in the freezer and taking out a slice at a time - eating less of it .

I have also bought plain organic yoghurt from the supermarket rather than making my own as a lot of posters seem to be doing . I have Yeo Valley extra thick and it explains on the packet how it is strained to get the thickness (so no thickeners).

I would say that the two manchines that make not eating UPF easier are a second hand decent Panasonic bread machine and a vitamix

Panasonic is great for flavoured breads, brioche and just making dough - so pizza dough

The vitamix is great for soups, instant ice cream using just plain yogurt and frozen fruit, dips, smoothies and cake batters

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404339959272?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338749401&toolid=20006&customid=GB_11700_404339959272.144241308393~1870256461879-g_CjwKCAjwhdWkBhBZEiwA1ibLmOtwGZk_ATE1bIfxgw4Wpq6uwHC59Z3KirAzsf_cj6wDHMmlzeOxRxoCf7AQAvD_BwE

they just make it easier to switch to non UP for many foods

I've done a Tesco shop tonight. Managed to get Dr Wills tomato ketchup but not mayonnaise. I also picked up bread from the local bakery at lunchtime.

Tomorrow I'm going to have a baking day for the week ahead. The treat drawer is looking very sparse.

https://www.kitchenkonfidence.com/2013/04/homemade-olive-oil-mayonnaise. Easy mayonnaise with a stick blender

Do people feel ok with the raw egg yolk? I am not sure I could get my head round that bit

What’s wrong with raw egg? As long as it’s got the lion mark, all good.

You’ve probably eaten mayo made with raw egg a million times and not realised. That’s how a restaurant would make it. It’s just the standard recipe.

there are a few recipes with raw egg, why do you have an issue with raw egg, eggs from supermarkets have the lion mark. Obviously you’ll keep the jar in the fridge and not longer than about 2 weeks. But with the One egg and one cup of oil it’ll be eaten before that. It also has the advantage of tasting like mayonnaise, rather than a bland white sauce

I found this which report concerning UPF not all being equal

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/five-ultra-processed-foods-you-shouldnt-dismiss-aXlGr9Z5Dn18

Super easy flapjacks: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/yummy-golden-syrup-flapjacks golden syrup is UPF so I substituted with honey.

We've been trying to make the switch and I agree it is time consuming. Our main issue is kids packed lunches for school. I would use a fair bit of packet 'healthy' stuff previously which is UPF when you read the label.

My solution has been to spend 2 hours or so on a Sunday whacking out a bunch of stuff that I can then put in the freezer for the kids to build their lunchboxes with. Happy to share recipes for any of them. Successes have been:

• raw balls (jaffa ones with orange zest have gone down well).
• mini cheddars (cheesey biscuits)
• basic tray bake vanilla sponge, spread with jam and coconut and cut into squares
• puff pastry mini scrolls
• scotch pancakes
• date scones

We're in Australia and it's winter here, so the kids have been taking hot meals in thermoses. Batch cooking individual portions of lasagne/spaghetti bolognese/meatballs and pasta/macaroni and then pulling out for an easy lunch has worked well.

Bread has been ok for us as we bake a lot anyway. Foolproof recipe is 550g flour, 375g water, 1 tsp yeast and 1 tsp salt. This mixes up to a nice dough.

My nemeses have been aioli, tomato ketchup, pesto and mayonnaise if anyone has any pointers. Non-UPF chocolate has been surprisingly hard to find, and expensive!

I discovered that some salted crisps aren't UPF going by the ingredients list so that's been a win. Might try making some fudge. I guess the difference is that you just can't eat a lot of fudge, whereas I can easily eat a bag of haribo. The UPF being empty calories thing made a lot of sense.

For anyone looking for crackers, we've been getting Sheridans Irish mixed seed crackers. Not cheap, so not great if you go through loads of them, but the ingredients are unbleached flour, water, butter (milk), linseeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and sea salt.

Some good suggestions captainwarbeck. I also find packed lunch difficult. Sometimes I think a small bar of chocolate is actually better than the so called healthy cereal bars . As the kids don’t particularly like the cereal bars but at least with a chocolate bar they really think they have had a treat. And probably the two are pretty equal in terms of upf. For a non upf chocolate fix I think hot cocoa made with milk cocoa and sugar is good. Also made chocolate ice cream this week which is non upf

I should make chocolate icecream - I have an icecream maker so no excuse! Plus it really is good made properly with a custard base and melted chocolate - plus mix ins, yum...

Good point on the chocolate being a good treat rather than cereal bars.

Anyone have a decent recipe for granola bars without nuts that can go to school?

I wouldn’t sweat the golden syrup. You can make it at home so I wouldn’t count it as UPF. And to all intents and purposes cheap honey is basically the same thing (I still use it though). Non-UPF crackers aren’t too hard to find, but they tend to be the premium brands. Lidl currently have some nice crackers in their Spanish range which are good and made with olive oil.

pesto

I made pesto this week, toasted pine nuts, basil, garlic, oil and grated Parmesan- used pestle to break down - poured/spooned into jar and poured oil on top to seal then keep in fridge.

haven’t tried with sundried tomatyyet

Packed lunches I used to make chicken drumsticks, sliced and diced melon, homemade banana loaf ( I like mary berry recipe) cut and freeze slices into bags and pop in box. Carrot and hummus. I’d keep the carrots cut in jar of water

Great thinking! I need to start doing this for mine too. Do you have a recipe for the Jaffa balls? They sound delicious!

I found that the 'salt and shake' (minus the salt sachet) and some European crisps are mainly just olive oil. Less ingredients than a lot of normal crisps so a bit better for you!

I buy the salt and shake ones as it’s so much better than mccoys flavoured ones which kids love. I figure it’s a compromise. But they are vegetable oil and rapeseed oil rather than olive oil? I am yet to find any crisps made with olive oil

https://www.ocado.com/products/brindisa-sarriegui-olive-oil-crisps-293733011?dsrl=1291426&dssrl=1291534&gbraid=0AAAAADi6iHkfuXAdMlvTQ6Xu5ICZ2two&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImevbrIfccwIVj4BQBh0GXgYbEAQYBiABEgI9nvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

These ones are and TK Maxx have similar plus cheaper!

Sorry I might have been mistaken with salt and shake but they were definitely better than most others. Kids crisps are awful when you read the ingredient list

Yes they are a lot better. I figure you have to choose battles with kids and these I figure aren’t too bad

I can report that the flapjack recipe posted upthread is a winner

Jaffa balls: www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/jaffa-bliss-balls

I subbed in ground almonds for the mixed nuts to make them safer for school