Non UPF snack ideas?

[Lattelattecappucino]

This week I've had carrot sticks and mixed nuts, home made banana cake and popcorn.

I'm thinking of things you can pack for on the move, trying to avoid UPF but just wondering if anyone else is trying to avoid the processed stuff out and about and has good ideas?

Chunks of cheese and apples are my go to, along with carrots.

I've stopped peeling carrots- I just grab and go, like an apple.

Keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge.

To be honest I take carrots apples and nuts with me, but shove an egg and or a chunk of cheese in my mouth as I leave the house.

I've just crisped up some chickpeas in the air fryer and had them with salt and vinegar. Pringles they ain't but I don't feel full of self loathing at least. They were actually really nice, despite not being full of additives.

I was going to suggest crispy chickpeas too!

Also sun-dried tomatoes
Olives

Another good option (am eating in a calorie deficit right now so not for me but really delicious) is to stir up some mixed nuts with some melted butter or oil, a touch of maple syrup, salt, chilli and any other spice and then bake for about 15 minutes.

Also: homemade ranch dressing is delicious with crudités or strips of toast.

I also like prawns, cheese, strips of chicken breast, gherkins, olives, oat and seed crackers I make etc

Sweetcorn muffins www.tamingtwins.com/savoury-muffins-recipe/
Carrot flapjacks www.myfussyeater.com/savoury-carrot-flapjacks/
Falafel
Slices of frittata
Cheese straws www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cheese_straws_79467
Energy balls

I make those muffins too.

I also eat nuts, babybel (hate the packaging), fruit (yeah, that easy), seeds, make up a yog pot.

The whole UPF concept confuses me. I can't see how these are less processed than a packet of ready salted crisps.

Many Ready salted crisps aren’t UPF the flavoured ones are

There is processed (cat 3) and ultra processed (cat 4)

Ultra processed are ingredients and processes that you couldn’t replicate at home.

Some ready salted crisps are fine. Some are cooked in oil that you can run a car on. By the time you’re eating prawn cocktail, it’s a chemical haze.

Fair enough — I've never seen anyone suggest them on threads like this, though. It's always laborious stuff involving legumes (which, of course, will probably be better on the fibre, protein, micronutrients and satiety front, but not any less processed AFAICT).

Apple slices dipped in 100% peanut butter.

Fruit

Oatcakes

Cheese

Mange tout

Crudites and hummus

The "can't replicate at home" thing also has fuzzy edges, though. There was a thread a while back about "chemicals" and "additives", and I gave a brief list of some of the chemicals in my ingredients cupboard (including those for baking, meat-curing and other culinary endeavours), some of which have quite scary names like potassium bitartrate. It was essentially implied that I was a bit of a weirdo and normal people wouldn't have or use these things. But few people would baulk at being directed to add half a teaspoon of cream of tartar to their baking.

Small Tupperware pot with any of the below:

raisins /apricots /prunes/ cranberries/ dates

Plus
Cashews/ almonds /peanuts/ brazils / any old nuts

Plus the magic ingredient......
Dark chocolate drops!

Then I tell the kids they mustn't just eat the chocolate - have to try a bit of everything and find they way more than they would without the chocolate.

home-popped corn with a sprinkling of salt and paprika

cucumber, red and yellow pepper slices, celery if you like it

chunks of watermelon

almonds or any nuts you like

Any fruit, including berries.

In this heat, I think ready salted crisps are fine - they replace the salt you need and are otherwise just potatoes and sunflower oil.

Totally, but if it’s in your cupboard and was there in the 1950’s, I say go for it. Black and white is hard, but it’s a rough guide.

Roast pecans w maple syrup and cinnamon - in air fryer. Amazing. Look it up!
popcorn on hob
trail mix - nuts, seeds, bit of plain dark choc, dried fruit
Ryvita w non-upf peanut butter or Meridian yeast extract (or Tesco version). Sadly marmite is upf.

The chickpeas is a yummy idea!

What I'm trying to do in general is make better decisions for myself and the DC toddlers without it being unsustainable or joyless.

I feel like the odd packet of ready salted for me would be ok in principle but it's more the shift in mindset that I'm aiming for, so I will try and dodge them for now.

Cheese is a difficult one in a dairy allergy house all the vegan free from cheeze is processed.**

Not sure how those ** ended up there...?

I take little baguette sandwiches in my handbag if I think I’m going to be hungry while out and about . I just find that light snacks never touch the sides, I want a proper sandwich!

If you can find somewhere that does a homemade veg samosa, that is always a good snack.

For Ds (toddler) I take banana, or satsuma, or pear, little crackers or rich tea biscuit. Little pot of homemade soup or a home made banana and fruit smoothie.

A sandwich can also work but he’s little so it tends to be with thin sliced bread or pitta, which are prob UPF. I’m getting on board the idea of making own bread since discovering how processed my usual bread choices are but I’m not sure if I’ll ever get around to it

Nuts
Cheese
And best of all, biltong.

The pitta I get from Tesco is wholemeal and has only wheat, yeast, salt, water and nothing awful in it (emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilisers) we do those toasted into chips with hummus, that's quite tasty.

For those saying fruit, yep but we eat fruit after meals but for a snacky snack I just need something to look forward to that replaces my previous (used to be something healthy sounding like a cereal bar, or lentil crisps but they are mostly UPF). A little treat was my boost after a long day.

I'm going to try making lemony flapjacks

Good tip on the Tesco pitta bread and hummus, thank you I will try that.

Home made banana loaf is also a lovely snack and sometimes can mix in some pieces of dark chocolate. There’s a good recipe on bbc food online

I’m old enough to remember a life before snacks. We ate meals. It was not the thing to eat in the street. If we were hungry we didn’t have long to wait. If it’s your kids that need something to keep them going the grapes, tomatoes, home made biscuits would be my suggestion.