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Original poster

How do you cut out ultra processed food from your diet?

132 replies

Mariayves · 17/10/2023 21:48

Ultra processed people was a brilliant, yet very infuriating read. I'm determined to make a change for my family and to cut out UPFs from our diet. I'm working full time and I can't cook from scratch every single day, so at the moment I'm focusing on shopping UPF-free as much as I can. Found this brilliant list of products that helped me a lot https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551827109379

Would love to hear what others are doing.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551827109379

OP posts:
hashbrownsandwich · 17/10/2023 21:57

It's just about prioritising. If you are wanting to change the way you eat, you can if you make time for it.
Batch cook, freezer, slow cooker.

Georgyporky · 18/10/2023 19:09

Never eaten much crap. Don't normally eat cereals, cakes, biscuits, ready-meals etc.
Very fond of bacon for breakfast, but that doesn't worry me overmuch.
I've seen posters getting obssessive over bread, but there's a limit.

Cappuccinfortwo · 19/10/2023 06:44

Have a look at what upf you eat first and see if there is an easy alternative e.g. if it's bread, could you afford a non upf loaf? If not, choose one or two items to make first of all. If you try to do it all at once it's overwhelming! My weakpoint is snacks so I'm trying to find recipes thst the kids will eat! Good luck.

00100001 · 19/10/2023 06:52

Just reduce the crap. You don't have to exclude it permanently.

So if you're having meals of turkey dinosaurs, pasta shapes and alphabet potatoes. Cut them out. And swap for turkey casserole made at home.. or whatever.

But if it's things like... Cornflakes or fairly decent bread. Don't worry about it too much.

Maddy70 · 19/10/2023 07:27

Only buy fresh meat and veg. Nothing in a packet. Easy

KevinHoho · 19/10/2023 07:55

Georgyporky · 18/10/2023 19:09

Never eaten much crap. Don't normally eat cereals, cakes, biscuits, ready-meals etc.
Very fond of bacon for breakfast, but that doesn't worry me overmuch.
I've seen posters getting obssessive over bread, but there's a limit.

I would have said the same but then when I started looking closer stock cubes/paste, tinned beans, tinned tomatoes, spices, ground seed mix… all upf so I’m eating way more than I thought I was.

I can’t afford to buy the organic/non upf versions of these staples for my family, our food bill is ridiculous as it is, so I’m having to live with it.

The changes I’ve made that I can think of are
A better oat milk for my dairy free child
Buying emulsifier and gum free ice cream and yoghurt when we buy them
Less ham in the packed lunches
Making more bread for at home, they don’t like it in lunchboxes but will eat it fresh or as toast-reduction has to be better than nothing right?
Replacing one pack of biscuits a week with shortbread, so half of their biscuit intake is upf free at least

My children’s diet has needed more changes than my own which I feel really guilty about but at the same time I didn’t want to suddenly ban everything so am slowly reducing by stealth

00100001 · 19/10/2023 08:00

I can't be bothered with worrying that a tin of tomatoes is UPF when there's turkey dinosaurs in the world...

WarriorN · 19/10/2023 08:01

Have a switch list - munch on nuts and dark chocolate for snacks rather than a biscuit.

I can't decide if most oatcakes are upf based on the book, but I reach of those with marmite and butter for a more decent snack.

Large scale batch cooking of a range of stews and curries, ideally high protein plant based. (Mainly as it's a bit cheaper and cuts your meat)

Eat meals of basic fresh meat, veg and something like pasta (brown if possible), brown rice etc.

Make your own salad dressings - just splash a bit of lemon, vinegar and oil on.

Good herb and spices stash.

A lot of the early Jack Monroe approach stuff is really helpful to use to set up your basics.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 19/10/2023 08:04

Having raised this question with the author of the book when he came on a Mumsnet webchat, you really don’t need to be worrying about stock cubes.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 19/10/2023 08:05

00100001 · 19/10/2023 08:00

I can't be bothered with worrying that a tin of tomatoes is UPF when there's turkey dinosaurs in the world...

Most tinned tomatoes aren’t anyway! They’re processed not ultra processed.
But I agree with you.

WarriorN · 19/10/2023 08:08

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 19/10/2023 08:04

Having raised this question with the author of the book when he came on a Mumsnet webchat, you really don’t need to be worrying about stock cubes.

Just read my Kallo ones; they look fine.

Riverlee · 19/10/2023 08:10

Batch cook. Buy double the ingredients, and cook a big vat of mince/bologbese, stew, casserole etc and then freeze in two-person portions. It doesn’t take much longer to cook larger portions.

WarriorN · 19/10/2023 08:12

I ended up buying an air fryer to deal with some of the kids' crap.

They've both taken to frozen cod pieces dipped in corn flour and egg and fried, instead of fish fingers so I'm trying to learn how to do stuff like that in the air fryer quickly. Same with some of the meat stuff they will tolerate such as chicken pieces, fajitas etc.

Eldest has now given up Cheerios and has oats milk and honey with nuts. Youngest likes ready brek which is fine.

Bread is our trickiest one.

WarriorN · 19/10/2023 08:13

They both like eggs in lots of different ways which is lucky

MidnightOnceMore · 19/10/2023 08:13

Start with the biggest culprits (bread, cereal, buscuits, premade sauces etc etc) and don't worry about the small bits left in your diet (stock cubes).

EspressoMacchiato · 19/10/2023 08:15

Planning is key.

On Sundays I bung a load of veg on and keep it in the fridge all week. Then during the week I only have to cook the meat part and pick options that cook fast like steak, chicken legs etc. Then I microwave the veg and dinner is ready in 30 minutes without stress.

MidnightOnceMore · 19/10/2023 08:15

Bread is our trickiest one.
Bread machine helps, but making your own from scratch is easier to fit in than I imagined.

WarriorN · 19/10/2023 10:27

Yes - some shop ciabatta seems ok and some sour doughs or rye breads

Apparently the air fryer can make bread ...

Cheeesus · 19/10/2023 10:31

Crikey, are these really UPF? “tinned beans, tinned tomatoes, spices, ground seed mix”

Tr1845 · 19/10/2023 10:54

Mostly not, stock cubes & baked beans can be. Spices not unless it’s a packet mix with extra ingredients. The thing that’s made the biggest difference for us is the bread maker well worth the £100 it cost if you can afford it and takes 2 mins to set up

KevinHoho · 19/10/2023 19:06

Tr1845 · 19/10/2023 10:54

Mostly not, stock cubes & baked beans can be. Spices not unless it’s a packet mix with extra ingredients. The thing that’s made the biggest difference for us is the bread maker well worth the £100 it cost if you can afford it and takes 2 mins to set up

Depends how strict you’re being. Tinned tomatoes have citric acid added a lot of the time which I thought was ok but apparently most commercially added citric acid is upf not just citric acid from a lemon. Tinned beans often have firming agents in which are apparently upf. Some spices and seed mixes have anti caking agents in although actually my Tesco ones all seem ok and it’s only the big packs that I bought from a ‘whole foods’ store that do 🙄

KevinHoho · 19/10/2023 19:09

I’m not eliminating these things btw but lots of people are and it did just make me realise that my diet isn’t as ‘good’ as I thought it was

BabyStopCryin · 19/10/2023 19:18

batch cook in the weekend and freeze. Plan meals and have some really easy ‘quick and dirty’ recipes up your sleeve.

Learn to make thinks like pesto (a million times better than out of a jar) and have basics in the cupboard and thinks like cheese/bread in the freezer.

It’s do-able even when really short of time. If you plan what’s ‘good’ for snacking (nuts, dried fruit, seeds) and have ‘easy’ breakfasts (ie porridge and berries).

I make my own dread when I can be arsed (homemade bagels are lovely but a bit of a faff).

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 19/10/2023 19:21

KevinHoho · 19/10/2023 19:06

Depends how strict you’re being. Tinned tomatoes have citric acid added a lot of the time which I thought was ok but apparently most commercially added citric acid is upf not just citric acid from a lemon. Tinned beans often have firming agents in which are apparently upf. Some spices and seed mixes have anti caking agents in although actually my Tesco ones all seem ok and it’s only the big packs that I bought from a ‘whole foods’ store that do 🙄

Show quote history

Ultra processed food doesn’t mean simple ingredients with one industrial chemical. Have you read the book?

StealthHedgehog · 20/10/2023 07:42

Can pesto be made and frozen into cubes?

Also, is shop hummus upf ?

I was a bit confused about the sunflower oil but if the book. I have it on audible but have learnt I remember better if I've read things in a books, kindle doesn't work either! I think it's the physical nature of a book.