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

[Mariayves]

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.

The biggest help for me has been to look at ingredients lists. I don’t need to read through the whole lot, if it has more than 5/6 ingredients I don’t usually buy it. However I do make exceptions occasionally so if I don’t have the time to make myself, it’s fine!

Also find simple recipes to make for evening meals, it’s usually too expensive and time consuming to make things with 15 ingredients every night. I find BBC recipes very good.

I think you need to get things in perspective, yes there may be synthetic citric acid in a tin of tomatoes, but it will be identical chemically to that from lemons and only a tiny amount, the health benefits of the tomatoes massively outweigh any concerns about that. Also you use it with fresh meat, veg etc so are consuming very little citric acid. Whereas say a cheap ready-meal lasagne will be chock-full of emulsifiers etc and have very little nutritional value, so those are the priority for avoidance IME. Also many cereals, industrial breads, biscuits etc as they tend to be eaten frequently and in relatively large quantities.

Thanks. Perhaps I need to stay off the facebook group. How you put it is how I previously rationalised it but after reading the book and listening to the podcasts I joined the facebook group and most people on there are very strict about upf in any form or quantity. I would never be as militant about it as they are (partly budget, partly being a believer in everything in moderation and not banning foods) but it does make you think that your previously considered healthy meals are worse for you than you thought!

Yes to the pesto.
Shop houmous is usually only considered upf if you are avoiding seed oils.
I also found the oil part of the book a little confusing!

Mmmm. There is processed food and UPF.

you need to find a sensible and workable solution. I don’t worry about kallo stock cubes. Or tinned tomatoes.

I also try to eat locally and sensibly. For example, squash soups in winter.

I make my own hummus as it’s easy and quick: all supermarket hummus is crap, whether its UPF processed as it uses rapeseed oil.

I don’t eat supermarket bread

We've tried to reduce upf but are being realistic in that we can't eliminate it entirely. We have a breadmaker which helps, I buy a lot less bread these days. And we've started making pizza bases with it and freezing them. I've found that you can basically part bake them, stick the toppings on and chuck them in the freezer, and they come out really well baked from frozen, so we don't buy frozen pizza anymore either. As someone else said it takes some planning and prep. The kids are eating a lot of boiled eggs or porridge for breakfast rather than cereal, but they do have it occasionally still.

So I would argue that sunflower oil is UPF in itself. It’s also inflammatory. Apart from cold pressed rapeseed oil, it’s inflammatory. It’s not just about the processing.

use oils judiciously - I would rather a supermarket pesto made with olive oil than a so called home made version using cheap processed oil

The problem with most vegetable stock is the low vegetable content. Why can't it be the majority of the product? Instead most are mainly salt, and vegetable content is about 8% if you're lucky. Even in premium brands.

No.

Baked beans might be UPF but not the others. And baked beans have a lot of excellent fibre in them - you're probably better off with baked beans on supermarket whole meal bread with a dash of Worcestershire sauce than you are with a packet of all-butter shortbread, even though the former is upf and the latter isn't.

Well, stock is to add flavour and not vegetables!

I find it is snacks that are the sticking point as I cook nearly everything from scratch to keep costs down (and I like cooking).

My swaps are plain nuts or seeds instead of crisps. Toast them in a dry pan to make them tastier if you have time and prefer. Toasted pumpkin or sunflower seed kernels with a little sea salt are delicious.

More fruit. Plain yoghurt with a spoon of UPF free fruit jam stirred in if the fruit has gone. Packs of dates and other dried fruits.

If I can be bothered I sometimes make energy balls.

Hummus and raw veg to dip in. Home made hummus freezes ok. It might separate a little on thawing but give it a stir and you’re good, so you can make a larger batch every so often.

Homemade pesto keeps for a pretty long time if you put a decent layer of oil over it and keep it in the fridge - at least a couple of weeks.

I tend to think there aren't enough categories: an oatcake might meet the definition of a UPF if you count rape seed oil - but it's clearly not the same as a wotsit or a pink wafer biscuit.

I have tried to cut down on UPFs rather than think I can go UPF free.

So more home-made bread (but I'm not prepared to give up all shop bought bread products), a pretty much complete ban on things in the worst category in my mind (wotsits etc), and significantly cutting down on things like shop bought biscuits.

I'm not getting het up about stock cubes or tinned tomatoes or even things like (reasonably nice) chocolate, or oatcakes.

I'm definitely no saint - I still eat things like bacon, plenty of cheese but e.g. I have switched to making my own burgers, garlic bread etc rather than buying them. Buying cold pressed rapeseed oil for when I don't want to use olive oil.

For me, I think it's about doing what I can to mean the changes are sustainable. I would never be able to keep up with only ever having homemade bread or whatever.

I was reading tinned beans to be tinned pulses, not baked beans. Could have been either I suppose.

Quite honestly, I can't be arsed to worry myself daft about it.

I already cooked from scratch anyway, but I've largely stopped buying processed snacks and have fruit/nuts/yogurt instead. My lunches have changed from sandwiches to veg/grains/homemade hummus.

I still use stock cubes, tinned tomatoes, I have the occasional slice of bread or wrap which are upf, and I'll still use Mayo/ketchup now and again. If I eat out I'll try to choose healthy meals.

I do think you have to draw a distinction between processed and ultra processed. I buy good quality food, and try not to buy too much crap, but in modern life it seems crazy to agonise over a tin of tomatoes. Some degree of processing is convenient and even desirable to avoid food waste and keep food fresh - humans have been salting, curing, canning, and preserving food since time began - yes too many additives etc are not good but it's important to keep a sense of perspective.

Good heavens, that must be nonsense about tinned tomatoes and tinned beans! If I ever had enough tomatoes to can myself, then I would absolutely be using citric acid! I have it as an ingredient (not used very often) in the same way as I have baking powder. Likewise a whole other range of raising agents for German and Scandi baking.

I am interested in the oil comment up thread tho - veg oil is a weird one as it absolutely has been processed and processed and processed.

I have my suspicions about white sugar too, which we use in quantity to make home made jam, cake, biscuits…

Absolutely.
The book is perfectly clear about this. I don’t know why anyone who has read the book is then getting hung up about tinned tomatoes.

I'd aim to cut down, not out. A day for me would be porridge or plain yoghurt for breakfast with fruit, seeds etc. Soup for lunch (homemade, make a load and freeze, or sometimes a tin) with sourdough or crackers. Dinner could be pasta and homemade sauce, something batch cooked like chili or curry, even eggs on toast. Processed is fine, like tinned veg/fruit, peanut butter etc.

I bought a Panasonic breadmaker secondhand from Gumtree. Honestly it’s so easy to make a loaf, just a few seconds to add the ingredients and after a month I now know the measurements without looking at the recipe. This is considerably less faff than going to our nearby bakery and considerably less money, even with the £30 spent on the breadmaker included. Just need to remember to add flour to weekly shop!

I also buy lots of frozen veg, often pre chopped. I just stick frozen veg and tinned stuff in slow cooker with herbs/spices depending on the dish (bean chilli, curry, tagine, bolognese, stroganoff etc). I don’t bother pre-frying, doesn’t matter. And then when I get home from work I just fry off the paneer, tofu, Halloumi or whatever additional protein would go with it (if it’s needed) and/ or cook rice, pasta, potatoes, cous cous. We are veggie but could do similar with meat if that was the additional protein needed. I find this much much easier than starting from scratch when I get home from work, and meal is on table in 15/20mins. I tend to have the tins and spices lined up ready for the morning, which I do whilst I’m finishing things off for the dinner the night before.

I really do cheat on the pre-prepped veg so that if e.g. I’ve cooked the stuff for a veggie shepherd’s pie in the slow cooker, I’ll come home and make mash using pre-peeled potatoes (the ones from the chiller section), make the pie up in a dish and then just pop it under grill with cheese, and microwave steam frozen green beans to go on the side.

I’ve also switched from margarine to butter.

I don’t worry about stock cubes etc, as this is a tiny amount of ultra processed and yes tinned tomatoes, tinned beans are fine!

I use dried soya mince from H&B in some of our meals and I can’t figure out if it’s ultra processed or not? Only has one ingredient…
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-natural-soya-protein-mince-60082699

I guess it’s about cutting down rather than driving yourself nuts trying to go completely ‘nasties free’.

You will do more harm than good fretting over a jar of tomatoes than just eating the tomatoes!

I try my best and don’t beat myself up if I buy a Stella McCartney mozzarella burger because I just craved a burger.

Yes, but the main flavour should come from vegetables. That's literally what stock is, not a solution of salt water and fillers. When you make vegetable stock you boil vegetables in water.

Sugar isn't UPF, but that doesn't mean it's good for you. See also whisky, clotted cream, gelateria ice cream, salt, Victoria Sponge.

I used to make stock - onion, carrot, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves, herbs … boil in the pressure cooker and strain (best to put peppercorns in a wee bag or they drive you nuts fishing them out)

I wouldn't try. I would focus on increasing the amount of fresh and homemade food.

UPF studies are mostly useful for governments and regulators, not for individual consumers.

Sorry op if you want to do this it's about cooking from scratch, maybe you could set some time aside to plan your meals, cook them and freeze them so it's easier on an evening