Ultra Processed Person going cold turkey

[Fluffyflipflop]

Hiya!

I’m halfway through Ultra Processed People and feeling completely disgusted at my own dietary habits for the majority of my adult life.

My UPF consumption has gotten worse as I’ve got fatter, due to eating more and more ‘diet’ and ‘low fat’ foods which I now realise were full of CRAP! (I think I knew this before but was so obsessed with calories in/out that the content of the food was irrelevant).

Suffice to say I’m now switching my focus entirely to non UPF food. It’s virtually impossible to be 100% non UPF but in my usual all or nothing style, that’s what I’m aiming for!

Is anyone else doing this?

one thing I’m struggling to find is a really good flavoursome beef stock. I’ve tried the Pots one (in what looks like a beer can) and my cottage pie was very bland according to my husband who I think would inject MSG into his eyeballs given the chance.

Also, what do you do for treats???

This was her list.

Dark choc rice cakes with peanut butter
Popcorn
Tesco finest milk dark chocolate (its unreal)
Itsu Seaweed thins
Salted nuts
Cheese on crackers with relish (doriano crackers are upf free)

What would concern you here?

@Fluffyflipflop It's really good you're cutting out convenience foods. I would suggest though that along iwth your efforts to eliminate as much UPF as possible, you should do some reading up on general nutrition. For example, cutting fab and carbs while trying to diet is often ineffective as it does lead to constant cravings. It's about balance.

I second the Jason's bread as a good option to avoid UPF. Most breads are processed, but you can buy options that are not UPF. A breadmaker can be great too. And surprisingly, quite a few of the par-baked breads are not UHP so we like to use those as they're quick and easy to stick in the air fryer and have fresh bread.

LIke others, I wouldn't worry too much about the odd stock cube. If youve been eating a lot of ready meals and long-life products, just swapping to mostly home cooked food is going to be life changing for you in terms of overall health. We have been focused for a few years now on the 30 plant-based foods a week thing and while i don't know that anyone has lost weight as a result, there is no doubt we are all healthier, less bloated and our digestive systems work a lot better.

I would also say that eating real, proper actual food rather than "factory made edible items" leaves you feeling much fuller and more satisfied for much longer - hence meaning you don't have such a desire to snack so it becomes self fulfilling

@Fluffyflipflop I think a lot of people find it difficult to differentiate between UPF and processed hence some people will say that something is upf when it's not (eg peanut butter). My rule of thumb is "does it have an ingredient that isn't available in a domestic kitchen"

Sorry posted too early...
or "has this be made using techniques used in a domestic kitchen, just scaled up"

if yes to both the above by my rule of thumb I consider it non-upf

Yes. I've been on a lot of threads on here in the past where it's obvious that people don't understand the difference. eg worrying that flour is UHP so refusing to use it to make their own bread.

Do you bake your bread in an oven or a bread maker please?

@gettinghealthy I bake in the oven. Usually on a weekend when something else is in there. Takes about 30-40 minutes. You'll know using the old toothpick trick!

I am not home right now, but I'll try to remember to dig out the recipe which was originally a basic Irish soda bread one, but I adapted it over time and this is the result! It's much softer than soda bread and I prefer it anyway!

I do put a wet teacloth on top for a few minutes to soften the crust, but you don't have to do that if you like crusty tops, I don't so that works for me. Putting a reminder on my calendar now for you.

@Fluffyflipflop I missed your post sorry, see my reply to "getting healthy" poster above.

Check back this evening for the recipe.

And yes, I tape much used recipes inside the cupboard door. Open sesame, and no searching around for the info!

@hastalava thank you. Ha I am not a baker but every time I buy a loaf of shop bought bread I think how much better it would be if we could bake our own. Like everyone though, spare time is short so it would have to be an easy and reliable method!

What about Kallo stock cubes? They are organic with no artificial flavours etc (not sure if that’s UPF though).

I also recommend some kikoman soy sauce in beef dishes, that’s proper natural soy sauce from fermentation unlike the other stuff which is just flavoured. Doesn’t make it taste like soy sauce just adds depth to the flavour.

I do like my breadmaker for this. I haven't used it for a while and really do need to get it out (put it away ahead of a party as I needed the space and never got it out again!) but when it WAS on the counter, it was great - I'd add all the ingredients the night before while I was tidying up after dinner and fresh bread would be ready in the morning. I always just did basic white bread which was mostly flour, bit of oil and sugar, some yeast, and water. Bang. I used to do it at least 3 days a week.

Am feeling inspired... might go get it when I take the slow cooker back after using it yesterday!

For something like cottage pie, really brown the meat first so for get more beef flavour out.

you don’t need to go from one thing to extreme. Try swapping generally to less ultra processed, but don’t worry about the odd things you already have like stocks. Change them gradually next time you replace so you aren’t so overwhelmed

I buy bakery bread
Make pizza dough, naan, flat breads, scones, cookies, basic tray bake cakes.

Make double when possible to save time. Ie I made fresh pizza dough this morning, I make double as it lasts up to 2 weeks in fridge. we will add caraway and fry as naan bread with curry another night.

cashew nuts are great snack

full fat proper Greek yogurt not Greek style is a fridge staple. Easy to have for breakfast, snack, to make flatbreads, tzatziki..

I was interested in that, too. Ed to say i just looked up the seaweed thins and they are indeed full of crap

Following my last post - I have put some ingredients in breadmaker and turned it on. Fresh delicious bread by 7pm.

Well done op on making a change.

Stock cubes- maybe start with better quality stock and use a bit more. Marmite or Lee and perrins can be nice too. Or those organic umami stock cubes.

I make my own weird crackers with loads of nuts and seeds all ground down. It’s an instagram recipe.

This is the mantra I follow-

eat real foods, not too much mostly plants.

I think it was the Zoe guy Tim Spector that said it.

date caramel is really delicious and easy to make.

I think the reality is that when my husband says he’d like the cottage pie to taste more beefy, what he really means is that he wants it to taste more like oxo and bisto specifically. Normally I put 2 oxo cubes and bisto granules in my cottage pie. So really it’s gravy he likes the flavour of 😂 Im going to slowly wean him off.

Yes I would think there would be an awful lot of salt in that so reduce the amount of stock slowly . You can thicken with cornflour rather than granules .

I'm feeling inspired too! I don't have a bread maker so not expecting ground breaking results the first go! I do make a good focaccia though so I'm not completely out of tough 😅 thanks for you tips and inspiration!

@Peclet
Tell me about date caramel please

I know you said you're all or nothing but you have to be realistic. I really wouldn't worry about stock cubes. We buy sliced sourdough, either Jasons or Aldi, but to be honest we don't eat much bread. I have natural yoghurt with fruit, nuts, seeds for breakfast (currently adding muesli as pregnant and hungry!), eat leftover dinner for lunch, or a salad or soup, or eggs on sourdough sometimes. Snacks - fruit and veg sticks like carrots, celery, etc with homemade houmous; plain crisps; homemade popcorn, homemade flapjack. But we'll still have some chocolate most nights, usually stick to decent quality milk or plain chocolate. And will happily eat a pastry at the weekend!

Oh and make sure you consider the difference between processed and ultra processed. For example I like those pouches of cooked lentils which are processed. There's still plenty of convenient options available.

Maybe an unpopular suggestion but for me, it was easier just to avoid most stuff in a long-life packet altogether rather than wondering about whether something was or wasn’t upf.

Exactly this. There's no point stressing about tiny stock cubes or a squeeze of ketchup. It's the larger, voluminous foods that really add up. The easiest way to spot UPF is just the packaging. Anything colourful with marketing designed to sell you something is most certainly UPF. Even if it's advertised as high protein, low fat, vegan or whatever. Vegan and gluten-free are some of the most processed junk out there.

You just want to aim for plain, pure ingredients. Fruit, veg, meat (not processed like sausages, ham or bacon), cheese, milk, yoghurt, water, eggs etc. The closer it looks to how it's supposed the exist in nature, the less UPF it is. It also means simpler cooking styles such as just salads with balsamic and oil dressing. A single cut of meat with veg and potatoes or rice as the carb. It pay off a lot to pay for higher quality ingredients which have more flavour.

I hope this works…

That’s the date caramel reel
it is super simple and really delicious. I don’t use much cinnamon.

If you have children ( or even if not and for yourself). Silicone pop up ice lolly moulds are great. No drops, no sticky hands or ice lolly stuck in mould. I use fresh fruit juices mainly. Or yogurt and fruit blitzed (frozen mango and Greek yogurt makes lovely ice lollies).

Thank you! That’s saved!