Your best non UPF family friendly dinner?

[40thbirthdayhelp]

Really trying to reduce the amount of ultra processed food our family eats. Can anyone recommend any nice recipes which are UPF free and healthy? Thanks

5 bean chilli with homemade tortilla chips and mango avo salsa

Almost all meals you cook from scratch aren't processed. I recommend the BBC food website which has loads of ideas.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food

Some favourites:

Chilli
Stir fry
Enchiladas
Curry
Shepherds pie
Lasagne
Pasta and sauce

Chicken with homemade flatbreads, wedges and salad.

Chicken and potato and veg traybake. Just use peppers, courgettes, whatever veg you fancy. Chuck in some olives, capers, garlic cloves or sun-dried tomatoes for extra flavour.
Served with green veg or salad.
Or salmon baked in foil with lemon and herbs for 12 minutes, with broccoli and new potatoes?
As others say, home made chilli with just beans or meat as well, served with rice and homemade guacamole and salsa?
Stir fried pork mince with garlic, chilli, ginger and coriander with fish sauce and green beans, served on rice or rice noodles?

How do you make the tortilla chils?

Cottage pie
Salmon pasta and peas - recipe from bbc good food
Baked potato with beans (organic), cheese and frozen mixed veg
Spag bol

If you want to use a few pre prepared items, look at the instagram account Go UPF free - it lists out ready made products that don’t have nasties.

I mostly cook from scratch but cba making things like tortilla chips myself so for these I will seek out non UPF versions (may mean spending a little extra mind you).

Much simpler and quicker to serve the chilli with rice - brown or white.

I make vegetarian chilli using something like chopped onions (red or brown), garlic, chilli (fresh or chilli flakes or cayenne), peppers (green definitely, with some red/yellow/orange as available), optional addition of chopped celery and/or carrot and sweet potato or butternut squash - all softened in a bit oil - add tin of tomatoes, tomato puree or sundried tomato paste, oregano and basil (dried is fine), ground cumin, ground coriander, ground paprika (ordinary or smoked), a little Marigold bouillon powder (no idea if this is UPF or not), beans - red kidney or black or a mixture of beans, tinned, in which case drained and rinsed, or dried, in which case soak for a few hours or overnight, boil till cooked, drain. Cook all together until consistency is right (shouldn't be watery, adjust spiciness to taste). Great favourite here.

Some of our favourites:

Risotto https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-tomato-risotto

Buddy’s tuna pasta https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta/buddy-s-tuna-pasta/

Chicken traybake https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/chicken-and-sweet-potato-traybake.html

Pretty much most of your current preferred family meals can be made as nonUPF if you cook from scratch. Many years ago when I was younger, richer and had more time, I had a personal trainer. We talked about nutrition, of course, and I couldn't understand why he kept banging on about not using any ready made food (and he wasn't English so there was an additional challenge to the communication). I rather naively thought that most people cooked from scratch. It took a few sessions of me getting more and more frustrated until eventuall I worked it out - most of his clients were using things like jarred pasta sauces etc.

So a tomatoe based sauce for pasta can be made with fresh tomatoes or plain tinned tomatoes and fresh or dried herbs. Similarly, rather than using jars of things, use fresh.

I do use things like pre-made curry pastes but with the verry very occassional exception of something like a Spice Taylor kit for a curry I wouldn't make myself, I don't ever buy sauces.

To be honest, most people find cutting out UPFs harder for other meals and snacks - it's the bread and the cereals and the ready made treats/snacks that are harder to replace.