Is anyone trying to stay away from UPF (Ultra processed food)?

Semple said:
Do you freeze the chips as well? McCain's are extremely overpriced. I do on occasion make home-made chips, but time washing, chopping and cooking (don't have an air fryer) takes significantly longer that cooking some out of a bag.
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No freezing. I do cook them in an air fryer so use a minimal amount of oil. Actually I only make chips about once per week, more likely to make mash or cook rice or pasta than chips.

That's another product that gets me - people buying pre made mashed potato. How can anyone not be able to boil and mash up some spuds?
 
The_Arbiter said:
Interesting topic. For the last decade or more i've slowly been weening my way off general enjoyment rubbish. I think more education needs to be introduced, rather than a be healthy type message, and let people decide for themselves. It's surprising how little people are even aware of ingredient listings.

My diet isn't great, and many around me over the years think i'm healthy, so that says something about society.

Interestingly those Ristorante pizzas are less bad than standard wholemeal bread, so it can be quite surprising. I've been thinking for a while now how to remove bread from my diet, but haven't thought of any good replacement so far. Though as mentioned here, a bread maker is probably the best idea, so am going to look into that.

My problem is i don't really like food because the eating unhealthily is bad and expensive, and eating fresh is massively time consuming, everything just decomposes quick, and my freezer is tiny. As well as being a picky eater (taste, texture, and intolerances) doesn't help too.
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Yeah, I have been toying with the idea also. My boys love my freshly made pan cakes and pastries. So I reckon they will love the bread. Just need a small bread maker that makes enough for a couple of days.

Bread is one of the UP food that’s hugely unavoidable. I saw a YT video where a lady from the industry trying to justify all these chemicals they add to preserve the bread and make it “elastic and strong”. It sounds like a load of horse crap to me. I don’t buy Hovis etc. try to buy the freshly baked stuff from supermarket bakery or the local Turkish shop. But even then use some ingredients that make the bread unnaturally long lasting and spongy.
 
pc-guy said:
Yeah, I have been toying with the idea also. My boys love my freshly made pan cakes and pastries. So I reckon they will love the bread. Just need a small bread maker that makes enough for a couple of days.

Bread is one of the UP food that’s hugely unavoidable. I saw a YT video where a lady from the industry trying to justify all these chemicals they add to preserve the bread and make it “elastic and strong”. It sounds like a load of horse crap to me. I don’t buy Hovis etc. try to buy the freshly baked stuff from supermarket bakery or the local Turkish shop. But even then use some ingredients that make the bread unnaturally long lasting and spongy.
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Where are you from? UK bread has the worst shelf life ever (3-6 days max) versus continent bread which is months. Are you watching a UK video or a European video?
 
pc-guy said:
try to buy the freshly baked stuff from supermarket bakery or the local Turkish shop. But even then use some ingredients that make the bread unnaturally long lasting and spongy.
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The Sainsburys bakery bread looks pretty good. I'm going to give it another go, as previously i wasn't such a big fan due to the heavy crust. But this was a few years ago before i tried to find a bread alternative, (only use it for toast).
 
dlockers said:
Where are you from? UK bread has the worst shelf life ever (3-6 days max) versus continent bread which is months. Are you watching a UK video or a European video?
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Brown can last a long time compared to white. Rolls especially so, but i suspect being contained in a crust prevents mould better.
 
dlockers said:
Where are you from? UK bread has the worst shelf life ever (3-6 days max) versus continent bread which is months. Are you watching a UK video or a European video?
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Cheap UK bread has a terrible lifespan - back in student days the bread even started going mouldy before the best before date.

I find more premium bread lasts a lot longer. I tend to buy seeded (sunflower/pumpkin seeds etc) and they've been good over a week past best before - they might have started going a bit stale (not really an issue for toast) but definitely no mould.

Only things I've seen in the UK that can last months are the pre-baked vacuum sealed stuff.
 
Semple said:
Cheap UK bread has a terrible lifespan - back in student days the bread even started going mouldy before the best before date.

I find more premium bread lasts a lot longer. I tend to buy seeded (sunflower/pumpkin seeds etc) and they've been good over a week past best before - they might have started going a bit stale (not really an issue for toast) but definitely no mould.

Only things I've seen in the UK that can last months are the pre-baked vacuum sealed stuff.
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Bread going bad is a good thing, that's my point
 
Depends how you keep bread ... if it's fermenting in the air tight bag it has been bought in goes off/mouldy quickly - but if you decant it into a bread bin lasts longer.

Stupid Waitrose artisan bread which sits in the open, open to unhygienic customer handling is the worst, often goes moldy on the base where it contacts shelves which must be washed rarely;
if I buy loose fruit/apples in a greegrocer I wash them before eating but can't do that for bread.



the UPF debate seems particularly pernicious for the children that have it stupidly hoisted on them - ruining their micro-bio.

jpaul said:
moreover, the UK supermarket stuff is misleading - earlier link

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I think upf panic is probably a scare about nothing. That being said, the vast majority of food we eat is already cooked from scratch, and I only eat food like bread about once a week.
 
jpaul said:
Depends how you keep bread ... if it's fermenting in the air tight bag it has been bought in goes off/mouldy quickly - but if you decant it into a bread bin lasts longer.

Stupid Waitrose artisan bread which sits in the open, open to unhygienic customer handling is the worst, often goes moldy on the base where it contacts shelves which must be washed rarely;
if I buy loose fruit/apples in a greegrocer I wash them before eating but can't do that for bread.



the UPF debate seems particularly pernicious for the children that have it stupidly hoisted on them - ruining their micro-bio.
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I just had a check out of my own curiosity.

The Nova classification is a crude way to categorise food based on levels of processing and absolutely ZERO claims are made on nutritional values.

That's left for other people to attempt for whatever motivation they might have.
 
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EdwardTeach said:
I think upf panic is probably a scare about nothing. That being said, the vast majority of food we eat is already cooked from scratch, and I only eat food like bread about once a week.
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its not really you can see simply by looking at nations who live the longest. most who live the longest all eat naturally fresh grown simple foods.

so Mediterranean for eg

  • Eat more vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, beans, legumes and nuts.
  • Eat moderate amounts of poultry, fish and eggs in moderation.
  • Eat red meats rarely – sweets should also be consumed rarely and in much smaller amounts.
  • Avoid processed foods, sugars and any artificial ingredients
basically all we should eat is already growing on the earth naturally. its there for a reason.
 
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tom_e said:
3 minutes in the microwave is an absolute godsend some nights compared to having to stand there peeling spuds, boiling them, mashing them and then cleaning up the aftermath
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Totally agree, people are tired after work, they don’t want to stand there doing all that, and the ready mash these days is really good, a far cry from the days of Smash. Also, some people like the elderly and disabled are unable to do all that peeling and mashing.

I don’t make fresh rice either. I like different flavours and Tildas 2 serving micro rice is lovely for a quid
 
Regarding bread, just look at the ingretients. A long list of random stuff found on most supermarket or branded breads and they are packed full of chemical process. I've found some of the smaller brands of sourdough have a VERY small ingretient list. A few differentf flours (fortified is fine), water, salt. Shouldn't have anything else in it really (unless it's a seeded loaf obviously).
 
Also to add, interestingly enough, I have a branded box of granola at the office, which has a long ingredient list and is definately UPF. A 60g serving and I am not full after, and hungry again after 30 minutes or so.

At home I have a small brand granola that I bought specifically for it's small and natural ingredient list. a smaller 45-50g serving completly fills me up, and keeps me full until lunch!
 
Over Clocker said:
Regarding bread, just look at the ingretients. A long list of random stuff found on most supermarket or branded breads and they are packed full of chemical process. I've found some of the smaller brands of sourdough have a VERY small ingretient list. A few differentf flours (fortified is fine), water, salt. Shouldn't have anything else in it really (unless it's a seeded loaf obviously).
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Nah the instore bakeries have very short ingredient lists (if that's what tickles your loaf)

e.g: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/groceries/bakery/from-our-in-store-bakery/c:1018834

Not all of it is baked in the store. The TTD loafs and pastries are frozen and rebaked or something. Small shops with obviously no bakery will have a freezer and a basic oven for a "bakery".

But a white bloomer is...

Fortified Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin),
Water
Salt
Yeast (fresh yeast, I've bought it once from them)
Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C?)

Also fortified is a legal requirement so people don't give themselves rickets or deformed babies whatever by eating bread from traditional white flour which processes out nutrients and needs further processes to add back in or even just add nutrients that the population is dodging in their diet.

Anyway, compare to a Hovis white loaf:

Wheat Flour (with added Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin),
Water
Yeast
Salt
Soya Flour
Preservative: E282
Emulsifiers: E472e, E471, E481
Rapeseed Oil
Flour Treatment Agent: Ascorbic Acid.

One of those loaves hardens up in a couple of days. The other will stay soft for weeks. The extra ingredients enable buying your daily bread once a week.
 
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