So I'm very realistic a 0% upf diet isn't attainable for me for several reasons so I aim for low or reduced,20% or under which is well below my countries average

Trying to swap out chips/fries for a more nutritious option, still convience because of time and energy

I focus on nutrients and what they provide as a priority while trying to keep upf down

The issue I am running into the "healthier" alternatives are actually more processed and not sure how to approach It

How do you do it?

Ie root vegetable fries

"Carrot 29%, Parsnip 28.5%, Red Beetroot 28.5%, Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower Oil, in varying proportion), Rice Flour, Modified Potato Starch, Potato Dextrin, Maize Flour, Salt, Tapioca Dextrin, Raising Agents: Diphosphates and Sodium Carbonates, Stabilisers: Xanthan Gum and Methyl Cellulose, Colours: Paprika Extract and Curcumin"

Marks and Spencers fries/chips

"Potatoes (91%), Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed/Sunflower) in varying proportions, Wheatflour, Cornflour, Rice Flour, Salt, Turmeric Extract, Natural Colour: Paprika Extract, *Fortified with Calcium, Iron, Vitamins B3, B1 and Folic Acid"

Hi everyone,

As a mod team, we’ve been thinking about ways to deepen the discussions here on r/ultraprocessedfood. While the practical advice shared here is great, we know a lot of us are also interested in the politics, history, and psychology behind why our food system looks the way it does.

To tap into that, we are officially launching the r/ultraprocessedfood Book Club!

How it's going to work:

• The Trial: We are running this first one as a pilot to see how much the community enjoys it. If it’s a hit, we'll do it monthly.
• Book Selection: To keep the book club aligned with the spirit of this community, the mod team will be curating the future book choices.
• Timeline: This post is just the heads-up so you have time to read the book. In two weeks' time, we will drop the official discussion thread pinned to the top of the sub, complete with some specific prompts to spark everyone's thoughts. We'll keep it up till the end of the month, to give everyone a chance to participate.

Our First Pick: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Our first book was actually released in 2008, one year before the NOVA classification system was first proposed by Carlos A. Monteiro and other researchers. Despite that, you will find it has some uncanny similaries with the way we now talk about ultra processed food.

Wikipedia summary:

In the book, Pollan explores the relationship between nutritionism and the Western diet, postulating that the answer to healthy eating is simply to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Pollan argues that nutritionism as an ideology has overcomplicated and harmed American eating habits. He says that rather than focusing on eating nutrients, people should focus on eating the sort of food that their ancestors would recognize, implying that much of what Americans eat today is not real food, but "imitations of food". In the book, he distinguishes between food and "edible foodlike substances".

Potential Future Picks:

• Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson
• The Missing Ingredient: The Curious Role of Time in Food and Flavour by Jenny Linford
• The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker

Are you interested? Have a question? Have an idea for how this could run better? Let us know!

6 ingredients, organic, no sugar

Our 8 month old and 3 year old love them.

Helps sooth teething babies.

Check out the video and link on there for the recipe.

Love to make healthy baby snacks. If you love it, please do like and comment if you want to see a healthy version for another snack. But we are planning to show organic healthy muffins next.

Because of various medical and diet issues, I think I am going to have to start adding meat and fish to my diet. I’ve only ever eaten meat once at uni (I’m UK based).

How can I start introducing small bits of meat to my diet? Everything seems to be full of preservatives. Ideally I need to focus on iron and protein. Everyone else in the house is veggie. Lots of allergies in my house too - so usually I make a picky bits dinner/ would like something that I can add meat too as opposed to meat being the centre.

Please be kind - I’ve never been a fake meat person, so I’m worried about the texture too. Any ideas for non-UPF things I can introduce. I shop at Ocado and Lidl mostly.

ETA: I already know the vegetarian sources of iron and protein. I am Asian so have grown up eating a balanced, solely vegetarian- based diet. My medical state has changed meaning I need to adapt my diet. Thank you

Edit 2: Thank you for all your suggestions and kindness. It feels really overwhelming (which is probably funny to many people as they probably feel the same way about going veggie), but you’ve all provided so much useful info about keeping my diet UPF free to minimal!