It is hilarious to me how many people want to be willfully obtuse about this. There is a ton of research out now about why ULTRA processed food is bad for us. Avoiding upfs means avoiding food with ingredients you can’t pronounce and sugar of all the various types. Bread made with just yeast, flour, oil, salt, and water? That’s not upf. Here are the ingredients in Safeways white bread :

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Yeast, Sugar, Contains Less than 2% of Each of the Following: Soybean Oil, Salt, Calcium Propionate (a Preservative), Vinegar, Guar Gum, Ascorbic Acid (Dough Conditioner), Vegetable Oil (Contains One or More of the Following: Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, High Oleic Soybean Oil), Distilled Monoglycerides, Wheat Flour, DATEM, Whole Wheat Flour, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Contains One or More of the Following: Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Cottonseed Oil), Mineral Oil, Inactive Yeast, Enzymes, Sunflower Oil, Soy Lecithin.

OP, the best way to replace buns and crackers are to make them yourself. I switched to making all of our flour containing items (crackers, bread, waffles, buns, cornbread, biscuits, cookies, cakes etc) myself a few years ago and it’s not hard once you get in the groove.

For oats I think you could just eat any kind of plain oats, it doesn’t have to be steel cut. However Costco has steel cut oats really cheap and I switched to those awhile ago. I make them in my rice cooker.

Honestly the best way to avoid upfs is to make things from scratch, which is not as hard as people make it out to be. I batch cook and freeze a lot of things which is how I make it all work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So we're thinking of experimenting with eliminating ultra processed foods, as described in the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/my-family-went-off-ultra-processed-foods-for-a-month-the-results-surprised-us-ac8015b1?mod=lifestyle_trendingnow_article_pos1

We already do pretty well but there are a few items in regular rotation that I think will have to go, for a while anyway, and I wondered if folks had come up with good replacements.

Buns: we turn lots of things into burgers-- beans, lentils, ground turkey-- and we love brioche buns
Lunch: gotta be quick! and portable! No more frozen pizza
Snacks: I love cheese and crackers. But I think both cheese and crackers are UPFs
Breakfast: Cold cereal has to go. Steel cut oats seem minimally processed, but they take so long to cook. How about rolled oats?

Tl;dr: What substitutions have you made that worked to remove highly processed foods from your kitchen?

Less than 5 minutes, what are you talking about?

Were these magic grits?

No self-respecting southerner eats instant grits!

I love you both.

Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans!?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that snacks and packed lunches are hardest. I still eat things like yogurt and hummus that are technically processed, otherwise I would not be able to get enough food volume.

I recommend getting a cookbook for inspiration and ideas.

Snacks are the easiest! Only eat fruits and veggies.

For blood sugar and hormone balance as well as satiety, I try to have a balanced snack with protein, carb and fat. So, while it may include fruit or veggie, that won’t be the only thing I eat for a snack. Also, veggies aren’t necessarily easy, they require prep!

If prepping veggies is hard, I don't know what to tell you.

Ok, explain how chopping veggies is left effort than opening a bag of Doritos. Make sure to include the part where it is easier to buy, store and keep fresh produce on hand. You’ll solve the obesity crisis. Can’t wait to hear your Nobel winning explanation.

I mean, if you're so lazy that you're not willing to put in a couple of minutes of work, you'll remain unhealthy. No skin off my nose. But that still doesn't make them difficult. If you want to throw money at the problem, buy pre-cut.

I eat a ton of veggies and that’s how I know it takes effort to have them available.

My god, you’re an inspiration

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So we're thinking of experimenting with eliminating ultra processed foods, as described in the Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/my-family-went-off-ultra-processed-foods-for-a-month-the-results-surprised-us-ac8015b1?mod=lifestyle_trendingnow_article_pos1

We already do pretty well but there are a few items in regular rotation that I think will have to go, for a while anyway, and I wondered if folks had come up with good replacements.

Buns: we turn lots of things into burgers-- beans, lentils, ground turkey-- and we love brioche buns
Lunch: gotta be quick! and portable! No more frozen pizza
Snacks: I love cheese and crackers. But I think both cheese and crackers are UPFs
Breakfast: Cold cereal has to go. Steel cut oats seem minimally processed, but they take so long to cook. How about rolled oats?

Tl;dr: What substitutions have you made that worked to remove highly processed foods from your kitchen?

Less than 5 minutes, what are you talking about?

Were these magic grits?

No self-respecting southerner eats instant grits!

I love you both.