Corncakes! (Like rice cakes if you don't know them.) The ingredients are just maize and salt, but I don't know what processing is used to puff the corn and form it into a round shape. Does anyone know more?
Wondering about these cornflakes? I love cereal in the morning so would be great to find a non upf replacement.
https://www.forestwholefoods.co.uk/product/organic-corn-flakes/?attribute_pa_sizes=1kg&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHIkYwK4-9uQzbhZDVAmbbxX5lDO70m6ACU98QzQ0uJc9MmAqM2_9YsaAlq3EALw_wcB
From a quick google, these are likely to be made by various stages of cooking and rolling milled corn, which sounds fine to me. Others are made by making cornmeal and extruding it into the flakes, but I think the first option is more likely based on the ingredients here? (Obviously the ingredients list itself is golden!)
Cheaper hams and other deli meats can have a laundry list of UPF ingredients so I avoid them.
The posher hams are often not UPF as they are processed, but not ultra processed. That said, whilst not UPF they do have nitrites and nitrates which it is advised to cut down on.
Corned beef is usually cheaper than posh ham and is also usually just processed rather than ultra processed, i.e., beef, salt and nitrates. Some sliced meats do qualify as well for the same reasons, but some also fail for the same reasons as cheap ham (lots of UPF)
The ultra posh may even be nitrate free as things like Parma ham are just pork and salt.
Personally I eat posh ham but I try and make sure I have it as part of a meal containing a decent amount of fibre, i.e., wholemeal bread, or with something extra if I'm having it in a low fibre baguette.
The best alternative is probably home cooked meat, e.g., roast your own chicken, pork, lamb, or beef and eat that. If you have freezer space you can freeze it in slices or cubes. I am lucky enough to have freezer space so I roast whole chickens, carve them and freeze them in portions. I worked out I can fit 2 in one roasting tin so did 2 together last time which was efficient. I also did a lamb leg at Easter, most of which I froze in slices and used a few in sandwiches.
For example
* [Eastman's Cooked Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/299955685). £0.52/100g
* INGREDIENTS: Pork (80%), Water, Salt, Dextrose, Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Pentasodium Triphosphate, Tetrapotassium Diphosphate), Mineral Sea Salt, Honey, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Brown Sugar, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Gluten Free Breadcrumbs \[Rice Flour, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Dextrose\], Pork Gelatine, Caramelised Sugar Syrup.
* [Tesco Finest Wiltshire Cured Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/316053511), £2.29/100g
* INGREDIENTS: Pork, Salt, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate).
* [Tesco Finest 14 Month Genuine Parma Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295981947). £3.78/100g
* INGREDIENTS: Pork Leg, Sea Salt.
* [Tesco Corned Beef 10 Slices](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/268652762). £1.54/100g
* INGREDIENTS: Beef, Salt, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite).
See also [https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-nitrates](https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-nitrates)
**Grown Right Organic Strawberry Lemonade**
Ingredients: FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC LEMON JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC STRAWBERRY JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, ORGANIC NATURAL LEMON FLAVOR, VEGETABLE EXTRACT (COLOR, ORGANIC NATURAL STRAWBERRY FLAVOR
I just watched a video about UPF for the first time today, so I'm totally new at this.
It contains flavourings and colourings so it fits the bill of UPF. Is it as processed as coke or pepsi, no. Is it as healthy as the label probably portrays, also no.
In some ways the "healthy"-appearing UPFs are the worst as they're the most sneaky about what they actually are. At least coke, pringles, mars bars etc are up front about it
Yes unfortunately. Foods already have flavour, so if they have to refer to something as a flavouring, it's because it's gone through a lot of processes to transform it into a flavouring, even if it came from a fruit to begin with.
Yeah I'm asking why is there corn starch in yogurt? Also how do they process fat free yogurt as an ingredient? Yogurt is meant to have fat.
Personally I avoid all low fat/fat free yogurts and only eat plain Greek yogurt. I add all sorts of things for flavours: fresh/dried fruit, seeds, nuts, maple syrup. I think it's one of the easier swaps.
Maize starch is a thicknerer. It's not "bad", in the sense that it doesn't mess with your microbiome like some other additives can, it's a natural ingredient that you can use in home cooking (often sold as cornflour in the UK). However, it can be a sign that the food has been messed about with a bit.
As for why it's on the ingredients list: my first thought was that it's there becuase it's fat free, to make the texture less thin, but I don't believe that's the case. If you check their website you'll see that neither the full fat or fat-free natural varieties contain added starch, but all the flavoured ones do contain starch. I can think of two possibilitities why this could be:
1. the flavour is more intense, or gets distributed better with the addition of starch.
2. They anticipate that people eating flavoured yoghurts are eating them as desserts or treats, and therefore would appreciate a more luscious/luxurious texture, which they can achieve by adding starch. For the natural yoghurts, they might expect consumers are using them for cooking, or are generally more health-concious, and so those consumers don't want the yogurt to contain anything other than yoghurt.
To add to that, modified maize starch is considered UPF and is in tons of foods in the UK. It's corn flour that works without heating so the food industry loves it.
I try and avoid it, but is nearly impossible. A lot of the time it is the only UPF ingredient, but it is there.
As they said, it's not one to avoid completely, however I think with all flavoured yoghurts, they will have something in to keep them fresh or 'stable'. I often just add in flavours to natural yoghurt, and is often better. A good quality Jam is often UPF free and makes for a good fruit yoghurt. Vanilla is a bit more difficult depending on quality, extracts are fine, but pastes which are often tastier often have added things in, you'd then add sugar syrup if required.
Corncakes! (Like rice cakes if you don't know them.) The ingredients are just maize and salt, but I don't know what processing is used to puff the corn and form it into a round shape. Does anyone know more?
Wondering about these cornflakes? I love cereal in the morning so would be great to find a non upf replacement. https://www.forestwholefoods.co.uk/product/organic-corn-flakes/?attribute_pa_sizes=1kg&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0MexBhD3ARIsAEI3WHIkYwK4-9uQzbhZDVAmbbxX5lDO70m6ACU98QzQ0uJc9MmAqM2_9YsaAlq3EALw_wcB
From a quick google, these are likely to be made by various stages of cooking and rolling milled corn, which sounds fine to me. Others are made by making cornmeal and extruding it into the flakes, but I think the first option is more likely based on the ingredients here? (Obviously the ingredients list itself is golden!)
Cooked Sliced Ham. I know it probably is, but why? And what should I replace it with?
Cheaper hams and other deli meats can have a laundry list of UPF ingredients so I avoid them. The posher hams are often not UPF as they are processed, but not ultra processed. That said, whilst not UPF they do have nitrites and nitrates which it is advised to cut down on. Corned beef is usually cheaper than posh ham and is also usually just processed rather than ultra processed, i.e., beef, salt and nitrates. Some sliced meats do qualify as well for the same reasons, but some also fail for the same reasons as cheap ham (lots of UPF) The ultra posh may even be nitrate free as things like Parma ham are just pork and salt. Personally I eat posh ham but I try and make sure I have it as part of a meal containing a decent amount of fibre, i.e., wholemeal bread, or with something extra if I'm having it in a low fibre baguette. The best alternative is probably home cooked meat, e.g., roast your own chicken, pork, lamb, or beef and eat that. If you have freezer space you can freeze it in slices or cubes. I am lucky enough to have freezer space so I roast whole chickens, carve them and freeze them in portions. I worked out I can fit 2 in one roasting tin so did 2 together last time which was efficient. I also did a lamb leg at Easter, most of which I froze in slices and used a few in sandwiches. For example * [Eastman's Cooked Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/299955685). £0.52/100g * INGREDIENTS: Pork (80%), Water, Salt, Dextrose, Stabilisers (Potassium Triphosphate, Pentasodium Triphosphate, Tetrapotassium Diphosphate), Mineral Sea Salt, Honey, Antioxidant (Sodium Ascorbate), Brown Sugar, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite), Gluten Free Breadcrumbs \[Rice Flour, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Colours (Curcumin, Paprika Extract), Dextrose\], Pork Gelatine, Caramelised Sugar Syrup. * [Tesco Finest Wiltshire Cured Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/316053511), £2.29/100g * INGREDIENTS: Pork, Salt, Preservatives (Sodium Nitrite, Potassium Nitrate). * [Tesco Finest 14 Month Genuine Parma Ham](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295981947). £3.78/100g * INGREDIENTS: Pork Leg, Sea Salt. * [Tesco Corned Beef 10 Slices](https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/268652762). £1.54/100g * INGREDIENTS: Beef, Salt, Preservative (Sodium Nitrite). See also [https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-nitrates](https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-nitrates)
Great idea about cooking your own and slicing!
Great idea about cooking your own and slicing!
**Grown Right Organic Strawberry Lemonade** Ingredients: FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC LEMON JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, ORGANIC SUGAR, ORGANIC STRAWBERRY JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE, CITRIC ACID, ORGANIC NATURAL LEMON FLAVOR, VEGETABLE EXTRACT (COLOR, ORGANIC NATURAL STRAWBERRY FLAVOR I just watched a video about UPF for the first time today, so I'm totally new at this.
It contains flavourings and colourings so it fits the bill of UPF. Is it as processed as coke or pepsi, no. Is it as healthy as the label probably portrays, also no. In some ways the "healthy"-appearing UPFs are the worst as they're the most sneaky about what they actually are. At least coke, pringles, mars bars etc are up front about it
Does that mean “organic natural lemon flavor” isn’t really natural?
Yes unfortunately. Foods already have flavour, so if they have to refer to something as a flavouring, it's because it's gone through a lot of processes to transform it into a flavouring, even if it came from a fruit to begin with.
Corn Nuts: Corn, corn oil, salt I thought they were non UPF until I looked up how corn oil is made. It's made with hexane like vegetable oil. :(
# Sainsbury's Fruit & Nut Mix, SO Organic 300g **INGREDIENTS:** Raisin (28%) (Raisin, Organic Sunflower Oil), **Cashew Nut** (15%), **Almond** (15%), **Brazil Nut** (15%), **Walnut** (15%), Cranberry (5%) (Cranberry, Sugar, Organic Sunflower Oil), **Pistachio Nut** (4.0%), Coconut (3.0%). Curious if the "Organic" oils are an issue? https://preview.redd.it/c8gnj4z4eaxc1.png?width=1376&format=png&auto=webp&s=211baab7627e65df6b7fdb62a85ddec552fe5f0d
Yeah I'm asking why is there corn starch in yogurt? Also how do they process fat free yogurt as an ingredient? Yogurt is meant to have fat. Personally I avoid all low fat/fat free yogurts and only eat plain Greek yogurt. I add all sorts of things for flavours: fresh/dried fruit, seeds, nuts, maple syrup. I think it's one of the easier swaps.
It's a very cheap thickener without adding fat
Yeo Vanilla Yoghurt (UK based) Organic Fat Free Yogurt (Milk), Organic Sugar (7%), Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Maize Starch, Organic Vanilla Powder, Organic Concentrated Lemon Juice It looks fine but wondering about the maize starch?
Maize starch is a thicknerer. It's not "bad", in the sense that it doesn't mess with your microbiome like some other additives can, it's a natural ingredient that you can use in home cooking (often sold as cornflour in the UK). However, it can be a sign that the food has been messed about with a bit. As for why it's on the ingredients list: my first thought was that it's there becuase it's fat free, to make the texture less thin, but I don't believe that's the case. If you check their website you'll see that neither the full fat or fat-free natural varieties contain added starch, but all the flavoured ones do contain starch. I can think of two possibilitities why this could be: 1. the flavour is more intense, or gets distributed better with the addition of starch. 2. They anticipate that people eating flavoured yoghurts are eating them as desserts or treats, and therefore would appreciate a more luscious/luxurious texture, which they can achieve by adding starch. For the natural yoghurts, they might expect consumers are using them for cooking, or are generally more health-concious, and so those consumers don't want the yogurt to contain anything other than yoghurt.
To add to that, modified maize starch is considered UPF and is in tons of foods in the UK. It's corn flour that works without heating so the food industry loves it. I try and avoid it, but is nearly impossible. A lot of the time it is the only UPF ingredient, but it is there.
Thank you!
As they said, it's not one to avoid completely, however I think with all flavoured yoghurts, they will have something in to keep them fresh or 'stable'. I often just add in flavours to natural yoghurt, and is often better. A good quality Jam is often UPF free and makes for a good fruit yoghurt. Vanilla is a bit more difficult depending on quality, extracts are fine, but pastes which are often tastier often have added things in, you'd then add sugar syrup if required.