From the Mother Side
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A non UPF food shop and non UPF meal ideas

non upf food shop

A non UPF food shop? Is it realistic? Is it possible with kids who are already hooked on this modern diet? It’s my mission to find out.

After reading Spoon Fed by Tim Spector, I felt inspired to look again at my diet and how I can get us all eating better.

What is UPF?

UPF foods are foods you couldn’t create at home. The ingredients are unrecognisable (and sometimes unpronounceable!) Some foods like milk, cheese and canned beans are processed, but not ultra processed.

My non UPF meal ideas for the week

non upf meal ideas
non upf meal ideas

Monday – Butter beans in tomato and dill sauce (Anna Jones) with homemade rolls

Tuesday – Lentil dhal with paneer

Wednesday – Tomato based pasta sauce, pasta, and homemade garlic bread

Thursday – Frittata and salad

Friday – Spaghetti bolognaise

Saturday – Homemade pizza

Sunday – Quinoa peanut salad (Another Anna Jones one!)

non upf meal ideas

This is Anna Jones Yellow Coconut Dhal. It is delicious. Even my three year old likes it! Here’s the recipe. I take out potatoes and add in paneer.

TIP: Create your meal plan for the week and ask ChatGPT to create a shopping list for you based on those recipes/meals. You could also ask it to tell you the order to do the meals in to minimise waste (ie eating fresh stuff first)

LIFE HACK

Have a dough day. Make up a batch of dough and store it in the freezer in portions for small pizzas for the kids and for bread rolls.

Here was my non UPF shopping list for the week:

Non upf food ideas
  • Onions
  • Cucumber
  • Raisins
  • Sweetcorn
  • Walnuts
  • Tinned pineapple
  • Olives
  • Garlic
  • Carrots
  • Potatoes
  • Cherry tomatoes or regular tomatoes
  • Fresh dill
  • Fresh coriander
  • Spinach or other leafy greens (for frittata or salad)
  • Bell pepper (for pizza topping or salad)
  • Mushrooms (optional, for frittata or pizza)
  • Courgette (optional, for frittata or pizza)
  • Spring onions (optional, for salad)
  • Fresh basil or oregano (optional, for pizza sauce/ bolognaise)
  • Butter beans
  • Tinned tomatoes
  • Tuna
  • Tomato purée
  • Paneer (for dhal)
  • Eggs (6–12, for frittata + any extras)
  • Milk or cream (splash for frittata, optional)
  • Cheese – mozzarella (for pizza)
  • Cheese – cheddar (for frittata or jacket potato topping)
  • Butter (Real butter)
  • Minced beef
  • Olive oil
  • Lentils – red or yellow (for dhal)
  • Spices: cumin, turmeric, garam masala, mustard seeds (for dhal)
  • Pasta – spaghetti (for bolognaise)
  • Quinoa
  • Peanut butter
  • Plain flour + yeast (for homemade dough)
  • Part bake baguettes

Non UPF snack ideas for the kids

The kids love snacks. I couldn’t cut snacks out completely, and actually there are non UPF nibbly bits out there – they just take a little more thought. Here are a few of my ideas for the week:

  • Date balls
  • Homemade barney bears
  • Hummus and sticks
  • Oat cakes
  • Watermelon
  • Strawberries and raspberries
  • Skyr yoghurt, honey and homemade granola

I didn’t buy crisps or other snacks this week as if they’re in the cupboard we default towards them. Here’s a whole blog on non upf kid snack ideas.

If you can’t cut out the crisps, look for crisps that still look like a potato. Here’s a blog on non UPF crisp ideas.

Weaning a baby? Check out my non upf weaning ideas list.

Foods I found hard to resist when doing my non UPF food shop

I’m not perfect. My shop wasn’t perfect either. I think going cold turkey might be too much. I also think that if I could get us all to 80% of food from non UPF sources, I’d be happy.

Here are the foods I kept in:

  • Baked beans and sausages (The girls LOVE them)
  • Oat milk
  • Tomato sauce
  • Garlic bread slices
  • Gnocchi
  • Pepperoni
  • Ham

How I could replace the UPF in my food shop above

Garlic bread – Buy part bake baguettes and add my own homemade garlic butter. Part bakes aren’t too bad. They contain: Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Fermented Wheat Flour, Salt, Malted Wheat Flour, Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid), Processing Aids (Rapeseed Oil, Enzymes).

Gnocchi – Make my own… but right now, I don’t have the time!

Tomato sauce – Make my own. Just not sure the girls would accept it, yet. Here’s a recipe from BBC.

Oat milk – I usually get the JORD oat milk which is just oats, water and salt. But this is what they sent me this week. I tried making it, but it always splits in coffee.

I’m not sure my girls will ever give up bean sausages…

Non UPF garlic bread meal idea side

Here’s how I made my homemade garlic bread for a non UPF meal side

  • 2 cloves of garlic (this was quite rich, so if you don’t like intense garlic flavour, use one!)
  • 1 tbsp real butter
  • Small bunch of fresh herbs (Parsley)
  • Homemade rolls or part bake baguette from the supermarket

Mash everything together in a pestle and mortar. Spread generously on the bread while it’s hot.

non upf meal ideas
non upf meal ideas

Non UPF cook books for great meal ideas

I love a recipe book, especially one where the recipes always seem to work. Here are my top 3:

I’ve added a couple of links in here. If you make a purchase through the links, I get a small commission. My reviews and recommendations are ALWAYS genuine.

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