June 2025 

Navigating Food Choices in an Ultra-Processed World

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might remember my very first post back in January last year (okay, I don’t actually expect you to remember—but if you do, extra brownie points for you!). That blog was about my discovery of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and how we had just started making changes within our family.

This month, I’m sharing where we are now—what changes we’ve made, why we made them, and how you could start making similar changes today.

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What is a UPF (Ultra-Processed Food)?

Let’s start with a quick refresher.

Ultra-processed food is a term used to describe foods that have undergone extensive industrial processing and include ingredients you wouldn’t typically find in a home kitchen. These often include:

• Artificial flavours, colours, and sweeteners

• Preservatives

• Emulsifiers and gums

UPFs are engineered to be hyper-palatable, convenient, and long-lasting—but they often contain little or no whole food ingredients. In reality, around 90% of what you see in a typical supermarket falls into this category: bread, yogurts, cereals, snacks (crisps, chocolate, biscuits, cakes), ready meals, sauces—you name it.

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The wake-up call for me came when I started paying closer attention to ingredient labels. For years, I’d been scrutinising packaging for peanut allergens because of my son’s severe allergy, but I hadn’t been looking beyond that. One day, I noticed how ridiculously long some ingredient lists were—and when I took a closer look, it was a life-changing moment. That was my big reality check, and it launched me into a deep dive into the world of UPFs.

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Two Years Later—Where Are We Now?

Fast forward two years, and my kitchen is nearly UPF-free. We’ve made a lot of swaps—and some additions too. I’ve learned to embrace baking and cooking in a way that fits our already busy lifestyle.

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We started by tackling just one meal at a time, beginning with breakfast. I haven’t bought a breakfast cereal in over two years. Our mornings now start with porridge, Greek yogurt with fruit, homemade granola, or eggs.

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Lunch has transformed for me too: I’ve gone from sandwiches and crisps to hearty salads, soups and eggs. Dinners were already healthy and home-cooked, but I’ve added in new, exciting dishes with a wider range of ingredients. More vegetables, wholegrains and other whole foods.

 

Our snacks now include things like fruit with (safe) nuts and seeds, home-baked oat-based bars, smoothies with kefir, or a square of 85% dark chocolate.

 

The Allergy Advantage (Yes, Really!)

My son’s allergy means takeaways and eating out are rare for us, and honestly, that’s become a blessing in disguise. Not being able to rely on convenience food has pushed me to prepare nourishing, homemade meals daily. And even if we could eat out more, I’ve realised I no longer enjoy that kind of food—and it definitely doesn’t make me feel good.

 

Our Focus Now: More Plant-Based Protein and Fibre

With two fast-growing teenage boys, we go through a lot of food. I started noticing how much meat we were consuming, so we’ve been working on incorporating more plant-based options. We’re not cutting out meat—it still features in most meals—but I now regularly substitute in lentils, beans, and pulses wherever I can.

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It’s a learning process for all of us. My eldest listens to health podcasts and is game to try whatever new food I put in front of him. He actively avoids UPFs both at home and when he’s out (aside from those occasions when he doesn’t have much choice). My youngest is also giving it a solid go. He's open to new things—even if he doesn’t love the lentils in his favourite Bolognese. But he eats it, doesn’t complain, and it’s slowly becoming his new normal. (And yes—I still occasionally make it the “old way” just because I’m not that mean!)

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Has it been easy? No. Has it taken a long time? Yes we have made small manageable changes along the way, keeping it sustainable and consistent. Do we all feel better for it? Absolutely! We have more energy (even with the additional cooking and washing up), less gut issues  and a better overall feeling that boosts our wellbeing along with all the others health and fitness tools we integrate into our life. 

 

Back to That First Blog Post...

The title of my very first blog was: “When Did You Last Check the Ingredients List?” So I want to pose that question to you again.

If it’s been a while, take another look. See what you notice. What small swaps could you make today?

 

Ask yourself: what ingredients would you expect to find in a homemade loaf of bread, a cake, or a biscuit? My lemon cake, which I make occasionally as a treat, has just six ingredients: flour, eggs, butter, milk, sugar, and lemon. Now compare that with a Mr. Kipling lemon slice—you know, the ones that are so small you need to eat a whole family pack to feel satisfied. That little slice contains 26 ingredients. How many of those can you recognise as real food you'd find in your kitchen? (Here's where you do a quick google search of the ingredients!)

 

What’s Next?

This journey is now spilling over into my business, too. I’m starting a new course this week with Imperial College London: Nutrition for Health: Evidence-Based Tools and Strategies. I’m so excited to deepen my understanding—and bring that knowledge into the work I do.

Watch this space—nutrition is weaving its way into everything I do!