So I finally finished my book.
Over the past few weeks it's been a case of pick it up, read a bit, think about things, check things out for myself, do more back-up reading and generally really let what I have been learning sink in properly. This was no quick and easy read and I felt it was important enough ... to me anyway ... to read this book properly.
I liked that the book tells you right at the beginning not to throw away all your ultra-processed foods but to spend more time reading their labels and assessing how they make you feel ... and boy have I been doing this.
The ingredients for a simple cheese and onion toasty that I was making one day last week.
While the toasty was cooking I read the labels of the spread ...
... and the 'cheese'.
I don't find them horrific in any way but they are things that I have been re-evaluating. I won't buy this particular cheese anymore but the spread will stay as it is one of the better ones I have found. I do want to avoid eating so many starches, extracts, lecithins etc etc
Of course I had to look at my chocolate bars too.
Fingers crossed for good ingredients here!
The Aldi white chocolate is delicious and although the ingredients list is long I will still be eating it occasionally, perhaps just a little bit more occasionally than I have been recently. 😄
Overall I have found that virtually all the Deliciously Ella products that I have in my cupboards have been in amongst the best foods and treats ingredients-wise. Take this chocolate as an example, just four ingredients in the chocolate and all of them very recognisable ... and it's tasty chocolate too!
What I will be doing from now on is keeping the NOVA scale in mind when I'm shopping and eating and just trying my best to cut back a bit on the foods that are in the Ultra Processed Foods category. I doubt I would ever be as close to the 80 natural/20 UPF aim that I would like but I will be a lot more mindful for sure.
Now it's time to relax with a book that is a lot lighter reading.
Afloat
Sue xx
I've come to much the same conclusion, Sue. Nowadays, it is not really possible to cut out all UPF, but I can be as mindful and aware as possible.
ReplyDeletexx
I've learnt such a lot form this book, it was well worth reading.
DeleteI too have finished this book. I thought we ate quite well but these additives are everywhere. I’m reading Robert Lustig's Metabolical now. A heavier read but a book we should all read. It’s all Real Food for us now. As Michael Pollen said ‘ Eat food, not too much, mainly plants. Robert Lustig says ‘Protect your liver, feed your gut.
ReplyDeleteYes, 'Eat food, not too much, mainly plants' is one of the simplest and best quotes isn't it. I heard of it many years ago when I first read one of Zoe Harcombe's books.
DeleteKaren
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you leaving your name, thank you. xx
DeleteI am starting to look at labels a lot more often now. I don't eat much junk anyway, but won't deprive myself of a treat now and again. Yesterday while I was out I fancied a Magnum ice cream, so I had one. I have a soft spot for Aldi white chocolate buttons, but can pass them by. Variety I think is the key.
ReplyDeleteI think our grannies had it right, 'a LITTLE bit of what you fancy does you good' and 'all things in moderation'. I think it's only in recent times and with foods being manufactured and processed so heavily, with the ingredients that we find so tempting that things have really gotten out of hand.
DeleteI eat too much rubbish for sure....... one of these days I'll have the sense to review it, but for now blog articles like this help point me in the right direction
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I think I caught myself just in time by reading this book. There has been a real flooding of the market over the past two years with vegan/dairy-free foods that the urge to try everything has crept up on me. Now it's time to pick my favourites and leave all the rest way behind.
DeleteI find the entire food situation to be overwhelming. I read one thing and it says this or that and then a few months later, you hear the opposite. Sometimes I just throw my hands up and give it to God! I know it's good to be informed, but the fear can kill you too :)
ReplyDeleteIt can be very overwhelming if you're not careful can't it. That's one reason I took my reading of this book so slowly, it really did need digesting and understanding. There's absolutely nothing to fear once you know the truth and know what to look for. xx
DeleteI've not read the book, but various posts by you and other folk give the general idea - avoid UPF where possible. Even when you think you have been eating "healthy" foods, you look at the label these days and think, for example, the only really healthy breakfast "cereal" is porridge oats!
ReplyDeleteIt is a LOT easier to resist baked goods now - just look at the 30 or so ingredients and hunger pangs cease! I am now reacting to dairy again (and, sigh, chocolate, even dark chocolate) so a change is called for here. My favourite chocolate and caramel bar is the worst offender . . .
Oh gosh, I feel your pain ... reacting to even dark chocolate is the last straw. :-(
DeleteI am reading the same book, slowly and thoughtfully.
ReplyDeleteThe WW2 ration diet which Carolyn is following sounds pretty good to me. Lots of dried pulses and fresh vegetables.
Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have some 90%+ chocolate with no lecithin. Cynically S’s put the £1.50 bar in the cooking section up by 20p, while selling copies of Dr C. van Tulleken’s book. Perhaps someone read it?
Yes, I felt really good the couple of times that we lived on WWII rations for a challenge, in fact it's been playing on my mind that I may have another go soon. There is massive interest in it on Carolyn's Facebook group now and we find ourselves helping the newer members of the group to start.
DeleteVery thought provoking indeed, Sue thank you for giving us the “gist” of the book, I for one am scrutinising labels now!
ReplyDeleteCountry Cook
It's handy to be prompted to have a look at labels again isn't it. I find I am regularly doing it anyway as some things that start off dairy-free seem to occasionally have whey powder added in at a later date to make them cheaper to produce.
DeleteI finished the book last week and am changing a lot in my diet. I find as vegans we are already lable readers but now understand what the mystery ingredients really are and it's a bit of a wake up call.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to find out just what a lot of the mystery ingredients are isn't it, and shocking to find out that some things that sound so natural just aren't!!
DeleteI try to eat homemade, but of course that is not always possible. Must look into that book. Oh yeah, you are definitely not a "Karen". That is a very derogatory term here across the pond.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I was signing my name as I posted as anonymous.
DeleteIt's definitely worth looking into if you can, it's a good and very informative read. xx
DeleteUnfortunately ... for them at least at the moment ... Karen is a very common name here in the UK especially in our age range and a bit younger. Sorry for the confusion caused, but I was grateful for Karen not leaving her comment as Anonymous.