My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here’s what we learned

Cutting UPFs from our grocery list was expensive, laborious and time-consuming

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rocery shopping looks different these days. On Saturday mornings, instead of the local supermarket, I’m at the farmers’ market, loading up on fish, meat, apples, cheese and berries – enough for a family of four.

But it’s not a cheap excursion; our weekly grocery spend is now higher than it was when we decided to try to cut ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from our diet five years ago.

In 2021, I learned about how UPFs are formulated, engineered and marketed. I dived into books such as Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss, which revealed the processes and strategies behind these highly palatable products. I discovered how companies sculpt flavors that please our taste buds, and how such highly engineered foods can have potentially adverse consequences on long-term health.