Snack or Betrayal: The Ultra-Processed Food Dilemma

Ah, the contemporary bind: snack or not to snack? That is the question. Or rather, to nibble at what—because, let’s face it, the siren song of a packet of Monster Munch or a chocolate Hobnob dipped in tea is very hard to resist. But then, like a nagging conscience, the words “ultra-processed food” (UPF) flicker in your mind’s eye, and suddenly that biscuit is no longer a treat; it is a betrayal. Sound familiar?

Enter Delicia Bale, food writer, nutritionist, and the kind of person who, instead of making you feel bad about your pasta sauce—the choices you make and what you put into your body—will not make you feel bad. Her latest book, Unprocessed Made Easy, aims to help us navigate the minefield of UPFs, which seem to creep into every aspect of our diets. But fear not; she isn’t here to shame you for enjoying a Frazzle. Instead, she’s providing practical, affordable substitutions to help you eat better, one meal at a time.

Let’s begin with the basics: What are UPFs, exactly? They’re, according to Bale, the Frankenfoods of the New Millennium—filled with additives, emulsifiers, preservatives, and flavor enhancers that, in terms of the way they’re manufactured and what’s in them, you’d never find in grandma’s kitchen. They’re also calorie-dense, nutrient-deficient, and designed to be “hyper-palatable,” which is, for lack of a better term, a euphemism for making you eat more. Ever wonder why you can’t eat just one chip? Blame the food scientists.

But here’s the kicker: some foods that seem harmless enough are actually UPFs in disguise. Stock cubes? Guilty. Shop-bought pastry? Definitely. Even the humble sandwich spread, mayonnaise, is often a chemical cocktail. Bale’s solution? Swap it for Greek yogurt. “It’s leaner, more protein-y, and if you choose the right one, it doesn’t taste like sour regret,” she says. Okay, I added that last part, but you get the idea.

And then there’s bread, the ultimate UPF Trojan horse. At home, bread is a no-fuss affair: flour, water, salt, and yeast. But grab a loaf at the supermarket, and there’s a laundry list of unpronounceable stuff. It makes you want to start baking your own—until you remember that you have a life to live.

And that’s the crux of it, actually, right? UPFs are ubiquitous, and they’re convenient. Who has time to bend over making a homemade soup when you can simply grab a tin from a shelf? Bale gets it. “There’s less time for people, so they can depend on those foods,” she says, not judgmentally. But here’s the kicker: study after study has found that UPFs are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers. The sole positive correlation? They taste good. And let’s not kid ourselves; sometimes that’s all you need.

Bale’s take is a bit refreshingly realistic. She’s not suggesting you quit eating UPFs cold turkey—she confesses she still eats them herself. “It’s very hard to avoid, especially in social situations,” she says. Instead, she recommends taking baby steps: Trade one meal a day for something that’s not ultraprocessed. Maybe it’s homemade granola versus the store-bought kind, or a quick stir-fry with fresh noodles versus the instant variety. The trick, she says, is to take an all-or-nothing approach to not taking an all-or-nothing approach. “If you eat UPF, don’t think, ‘Oh no, I’ve derailed my diet.’ Just keep going.”

Her philosophy is informed by her own upbringing. Born and raised in Canada to a mother who worked as a personal trainer, Bale said she grew up eating “pretty healthy.” But when she arrived in the UK, she noted a huge difference in eating. “In Canada, people’s major meals maybe aren’t as wholesome, but they don’t snack as frequently,” she says. “Food here is mostly healthy, but snacking culture is massive—crisps, chocolate, biscuits. It’s everywhere.”

And she’s not wrong. Britain is a UPF nation, with studies showing almost 60% of our diet is made of these ultra-processed foods. That number is a whopping 80% for teenagers. In comparison to Mediterranean countries, where UPFs comprise only 10–20% of the diet, it’s evident that we have to catch up.

But Bale is optimistic. “It doesn’t have to be hard to change,” she says. Her cookbook is filled with simple, affordable recipes that show you can eat well without spending your whole life in the kitchen or cashing out half your paycheck. From homemade granola to instant noodle dishes, she has you covered.

So, are we overdoing it on ultra-processed foods? Probably. But with the right guidance—and much Greek yogurt—we can slacken without slacking. After all, life’s too short to swear off Hobnobs altogether. Just save them for a special occasion, perhaps.