How to Reduce Ultra-Processed Foods When You’re Too Tired to Cook

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It’s the standard survival food for students, busy professionals and chronically ill people: instant noodles, canned soups and microwaveable meals.

As convenient as they are, a growing number of experts are warning us to reduce ultra-processed foods in our diets, a group of commercially manufactured food products. That’s because ultra-processed foods (UPF’s) are not only linked to obesity, but they also increase your risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, diabetes and depression. The World Health Organization has also found strong scientific evidence that regularly eating processed meats like sausages, ham and fish fingers could cause colon cancer.

Ultra-processed foods are designed to be hyper palatable. By enhancing the flavor and texture of potato chips, chicken nuggets and cereals so you’ll want to keep eating them, food manufacturers replace the healthy nutrients your body needs with sugar, salt, cheap oils, chemical preservatives and artificial food coloring.

Despite these health concerns, UPF’s make up a significant proportion of the Western diet, accounting for 50 to 60% of all calories consumed. And that number is rising quickly around the world.

And that makes sense: not only are soft drinks, packaged snacks and ready-made meals easy to turn to when you’re busy and on the go, but they taste so great you’re more likely to crave chocolate cookies or fish and chips than broccoli with rice.

More importantly, instant soup with crackers or frozen lasagna can be lifesavers when you’re too exhausted to cook. It can be extremely challenging to prep food when you live with chronic pain, arthritic hands, dizziness and brain fog.

If you rely on ultra-processed foods to stay alive, this post is in no way meant to scare, discourage or shame you. We all do the best with can within our possibilities. So if you do not have the physical capacity, mental space or financial budget to change your diet right now, that’s ok!

But for anyone living with chronic illness who would like to reduce ultra-processed foods in their diet, but doesn’t know how to do that with limited energy and mobility, let’s take a look at 10 accessible, science-backed tips.

What exactly counts as ultra-processed foods?

Before trying to reduce ultra-processed foods, it helps to know what they actually are and how you can identify ultra-processed foods (without having to turn every meal into a science exam).

According to the NOVA classification system, which ranks foods by how much they’ve been processed, ultra-processed foods are designed to turn low-cost ingredients into ready-to-consume, hyper palatable foods with a long shelf life. They are created by industrially breaking down whole food ingredients into substances, before chemically altering these food substances to preserve it longer and often using additives to make the product more appealing.

Everyday examples of ultra-processed foods are soft drinks, packaged snacks, sugary cereals, burgers, hot dogs and many microwaveable meals.

However, it is important to note that not all processed foods are ultra-processed. Canned beans, plain yogurt and wholegrain bread made from basic ingredients have also been prepared, seasoned and packaged, but they are not ultra-processed.

In ‘In Defense of Food’, food writer Michael Pollan offers some simple rules of thumb to identify ultra-processed foods:

• Would your (great)grandmother be able to identify this as food?
• Does it list more than 5 ingredients on the food label?
• Are there additives you cannot pronounce, from food colorings to emulsifiers and protein isolates?
• Does your meal or snack contain ingredients you wouldn’t have in a personal kitchen, like high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils?
• How long does it take for your food to rot?

If the answer is one ‘no’ followed by three ‘yeses’, then you’re probably dealing with ultra-processed foods.

Don’t feel bad or discouraged if you realize you’ve been eating much more UPF’s than you’d like to. Who doesn’t love French fries and ice cream, especially when you’re exhausted and lonely? This knowledge is solely meant to help you make better food choices from now on, if you want to.

General Tips to Reduce Ultra-Processed Foods, Without Burning Out

1. Take small steps, with one change at a time.

Research consistently shows that gradually making small lifestyle changes leads to more lasting results than drastic overhauls, especially if you’re living with chronic illness. Cutting out all ultra-processed foods at once will probably make you feel overwhelmed and exhausted.

Instead, focus on building one new healthy habit at a time:

• Give one meal or snack a day a healthy makeover. You could swap ultra-processed cereals for oatmeal or eggs with spinach for breakfast, or choose a simpler snack like nuts, banana or unsweetened yoghurt if you usually eat cheese-flavored crackers or granola bars.
• Level up one beverage. Do you tend to drink a lot of soda, energy drinks, frappuccinos or hot chocolates? Try to replace on soft drink for infused water or homemade iced tea, have a black coffee or green tea instead of a pumpkin latte, or make your favorite beverage from scratch.
• Substitute one ultra-processed ingredient in your cupboard for a whole food alternative. Are chicken nuggets a staple food in your household? See if you could have grilled chicken filet instead. Do you go through tons of snacks each week? Try to batch cook healthier muffins, energy bites or granola bars every weekend (and freeze them for later use), so you always have a healthy bite at hand.

Making small changes that stick is more successful in the long run than giving up your new diet after 3 weeks. So only add another new habit once the previous one has become part of your routine.

2. Use the ‘crowding out’ approach.

The thing with traditional diets is: the more you think about all the foods you can no longer have, the more you start craving chocolate and potato chips. Instead, try ‘crowding out’ when you want to reduce ultra-processed foods: focus on adding whole food ingredients instead of cutting out unhealthy foods.

When you make an effort to eat more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and lean meats, there’s automatically less room on your plate and in your stomach for pizza and candy. What’s more, the fiber in whole foods will keep you full for longer and stabilize your blood sugar levels, which reduces cravings.

Some easy ideas to slowly crowd out UPF’s:

• Explore exciting ways to eat vegetables with every meal.
• Have a piece of fruit alongside your usual (packaged) snacks.
• Add healthy proteins like boiled eggs, fatty fish, chicken filet and tofu to your lunch.
• Start your regular dinner with homemade, not too salty soup or broth.

This way, ultra-processed foods will take up less and less space in your diet over time, without much effort.

3. Invest in energy-saving meal prep tools.

There’s a reason we all turn to microwaved meals and instant noodles: UPF’s are convenient. Not just when you’re busy and on the go, but even more so when you’re too sick to cook each meal from scratch.

That’s why you shouldn’t expect yourself to reduce ultra-processed foods from your diet without the help of some energy-saving meal prep strategies and tools:

• Buy pre-cut meats, chopped vegetables and frozen fruits if you can afford it.
• Invest in a slow cooker or AirFryer for hands-off cooking.
• Explore no-cook meals you could easily make, like overnight oats, quick salads, couscous or gazpacho.
• Use illness-friendly kitchen tools, like a blender, KitchenAid, a veggie dicer or adaptive kitchen tools based on your specific needs.

You don’t have to get tons of fancy equipment, just experiment with ways to make meal prep easier for yourself.

4. Make lists for low-energy days.

The question of “what’s for dinner?’ can be challenging any day, but when brain fog and exhaustion hit, your brain probably won’t come up with the best solutions. Avoid decision fatigue by making a list with meal strategies you can turn to on low-energy days:

• Write down 7 to 10 quick and easy recipes you can whip up in 15 minutes or less.
• Take stock of homemade freezer meals you can heat up. (Tip: make double portions of food on relatively good days.)
• List 5 dinners that require little effort to cook, like sheet pan meals with pre-chopped vegetables or Instant Pot dinners.
• Jot down healthy alternatives for days when you’re too sick to cook any meal (see tip #5).

Having a back-up plan for the inevitable bad days will help you to not always turn to instant noodles and takeout (although that’s fine to enjoy occasionally or whenever you just need to get fed of course).

5. Have ‘good enough’ alternatives.

No matter how hard you try, there will likely be days when you just do not have the time or energy left to cook from scratch. For busy evenings or bad pains days, it’s helpful to have some ‘good enough’ alternatives that work well for you:

• Look into the healthiest takeout options in your area. Depending on the specific restaurant, that could be sashimi and steamed dumplings, burrito bowls with lean protein and vegetables, or grilled chicken with baked potatoes and a salad.
• Check your supermarket for high-quality meals centering whole foods. Think ready-made salads, poke bowls, steam-in-bag vegetables and canned fish.
• Research which frozen meals and snacks have the least artificial ingredients.

If you regularly eat ready-made meals and pre-packaged snacks, choosing less-processed alternatives can have a positive impact on your health, without overburdening yourself.

Food-Specific Tips to Eat Less Ultra-Processed Foods

6. Limit bottled drinks.

Sugar-laden beverages like soda, iced lattes and ‘fruit’ juice spike your blood sugar levels and hurt your metabolic health, and may also contain artificial flavors and sweeteners and preservatives.

One easy way to reduce ultra-processed foods in your diet, is by swapping (some of) your sweetened drinks for flavored water, vegetable juice, homemade smoothies, milk, (herbal) tea and a simple coffee. Most people could also replace their sports drink for plain coconut water that naturally contains electrolytes.

You don’t have to give up your peppermint mocha or Diet Coke permanently, just save them for the occasional treat instead of a daily drink.

7. Keep snacks simple.

Whether you have a granola bar in your bag or flavored crackers by your bedside, pre-packaged snacks can be lifesavers when you’re busy or sick. And when the afternoon slump rolls around, many of us crave something sweet or salty as a quick pick-me-up. As much as we love banana bread, we don’t always have the time or energy to bake something nourishing.

So keep snacks simple to eat less UPF’s:

• Have an apple, banana, grapes or other easy-to-eat fruit. Add some nut or low-processed nut butter for healthy proteins and fats.
• Eat unsweetened yogurt with berries and seeds.
• Prep some healthy trail mix with chocolate.
• Snack on raw veggies with a hard-boiled egg or munch on edamame.
• Make your own popcorn.

You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to enjoy wholesome snacks.

8. Reduce fried foods.

We all love salty French fries, but sadly, deep frying is a very unhealthy processing technique. The high heat and oil create alter the structure of food, creating harmful compounds like trans fats and acrylamide while also reducing the nutrients of the fried foods. Regularly eating fried foods increases your chances of becoming overweight and developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

So limit fried foods to an occasional treat and make healthier choices instead: 

• Make fried chicken, Indian samosas and Japanese tempura at home with healthier oils, like olive oil, ghee or coconut oil.
• Try oven-baked versions of falafel, sweet potato fries or doughnuts.
• Use an Air-Fryer to get that crunchy bite. However, ready-made snacks for the AirFryer may already be pre-fried in unhealthy oils, so read labels or make meals from whole food ingredients.

By eating less fried snacks, you don’t just reduce ultra-processed foods, but you also consume less unhealthy fats and calories.

9. Replace ultra-processed meats with lean cuts.

Chicken nuggets, hot dogs, bacon and fish fingers are crowd-pleasers for all ages. But unfortunately, eating ultra-processed meats is linked to a greater risk of heart disease, dementia, diabetes and colorectal cancer. 

That’s why choosing less-processed cuts of meat matters for your health. Here’s how you can get started:

• On your sandwich, swap your usual deli meats for salmon, boiled eggs, grilled vegetables or homemade hummus.
• Replace part of minced meats, sausages or bacon in chili, tacos or bolognese sauce with beans, lentils or mushrooms.
• Choose less-processed meats like chicken thighs, turkey breast, steak, pork chops, lamb or game meat.
• Have sea food, from tuna, mackerel and anchovies to shrimp and crab.
• Eat vegetarian once a week or practice ‘Vegan Before 6‘.

Sadly, many plant-based meat replacements are also highly processed and pack with salt and artificial flavors, so it’s best to focus on healthier vegetarian protein sources, like tofu, eggs, legumes, nuts and quinoa.

10. Choose whole grains over simple carbs.

Who doesn’t love pizza and pretzels? But we all know that these refined carbs, including baked goods and white breads, cause blood sugar spikes that harm our health, but no longer contain much fiber and nutrients. All too often, food colorings and preservatives are also added to pastries, cereals and industrial breads.

With that in mind, what are some simple ways to eat less ultra-processed carbohydrates?

• Instead of sugary cereals, start your day with oatmeal (not the instant kind), yogurt with puffed quinoa or spelt, or wholegrain toasted bread of good quality.
• Replace white pastas, rice and bread with wholegrain versions for more nutrients.
• If you have the energy, make your own flat bread or corn tortillas in a skillet with 3 whole food ingredients.
• Base your meals around (sweet) potatoes, wild rice, couscous and udon noodles instead of white pasta, hard (fried) taco shells or white (pizza) dough.
• Swap some of your usual carbs for vegetables. Try (store-bought) zucchini noodles for spaghetti, have cauliflower rice with your rice bowl, add pumpkin purée to your (wholegrain) pancake batter and use lettuce as your wrap.

To reduce ultra-processed carbs in your kitchen, look for wholegrain ingredients that have undergone less processing, with minimal additives on the label.

Chronically Ill? Always Have a Back-Up Plan.

If you’re living with chronic illness, you will have bad days. Planning how you’ll handle meals when you’re too sick to cook is not a sign of a ‘negative mindset’, but of self-care.  

So look into some good quality snacks and easy meals you can keep in your kitchen for times when you’re terribly ill, overwhelmed or home late from doctor’s visits. Make a list with the best takeout options in your area. On relatively good days, make double batches of food that you can store in the freezer for when you need a quick, nourishing dinner.

But remember, you don’t have to be perfect all the time. These tips are meant to help you reduce ultra-processed foods from your diet, not cut them out completely. We all love a burger and fries on a summer’s day, and sometimes a bag of chips or bowl of ice cream is just what you need to keep going.

And your comfort matters too. Stressing about what you should or shouldn’t eat won’t do your health and happiness any good either, right?

Hopefully this article has given you plenty of practical tips to start eating less ultra-processed foods, even if your energy is limited.

For more accessible healthy eating tips, check out How to Effortlessly Make a Healthy Dinner When You’re Tired and 101 Exciting Ways to Eat More Vegetables with Every Meal.