Whole Grain Spelt Puffs, £2.50
Many cereals purport to be full of goodness when, in fact, they contain vast quantities of sugar. We love M&S’s spelt puffs with a splash of whole milk. They contain one ingredient and one alone: whole grain puffed spelt. Buy via Ocado.
Torres Extra Virgin Olive Oil Crisps, £4.95
The first thing to say about these crisps is that they are utterly delicious. The second thing is that they contain just potatoes, olive oil and salt. Simple, perfect. Buy via Ocado.
Yeo Valley Organic Vanilla Ice Cream, £4.75
Ice cream can be quite the offender when it comes to UPFs (ultra-processed foods). But there is ice-cream and ice-cream, and Yeo Valley’s organic take is far lower in ingredients, keeping it to milk, cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Buy via Ocado.
Pip & Nut Crunchy Peanut Butter
Nut butters have come on in leaps and bounds over the decades. The high sugar brands of the 1980s and 90s have been supplanted by those that keep things very, very simple. Our favourite is Pip & Nut which contains peanuts and sea salt only, making it a perfect healthy and filling snack. Buy via Waitrose.
The Heart Of Nature Pure Grain Gluten Free Bread
The evils of UPFs have thrown up a few surprise offenders in the last few years. The most horrifying of these are those foodstuffs that form a major part of our daily diets. Sliced supermarket bread is chief amongst these. Thank goodness then for the delicious Heart Of Nature bread, which contains just water, gluten free oats, sunflower seeds, brown linseeds, golden linseeds, pumpkin seeds, millet seeds, plantago psyllium, organic apple cider vinegar, silybum marianum and Himalayan salt. Buy via Waitrose.
No.1 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Houmous
Houmous is a mainstay of any heathy diet. We would – and often do – eat it at breakfast, lunch and supper. It is easy enough to make your own, but in the name of ease, shop-bought offerings can be pretty good. This one has the fewest ingredients we’ve found. Buy via Waitrose.
Bonne Maman Madeleines Cakes
Supermarket cakes tend to be prime offenders when it comes to emulsifiers. These Bonne Maman Madeleines eschew them entirely, keeping instead to ingredients (butter, eggs, sugar, ground almonds) that you would find in your own cupboards. Buy via Sainsbury’s.
Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Rice Cakes
If you’re on the hunt for healthy snacks for yourself or your children, a couple of these with a slick of houmous or nut butter fill the gap perfectly. Containing just rice and sea salt, they’re as simple as can be. Buy via Sainsbury’s.
No. 1 Strained Natural Greek Yogurt
There is a reason that the Greeks are famed for their longevity and – according to many – the secret lies in the yogurt. Alas, in the UK, the yogurt isle is often populated by unnatural flavourings and colourings (particularly, and egregiously, in the iterations marketed to children). The best ones to plump for are, of course, those with the fewest ingredients, and this one, from Waitrose, contains just milk. If you fancy it sweeter, a drizzle of honey and a handful of fruit will do the trick beautifully. Buy via Waitrose.
Marmite
Technically a UPF, Marmite is made from the by-product of the brewing industry, making it a winner in the battle against waste. It is also a rich source of B vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium. Love it or hate it, then, it’s a great way to start the day. Buy via Ocado.
We are big fans of Graze's Marmite Crunch, a bag full of broad beans, roasted corn and corn hoops in this delicious yeast extract seasoning, the perfect salty hit when your tummy is rumbling. Buy via Waitrose.
Crosta & Mollica Piadina Flatbreads Durum Wheat
Italian reground durum wheat semolina, water, extra virgin olive oil, salt: these are the only ingredients found in Crosta & Mollica’s flatbreads, which make a great vehicle for healthy, veg-packed fillings. Buy via Ocado.
