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what counts as junk food

Sal - posted on 11/23/2011 ( 62 moms have responded )

1,754

there was a story here last week where one of our biggest loser trainers where she said that parents giving kids macdonalds amounted to child abuse (my words but the same general idea) and i was also reading a post on another page where a mum was asking for affordable snacks for kids, and having seen my sil shopping last week i am really curious what other people count as normal food good for everyday Vs what they think is JUNK food,
i think as a main source of meals any take away is not ideal at all it really got me thinking, what do you count as JUNK food, is it just the nasty take aways, it is supermarket frozen stuff is it is it anything that is fried any where any time, does having organic or preservative free on the package make it better???? yesterday i was on canteen duty and it never fails to stun me what counts as healthy food, here we use the Traffic light system, and all food sold must have limited fat salt and sugar before it can be sold, food such as chips iceblocks and flavoured milks and juices make this mark purely by portion size, but the kids can buy as many as they like, it is still all junk as far as i can see, there is lots of healthy options but the kids don;t buy them nearly as much...

for me i think it is far more dangerous ideas for mums and dads to buy loads of prepackaged frozen and packaged food in the house as a norm than it is for the odd trip to get take away, i don;t think having organic on the box of prepacked snacks makes them a good idea there is still sugar salt and fat.....i don;t like preservatives but i avoid them by making as much as i can my self......

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Aleks - posted on 11/30/2011

534

OMG Lisa!!! You are totally scareing me now! My son, who was dairy intollerant as a baby was drinking soy formula (in cereal once solids started, as I couldn't express the amounts needed in his much beloved cereals. He was breastfed) and loved the soy yoghurts!!! Yikes!!! I too was drinking soy milk when had to eliminate dairy from my diet for him (and my daughter, which we later found out is also intollerant of soy).

He is now on normal (ie, bovine...lol) milk and has been on dairy from about 18mths of age. But I think he was on the soy formula till about 20-24mths of age. Holy $%^& !!!

I knew soy had this mimicing of estrogen, but didn't know it also messed with progesterone and testosterone!!! (sighs a heavy sigh)

Sal - posted on 11/30/2011

1,754

We do use coconut and others for cooking but she really does prefer soy to drink (weird I know she even does the happy dance in the soy isle at the supermarket and when someone gave her a popper of soymilk she hugged and kissed it) I just try and limit the amount she has

Sal - posted on 11/30/2011

1,754

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/30/2011

16,725

LOL Teresa, thanks for telling me.

Teresa - posted on 11/30/2011

10,689

Marina, I marked that funny cuz there's no nasty option. ;)

Soy milk is nasty. My dad and stepmom drink it. We went there for Thanksgiving and my son made me bring him a sippy cup of OUR milk cuz their milk 'tastes funny'. lol

We all like tofu, but the soy/estrogen thing makes me a bit nervous so we don't eat it often.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/30/2011

16,725

http://ki4kqd.net/2009/06/04/menopause-m...

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/30/2011

16,725

A lot of it is derived from horse piss.

Kate CP - posted on 11/30/2011

8,942

Where do you think the estrogen in the pills comes from?

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/30/2011

16,725

Estrogen from nature is a bit better than the Estrogen pills that are prescribed by doctors. I believe celery also has estrogen in it. I don't know what to tell you Lisa, anything in large quantities is not good.

Minnie - posted on 11/30/2011

7,075

The isoflavones in soy can wreck hormonal havoc. They can actually cause neurological damage. They mess around with testosterone and progesterone production. Soy is goitrogenic, meaning it interferes with thyroid function. Soy milk is full of rancid oxidized oils by way of the manufacturing process- oxidized oils and fats are the substances that punch holes in the arteries and lead to plaques. Soy contains massive amounts of phytates also, that block mineral absorption and trypsin inhibitors.

France, Germany, New Zealand have all warned against giving soy based-anything to infants. Cornell has warned women at risk for breast cancer to avoid consuming soy. The AMA recommends against isoflavone supplements in food or pills.

That's enough for me.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/30/2011

16,725

The estrogen in soy can help women that need the extra estrogen, like per-menopausal and menopausal women. I don't think soy is evil, and I eat plenty of it.

Minnie - posted on 11/30/2011

7,075

Sal, what about coconut or almond milk?

Meredith - posted on 11/29/2011

We probably eat alot of what you all consider junk...lol. I shop at M&M Meat Co. in Yellowknife and most of their meats are frozen. Granted, pork chops, ground beef, ground pork, I get from the Co-Op here. But I make alot of stuff non frozen, but sometimes I just want an easy meal that I can pop in the oven and not have to fuss with too much. We do the occassional run thru McDonalds but that is only if we are out and its getting late and the young girls are hungry and fussy.

My 3 year old, if I ask what she wants to eat its ALWAYS "Mac n Cheese" personally I cant stand the stuff, but she loves it. My 8 year old and my 1 1/2 year old will pretty much eat anything. The good thing about my 8 year old is that if you ask her what she wants to drink its always Milk, she prefers milk over juice or anything actually. Now if i could get the other 2 to prefer milk over the juice.

Sal - posted on 11/29/2011

1,754

I am not a fan of soy but have a dairy Free girl so she does drink it I wouldn't force her but she loves it

Stifler's - posted on 11/29/2011

15,141

154

Soy is disgusting and apparently has a lot of estrogen or something in it.

Minnie - posted on 11/29/2011

7,075

And soy. Soy is the mother of all evil that we consume.

Minnie - posted on 11/29/2011

7,075

Yup. Humans haven't evolved to properly digest them. Even ruminants haven't.

And we don't have four giant fermentation tanks to extract as much nutrition as possible from plant matter, no cellulase to digest cellulose like they do.

Grains don't want to be eaten. So they put up a grand fight on those who consume them.

Kate CP - posted on 11/29/2011

8,942

Grains are evil. :P

Minnie - posted on 11/29/2011

7,075

A rarity! But I will 100% agree with you on the wheat/white bread thing, Sherri.

In fact- since white has been stripped of its germ it contains far less phytates than whole wheat- so fewer antinutrients to bind minerals in the gut.

Stifler's - posted on 11/29/2011

15,141

154

i just don't eat it. logan eats white bread though.

Sherri - posted on 11/29/2011

9,593

Believe it or not wheat bread is not better for you than white bread. I only know this due to my gestational diabetes white and wheat bread are completely 100% identical in the amount of carbs.

Stifler's - posted on 11/28/2011

15,141

154

white bread is junk. made with bleached white flour with like 80 grams of carbs per 100.

Aleks - posted on 11/28/2011

534

Just to clarify my earlier post.
I do not think that bread is junk, just that the recent version of it commonly available here in Australia is junk.
Most of the stuff baked today around here is quite tragic... That is all that I am saying. I have found some breads that I like and I stick with them. They are the least junky that I have been able to find.
Hope that makes some sense :-)

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

I love making lentil soup. It is killer, and the kids all love it. I make my rice on the side and add it together...yummy. I just hate cleaning the beans. It takes forever,....they are so damned small.

Sal - posted on 11/28/2011

1,754

I have chick peas and lentils loads too we aren't vegi but add them to everything curries spag Bol soups and even though usually tinned I don't count them as proceeds they have lentils and water or tinned tomatoes couldnt function without then just tomatoes and Tomato juice
I feel the wholesomeness of food Is what Iook At

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

But they are so tasty!

Teresa - posted on 11/28/2011

10,689

Skip the jalepenos and red peppers and you can come cook for ME. ;)

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

LOL, well I would just not give you the pasta. The veggies are delish without it...I just use it for a filler for my husband. But, if you can have beans...that is a meaI in itself. If you can handle the drive, come on over ;) You could just eat the chicken and beans.

Sherri - posted on 11/28/2011

9,593

Oh how I wish I could eat that Marina as Carbs are a huge no no for me right now. It sounds delish though.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

Tomorrows dinner

fresh pinto beans

rice infused with garlic, cilantro, and yes salt

chicken with cut up jalepenos on top

weds dinner

sauteed garlic and onion in olive oil with:

zucchini

summer squash

red pepper

broccoli

cauliflower

over a bed of Barilla Plus Pasta that has Parmesan cheese on it. Very healthy in my opinion. Oh, and you get more veggies and pasta....that is just how I do it....the veggies are delicious and if they need seasoning I use Mrs Dash...love Mrs Dash.

Teresa - posted on 11/28/2011

10,689

Other than the fresh fruits and veggies we eat.... it all comes from a box, bag, can, bottle, something. Hey, brown rice and pasta comes in bags or boxes too. ;)

Sherri - posted on 11/28/2011

9,593

Well I would assume many things that I have to eat daily to maintain my gestational diabetes you would consider junk Lisa. But I am extremely limited as to what I can eat and many things I need too to maintain my diet and needs Such as peanut butter and beans such as Marina listed as a huge need. Oh and I do not eat red meat either so finding many of my protein items are challenging. Also recommended by my dietitian virtually anything I have as far as drinks other than water or sweets need to be sweetened with artificial sweetners as all sugar other than natural sugars are off limits. Even a lot of natural sugars are off limits.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

But here is the thing Lisa, just because your body has difficulty digesting something does not make it "junk" food. As for me, being a vegetarian, I get most of my protein from alternative sources such as beans. I make dried beans from scratch at least 1 time per week....but to do that for every meal that contains chick peas would be ridiculous for me. I have no problem using canned vegetables and beans, and I do not consider them junk. There are only certain things that I do used canned, just because most of everything I do is from scratch. Except pasta...I never do pasta....or bread.

Minnie - posted on 11/28/2011

7,075

See, I would consider the items in that dinner junk to ME. At least my personal body and how it works. I promise I'm not trying to say that your cooking is junk.

What I'm saying is that the ingredients really are not well-digested by my body. And because I know that legumes contain phytates that bind minerals and prevent absorption in the gut and trypsin inhibitors, I know that I wouldn't be able to gain optimal nutrition from legumes.

Wheat contains agglutinin, something that causes inflammation and punches holes in the digestive tract in many people and of course phytates like all beans and grains.

So for me, it wouldn't be healthy. I suspect that with such a wide range of phenotype some are better-suited to digesting certain things than others.

What is considered as junk is highly subjective, isn't it?

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

I feel that junk food is highly processed food.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

Well, I just made a really nutritious dinner...and it was mainly from cans. I feel this is a very healthy meal.

1 can garbanzo beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
drained and rinsed
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1small can of tomatoe sauce
barilla plus pasta

very hearty, very healthy....all canned. NOT junk.

~â™¥Little Miss - posted on 11/28/2011

16,725

Sherri, I think Sal meant could NOT recognize.

Sherri - posted on 11/28/2011

9,593

Why would you not eat something your grandmother could recognize the ingredients? Since my grandparents only ate fresh foods and processed foods virtually didn't exist? Also is there a food in existence that doesn't come with bar codes because even everyone of our fresh fruits and vegetables now come with bar codes.

Sal - posted on 11/26/2011

1,754

i heard smeone say once if your grandma would reconise it or be able to reconises the igredients dont eat it...,and some tv chef who tries to avoid bar codes i think both theories have merit but sticking to it religously is too much work for me

Minnie - posted on 11/26/2011

7,075

Saturated fat isn't junk. Polyunsaturated processed fats are- vegetable oils, margarines, etc. Those are the ones that cause heart disease and cancer.

Saturated fat is what your body needs. It's complete political-interest-funded hype and poorly conducted studies that say saturated fat is bad for you.

Sherri - posted on 11/26/2011

9,593

Junk - All sweets, fast food, chips, cakes etc. frozen meals. (these things are only eaten once in great whiles as a treat)

I do not feel that juice, baby yogurt, bread or baby cereal constitutes junk in the least. However, we do not allow juice because of the sugar.

Rosie - posted on 11/26/2011

8,657

junk to me is anything that doesn't rot and die, or cookies/cake etc that i make myself. prepackaged food definitely falls into that catagory, along with many restaurant and take away food. i can't stand preservatives and i try my hardest to avoid them, however i will still buy my kids the occasional junk, or prepackaged food, and i definitely bake up a storm which they enjoy as well.
i feel things in moderation is the best way to go. giving a child mcdonalds is not child abuse, giving a child mcdonalds almost every day? well...it's certainly not in their best interests.

Teresa - posted on 11/26/2011

10,689

Dark chocolate fudge cake w/ dark chocolate fudge frosting is NOT junk.

Sorry, had to say that. ;)

We eat a lot of what many of you consider junk, but oh well.

Sal, I make my own 'fried rice' sometimes. It's one of our favorite things. I make enchilladas and lasagne (2 of our other favorits) a lot too, but since some of the ingredients come from cans... some of you would consider those junk too.

I hate cooking and we aren't even home for dinner 2 nights a week. I try to be creative to increase the health factor on those nights, but it usually doesn't work so well.

Aleks - posted on 11/26/2011

534

Anything bought in a box, packet and was basically "processed" to exist is JUNK. Although some forms of bread - while still come in a a packet may be ok, but the great majority of breads sold in Aust (including many in small owned bakeries) are JUNK. Oh, herbs and spices are not junk, dried peas and pulses, etc not junk even though most of these are bought in containers/packets.

Frozen veg/fruit, while not ideal, is not junk.

*Edited to add:

Just about every take-away and all fast food! - J U N K!

Sal - posted on 11/25/2011

1,754

That pretty much my house too.... We just had the best fried rice and honey lemOn chicken everything from scratch and the kids cOuldnt get enough

Teresa - posted on 11/25/2011

656

I cook alot of our food from scratch. Living on a farm, it's homegrown food usually. Every now and then we get McD"s or somehing else like that. I am NOT intimidated. Although a novelty idea, I know in the end my home cooking wins out. And a chicken nugget or two WILL NOT kill him.

Amanda - posted on 11/25/2011

2,559

In my house anything that comes in a box or packaged is junk food. If you microwave it to cook it, its junk food. If it didnt grow in the ground or on a farm its junk food. If it comes in a can or named Kraft dinner its junk food. LOL

Good Day! - posted on 11/25/2011

5,888

lol Thanks Cathy. I just wanted to mention that point since more than one person put fat in the junk category.

Cathy - posted on 11/24/2011

5,996

High in saturated fat!

Good Day! - posted on 11/24/2011

5,888

Fat does not automatically mean junk. It's the type of fat that makes it junk.