my Nachos are not junk food

[resetusername]

So yesterday I was talking to another mum, was saying what we were having for dinner and explained all the ingredients in my nachos and she replied "wow, you hit the junk food hard on a saturday night, I couldn't do that"

I thought my nachos were relatively healthy.

They contain:

Corn tortillas (just made of corn, salt and sunflower oil - no nasties and the corn counts as 1 of 5 a day) a great source of carbs
Fresh guacamole (avacadoes , lemon juice, coriander, garlic) 3 of your 5
Fresh salsa (tomatoes, onion and vinegar) 2 of 5 a day
Full fat sour creme and cheese, only a small amount but a great source of vitamin d, calcium and protein.

That's not junk right?

[NoArmaniNoPunani]

Refried beans are the food of the gods. Bit farty but worth it

[2rebecca]

I love nachos but it's basically crisps and dips with loads of fat laden cheese and is junk food.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

We have this as a meal too. Our dips are of the fresh, chunky, homemade variety. Yesterday, we also included some chilli out of the freezer for those who feel they cannot do without meat, (looking at you DH).

value tortillas are probably a bit meh nutritionally. The rest all has it's plus points, and more importantly, tastes good.

[GotToBeInItToWinIt]

Maid I've made some lovely nachos from toasted tortilla before, to dip into a lovely fresh Mexican style soup.

[UncleT]

I don't really get the moaning about perceived bitchiness. The OP asked for opinions - they probably didn't expect 100 identical replies, assuming this isn't the first time ever reading AIBU (that would be pretty boring, no?). Moreover, by usual standards there is really not very much rudeness going on in this thread.

[atticusclaw]

I don't get it either. There is no bitchiness.

There is nothing wrong with the meal other than the deluded notion that it contains six portions of qualifying fruit and vegetables. Anyone who eats six portions of vegetables in one meal would be eating an enormous amount of food before they'd even started on the tortilla chips.

And its not possible to count fried corn chips as a vegetable. If you did that you might as well count your bag of walkers crisps.

Not bitchy, not judgy (I'm lucky if I personally get 4 a day let alone 6), just stating the facts.

[antimatter]

Anyone who eats six portions of vegetables in one meal would be eating an enormous amount of food

Not strictly true.
Lets see what makes one portion of 5 recommended we can use in any mexican meal
*1?2 of avocado, so if someone has one avocado they have 2 portions
*3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables, beans or pulses - easily have 1 portion with nachos
*1 dessert bowl of salad
*1 medium tomato or 7 cherry tomatoes - IMHO 2 tomatoes easily go into making a portion of salsa

[SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker]

Flour tortillas are authentic, they are used more in the north where wheat is grown. They tend to have more fat than corn but have more protein and usually a lower glycemic index. We see a lot of flour tortilla chips here, it is usually what the restaurants serve. I have a metal press for corn tortillas but I often buy my masa from a Mexican grocery nearby, it tastes better than if I make it from Maseca.

As a snack/junk food yours sound pretty good (and tasty!), but as a meal, no not the best, not bad but not really healthy. Low in protein high in fat... tortillas have fat, so do avocados, cheese and sour cream. Nice and fresh but unlikely you are eating that much of the salsa compared to the chips. I also think that meals do not always have to be the best. Junk is fine in moderation. Wish I did better on the moderation front!

I think your friend was rude though.

[bigbluestars]

I wouln't count nachos as a meal- far too high in fat and lacking in veg- even hm nachos. They are a snack- and not a very healthy one.

Pretty much the same as giving your kids a bag of crips for dinner.

[dreamingbohemian]

Yes, I'm the one who suggested tortillas instead of tortilla chips -- do people really think they're the same? Tortilla chips are basically crisps, very high in fat and salt. Tortillas, depending what kind you get, are more like bread, not hugely nutritious but much less fatty and salty.

[SelfconfessedSpoonyFucker]

Some of the tortillas here are made with lard.

[andsmileitschristmas]

salt and sunflower oil are not desirable ingredients really.

If it is all shop bought i.e. processed then assembled at home that in my house counts as junk.

Avocados are good in the guacamole but all the other things are high in fat.

[Bellwether]

Of course it's junk. Barely any protein and very high calorie. Not nutritious. You'll be hungry after a few minutes and will go and eat something else. Also your maths is faulty. How is a bit of avocado, lemon juice, cariander and garlic '3 of your 5 a day'. Lemon juice is not a fruit or vegetable. Nor is garlic. The idea is to get fibre.

Enjoy them, but be realistic. It's like trying to pretend a mince pie is 'healthy' because it has a couple of raisins in it.

[MaidOfStars]

Maid I've made some lovely nachos from toasted tortilla before, to dip into a lovely fresh Mexican style soup

Oh yes, we definitely toast tortilla for chilli/dipping purposes. But I've never found toasted tortilla holds its crunch for nacho purposes.

[WireCat]

Ignored people are twats.
Eat what you like.

[Zippidydoodah]

I've just realised this thread is probably a wind up!

[Callani]

Hey, hey Maid - don't you be messing with mince pies now. I'm planning on getting at least 3 of my 5 a day from mince pies for the entirety of December and I won't listen to anything else. I'll be supplementing with mulled wine, mulled cider and the occasional bucks fizz.

[Mrscog]

Sounds very nutritious to me - not the healthiest form of nutrition, but carbs for energy, some vitamins from the various veg used, some fibre from said veg, good fats in the avocado, protein in the sour cream and cheese.

Ignore the pearl clutchers!

[atticusclaw]

Bucks fizz is two of your five a day right? Oranges and grapes?

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

www.nidirect.gov.uk/fruit-and-veg-what-counts-towards-five-a-day

Sweet corn is not discounted

[Callani]

I forgot the grapes in bucks fizz atticus - you're right! Wonderful. I'll be happily getting at least 10 of my 5 a day through December

[andsmileitschristmas]

sweet corn that has processed to shit then had oil and salt added to it - I think not. Some people are delusional about healthy food no wonder we have an obesity epidemic.

[andsmileitschristmas]

sounds nutritious my arse

[StillSquirrelling]

A portion (to count as one of your five a day) is just under a handful of that particular fruit or veg. So an apple, for example, would be 1 portion. One grape would not be a portion - you'd need a handful of them to count. Unless you are consuming industrial quantities of guacamole (so that you are eating at least half an onion, one tomato and half to one whole avocado EACH) then it most certainly doesn't count as 3 of your 5, I'd personally not even count it as one.

Corn tortillas are also NOT one of your five a day. Sweetcorn doesn't usually count towards it either - even when in non-processed form - as it usually counts as a carbohydrate rather than a vegetable.

I would consider the food you ate for that meal to be a snack rather than a balanced meal, perhaps not as junky as fish and chips or McDonalds, but I certainly wouldn't eat that and consider myself to have just eaten a healthy meal.

[minipie]

It's not what I'd call junk assuming you make the ingredients largely yourself and they don't contain random chemicals/hydrogenated fats etc

but

it's not anywhere near the amount of fruit and veg that you think, more like 1 or 2 portions than 6, and it is high in fat. (Personally I don't think fat is unhealthy however).

I think it's an ok meal but a few more veg or salad on the side would be better.