To not know what counts as 'Junk Food'

[topcat2014]

"Junk" food has been in the news today. I would happily class the following as JF:

Full sugar coke
all crisps.
KFC.

After that I get a bit lost. In one news item today Chocolate oranges were called junk food. Does that mean all chocolates are junk?

What about Chicken Kievs - we have them with new potatoes, and peas - does that count.

Or - is it basically everything apart from the rations you got in the war?

[MiddleClassProblem]

Just seen, atleast's post. What they said lol

[MiddleClassProblem]

FYI 1 heaped tablespoon of tomato purée is one of your 5 a day, so pizza base might be but can't be sure. Tomato purée is more concerntrated than passata or chopped tomatoes.

NHS 5 a day link

[LaurieMarlow]

I love a good mumsnet food thread.

Glad to see the 'what counts as your five a day' wrangling has already started.

Any minute now someone will be along to tell us that weetabix is 'shit in a box' or that mashed potatoes are worse than peanut M&Ms.

[GipsyDanger]

I would reason it as foods you eat only for pleasure and not substance. if that makes sense

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Take that back a tablespoon of tomato purée is apparently a portion so it's perfectly possible that it could count as one of your 5 a day.

[MumOnTheRunCatchingUp]

Pizza is full of sugar, hence being junk

Tomatoes themselves are high sugar, along with onions.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Tomato sauce probably wouldn't count as one of your 5 a day because the amount on a pizza is not enough.

[helpfulperson]

Why wouldn't the tomato on a pizza count, along with the onion, the peppers, the pineapple etc etc. It's tomato sauce just like on pasta. It doesn't suddenly metamorphis into something different because it's on a pizza. Whether a pizza is 'junk food' depends on how it is made and what the toppings are.

[MrsMook]

I think it's an ambiguous term related to the (poor) quality and (lack of) nutritional content of food. Linking back to the previously mentioned thread, savers sausages and smash would have less nutritional value than higher quality sausages with more protien from meat and less fillers, and mash from potatoes, milk and butter.

I agree on context too. I'll have an energy drink before an intense morning exercise session as I need quick release energy and am prone to digestive issues that restrict my choices. Swigging down the same drink at the start of a sedentary day would be better described as junk. When hiking, my lunch for the day is fruitcake, cheese and crisps. Fantastic fuel for a day of burning calories and sweating. Not so great for a day in an office.

Diet is best seen in the big picture, and not stressing over little details.

[topcat2014]

Thanks for all the responses. As I am a 70s child, my daughters grandmother would recognise a findus crispy pancake as food - so the rules may need updating over time.

Love the idea of 'anything beige'

[Perfectlypurple]

So only working class eat that type of food then? Rubbish.

Junk food is eaten by every class. Eating junk food is a problem when that is all you eat. I mainly eat healthy but if I want to eat junk food it won't do me any harm.

[Thingmcthingyface]

BonnieF I don't think that has anything to do with it from the posts above, seems like everyone is listing based on contents of the food not who is eating it.

Anyhoo, shock revelation that a chocolate orange is not one of your five a day. I knew a guy who insisted pizza counted due to tomato content. btw he was middle class

[Notcontent]

Really BonnieF??????? That's complete nonsense.

[BonnieF]

'Junk food' is what patronising, condescending middle-class people disapprove of uneducated working-class people eating.

[Notcontent]

I think some things are obviously junk food (e.g. KFC, crisps) while for others it depends - so a bit of common sense is require.

E.g. A pizza from dominos is junk food while a home made pizza served with salad is probably not.

[MolesBreathless]

...and I think to be considered junk, a food needs to be both procesed and something a caveman wouldn't eat.

Butter/Cheese = ok
pepperoni pizza, not so much

[MolesBreathless]

The trouble is, there is really no such thing as 'no nutritional value'

Even things that are effectively pure sugar have nutritional value, as they contain sugar which gives energy.

There are definitely certain situations where rapid energy, delivered via an instant sugar hit is exactly what is needed.

Those situations may be few and far between, but that is a whole different debate about lifestyle choices.

I'm a distance runner and there are plenty of times I have literally mainlined sugar, as it is what I need at that time. If I were sitting on the sofa watching a film and doing the same, well then there would be arguably 'no nutritional value'.

Same foodstuff, different situation.

[GinandTits]

Nope. Food of the gods! I find it easy to. The kids had tacos tonight so I had the mince in a pepper with sour cream and cheese. Was filling. I probably eat more fat when we have fajitas to as I have the chicken on lots of spinach but more sour cream and more cheese. Just less carbs

[LaurieMarlow]

Agreed GinandTits. I certainly don't consider butter/cheese to be junk food for example.

[GinandTits]

I don't consider all fat food bad. I follow a moderately low carb diet that includes lots of meat and veg and berries but is high fat ie cheese, cream, nuts. I lose weight or sustain easy eating this way and am healthy.

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Food with little nutritional value or with an ingredients list that wouldn't look out of place in a science lab!

[bumbleymummy]

Thought of something else - most breakfast cereals!

[Isetan]

Food high in fat, sugar and salt. Keep processed foods to a minimum and when you do consume them, where possible, eat healthier versions and combine them with healthier food.

If you have kids, avoid food marketed to them and learn to make nutritional and tastier versions of their favourites. DD will only eat homemade chicken burgers now and now that I've bought an Airfryer, they've become quicker, healthier and easier to make.

There was a thread earlier asking if bangers, beans and mash was junk food, I think they are but If the sausages were good quality and were grilled, if the baked beans were low sugar and if the potatoes were baked in their jackets and weren't smothered in butter and or cheese, then no.

Use your common sense and don't believe the bullshit that accompanies most food marketing.

[AmandaIsHere]

The only thing that is actually junk is trans fats. That is because it harms the body. Products like full fat coke are simply empty calories which increases the likeliness of consuming too much calories, which leads to weight gain leading to other health problems.

[LaurieMarlow]

Actually, I'd go with no nutritional worth. And under that definition sausages, beans and mash wouldn't qualify as junk because there are vitamins, minerals, protein there. That's not to say it's healthy, but not junk.

Crisps, pot noodles, potato smilies, chicken nuggets - more like junk.