(Happy Throwback Thursday! This post, originally published in 2014, celebrates something called National Junk Food Day. This year NJFD is on Friday, July 21, but my blog, my rules. DF and I are still eating quite well, thanks to frugal food hacks, our garden and our never-ending search for good deals. That doesn’t keep us from eating some junk now and then, though. Here’s why.)
It’s National Junk Food Day, apparently. And me without a single Moon Pie in the house.
In fact, I’ve eaten quite well today. Breakfast was oatmeal made with half yogurt whey and half water and flaxseed, plus half of the last banana in the bunch (shared with DF, because I’m kind like that).
For lunch I had rice topped with roasted vegetables – carrots, broccoli, Walla Walla onions and home-grown turnip, plus a dish of homemade yogurt mixed with a spoon of homemade orange marmalade and more of that flaxseed.
If only I’d known about the holiday. I might have gone to McDonald’s for breakfast and Burger King for lunch. Nothing says “bad for you” like a single meal that holds all calories needed for the entire day (with way too many in the form of grease).
On the other hand, I did eat white rice instead of brown. So am I junking out sufficient to the day?
I really am trying to eat better. Having tons of salad from the backyard garden has been a big help. The raspberries are coming on, and over the weekend DF and I shared some strawberries from our patch – the best ones either of us has ever eaten. That actually means something coming from me, since I grew up picking and eating some really sweet berries in South Jersey.
Also: You’ll notice above that I ate turnips. On purpose. It’s a little early to harvest them but DF pulled one just to see how they were coming along. The vegetable weighed almost two pounds already, so I’m betting we’ll see six- or seven-pounders come late August.
Junk food for your mood
Be honest, now: Don’t you ever crave a bit of junk nutrition? Even my sister the vegetarian sometimes caves and eats Snoqualmie Ice Cream with little slivers of very dark chocolate.
Technically both of those are “junk” in that they contain things like sugar and cream but very little fiber and very few vitamins. Of course, researchers have lately proclaimed the health aspects of dark chocolate, so perhaps her dessert of choice is only half-junk.
(In fact, my friend Linda B. was told by her doctor to eat two ounces of dark chocolate a day. How do I get a prescription like that? And will my health insurance cover it?)
Here’s the thing about Snoqualmie Ice Cream, dark chocolate and other less-than-healthy foods: They are delicious. They make us happy. And what’s life without a little sin?
So I stirred up a batch of tapioca pudding for after supper. I might also make some oatmeal cookies with M&Ms in them. It’s National Junk Food Day and I, for one, believe in recognizing such occasions.
And since my sister the vegetarian is also a dental hygienist and a reader of this site, let me add that I will use a Water-Pik very carefully after eating. Besides, those turnips should cancel out the M&Ms.
Okay, everybody, ’fess up: What’s your favorite junky indulgence?
Related reading:
- The call of the Koolickle
- What whale tastes like
- Garbage in, supper out
- The fascination of DIY Cool Whip
French fries. Or Tater tots.
Why choose between them? Why not have both?
OK!
Anything that has these ingredients; white flour, white sugar, butter. Throw in fruit or chocolate and I’m good to go.
Me too!
(Turnips! Turnips, I tell you!)
I did not even know this was a holiday and had a small peach ice cream cone. Go me! My junk food usually tends to be bread or salt heavy like pretzels, breadsticks or other bad carb food. Sometimes I just want pasta and bread. 🙂
As do many of us….One of the things I crave is a fresh soft pretzel, brushed with butter, from the stand at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. I make it my business to get one (or more) any time I’m in Philly.
Double whammy-walk down memory lane: (1)The Reading Terminal Market and (2) a fresh soft pretzel from (1). Thanks for that little blast from the past, Donna!
That sounds good I always love my soft pretzel with that melty cheese. Sounds like we all love yummy comfort food.
I was always a pretzel-with-mustard kind of gal, myself. (Grew up near Philadelphia, is why.) However, my niece introduced me to regular (bagged) pretzels dipped in cream cheese. Yum.
I’m not a particularly healthy eater but I try to avoid the worst of the junk. But once a year for my birthday my husband and I go for my favorite college meal (I am 56 now). A foot long chili cheese dog with a side of tater tots from Sonic. My birthday is in May and I start thinking about my special meal in March. Yum!!
Sonic Tater Tots….THE BEST!!
Peanut M&Ms, which I must confess I ate a handful for breakfast this morning. But then again, I haven’t had a cavity in more than a decade. 🙂
(I had to put an old, inactive e-mail address down and I didn’t include my blog link so that it wouldn’t link to my gmail again. I don’t know why it keeps doing that; it happens on other blogs too.)
I like peanut M&Ms, but what I like even more is to eat plain M&Ms along with Planters Cocktail Peanuts (not the freeze-dried). The sweet and the salt together are quite nice.
I didn’t even know Mon was Junk Food Day. However, I (WAAY over) idulged over the weekend.
Found a 12 oz bag of 4th of July (red & blue) torilla chips on clearance for 0.79 (about a 0.40 savings) at Aldi on Fri. As of Sun night – ALL gone.
Don’t care for where my scale is today of course.
Pretzel M&Ms. But my teeth don’t like them much.
KFC or its equivalent. Yum.
My current favorite is lemon sorbet: so cold and sweet, and maybe a small amount of vitamin C. Before that, it was vanilla ice cream, salted peanuts, and a little chocolate sauce.
Make a list!
I truly enjoy your blog. I am envious of your backyard garden. BUT – how do you use a 6 – 8 pound turnip?
In pieces! Seriously: I’d roast a chunk of it, cut up, with other vegetables and a little olive oil and salt. That would be three or four days’ worth of lunches. The rest we’d probably cut into small pieces and freeze, to add to soups later. DF also cuts up the greens and freezes them to add to soup or stew — not because we’re wild about the flavor as such, but because it adds valuable nutrition.
Turnips can get much bigger than that up here. I may write from the vegetable competition at the Alaska State Fair, where cabbages grow to 100 pounds or more.
Thanks! Makes sense.
I was wondering what you do with turnips. Have not eaten them since a bad memory of turnip soup as a child (parents made it when there was nothing else in the house).
We haven’t grown them for a few years now, because we’re doing better with other crops that we actually like to eat. They’re okay as part of a soup, but not the soup, the whole soup and nothing but the soup.
Moose tracks ice cream is my current favorite indulgence. Yummy!
Peanut butter pockets (locally known as the Huell) from Stan’s Donuts, a fine L. A. tradition. And I don’t even like doughnuts normally!
I love the honesty of this post. I, too, try to eat very healthy on a regular basis, but I think that life is meant to be enjoyed. When I do eat junk food on occasion, I want to be able to just enjoy it without guilt. May I confess that I have never had a Moon Pie in my life? In fact, I don’t even know what it is. What I am craving with all this talk of junk food is a peanut butter Twix. YUM! Thanks for the reminder that we don’t have to be perfect all of the time.
Oreos.Double stuffed.
I am behind on email since I have came down with a fever and icky-ness bug this past weekend, but Moonpies and YooHoo drinks are a weakness of mine. I am also a sucker for French fries, Spree candies and Sixlets candy.
DH and I are in Vermont so he can finish up a couple of small sections of the Appalachian Trail he missed while section hiking it in the last few years. A restaurant with a buffet is right next to the hotel so we indulged. The meal itself was somewhat healthy but the desserts…oh my! I had strawberry shortcake AND a brownie. This without knowing it’s National Junkfood Day. At least DH can say he hiked some calories off.
As they say, “stressed” is “desserts” spelled backward. Always opt for desserts, lest you be stressed.
Andddddd…..Now I want strawberry shortcake. Since our strawberries are FINALLY starting to ripen, I can make some.
I do like your way of thinking. I’ll never look at the word “desserts” the same way again. I mean, who wants to be stressed? The strawberry shortcake and the brownie certainly made me feel happy and relaxed. Hope yours does the same for you.
As they say, “stressed” is “desserts” spelled backward. Always opt for desserts, lest you be stressed.
Andddddd…..Now I want strawberry shortcake. Since our strawberries are FINALLY starting to ripen, I can make some.
I do like sweets but my favorite totally bad for you junk food is a savory. I am almost too embarrassed to write this: a huge (and I mean huge) chunk of fresh mozzarella cheese (only fresh will do), nuked into gooeyness, with a couple tablespoons of Ragu (nothing else will do) spaghetti sauce. I like chips and chocolate but, really, this is my favorite.
Re your brown rice: I only have one kidney and have been ordered not to eat brown rice because it is harder on the kidney. Ditto for whole grain bread. Weird, as I used to eat both because it seemed healthier.
I should have said, I eat the concoction with a spoon. No pasta involved.
It sounds pretty good, I have to say.
Greek fries followed by a piece, or two, of baklava.
Was just thinking about baklava; have not had any in years and now need to go find some.
The last time I had baklava it was from a local Lebanese-Mediterranean restaurant. Freshly made and sooo good!
I read something recently that ultra processed food is why we as a society is overweight. It is because it is pre-digested. Think about the cave man (or woman) grazing. Pick and eat berries. Find grains and chew them. If you are luck you can roast a rabbit that you share.
You first breakdown food by chewing. Stomach acid and enzymes further breakdown food. While your stomach is still digesting the unprocessed food you are not hungry.
Now you can eat a Pop Tart. The bulk of the calories come from flour (grain which has been rolled and sifted so just the starch remains. Lot easier to chew and digest. It is easier to eat and you don’t have the feeling of being full. I don’t want to forage but strawberries are better for me than strawberry poptarts.
Makes sense. The easier it is to go through us, the more room we have for…more.
I have been eating a lot of strawberries recently, because ours are finally coming on. When I was a kid, strawbs were over and done by early to mid-June. Weirdly, I now want a strawberry Pop-Tart although those things are really pretty dismal.
I didn’t get this one in my email box for some reason. Came across it by something on MoneyTalk. Anyhow, It is so darn hot here lately and the older I get the worse I mind it. At Weis Market I saw that they had Maine blueberry ice cream and man, is that addictive. I have been eating that. It is slightly tart, but yet has the right amount of sweetness. Guess it isn’t good for you, but I think better than cake, or candy. Maybe not? It was one of the lower sugared one. Hey at least I am getting some of my calcium-Tee hee!
Donna, been thinking about your Abbie and wondering how she is managing in the heat out there.
It is indeed very hot in Phoenix. Lots of salads and fresh fruit, more water than usual (and she always drinks a lot of it), and staying out of the sun. Thank goodness she works from home and doesn’t have to sit in traffic jams at 115. Whew.
Annddddd…Now I want blueberry ice cream.
OMG, and there is a Weis Market about three miles from me, and the temperature and humidity are supposed to drop today! Road trip!
Donna, your journey from a wholesome breakfast to contemplating M&M-laden oatmeal cookies is a delightful ride! Your commitment to healthy eating shines through, yet the allure of occasional junk food is a universal sentiment. National Junk Food Day seems like the perfect excuse for a sweet treat. So, what’s everyone’s guiltiest pleasure when it comes to junky indulgences?
Thank you for the delightful read on National Junk Food Day! Your commitment to healthy eating is inspiring, but it’s refreshing to embrace the occasional indulgence that brings joy and nostalgia. Whether it’s homemade treats or a guilty pleasure, here’s to savoring life’s sweet moments!