Healthy Alternatives To Junk Food?

Mark#1

Hi.

I'm 43, 5' 11", 14st 7lb. I'm not "fit", but I'm not a wreck - I occasionally cycle or walk.

I eat no veg, exept when liquidised in a stew or soup, and I struggle to stay away from fast-food & junk food.

By fast food, I mean frozen or processed packaged food, and - less frequently - McDonalds, KFC, Domino 's, or unbranded local equivalents, etc.

By junk, I mean crisps, chocolate, jellies, biscuits, etc.

I do eat decent fresh food - beef, chicken, fish, pasta, rice - but probably not as often as I should.

So what's out there in the land of "healthy, not fatty & sugary, nutritionally beneficial", that's not veg, to sate my sweet-tooth?


Thanks for any replies,

Mark

Meat, nuts, cheese.

You're gonna need to get over the hatred for vegetables though. There are so many available, that you literally can't have tried them all and not been a fan of any.

Get creative with spices, sauces, cheesify / butterify your vegetables if you need to, but get them into you!

moonage

Eggs are very healthy and nutritious. You could have two or three every day scrambled, fried or whatever way you like them.

Dairy produce is also good: butter, cheese and cream.

You say you don't eat veg. I'm such a lazy bastard that the most vegetables I eat are the preprepared microwaveable "Carrot, Parsnip and Turnip" from Mash Direct that I get in Dunnes. Lovely with a lump of butter.

Mark#1

Thanks all.

The lack of veg thing is a long story, but suffice it to say I was simply never made eat them as a kid, so never grew to like any.

For veg intake, if I have them in stew or soup more often, I take it that would be ok? This'll sound like a kid's excuse (I have 3, and I was one once, so I know), but I do literally gag when I try most of the common veggies. But in a nice thick, very veg-based beef stew, I'd eat it all day. Likewise with a soup. My wife puts in (IIRC) spuds, carrots, celery, spinach, onion, parsnip, turnip, maybe cauliflower, and maybe some other veg too, as well as minced beef balls & herbs etc, and it's always delish.

Would omlettes do the job for egg intake?

I should say I'm good with the common fruits too - apples, oranges & bananas, and my drink of choice is almost always water. I love cheese & dairy - I'd eat my own macaroni cheese all day (typically, I make it on cream or 50/50 cream/milk), but too much/often always messes up my digestion & sinuses.

I guess I'll be able to work out ways to get better foods into me in main meals, but what about snacking? I've been munching Nature Valley granola bars lately, and they're nice, as are Kellog's Nutri-Grain bars, and they go some way to keep me off some junk. Guess I just have to discipline myself to have fruit & granola bars & nuts in my bag instead of chewy fruity sweets & jellies.

I understand exercise breeds good-feeling, which brings on a sort of rejection of junk?


Thanks again,

Mark

Mary-Ellen

If you can tolerate veg when it's snuck into you why don't you try do that more often
I add diced carrots, onion, cellery, mushrooms into bolognese and have it with less pasta (made with passata and veg stock there's a lot of sneaky veg goodness)
Or make more more vegetable currys, shepards pie, crustless quiche, omlettes (may favourite is halved cherry tomatoes, some pesto and cheese)

Some Irish mammies tend to boil the c*ap out of veg so try preparing it differently:
Roasted mediteranian veg, stir fry, mashed carrots/parsnips/turnip, raw carrots/cellery with hummos, butternut squash/sweet potato chips, cauliflower 'rice'

Snacks maybe: individual cheeses, nuts, apple slices/cellery with good quality peanut butter

not even wrong

Mark#1 wrote: »

I've been munching Nature Valley granola bars lately, and they're nice, as are Kellog's Nutri-Grain bars, and they go some way to keep me off some junk.

Sorry but those are junk as well. Marketed as healthy but loaded with sugar.

carleigh

If you enjoy a few too many biscuits with your tea (like me!) you should try Snack a Jacks, they are wholegrain rice cakes and the caramel ones are just delicious!

carleigh

carleigh wrote: »

If you enjoy a few too many biscuits with your tea (like me!) you should try Snack a Jacks, they are wholegrain rice cakes and the caramel ones are just delicious!

essentially cardboard with sugar on them.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/snack-a-jack-caramel-large-rice-cake-12012908

carleigh

Iif cardboard tastes this good, I might have to start eating it! I have a serious food allergy so find it very hard to find biscuits etc that are suitable, so I find these great as a snack with a cup of tea.

They are nutritionally devoid

Mark#1

Thanks guys.

It doesn't surprise me that the NV & Nutrigrain bars are "junk", but I suspect they'd be preferrable to a Starbar?

So what I need is nutritionally-viable, and reasonably tasty, alternatives to sweet junk. I could discipline myself to stay away from junk, but it'd be a lot easier if I had alternatives - a junk-food lover's nicorette, I guess.

Thanks again,

Mark

Animord

Mark#1 wrote: »

Thanks guys.

It doesn't surprise me that the NV & Nutrigrain bars are "junk", but I suspect they'd be preferrable to a Starbar?

So what I need is nutritionally-viable, and reasonably tasty, alternatives to sweet junk. I could discipline myself to stay away from junk, but it'd be a lot easier if I had alternatives - a junk-food lover's nicorette, I guess.

Thanks again,

Mark

You didn't say if you eat fruit? Really fruit is the only alternative - try strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc - but be aware that although these are good for you from a nutritional point of view, you are still just loading in the sugar, but in a different form - vastly superior to your Starbar, but sugar all the same.

Macha

For chocolate, try to go for the dark stuff - 70%+.

You'll have to give your taste buds a chance to adapt to new foods.

scottie pippen

I used to be very similar to you Mark, but I changed my taste about a year ago.
For most of my life I wouldn’t eat anything green, but I enjoy most vegetables these days.

I started off with things like pizza; I would get a plain pizza, and load it up with toppings
chicken, peperoni, broccoli, peppers - every time I had this I would add larger quantities after a few months I got accustomed to the taste of broccoli,
now I can sit down to eat it with any meal with no problem at all.

Also for meals like shepherd’s pie, I put peas & carrots into the minced beef, they take on the flavor of the meat and you hardly notice them.

also stir frys are great, if you like spicy food, the spices will disguise the taste of the veg

a typical stir fry I make is as follows.(change the quantities to your taste)
*lean steak cut into cubes or strips.
*don’t bother with noodles, they are empty carbs.
*carrot shredded
*ginger diced
*some garlic diced
*half a chili diced
*green beans or peas
*broccoli
*soy sauce
*green or red pepper cut into strips


I keep decent snack food on standby all the time, peanuts’, cashew nuts, oranges and banana’s anything that travels well in backpack/lunch box. As mentioned fruit is surgery, but it’s also full of essential vitamins & minerals.
Other stuff
Good quality humus and carrot sticks are good to snack on.
Natural yogurt with some fruit and honey
Homemade smoothie in travel container

I also find that the key to eating well for me is to allow myself 1 junk food item a day, this keeps me sane, and I use it strategically during work when I need an extra bit of energy.
So I usually have a small bar of chocolate or a few cookies with a strong cup of coffee at some point
And then I obviously make allowance for times when I out and about or meet mates for a pint (tend to eat some crap then) or go out for dinner with my wife.



Another thing I find helps is if I eat large breakfast, bring a decent lunch to work, and have a decent sized dinner, I snack bit less

Breakfast - I have a 3eggs 2xwheetabix and a fruit smoothie
Lunch - an omelet with loads of veg / or stir fry with loads of veg / shepherd’s pie with loads of veg. all reheated in the microwave (make bigger portions for dinner and save for the next day)
Then my cheat snack later in the afternoon.

I don’t always stick to this exactly, but most of the time I make a point of eating well, and add vegies where possible, was never keen on salads, but getting into them now as well


I feel alot better for it too.




best of luck with your change of diet.

scottie pippen

Since dark chocolate was mentioned - just thought of nice treat that is really tasty

Get a banana, cut a few notches in, put some pieces of dark chocolate into the notches it and wrap it in tin foil & stick it in the oven, there’s probably a better way to make this, but I’m crap at cooking

scottie pippen

moonage wrote: »

Eggs are very healthy and nutritious. You could have two or three every day scrambled, fried or whatever way you like them.

Dairy produce is also good: butter, cheese and cream.

You say you don't eat veg. I'm such a lazy bastard that the most vegetables I eat are the preprepared microwaveable "Carrot, Parsnip and Turnip" from Mash Direct that I get in Dunnes. Lovely with a lump of butter.

Another good thing with eggs, is you can get bags of frozen spinach defrost it and mix it up with scrambled eggs /some bacon diced up and chucked in, very handy to make in the microwave, leave the bacon out if you’re trying be really strict. I put some opinion or chives in too

this tread is making me hungry!

optimistic_

Can't beat a bit of opinionated egg!

mrsberries

I had a real aversion to veg (inc spuds!!) during my childhood and teens. Was only when I started college and started to cook for myself that I started to eat them. I realised that my mam had boiled them until they were mushy and stinky which had turned me off completely. I started off throwing mix veg (frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower) into a curry. Then over the years i got to know the raw taste of veg and really appreciate them now. Still wont boil veg but I roast them with herbs or cover with a sauce, and I do a mean creamed spinach With the exception of cabbage and brussel sprouts Id eat most veg.

Also what about a salad? Would you eat mixed leaves, tomatoes, cucumber etc? Mixed with a nice dressing, bacon and a bit of cheese its a great way of upping your greens and veg intake

emeraldstar

mrsberries wrote: »

I had a real aversion to veg (inc spuds!!) during my childhood and teens. Was only when I started college and started to cook for myself that I started to eat them. I realised that my mam had boiled them until they were mushy and stinky which had turned me off completely. I started off throwing mix veg (frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower) into a curry. Then over the years i got to know the raw taste of veg and really appreciate them now. Still wont boil veg but I roast them with herbs or cover with a sauce, and I do a mean creamed spinach With the exception of cabbage and brussel sprouts Id eat most veg.

Also what about a salad? Would you eat mixed leaves, tomatoes, cucumber etc? Mixed with a nice dressing, bacon and a bit of cheese its a great way of upping your greens and veg intake

And your calories

mrsberries

emeraldstar wrote: »

And your calories

You only need a little for flavour - a couple of bacon medallions chopped up, tsp of grated parmesan or small amt of chopped up goats cheese and a dressing made with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and cracked pepper! Well worth it if you get a bowlful of baby spinach into you surely ?

MeganM

I've had the most successful weight loss when I ate bananas or apples in between meals, it gives you the bit of sugar you need so you're less likely to crave any junk and they'll tide you over until your next meal.

I found myself eating a lot of Muller Rice (Original ) too. They're 211 calories for the generous sized pot and they're low fat, extremely filling and really tasty.
There's a few other low calorie yoghurts too that I had tried, like 'Shape', I believe they're 100 calories each and they taste gorgeous.

Hummus is another great nutritious snack that's packed with protein, buy some low calorie crackers to go with it and it really is yummy.

They're all 'instant' healthy snacks since I'm not the greatest of cooks

mrsberries

MeganM wrote: »

I've had the most successful weight loss when I ate bananas or apples in between meals,

Apples make me starving for some reason!!! Bananas are great though. Ive been munching on them all summer. Always have one in the baby bag when I need to refuel from pushing the pram around

not even wrong

MeganM wrote: »

I found myself eating a lot of Muller Rice (Original ) too. They're 211 calories for the generous sized pot and they're low fat, extremely filling and really tasty.

20 grams of sugar per pot.

Just because a product is advertised as "low fat" or "nutritious" or "low salt" or "healthy" doesn't mean it's a good choice -- in fact quite the opposite.

MeganM

not even wrong wrote: »

20 grams of sugar per pot.

Just because a product is advertised as "low fat" or "nutritious" or "low salt" or "healthy" doesn't mean it's a good choice -- in fact quite the opposite.

Well I suffer from low blood sugar a lot of the time so it gives me the energy I need usually, but I hadn't realised there was so much! I'll be paying closer attention in future.