So I was thinking about how I can write about junk food and what would be the best way to tell my readers about the different types of junk food. I realized I actually have a system in place for ME when I think about junk food except I have never put it down in writing. So here it is.
1. Severely unhealthy- I suspect almost everyone knows about this group except people don't want to admit it. This group contains all the really bad stuff such as chips, sugary soda, Gatorade (yes Gatorade-unless you are doing a 26 miler, you have no business drinking sports drinks), cookies, cake, pastries, kolachies, sugary cereals, etc. And oh popcorn- not the oldfashioned corn you can pop on the stovetop in a pan. But the movie theater kind that you pop in the microwave. This list is rather a long one because it seems it is every day that companies come up with new tastes or flavors. Obviously my list is not complete and will never be.
2. Seemingly healthy- This group hides itself under the cloak of health and may actually have AHA (American Heart Association) logo on it as well- these are the cereals that have a little whole grain or it may even say 'multigrain'. Cheerios is a great example in this group. Just remember the guy in the Cheerios commercial who is eating the cereal (a big pot of it) to decrease his cholesterol. Really? Baked chips belong to this category as well (Baked Lays). Brown sugar packets are a great example of this. Calorie-wise there is NO difference between the white stuff and the brown stuff.
3. Somewhat healthy- This group is the most innocent of all. It contains all the high-fiber cereal bars, the cereals that have sugar but also fiber such as Raisin Bran- this cereal has alot of sugar but also has some fiber so if you want to indulge in junk food this may not be that bad!! Actually many of the cereals that have sugar have also been carrying a few grams of fiber for the past several years. Again this group is also, in my humble opinion which is actually based on careful examination and research, is categorized under junk food.
So strictly speaking anything that has a long shelf life and comes out of a box can be put into one of the above categories. The trick is then not to eat any of the first class and eat sparingly of the second and third. By that I mean you really have to pay attention to the portion size. One high-fiber bar may be fine but two or three is then 400 calories of junk food.
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