Deliciously Non-Nutritious
A few months ago, some friends and I went to a church event together and afterwards went to McDonald’s for a little treat.
I got some french fries and was horrified to discover that I no longer liked McDonald’s french fries (also, I know this was a not a fluke because I’d, erm, had some of their french fries just a couple of weeks earlier and noticed that they had this horrible metallic aftertaste).
And, really, this wasn’t an isolated experience. As I’ve gotten older and also as we’ve moved away from processed foods and toward more of a whole foods diet, there are more and more items that I used to like that I no longer have a taste for.
But. . . there are still some horribly junky, processed foods I still love. No matter how much I read about the Western Diet and how we’re on a one-way street to death, no matter how much swiss chard I happily consume, I still love some pretty horrible foods. And I like it.
A brief list, if you will, of foods that I willfully ignore the ingredient labels for:
- Ramen. I know. I just. . .can’t help myself.
- Poptarts. Especially those brown sugar and cinnamon ones and the frosted strawberry ones.
- Cheetos. Only the crunchy ones. But, LOTS of the crunchy ones.
- Rice Krispy Treats. Look, I’ll eat homemade ones or the disgustingly wonderful ones that come packaged from the store. I do not discriminate.
- Fresca. I am deeply opposed to fake sugar. And I don’t even really go for soda. But if someone brings a bottle of Fresca, I will be forced to have some.
- Swiss Rolls. These must be eaten in the following manner: all chocolate coating eaten off. Then the cake unrolled and frosting licked out. Finally eat the cake. I don’t make the rules, I just follow them.
- Teddy Grahams. What, am I five? Yes. Cinnamon, please.
- JIF peanut butter. We only buy natural peanut butter with a two-ingredient list and I like it. But then occasionally I’ll have some regular, corn-syrup laden peanut butter somewhere and I die a little at how much better it is. So smooth and creamy and sweet.
Feel free to share your shameful delicious favorites. Because what I really need right now is a list of more things to crave from the grocery store.
Glad I'm not the only one with some guilty pleasures! 🙂
Doritos and Oreos. I won't buy either one (unless something life altering has happened), but I want to every single time I pass them in the grocery store.
Amen, Carrie Jo.
BUY THEM. No regrets.
I have no idea what Swiss Rolls are. But I totally laughed at your description of eating them.
Also, I love the idea of natural peanut butter, but it makes me crazy to have to stir it together because it's always hard on the bottom and doesn't spread properly. So we buy the Skippy natural – it has 3 ingredients, is pre-mixed, and delicious.
That's what I buy too, I figure it's a good compromise because I get so mad when I try to stir the natural stuff and the oil spills EVERYWHERE!
swiss rolls are basically the best snack cake type things in the world. http://littledebbie.com/products/SwissCake.asp
I'm glad to find a fellow Ramen lover. When I was a sophomore in college, I used to eat it all the time. Now, only infrequently, but I still love it. And every time I'm pregnant, the craving only intensifies.
P.S. And I definitely agree with Carrie Jo about Oreos…once I start, I can't stop. (I almost laughed out loud when my very health-conscious sister-in-law recently tried to justify their ingredient list.)
ha. ugh. my NUMERO UNO craving with this baby is pop tarts … it is a serious act of restraint to maybe even valor that I don't purchase a case every single time I go to Costco … maybe if I go past 40 weeks … a little treat.
Oh, man, when I'm having a bad day, all I want is a Cup o' Noodles, chicken flavor. It makes no sense, but there it is. Bonus points if I can eat it with a plastic soup spoon for that very special skkkkrrrrch sound against the styrofoam cup.
I also am powerless against Swedish fish (small, red, brand name), Twizzlers (regular or pull-n-peel), and Red Vines. Do we sense a trend here?
I'm with you, except for the Fresca. And occasionally my son and I share a box of those chocolate covered Marshmallow cookies. So disgusting, but we just can't help ourselves about once a year.
I'm SO glad to know I'm not the only one like this! I make a lot of our food from scratch but there is something incredibly wonderful about pop tarts, I even prefer the cheapo version to Kellogg's, since that's what I grew up eating.
The way the diners make grilled cheese sandwiches; kraft cheese on white. Reminds me of my grandma. And snack packs chocolate pudding.
THIS. American cheese and toasted white bread are two things that weren't allowed in my house as a kid, and I can't get enough of. Almost the only junk food I ever eat. What makes it worse is, I bake my own bread and still crave the processed.
Whenever I travel on an airplane, I skip anything healthy. It's just too much work to find something that travels well, that will make it through security, that doens't need to be kept cold, that's easy to eat in a tiny seat, etc. So I always get a can of pringles (original flavor), and some sour gummy worms. Then I usually get some cookies – preferably Oreos, and some crackers – the Flipz kind that are both cracker and pretzel. Delicious. I always enjoy my flights. 🙂
And cold cereal. I just can't get away from it.
Peppridge Farm's Goldfish. I could eat that stuff by the handful…and I have.
I love you so much for posting this list. Nate and I have had a few of our favorite childhood treats as of late, and I'm sad to say that Twinkies did not stand the test of time at all, but the cupcakes with the little swirl across the top…they still win.
Nicole, I kindly suggest putting your Twinkie in the freezer for a few hours. The magic comes right back.
Good to know! We thought we'd be all awesome and introduce our two-year-old to them as a special treat. We were pretty excited, and couldn't really wait, so we tried a couple the night before, and were disappointed. I'll be sure and try freezing them to get the magic back.
I would say my guiltiest pleasure it stove top stuffing. I know it' s box of chemicals and junk but man, I just can't resist!
Oh the ramen! And every time I'm pregnant I crave it like crazy. Brown sugar cinnamon pop tarts are the best, but that's the only flavor I can stomach whether I cook them or not. I love oreos and cold cereal!! My resolve at the grocery store is pretty good, I can walk past these items and make the better choice. But I usually hate myself for that by about 9pm. Every single night.
Swap out the swiss rolls for Zingers (preferably vanilla) and we'd have the same list! I also love ginger snaps. The homemade kind are awesome, but sometimes I just want to grab a bag of the processed goodness. Oh, and Diet Coke. Yes, I love me a tall fountain drink every now and then, and that always hits the spot. 🙂
Funyuns. Mmmmmmm.
Doritos. Cheetos (the regular, non hot, crispy kind). Fritos scoops with jarred salsa. Big fat steak fries from restaurants (yes- why do mcd'sfries leave that metallic aftertaste?). Fruity Pebbles (I won't even succumb to buying them bc I'd eat the whole box).
As you can see, salt is my weakness.
And I don't do those baked chips/snacks. If I am going to splurge, I will eat a bit of the real thing and get it over with.
I haven't eaten ramen since I got married. I used to eat it so often because it was cheap that I overdid it. My list would probably be: pecan pie, snicker doodles, and any type of cake that is moist.
This is so funny! I have almost the same exceptions – Fresca, Pop Tarts (smores flavor!), and Ramen. I also love fruit snacks and fudge rounds.
Popped over here from Maybe Matilda to check out your Thai Chicken Curry – love your blog 🙂
Totally with you on the Cheetos (how are they SO GOOD). I haven't had a pop tart in forever but I know I'd still love them.
I'd also add Oreos (Aaron and I just finished off an entire pack in two days), Reeses PB cups and Stouffer's frozen lasagna. I'm sure there's more but I try not to think about how much I love the junk because then I go buy it!