Guilty Pleasure Junk Food

What is it that you crave, you can pig out on, and you're pretty much ashamed to be eating at all. Don't give me sevruga, truffles... if you can afford that stuff, go ahead and enjoy it. I mean, what's bad for you but you're eating it anyway, and it's not even food you can be proud of the artisan qualities? Think sweet or salty or fatty, and you're there.

For me, I'd have to say
1) Ho-Hos. They're crappy chocolate around crappy cake and creme filling, but I'll buy 'em when I see 'em. Can't stand most of the other Hostess and Dolly Madison stuff (I used to like an occasional Fruit Pie, but I just don't crave the sweet-to-saturation stuff as much anymore)

2) Cheez-Its. I love to fill my mouth and crunch them into an orange paste. The new Blue Cheese and Hot Wings variety is especially wonderful. A little spice, a little creaminess, mmmm. Yeah, I'm a sick puppy.

Ideas for what might be your candidates: Pork Rinds, Girl Scout Thin Mints, Spray Whipped Cream, Wonder Bread...

Cheetos, definately. Crunchy or poofy. They are evil incarnate.

I like to warm them in the microwave & sometimes sprinkle garlic or onion powder.

Nutter Butter cookies. Great combo of salty & sweet. The bite-sized are lethal. I could pour them in a bowl with milk & eat 'em for breakfast.

For me it's home made pork rinds fryed in bacon grease. YUM !

White Castle double cheeseburgers. I'm also curious about Thanksgiving turkey stuffed with them.

Evil Ronnie

Pork rinds with a large shot of hot sauce.

I don't know if the pork rinds will kill be before my wife does if she finds me eating them.

in 2 word's

cap'n crunch

eve

It's the hazelnut spread. You can usually find it in middle eastern markets; Middle East Bakery at Clark & Foster always has it. First you just see the underpriced nutella, then you'll notice the hazelnut spread without cocoa, a light brown color, smooth creamy texture, and addictive taste. Next thing I know I'm scraping the bottom of the jar with my middle finger, wondering why I didn't buy the larger tub of the stuff?

Tortilla chips smothered in giardinare and any grated cheese,microwaved into a mound of molton goodness.

For some inexplicable reason this concoction always seems to taste best late at night.

Evil Ronnie wrote:White Castle double cheeseburgers. I'm also curious about Thanksgiving turkey stuffed with them.

Evil Ronnie

Love them. I wish we had one here in South Bend. Interesting article in today's paper concerning White Castle & clothing.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/06/29/business.20040629-sbt-MICH-B8-From_burgers_to_T.sto

I rarely buy junk food to have around the house, but there is always an ample supply of popcorn. Not microwave, the real thing. With salt, butter, and the Spice House's powdered cheddar cheese. Usually consumed while watching the Simpsons.

(The reason I rarely buy junk food to have around the house can be explained with a partial list of old favorites: Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, Hostess SuzyQs, Entenmann's chocolate chip cookies, and so on. I miss having the metabolism that allowed such freedom.)

Doritos and Big Mac's. Every once in a blue moon, generally after a very liquid evening, I will indulge and then regret, repenting the next day with lots of water and vegetables. Though what a momentary mix of pleasure and guilt.

Hostess Sno-balls! So junky, but only 10g of fat--in two!

Apple Fritters from Old Fashioned Bakery...and White Castle Jalapeno Cheeseburgers twice a year (whether I need them or not).

stevez wrote:Apple Fritters from Old Fashioned Bakery).

Z,

Old Fashioned Bakery's Apple Fritters aren't a guilty pleasure, they're just a pleasure.


Enjoy,
Gary

Old Fashioned Donuts
11248 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60628
773-995-7420

Hi,

There was a time when greasy tacos from Jack in the Box fit the bill. Now I have graduated to Taco el Pastor, which fits even better.

Warm from the oven chocolate chip cookies, the chip is still soft.

Grilled cheese sandwiches. My lite version is stuffing a pita with cheese and throwing it in the toaster until it melts and the pita toasted ... its a been a long while since I even did that.

Picking out Jolly Green Giant button mushrooms out of my Grandmother's gravy. If I was particularly crafty, nobody had the mushrooms but me.

Rhubarb pie. Rhubarb crumble. Rhubarb anything. For those moments, I am five years old learning to love Rhubarb for the first time all over again.

I always wanted to try 'Shake a Puddin' my parents labeled it junk food. It was a fad which flamed out fast. Yet, I would like to try some.

There was a time when Chicken Chow Mein was exotic and tasty. I wouldn't dream of ordering to today. I guess when I grew to know what was better, I lost interest in stuff which seemed so glamorous earlier. It's almost food that fell into the weird catagory of an almost "you can never go home again" or at least "never enjoy again like you used to."

G Wiv wrote:Z,

Old Fashioned Bakery's Apple Fritters aren't a guilty pleasure, they're just a pleasure.

MMMMMM Fritters

Omigod!

Yes! Yes!

Jack-in-the-Box tacos!

They resemble no other taco known to mankind (...except maybe the ones from Burger King -- but then, aren't they both owned by Pillsbury?)

They used to be 29 cents each when I became addicted. I can remember getting half a dozen & sneaking them into the movie & seeing Theatre of Blood.

I was once in San Antonio & went beserk when I found Jack-in-the-Box was down there. My traveling companion just didn't understand why I wanted tacos from there instead of --name ANY authentic Tex-Mex restaurant in San Antonio.

Sigh.

except maybe the ones from Burger King -- but then, aren't they both owned by Pillsbury?)

Yes, I agree those from Burger King are very, very close if not the exact same creature.

As a teenager, I would drive my friends to the Jack in the Box on Irving Park around Kedzie for those greasy tacos. My friends thought I was very brave to go to the wilds of Chicago. Little did they know I was just blocks away from my Grandparents ... where we could flee if anything got dicey! Nothing ever did happen, we were just wet behind the ears teenagers with little experience beyond our parents blanket protection.

Still it was fun! The closest Jack in the Box I'm aware of is just east of St. Louis.

Crackling Oat Cereal with heavy cream, maple syrup, coarse sea salt, and toasted fennel seeds

Toasted onion bagel with Hellman's mayo, cruncy peanut butter, orange marmelade (Dominicks Safe way brand), and a pinch of aleppo pepper flakes

A number of years ago, my husband and I were the reigning champions of something called the "Oldieweds Game," which was a regular feature of a science-fiction convention in Louisville. Like the old "Newlyweds Game" TV show, in this game, held in front of an audience, the husbands were asked to answer questions as they thought their wives would while the latter were out of the room (and vice versa).

While the subjects were usually on the order of "Name the Robert A. Heinlein novel whose title best describes your relationship," one year the tie-breaker was a question like JoelF's. As the other wives listed ice cream or potato chips or chocolate, I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what my husband would have said. But when it came my turn, I just blurted out the truth: "I never feel guilty about food."

To uproarious applause, my spouse held up the card on which he'd predicted my answer: "No guilty food"!

An acquaintance of mine divides foodstuffs into "sustenance" and "entertainment," a view I can approve of, yet he believes one should avoid the latter, which I think is a very sad way to live. Enjoying food is an important part of enjoying life. I have no desire to live to be 100 if it means I can't eat what I want.

Frozen Fish Sticks... Pan fried so that it gets slightly burnt on the edges. Reminds me of Mom's cooking. Fish fingers and lots and lots of ketchup!

Chicken in a Biscuit crackers... Mom never allowed me to eat this when I was a kid. I like to suck the chicken flavour powder off, and then the cracker gets mushy, and sticks to the roof of my mouth.

Ribena - Not sure if it is popular in the US, but all the kids drank it when I was in elementary school. Mom also never let me drink it... It is a blackcurrant syrup that you dilute with water to make a "fruit" drink.

Twinkies - I grew up reading about these things called Twinkies and had no idea what it was. The first thing I did when I came to the US? Ran to the Kwikie Mart and bought a box of Twinkies, and....

Tootsie Rolls - Also another item of mystery when I was younger. I remember reading a Virginia Andrew's like novel where the guy said something to the effect of "Do you want to see my Tootsie Roll?". Had to see what a Tootsie Roll looks like! And I have been hooked ever since... to the candy of course...

I just went through a full bag of Wasabi Peas this afternoon.

jalapeno and "mesquite" krunchers chips. the mesquite tastes nothing like a good bbq sauce, but it still is somehow appealing.

the jalapeno chips can be very, very hot, or mild, depending on the batch you get. luck of the draw.

pizza with pepperoni and giardiniera. thin crust is mandatory, the thinner the better. it's especially good at santullo's and d'ags, but I'm looking forward to trying it other places. Note that most pizza places don't have it as a listed topping, but most have it available for sandwiches.

moosetracks ice cream. deans is the best brand by far, but some dairies in the upper peninsula of michigan do a good job, too. if moosetracks is unavailable or inferior: peanut butter mackinac island fudge ice cream, or regular mackinac island fudge ice cream.

trader joe's frozen precooked gyoza.

-ed

CrazyC wrote:Frozen Fish Sticks... Pan fried so that it gets slightly burnt on the edges. Reminds me of Mom's cooking. Fish fingers and lots and lots of ketchup!

CrazyC,

What's to feel guilty about? You're getting your omega-three fatty acids and your vegetable in one delicious fried plank.

Hammond

gleam wrote:jalapeno and "mesquite" krunchers chips. the mesquite tastes nothing like a good bbq sauce, but it still is somehow appealing.

the jalapeno chips can be very, very hot, or mild, depending on the batch you get. luck of the draw.

Yes, I'll second the jalapenos. As for ice cream, I usually choose mint chocolate chip, but that's a rare treat 'cause I don't usually go for ice cream. (More of a preference these days as opposed to a restriction.)

Powdered Donuts and Peanut Butter....MMMM Powdered Donuts.....

JoelF wrote:What is it that you crave, you can pig out on, and you're pretty much ashamed to be eating at all...Think sweet or salty or fatty, and you're there.

Nutter butters. There. I said it. Love the sweet and the salt of the peanut butter filling and the crispy cookie surrounding it. I get them out of the vending machine at work and when I'm finished with eating my four cookies, I'm always surprised at how quickly they disappeared.

It's been a while, good to see this thread is still alive.

For the last six months, I've been trying to eat better, lose some weight (lost 20, regained 10 on extended business trips), so there's a bit less of my favorite junk in the house.

But with two teens, a fair amount of the danger zone remains.
Current "I really shouldn't be eati-mmmmmmm" things:

* Peanut butter piled high on Ritz crackers. Thought I was going to choke to death on one the other day when it clogged my esophagus.
* Little Debbie brownies. They've got this coffee-like bitter taste, and a texture like tar with chopped walnuts, but they'll do in a pinch when I can't get...
* Market Day chocolate pudding cake slices, straight out of the freezer. The pudding keeps them soft even while frozen (a trick more ice-cream cakes need), and they've got enough chocolate chips to settle down the stress level.

Of course the house is also filled with 12 kinds of cookies (Mrs. F just finished the holiday baking, to be doled out between now and New Years at Hanukkah, XMas, New Years plus tins for the UPS guy, the Post Office Ladies, my office, etc.), so there's plenty of better stuff to nosh on now.

The other day, I got some baked Cheetos out of a vending machine. I normally avoid diet versions of snack food, but I was looking for something to take the edge off and not ruin dinner later. These were not exactly low-fat, but they tasted amazingly good for the number of calories listed for the bag. I kept checking to see if the number was actually for one of 2 servings, or if it contained olestra. Nope. I liked them enough that I'll be looking for them in stores.

Hi,

This evening I make my contribution to the Christmas nosh scene: Chex Mix a la Ellen. It's not my idea, so I won't take credit, this is high-end Chex mix with Madademia nuts, fresh roasted pecans, all sorts of cheese stuffed crackers mixed in and to quote the King of Siam "Etcetera, etcetera."

I was considering adding my-new-found-talent to the mix by smoking the Chex Mix rather than baking. I will experiment with the smoking during the year. What I am making now is on such a large scale, I will not risk tossing away major amounts of ingrediants on a new trick I haven't developed yet.