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Alternative to Junk Food

Discussion in 'Other Substances' started by Amelie Santos, Dec 29, 2015.

  1. Tsky45

    Tsky45 Community Champion

    There are chips that are healthier I think. There are sun chips and some kinds of potato chips that are supposed to be healthier also. You can try dried fruit those are some pretty healthy snacks. There are baked potato chips that lays makes.
    I hope this helps.
  2. FuZyOn

    FuZyOn Community Champion

    There are a lot of healthier alternatives, I don't know if you have Wawa's near you but there are juices and healthy chips/sweets in there. I guess quitting cold turkey doesn't work too well for you, so try to dim down junk food to once per week at the start, then you'll gradually quit.
  3. Adrianna

    Adrianna Community Champion

    Yeah this is the trouble with the majority. I've just recently figured this one out on how to control that. Basically you are not eating enough. Check out the High Carb Vegan plans on youtube. Maybe around 2300-3500 calories a day. So when you eat your fruit for breakfast you should have about 1000-1500 calories. I usually make a shake cause its easier to cram that much in there. Another 1000 or so for lunch and you can cut down on dinner's calories. Certainly you can do around 700-1000 for dinner. When you try this you will find that those thoughts of eating junk food just aren't there anymore because you are satisfied, full. You can do around 2000 calories during the day of just fruit. Many people say "isn't that too much sugar". No its fructose from fruit. Its natural sugar that your brain needs. Its good for you actually.
    A bag of good potato chips will put five pounds on you and it only weighs 16 ounces. It slows your system down. The salt the processing. Try eating real potatoes and make fries out of them.
  4. danjon

    danjon Senior Contributor

    Dietary changes are more psychological than they are physical, and substituting bad habits with good ones is the only long-term solution. Begin slowly, make a few changes at first, and before you know it you'll be wondering how you could ever have had cravings for such unhealthy food. Well, that's the theory at least.....
  5. Jasmine2015

    Jasmine2015 Community Champion

    Is it just the crunch of the chips that you like? I know some people here have suggested vegetable chips but I'll try something else. How about dried fruits? Some fruits are chewy while others can get crunchy. Ever had banana chips? I don't know how many stores carry it but see if you can buy it online.
  6. Damien Lee

    Damien Lee Community Champion

    Potato chips can be healthy if consumed in limited quantities and are not too salty. It's not necessary to become a vegan or to completely change your diet. Just make a few changes where you're eating more balance meals, and spend a bit of time exercising each day. This should lead to a healthier lifestyle without completely cutting out those delicious meals.
  7. Vinaya

    Vinaya Community Champion

    salads and fruits can e some of the good alternatives to junk food. You can also try pop corn, however, you should make your own pop corn.Pop corn you buy in the market contain too much butter and seasoning. In order to avoid junk food, stop buying food items and paperer it in your home.You can also roast chickpeas and much it when every you have cravings.
  8. littlemouse

    littlemouse Member

    Hi @Amelie Santos! I too have a similar problem, I just looooove potato chips. Recently I've tried some alternatives that I've really enjoyed and maybe you will too. My newest favorite is rice cakes! Quaker makes them in a variety of flavors and I think they're great. They're pretty large so only a couple should fill you up and they're quite crunchy. They have a white cheddar flavor and a buttered popcorn flavor that I really like and they're good for an afternoon snack. I like the chocolate ones for breakfast with a little peanut butter spread on top and sliced banana. They also sell chip sized ones in bags with similar flavors. The smaller ones might work better for you because they're thinner and crunchier than the big ones. While they aren't the most healthy option out there, they are certainly much better for you than potato chips. Try them out, I hope you like them!
  9. endoftherainbow

    endoftherainbow Active Contributor

    Eating saltine crackers with cheese might be a good way to start, then move toward fruits and veggies. I enjoy eating an apple or an orange, or even fruit medely of several combined as a healthy alternative to junk foods or snacks that contain harmful additives. Some of the things you eat that they put there on purpose cause weight gain or other health worries later. You get out of your body what you give to it, so I would just start with something healthy that you enjoy eating often, and try that instead of the tempting things on the shelves marketed everywhere.
  10. Tremmie

    Tremmie Community Champion

    I totally get you, I suffer from food addiction and I am a binge eater (getting cured slowly), so I know how serious this really is. Anyways, have you tried making kale chips? You can find good recipes online, you can also make banana chips as well :) I personally love those, my mother in law buys those at a store and now we also like to get some instead of buying more bags of ''Lays''.
  11. Amelie Santos

    Amelie Santos Active Contributor

    Thanks for the tips, guys. @littlemouse, I'll try to look for those rice cakes, although I don't remember seeing them anywhere, sadly. Will popcorn chips work? Those are crazy expensive in our area though, so that may help me control my portions, haha! I love the sound of the cheddar-flavored one - my mouth is watering! I'm glad you've found your alternative. May we both be able to move on from this bad, bad habit.
  12. Amelie Santos

    Amelie Santos Active Contributor

    @Tremmie, I've had kale chips before and I really enjoyed them, but they're so expensive (cost-prohibitive)! I don't even think it's possible to make them myself since we don't grow kale locally (that's why the chips are so expensive). We do have lots of bananas, so I'll definitely make those. I'll just force myself not to cover them in sugar. Haha! I'm so glad you're getting cured! Cheers to a binge-free 2016! :)
  13. Tremmie

    Tremmie Community Champion

    @Amelie Santos Oh, sorry to hear that. Over here kale is something relatively new for us too, when I was a kid I never saw it... even when I was a teen, but now they are starting to introduce it to our grocery stores because now kale is known as a super food. If you can give banana chips a try then do, those are delicious! I got mine from an Indonesian store :)
  14. kgord

    kgord Community Champion

    I think I need to read that Carbohdrate addicts diet because I know my craving is going to be difficult for me to cope with. I especially love salty snacks and cereal...and trying to eat something as fulfilling as I find those to be is one of the things that I might need to deal with. It is just something I need to learn to cope with.
  15. Coolkidhere

    Coolkidhere Community Champion

    Oh, I love potato chips as well. I can finish a whole bag of Lays back when I was a teenager.:/ However, as I grew older and realised how bad they are for me, I stopped consuming them on a daily basis. I still eat them but maybe once in a blue moon, maybe once in 3 months at the very least? And I figured if I don't buy them, then I won't eat them. So problem solved!

    If however, it's the saltiness and crunch that you're missing, have you tried some organic chips? We have an organic health store here which also sells chips that are healthier. I remember this one brand uses sweet potatoes instead and sea salt. The ingredients are also very few and readable which means they are not that chemically made. Good luck!
  16. bleblanc10

    bleblanc10 Senior Contributor

    Another good alternative is to try and find healthier things that do not taste all that different. For example, instead of regular popcorn, try skinny pop. Put a little salt on it and it is still significantly better for you and tastes similar.
  17. Amelie Santos

    Amelie Santos Active Contributor

    @kgord, @Coolkidhere, @Tremmie and @bleblanc10, thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to go back to those organic chips found at the health food store even though they're crazy expensive. Maybe the price will make me think twice about inhaling the whole bag in one go, who knows? Haha.
    Coolkidhere likes this.
  18. bleblanc10

    bleblanc10 Senior Contributor

    Any time
  19. Coolkidhere

    Coolkidhere Community Champion

    Yeah, that just might do the trick! And I remember, do you have farmer's markets around your area? We have local farmer's markets in here and they sell native chips. It's native because it's made by a local small business from provinces. They sell like banana chips, sweet potato chips, malunggay chips and all those chips made from natural ingredients. You can try them out. Or maybe see if you have an Asian market around your place because I'm sure they'll have these.

    I'd also suggest trying seaweed/nori. It tastes salty and has that crunch. It tastes delicious, at least for me. It's what they put in california maki, the green one. Good luck!
  20. Amelie Santos

    Amelie Santos Active Contributor

    @Coolkidhere I love those seaweed chips! And those other chips made by local businesses. We probably live in the same area. :) However, I'm concerned about those nori chips because the ones that I usually find at the supermarket have lots of sodium and other unhealthy seasonings and oils. Do you have a brand you could recommend? Maybe I'm just not looking at the right places.