Every time I look at a KFC Double Down, I think to myself, you know what this is missing? Onion rings, mac and cheese, beef patties, and of course, buns. Thankfully the boys of “Epic Meal Time” have rectified this significant oversight. And then they ate it. [More]
junk food
Professor Drops 27 Pounds In 10 Weeks On 'Twinkie Diet'
By 11.8.10
In an attempt to prove that caloric intake is the main factor in weight loss, a nutrition professor at Kansas State University has been subsisting on mostly Twinkies and other snack foods for 10 weeks. [More]
Study: Credit Cards Are Making You Fat
By 10.28.10
No, it’s not that second Baconator I ate yesterday or the 6-pack of Schlitz I had afterward that’s causing my clothes not to fit anymore. It’s the credit card I used to pay for them — or at least that what the authors of a new study are theorizing. [More]
Junk Food Binges Acts Like Crack On Brain
By 10.19.10
Overdosing on junk food acts like heroin or crack on the brain, a new study finds. [More]
Schools Put Carrot-Only Vending Machines In Cafeteria
By 9.20.10
Students at two high schools — one in Cincinnati, OH, the other in Syracuse, NY — are guinea pigs for a new program that’s trying to change the way young people look at veggies, by marketing and selling carrots like they’re junk food. [More]
See All 37 Twinkie Ingredients Beautifully Photographed
By 8.18.10
Photographer Dwight Eschliman has posted lovely photographs of all 37 of the ingredients inside a Twinkie. Each sits on a plate and is shot from above and boast rich tones and textures, reveling in an unexpected complexity that contrasts how we normally think about the icon junk food. This one is FD&C Yellow #5. [More]
Vitaminwater Isn't Healthy, Rules Federal Judge
By 7.24.10
A federal judge ruled this week that Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you “healthy as a horse.” Nor will it bring about a “healthy state of physical or mental being”. Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it’s composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater’s absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers. [More]
Brits Stuffing Themselves With Junk Food
By 6.18.10
Next time someone hassles you about how lousy the American diet is, point them to a new survey which shows that British consumers spend about 25% of their weekly food budget on junk food, including potato chips (or “crisps,” as they so quaintly call them), chocolate and soda. Then go finish your bag of chips. [More]
Beware The Fraudulent Doritos Coupon
By 6.15.10
Frito-Lay is warning consumers to watch out for fake free bags of Doritos coupons being distributed via email. If you are an unsuspecting victim of this subterfuge and receive the coupon in your inbox, watch out! You might get to check out and not be able to get a free bag of Doritos with a value of up to $5. Here’s how you spot the real deal and the phonies, just like Holden Caulfield: [More]
Protein Shrink Ray Hits South Beach Cereal Bars
By 1.25.10
Some of Kraft’s South Beach Living cereal bars have been reformulated, and the new label boasts that, in addition to a “new lower price,” the bars have “twice the protein of the leading cereal bars.” That might be true, given that most cereal bars are made up of little more than corn, rice, corn syrup, rice and corn. But the new bars actually have 20% less protein than the previous versions.
Should Vending Machines Post Calorie Counts?
By 12.3.09
The Wall Street Journal Health Blog noticed that both health care reform bills currently making their way through our lovely government have provisions that require vending machines to display the calorie counts of items inside. [More]
Sugariest Cereals For Kids Get Pimped Hardest
By 10.28.09
A new Yale report finds that cereal companies spent $156 million per year marketing to children, and most of that money gets plowed into pushing the sugariest cereals, which they try to pretend are healthy.
Should We Tax Junk Food?
By 10.16.09
Should America tax junk food? Should we add a “fat tax” to the list of sin taxes? When most Americans eat fast food at least once a week, could we tax junk and subsidize healthy foods in the name of public health? Paul Michael of Wisebread thinks that it makes financial sense.
Walmart's "Junk Food In The Toy Aisle" Mystery Officially Solved
By 9.10.09
Yesterday we posted a photo a reader sent in of a toy aisle in his local Walmart that was packed with junk food. We all got commenty on what exactly Walmart was doing—was it a one-off paid promo by Pepsi? A marketing experiment? A power-mad store manager driven crazy by shelving issues? Nah, it’s actually an intentional choice mandated by corporate.
Foods That Are Bad For You: Now Good For You!
By 9.10.09
The Times has a write-up of the Smart Choices campaign, an industry-supported healthy foods labeling program that generously designates foods like Fruit Roll-Ups, mayonnaise, and Cocoa Puffs as good for you. “These are horrible choices,” says the head of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health.
"Food In Real Life" Shows You Junk Food Without Makeup
By 9.3.09
Not content to wait for the next installment of our occasional “Picture vs. Reality” series, someone has started “Food in Real Life,” which helpfully lowers your expectations of the microwaved treat you’re about to inhale at your desk.
Lay's Chip Tracker Helps You Find The Source Of Your Salty Snacks
By 8.5.09
Do you lie awake at night, wondering where the potatoes in the bag of Lay’s chips you downed while watching “Dancing With the Stars” were grown? No, neither do most sane people. However, our alert colleagues over at ShopSmart magazine have discovered the Lay’s Chip Tracker, which can tell you the potato source based on the bag’s production code. No, seriously.
Fancy Fast Food Makes Your Favorite Junk Into Eye Candy
By 7.10.09
We’re really intrigued by Fancy Fast Food, which takes standard fast food items and, using only those ingredients, transforms them into something approaching haute cuisine. The recipes are available on the site if you want to try at home. (Pictured above: the Tacobellini)
