It’s National Junk Food Day, Which Means …

Today is National Junk Food Day, and if you ask my friend, that simply means you can eat all the junk food you want and the calories don't count.

Yeah, right!

As much as I wish that was true, it's not.

But that did get me to wondering what really qualifies as junk food -- and where to find the best junk food in Southern Utah.

What is junk food?

According to AI, the key characteristics of junk food are:

• High in Calories, Low in Nutrients: Junk food provides a large number of calories, primarily from fat and sugar, with minimal amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. 
• High in Fat, Sugar, and Salt: These are the main ingredients that contribute to the appealing taste of junk food, but they are also the components that can be detrimental to health in excess.

  Highly Processed: Many junk foods are heavily processed, meaning they undergo significant changes during manufacturing, often involving the addition of artificial ingredients, preservatives, and flavorings. 
• Nutrient-Poor: The lack of essential nutrients in junk food means that while it may fill you up, it doesn't provide your body with the building blocks it needs for proper function. 
• Empty Calories: The calories in junk food are often referred to as "empty calories" because they offer little to no nutritional value

The things that I wonder about are foods like peanut butter sandwich, chips and salsa, and ice ream and sherbet.

So does healthy bread become junk food when I put peanut butter and grape jelly on it? Are chips and salsa not junk food, but chips and queso is junkie? Why is sorbet a golden child, but sherbet and ice cream get the "junk" label?

It all seems so arbitrary.

If I grill a burger, is it junk food? Because they say a burger at McD's or Wendy's is junk food.

Oh well, maybe I'll never know the difference. But here are some of my favorite "junk foods" in Southern Utah.

1. Handel's Ice Cream
2. Warm Coscto Chocolate Chip Cookies
3. Soft serve from Digby's
4. Donut Run's Blueberry Crumble donuts
5. Iceberg's Grasshopper milkshake
6. Strap Tank's Cajun Fries or chips and queso
7. Red Barn's Cider/ice cream float

Happy National Junk Food Day!

Note: AI issues this warning: "Moderation is Key: While it's not necessary to completely eliminate junk food from your diet, it's important to consume it in moderation and balance it with a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Get our free mobile app