The worst Aussie junk foods

Can you guess what the worst traditionally 'Aussie' junk foods are? Here are the top five. (And of course, Tim Tams made the list!)

tim tams

Can you guess what the worst traditionally 'Aussie' junk foods are? Here are the top five. (And yes, Tim Tams made the list!)

We all remember back to those carefree days of our childhood.

Playing out in the streets until dark, spending weekends down at the beach or park, and stuffing our faces with whatever we could get our hands on. It seemed like we spent our entire preteen years surviving on nothing but meat pies, red frogs and cans of Fanta.

Fast forward a few years and all of a sudden we are hit in the face with the deadly combination of a slower metabolism and less recreational exercise. Now, what we eat counts. No longer can we get away with eating how we did as a kid.

Sure, the junk foods we all seem to love and crave can be eaten sparingly, but there are a few “worst offenders” that should be avoided at all costs. Put simply, they are just not worth it. Many of these junk foods fall into the same categories: Full of sugar, packed with sodium, loaded with saturated fats and high in calories. They provide no nutritional value. Beware.

1 - Fast food burgers

Yes, I’m still mourning the death of a tasty, cheap local takeaway burger with the lot (you can’t seem to find a good old-fashioned one anywhere these days), but the burgers from fast food outlets are the worst substitute imaginable. For example, the Hungry Jack’s Ultimate Double Whopper contains an incredible 80g of fat, 2386mg of sodium and 5085 kilojoules. That’s almost 60 per cent of an average male’s intake for the entire day - before you even add the fries and soft drink!

Eat this instead: Home-made burgers Try using lean mince, spinach, beetroot, low fat feta with some pumpkin on a wholemeal roll for a tasty burger at a fraction of the calories. Alternatively, have your burgers “protein style” -- where you leave out the bun altogether and wrap the burger in lettuce leaves instead.

2- Tim Tams

At the risk of offending the whole of Australia, I must add Tim Tams to the list. My main concern is that nobody seems to be able to just eat one or two at a time. At 400 kilojoules per biscuit and almost 50 per cent sugar, they can quickly add up and add to your waistline. If you splurge and eat half a pack, you’ve just added 2500 kilojoules to your daily intake.

Eat this instead: Dark Chocolate. Aim for a dark chocolate that has a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa (85 per cent is better) -- not to mention studies have shown dark chocolate to be effective in lowering blood pressure, and have high levels of flavonoids, which act as antioxidants in the body.

3 - Chiko Rolls

What is a Chiko Roll? Processed beef and vegetables wrapped in a mixture of egg, flour and dough, which is then deep fried. A cultural icon, Chiko Rolls have been around since the 1950s in Australia, and the popularity at shows, sports events and carnivals shows no sign of slowing down. With 1600 kilojoules each, 18 grams of fat and 1100mg of sodium, the Chiko Roll is a definite no-no. There are less fattening ways of being patriotic.

4 - Dagwood Dogs/Pluto Pups

Who comes up with these names? Also known as a corn dog in the USA - it’s a battered Frankfurt on a stick, which is then deep fried. Similar to the Chiko roll, they also pack a mean punch at 1200 kilojoules, with an average 60 per cent of the kilojoules coming from fat.

Eat this instead: Vietnamese Rice Paper rolls. These rolls are as easy to eat as a Chiko Roll or a Dagwood dog, and are not fried. They are usually filled with fresh vegetables, lean proteins and are very low in calories and fat.

5 - Kebabs

They sound okay... Until it’s 3am on a Saturday night, you’ve had a few too many drinks and you order the Doner Kebab with the day-old D-grade meat that’s mostly fat, binding and fillers, and then load up on cheese and creamy garlic sauce (and let's face it, when else do we eat a kebab?). The meat itself is the worst culprit -- nobody really knows what’s in it and the regulations covering the handling and quality of the meat are loosely interpreted at best.

Eat this instead: Falafel Roll. Take the meat out of the equation, go light on the creamy sauces and you have a pretty healthy option. The falafel is a lightly fried chickpea ball which will lower the caloric value and fat content substantially. Load up on all the salads, go light on the cheese and choose hummus as a healthier spread.