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All stories relating to junk food

Where to Get Good Stuff Cheap 2012: bar snacks that are as lip-smacking as they are cheap

Where to Get Good Stuff Cheap | Posh Nosh

Gourmet junk food
Toca Bar
181 Wellington St. W., 416-585-2500
Done up in corporate neutrals and colonized by Seven Sisters partners, the Ritz-Carlton bar serves the kinds of cocktails that come with lotus root garnishes and elderflower infusions—and cost $16 each. Sounds steep until you factor in the freebies delivered with the drinks: sticky, maple-glazed bacon, pan-fried capers and corn nuts. It’s gourmet junk food that’s impossible to stop eating, which is okay because the bartender replenishes the supply without judgment.

Check out three bar snacks that are a deliciously good deal »

The Dish

From the Print Edition

September 15, 2011 | 11:02 am

1 Comment

’Wich Craft: how the city’s ice cream sandwiches stack up

(Image: Christopher Stevenson)

Ice cream sandwiches have become the city’s chicest sugar rush, proving there’s no junk food too humble for the gourmet treatment
By Eric Vellend. Photography by Christopher Stevenson

Start the slideshow »

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The Dish

Pantry Raid

March 31, 2011 | 12:06 pm

5 Comments

MPP Rosario Marchese floats private member’s bill destined to make Doug Ford very, very angry

Marchese v. Ford

Only days after the City of Toronto voted not to further restrict the sale of sugary pop through vending machines on city properties (with Doug Ford’s memorable endorsement of free-market obesity-mongering), an MPP has introduced a bill that must reek of what Ford called “socialism at its best”: Trinity-Spadina incumbent Rosario Marchese wants to ban junk food advertising that targets children.

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The Dish

Deathwatch

March 21, 2011 | 2:02 pm

6 Comments

Sick Kids dumps Burger King from food court, but Pizza Pizza and Subway remain

A minor victory for anti–junk food forces came last week as the creepy despot of the beef kingdom, Burger King, served its last meal from the Hospital for Sick Children’s food court. Some doctors at Sick Kids had been agitating to get Burger King shut down through a Facebook group suffering from severe friend anemia (seriously, 258 members?), but the process has apparently been underway for some time: Sick Kids had decided to auction off BK’s slot, and has managed the process so that something a bit healthier would win the competition.

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The Dish

Pantry Raid

February 8, 2011 | 4:39 pm

14 Comments

Study: Junk food contributes to dumbening in children

Feeling more stupider? (Image: Craige Moore)

It’s no shocker that eating junk food can cause obesity, especially in children. But a new British study shows that it can also make you dumber. The Daily Mail reports that researchers at Bristol University have shown that when toddlers consume a diet of “chips, crisps, biscuits, and pizza” (that’s fries, chips, cookies and pizza), they’re more likely to end up with a lower I.Q. later in life. It’s unconfirmed as yet whether spray-tanning your children à la Toddlers and Tiaras has the same effect.

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The Dish

Aprons & Icons

October 8, 2010 | 12:09 pm

3 Comments

New York Times’s Mark Bittman comes to Canada, is baffled by milk in a bag

Mark Bittman and Jessica Allen go shopping. Click image to go to full video. (Image: Maclean's)

New York Times writer and all-round foodie hotshot Mark Bittman came to Canada to sell his book last week, and the good folks at Maclean’s had the bright idea of bringing him to Toronto’s biggest independent grocer, Fiesta Farms (north of Bloor on Christie), for a wee spree. The video of the event (left) features Bittman and an overeager Jessica Allen meandering through the aisles at Fiesta while they discuss Bittman’s views on organic produce (in 100 years, if there are still people, they’ll be eating organic almost exclusively), weight loss (Bittman shed 30 pounds by going vegan-until-dark) and whether junk food is really cheaper than real food (nope).

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The Goods

From the Print Edition

September 20, 2010 | 3:37 pm

7 Comments

The List: 10 things model Stacey McKenzie can’t live without

Ten things Stacey McKenzie, Toronto’s kookiest fashion model and runway coach, can’t live without

Gold bangles
I grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and my mom used to buy me a gold bangle for every birthday. When I got my first paycheque at 15—I had a summer job working in a candy factory—I continued the tradition. Later in my life, I lost almost all of my money. I’d made very bad investments, and I didn’t know how I was going to survive, so I had to sell many of the bangles. The few I kept are a reminder of where I came from and what it took for me to get here.

My red Bible
I was raised in the Baptist church. I had a major crush on the pastor’s son, so I got baptized at 14, in hopes of marrying him—but that’s another story. It’s still important for me to have the Word close at hand. This Bible was a gift from my 10‑year-old niece, Madonna.

Madonna
She’s the most beautiful little girl, the little sister I never had, and boy, do I show it. I try to take her everywhere with me. She walked the Diesel shows this year at LG fashion week.

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The Informer

In Transit

May 20, 2010 | 11:28 am

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Canadians would rather drive than have sex, credit cards, junk food or TV

Better than sex (Image: Richard Smith)

Canada is not as eco-friendly—or as sexy, fun or fit—as previously thought. A new study conducted by the WWF (the World Wildlife Fund, not the erstwhile Worldwide Wrestling Federation) found that most Canadians would forgo sex, television, junk food and credit cards before they would give up their automobiles. It also found that 76 per cent of Canadians would drive, even if they could walk, bike or take public transit to their destination.

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The Dish

Read All About It

March 29, 2010 | 2:16 pm

1 Comment

Junk food and cocaine pretty much the same thing: study

Jonesin' (Image: Alexey Krasavin)

Science is perfecting the art of proving the patently obvious. A new study published in Nature Neuroscience recounts how lab rats that were fed bacon, sausage and cheesecake became dependent on the high-calorie goodies in order to feel good. The co-author writes that, much like other pleasurable activities (sex, drug use), eating can trigger the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain, which can lead to addictive behaviour. The rats that were given the high-fat diet also had access to healthy rat chow, but they ignored it. This all demonstrates two things that have been evident for decades to any pet owner who’s gone through a breakup: 1) fat feels good, and 2) the deliciousness of sausage transcends the animal kingdom.

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The Goods

From the Print Edition From the Print Edition

March 10, 2010 | 9:09 am

4 Comments

The Toronto diet: inside Stanley Bernstein’s weight-loss empire

Stanley Bernstein has helped 450,000 patients lose a ton of fat by putting them on a merciless 850-calories-per-day diet and injecting them with his secret vitamin B cocktail. His critics say the diet is dangerous. His followers say they’ve never been happier. Inside the weight-loss empire.

Read the full article now >>

The Dish

Culinary Curiosities

February 5, 2010 | 4:08 pm

2 Comments

Milk in bags: that’s so Canadian

Today’s viral hit is a YouTube video made by Sheryl Ng, a York University student who explains the concept of drinking milk from a bag as opposed to a carton or jug. Western Canada and the entirety of the United States (the video is addressed to the latter) thinks Ontarians are as weird as Maritimers and the Québécois—the only known people who drink bagged milk. There’s a lot to explain, apparently: in the three-minute video, Ng goes into great detail about the size of one’s bag opening, the ideal pouring angle and how to prevent “the fridge smell” from getting into the milk.

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The Dish

Read All About It

December 4, 2009 | 9:00 am

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Red wine chocolate bars, the smallest citrus on Earth, parents penalized for not giving their child junk food

Upper cut: an ideal diagonal slice (Photo by Robin)

• While cutting a sandwich horizontally seems fundamentally wrong, a panel of experts including chefs, foodies and even a mathematician concur that a diagonal slice is the way to go. Not only does a diagonal cut expose more of the interior of the sandwich (engaging more of your senses before the first bite), it also results in a greater proportion of crust-free surface. To top it off, a diagonal slice has the reputation to back it up. [NPR]

• A U.S. company has released the first nutrition bar to contain resveratrol, a chemical that occurs naturally in red wine. The compound is said to have the potential to reverse the effects of aging. The dark chocolate bar known as Winetime contains the same amount of resveratrol found in 50 glasses of wine, makers say, so it isn’t likely anyone will be getting an equivalent dose of the youth chemical from the natural source. [Independent]

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The Dish

Read All About It

November 4, 2009 | 8:52 am

2 Comments

Chocolate inhalers, the science of wine pairing, debunking swine flu food claims

Suck it, chocolate lovers

• A new inhaler that allows users to taste chocolate without chewing or eating has struck a chord with consumers, having sold out in its first month. The French product known as Le Whif puffs micro-particles of chocolate into the imbiber’s mouth. Inventors say that inhaled chocolate is just the beginning, making us hopeful that a bacon inhaler is on the horizon. Le Whif should be available in North America by 2010. [Reuters]

• CBS interviews Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of Everything Is Illuminated and a new non-fiction book, Eating Animals. Here, he discusses factory farming and the importance of re-examining the way we eat. In writing the book, he found that “misery is built into the system” of factory farming, and that changing the system will require people to eat much less meat. [CBS]

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The Dish

Read All About It

October 30, 2009 | 9:12 am

Comments

Curry may hold cancer cure, how to read nutrition labels, Michael Smith dislikes Morocco

Fact checking: the Globe and Mail offers tips on reading nutrition labels (Photo by Joe Loong)

• The Globe and Mail offers tips on navigating the often-confusing world of nutrition labels. The common sense suggestions include looking at serving size, monitoring the trans fat quantities, and reading the whole label instead of focusing on calories or fat. These ideas are different from the National Post’s, which suggests forgetting labels altogether and eating fresh food without labels. [Globe and Mail]

• Jane Rodmell, owner of All the Best Fine Foods in Rosedale, has released a book with all the best of All the Best’s recipes. In an interview with the National Post, she lauds Torontonians as adventurous foodies who look for inspiration in less familiar cuisine, like Lebanese and Peruvian. Of course, she praises local food, as well. [National Post]

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The Dish

Read All About It

October 7, 2009 | 1:48 pm

1 Comment

The Simpsons eat right in Britain, the best brown-bag lunches, mini kiwis hit the Brick Works

Can Homer go healthy? (Photo by Benjamin Thompson)

• In a bid to persuade Britons to eat healthier, the U.K’s Department of Health is sponsoring episodes of The Simpsons, to the tune of £640,000 ($1 million). The animated commercials will showing a Simpsons-esque family eating junk food that slowly morphs into healthier alternatives. May we suggest a better way to get citizens healthier would be to have them turn off the television entirely and get some exercise? After all, you don’t make friends with salad. [National Post]

• For those with kids complaining about the lack of variety in their lunches, the Washington Post has saved the day. The paper asked four pros to design a month’s worth of lunches, fit for even the sparkliest Dora the Explorer lunch bag. The flavourful options are healthy and low-calorie and even includes a week of vegan options. The menu had us looking at our own brown bags and wondering if we could swap with the kids. [Washington Post]

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