What "junk food" actually costs, gram for gram
A lot of packaged snacks are priced by convenience, not by what's in the bag. Work out the price per 100g on your next receipt and the gap to a "healthier" option is often smaller than people assume — sometimes the healthier pick is cheaper. Here are five swaps where that's usually true.
Fried keropok → roasted soy beans
Kacang soya (roasted soy beans) has the same salty crunch as keropok without the deep-fry oil, and a 200g bag lasts through more snacking sessions because it's more filling per handful. Sold in most Malaysian wet markets and pasar malam stalls, usually cheaper per 100g than branded keropok.
Milk chocolate bar → dates with peanut butter
Split two or three Sayer dates, spoon in a little natural peanut butter, and you get the same chewy-sweet hit as a chocolate bar with a stronger, more filling texture. It takes under a minute to put together and doesn't melt in a hot bag the way chocolate does.
Bubble tea → iced date-ginger tea
Steep sliced ginger in hot water, stir in a chopped date or two until it dissolves, then pour over ice. It's sweet without the syrup pump, and the ginger gives it a kick that plain iced tea doesn't have. Keeps in the fridge for a day if you make a jug of it.
Fruit gummies → sliced dried dates
Cut dried dates into thin strips and they chew almost like fruit leather — sweeter and stickier than gummy sweets, with none of the artificial colouring. A pack of Sayer dates sliced this way stretches further than a bag of gummies because a little goes a long way.
3pm cup-noodle craving → a small energy ball
Blend pitted dates, a handful of nuts, and a spoon of cocoa powder in a food processor, then roll into small balls and keep them in the fridge. One or two covers the same craving as reaching for a cup noodle out of boredom, and a batch keeps for about a week.
The pattern behind all five
None of these are about giving something up — check the price per 100g on your usual junk food pick and you'll often find the swap costs less, not more, especially once you're buying dates by the box rather than a small snack pack each time.
Our dates fruit range and Sayer dates selection both work out cheaper per 100g in a bulk box than buying small packs each week.