Monday, August 23, 2010

Confessions of an Idiot

It's pretty humbling to suddenly discover that you're an idiot.

I've always been a label reader. But, mostly I just looked at calories, protein, fats. It's sort of like claiming that you read the newspaper when all you really read is the comics and Dear Abbey.

So, today I started looking through my cupboard and really reading the ingredients lists. I quickly found five things to throw away. And, I equally quickly learned that I'm an idiot.

Below are some of the more um, interesting ingredients from among these five products.  Totals are in parentheses when more than one product contains the ingredient.
  • Maltodextrin (4)
  • "Natural flavor" (2)
  • Tricalcium phosphate
  • Partially hydrogenated soybean oil (2)
  • "Spices" (2)
  • Citric acid (3)
  • Disodium guanylate (4)
  • Disodium inosinate (4)
  • Sulfiting agents
  • Hydrolyzed corn protein (2)
  • Autolyzed yeast extract (2)
  • Silicon dioxide (2)
  • Monosodium glutamate
  • Yellow 6
  • Red 40
  • Hydrolyzed corn gluten
  • Sodium caseinate
Yummy, huh? Just like grandma used to make.

Did I really think that disodium guanylate is FOOD? Did I really think that years of eating maltodextrin and sulfiting agents and silicon dioxide was harmless?

Spouse 1.0 does not share my horror or my outrage. So, he's not entirely enthusiastic about the idea of running off and joining an organic commune somewhere in Colorado.

But, at least he's not mad at me for poisoning him for the last 22.5 years.

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