Reason #199 – I cannot read food labels
Reason #199 – I cannot read food labels
Sep 27We flew to Costa Rica last week. I know for a fact that C will eat me if he’s hungry enough, so I packed a crapload of healthy snacks for the 10-hour long commute: fruit juice, goldfish crackers, dried mango and apples.
Because an apple a day and all that. What could be healthier and better for a kid than an apple?
I’m not much of a health foods fiend, but every now and then I read labels just to make sure I know what my kid is eating. And when I give him fruit, I want it to be fresh and clean, the way fruit should be. I grew up in a house with mango trees in the garden, after all. I can’t help being picky.
So I got these dried apple rings, and felt like an excellent mother because they had no added sugar. See? I can read a label! I am careful about what my kid eats! Sugar is the devil!
We had eaten maybe half of the apple rings and were flying somewhere over Texas when I turned the bag around.
Crap.
Seriously? Sulfur dioxide? Wasn’t that the main ingredient of stink bombs? Isn’t Hell supposed to reek of sulfurous fumes? WHY DO THEY PUT THIS ON FRUIT? Goodness knows C is stinky enough as is!
I’ll be damned.
So much for clean, pure, healthy fruit.
And so much for me and food labels.
Let’s face it: I may be able to write, but I apparently cannot read for shit.
Time to go back to school.
It occurs naturally in fermentation of some fruits, like grapes. I have to read dried fruit packs, fruit snacks and such carefully because I have been blessed with a sulphite allergy. I can longer eat Lipton Sidekicks since they started using sulphites. Certain seasonings and cheesies contain them. I have to be careful with caramel colourings. Boooooooooooooo….
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ofthesea Reply:
October 25th, 2011 at 9:44 pm
What are Lipton sidekicks?
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Carrie and the Bear Reply:
October 28th, 2011 at 7:16 am
LOL They are easy to make side dishes like flavored rices, noodle, mashed and au gratin potatoes and such. They use to be nice to have on hand, but then they went and changed a good thing.
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It just keeps the fruit from getting brown & icky looking. Cosmetics, if you will. Not ideal, but not the end of the world, either.
I don’t know… You might not be a crap mom after all. In which case, can I have your title?
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ofthesea Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:08 am
We can share the crown. You know how deeply I admire your parenting philosophies! ;)
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Good lord. I just gave up after like 40 bucks of organic vegetables from the farmer’s market and downed a Portuguese sausage of questionable origin. I’m sure the NICESt thing in that crap was sulfur!
Pretty much all dried fruit has it; it’s a huge sulfur scam. Is C explosive now?
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ofthesea Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:09 am
He’s just a bit stinkier than usual!
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Sulphur dioxide (preservative 220) is what gives you a headache if you drink too much wine – especially cheaper and sweeter wines. Cask wine has a heap of SO2, that’s why it’s not so good for the head (that and it tastes like crap as well)
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ofthesea Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Of course, we had a chemist in the house!
So this might have given C his first hangover? Better get them started early! ;)
PS: how’s gorgeous Harry?
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I get so frustrated trying to buy healthy food. I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that if you buy it at a store its bad for you. I just avoid certain things, like soda, and hope for the best.
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ofthesea Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:13 am
I try. That is the best I can say.
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No worries, they just use it to keep the apples from turning brown when they are being dried.
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ofthesea Reply:
September 29th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Does that mean C won’t get a tan now? :D
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