How Sweet it is!
I know that my diet could be much better than it is, but as I’ve said before, I am trying. Trying to eat more whole foods and reading labels. One thing that I’ve kept an eye out for is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). My pantry is not pure, but I do watch out for it when I can. I use real maple syrup…it’s lovely. Starr on the other hand claims to hate maple syrup and will only eat Mrs. Butterworth’s —high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, cellulose gum, molasses, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors—sounds delish!! Not. I hope to change her mind sooner than later.
The one thing that we have used for years that has HFCS is ketchup. We use (she uses) a lot of ketchup around here. I’ve tried the organic brands and just didn’t care for them. The good news is that Heinz has recently started offering Simply Heinz Ketchup which contains sugar instead of HFCS, and Hunt’s has removed HFCS from their ketchup line altogether. I bought a bottle of Hunt’s HFCS free ketchup last week and was happy with the taste.
In passing, I mentioned it to Starr, who said, not for the first time, “What’s wrong with High Fructose Corn Syrup? It’s made from corn, it has the same calories as sugar and it’s fine in moderation.” parroting the flippin’ Corn Refiners Association advertisements. Ugh. So I thought I would do some Googling to see if I could find some data for her. During my search, I ran across this HFCS commercial spoof that I appreciated and thought I would pass it along:
King Corn: Commercial Spoof
I don’t know if HFCS is the root of all evil, the “cause” of obesity or a serious contributing factor in diabetes, but I do know that I would rather eat real food and limit the amount of chemicals and chemically altered foods in my diet. In the long run I know that I am moving in the right direction, hopefully Starr will join me and teach her future kids better than I taught her!! She is making some changes without really thinking about it, more water, less fast food, adding exercise, etc. It’s funny, she asked me for Activia the other day, I pointed to the refrigerator and said “why don’t you drink some probiotic Water Kefir.” She looked at me like I had grown a second head. “Never,” was her answer. : ) Oh well, maybe someday.
I’m with you! If it can be avoided, let’s avoid it. I had no idea it was even in ketchup. I find that so bizarre, but I am thrilled to know they now make it without!