Never Trust the Asparagus

I should have known better. I should have followed my instincts. Where were my instincts?

I can't stress enough how important it is to read food labels. No matter how innocent you may think a food is, it can have plenty to hide. I was reminded of this tonight.

A while back I purchased a simple bag of frozen asparagus. While I hate buying anything in plastic, I make a concession for frozen vegetables when my local selection is lacking. Now when I looked at the package, I knew it said there was sauce on the asparagus. This should have been my first tip off. Sauces are typically filled with preservatives and strange ingredients. But for whatever reason, I ignored the warning signs and purchased it anyway.

Tonight I was scrounging for a green vegetable to take to work. I grabbed the asparagus, and looked at the boiling directions (don't cook food in plastic in the microwave! Just don't!). As I was reading the directions, I found an unusually long list of ingredients for what should have been a simple food. To my horror, I saw things like high fructose corn syrup, alcohol (yes! it said alcohol!) and chicken fat among many other unsavory things.

Now let me clarify that chicken fat isn't necessarily a bad thing - I've used it in my home cooking. But I'm pretty sure they didn't use a hormone, antibiotic free free-range chicken like I would prefer. Also, those cute asparagus tips in the picture? I'm still not sure where they were in the bag.

What did I do? I ate some of the asparagus. The taste was ok, but even if I hadn't read the bag, I would have sensed the chemicals. And it didn't really give me the pick-me-up that my fresh veggies always do.

My point here is you cannot assume you know what is in your food. You have to read bags, labels, search websites, watch documentaries, and above all, talk to people who actually grow food! Know where your food comes from and what's in it. Just because it looks healthy on the outside doesn't mean it's good on the inside.