During both pregnancies, I tried to stay away from MSG. This is easier said than done. Breakfast and dinner weren’t so bad, but the number of canned soups and frozen entrees without MSG is small, which made work lunches a bit more difficult. Even the Chinese restaurant around the corner from my office was hesitant to comply with my requests for an MSG-free plate of stir fried green beans with crispy tofu. They said, “But we only use a little MSG, not much.”
And seemingly vegetarian soups often have hidden animal products. I’m not worried about dairy. But why do they have to have chicken or beef stock in vegetable, broccoli, and potato soups? I just don’t get it. Panera even fails at this.
I have been purchasing Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable soup for my children to eat for weekday lunches. It is something that the nanny (grandma) can quickly fix. Add some fruit, crackers, and milk and it appears to be a pretty balanced meal.
Today I popped open a can and for some reason read the label. I must not have read the label when I started buying it in the first place. That’s unusual for me not to scrutinize.
I was a little shocked at what I read. Needless to say I won’t be buying this soup again after we use up the three additional cans in our pantry. And Campbell’s will be receiving a letter from me.
This soup, which you would think would be healthy since “Vegetarian” is in the name, contains not one, but two things that kids shouldn’t be eating. And I say kids because the soup has alphabet pasta, something that is marketed toward kids.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (HFCS)
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG)
Yeah, really.
You would think that since Andy Warhol even painted the Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable, that it has to be good.
(Filed under food.)
{ 1 trackback }