WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET
My husband and I recently traveled to Michigan, one of our favorite places. It's a sixteen hour trip, so it's a good thing we're compatible and truly enjoy the time together. I usually take along some of my favorite books and my journal. His mind races on his current project and he tosses an idea my way for my opinion as we ride. I lay my book down and we talk for a while.
When we go on these long trips, it's easy for our mind to say "time out" from healthy food choices. Of course this is not a good thing if you are gone for a couple of weeks. On this particular trip we gave in to the cunning pleading of our taste buds and stopped for "nourishment". We did our best to find healthy snacks, hidden behind all the frosted and chocolate laden treats. You could easily call these places carb stores.
Richard absolutely loves potato chips and picked up a bag that said, "sea salt", as its sodium content was much lower than the others. I found an item I'd never tried before; Synder's of Hanover Honey, Mustard and Onion pretzel pieces. Reading the nutritional facts, it said, "total fat grams, 7; trans fats 0; cholesterol 0 and total carbs 18 grams. This product sounded almost as healthy as the bread we use at home. I grabbed a bag and we were on our way.
The taste of my new snack was delicious. Though it said onion, the dominant taste was mustard. I ate every morsel, thinking the next time we stopped, I would get the same thing. As I turned the empty bag over to read again, there it was, in black and white, an inconspicuous fact I had overlooked; Servings per bag, "about 4". Now please tell me, who would buy this small bag and share it with three friends. Not me! The company had won by shrewd advertising, as do many other companies. Though I was aware that serving information is given, I had forgotten to check that information. Should the FDA allow this to happen? No. Will their regulations change? More than likely not. And this is only one example of the FDA not looking out for us. It's amazing to me that a plate can be laden with food in almost any restaurant and this is considered a "serving". Yet, to sell a product, the nutritional content is listed in very small servings, making the product look not so bad. With my particular choice, I ate, not 7 grams of fat, but 28, and the 18 grams of carbs became 72! And we wonder why we're getting fat!
Why do I share this with you? It's a warning. Snack information is deceiving. Look at the servings per container, not just the nutritional value per serving! Shame on you, FDA!
"Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare
hands - and then eat just one of those pieces."
~Judith Viorst~
