“Fat Free!” That’s Amazing!

Sometimes I’m both amused and disgruntled when I see food packaging that spouts how “good for you” it is. There’s a whole spectrum of jargon used on packaging to try and get you to buy whatever it is they’re selling: “fat free”, “only 100 calories per serving”, “12 vitamins and minerals”, “no trans fat” and the list goes on.

Most any food has some attribute that can be spun in a positive manner. And while some products may actually be fairly healthy for you, the ones that make me internally groan are the ones that are obviously not so healthy but somehow they want to be on the healthy bandwagon. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this sugar-laden cereal or that buttery cracker isn’t particularly healthy (despite any starbursts of exciting “health” related information to the contrary). [Pause.] It just feels so disingenuous.

From a designer’s point of view I can see where companies are coming from; they’re trying to compete with other companies spouting the same rhetoric as well as actual healthy foods. They’re trying to draw people into buying their product that isn’t quite as “bad” as it could be (since it’s “only 100 calories” or it’s “fat free”) as to help lessen any guilt about eating their product. (Sure an apple would probably be a healthier option, but an apple doesn’t have any chocolate in it, does it?)

As a consumer I find it rather ridiculous. All you need is a little common sense to look at something and know that it’s just empty calories and has little nutritional value. Don’t get me wrong I’m not opposed to indulging in junk food from time to time. I enjoy potato chips and chocolates and ice cream, but I’d like for food packaging to be more honest about what they’re selling. If you’re selling junk food, own it—be junk food. Don’t try to pass yourself off as some sort of healthy option when we both know how little truth there is to that facade.

Current Cravings: Plum Potato Chips

While at the Asian supermarket I took a quick pass down the junk food aisle. I usually refrain from buying any junk food because it’s really easy for me to eat the entire bag or box or package of whatever goodies I get (in part because they tend not to be overly rich or sweet and in part because the serving sizes are much smaller than American junk food sizes).

However, as I swiftly walked down the junk food aisle, prepared to buy nothing, a pink bag caught my eye: plum potato chips. I stopped. I was intrigued. Plum potato chips were a seasonal item. When I think of Japan and plums I immediately think of pickled plums, and I happen to love pickled plums—so I impulsively bought the potato chips. And that evening I ate the entire bag of chips (although to be fair it only contained two servings worth of chips). They were delicious. They were salty and sour and sweet (although no where near as sour as actual pickled plums), they just had a hint of plum flavoring.

Pickled plums are an acquired taste. The first time I had them I didn’t like them at all. They were very sour, and I wasn’t really accustomed to sour foods. I wasn’t brought up with many sour food options (other than dill pickles and lemon desserts). But for whatever reason, I came to love pickled plums (with rice of course). I like the soft juicy ones that are about the size of a quarter; a little nibble of one of those wakes my taste buds up. [Pause.] And I should probably stick to eating the healthier pickled plums themselves rather than plum potato chips (that I can oh too easily polish off an entire bag of). [Sigh.]

I Can Only Stomach so Much Sweetness

Growing up, my parents limited the amount of sugar my brother and I were allowed—to the point that I was quite jealous of friends and classmates that always seemed surrounded by sweet options. Everyone else had the sugary, frosted and chocolate-filled cereals at home (when the sweetest cereal my brother and I got was Kix…if we were lucky). And at lunch it was no better, there were no Twinkies or Ding-Dongs or Little Debbie Snacks for me in my lunchbox. No, if I had any “desserts” it would be 100% real fruit leather (rather than the more popular yet less nutritious Fruit Roll-Ups that I would’ve rather had). And forget about soda pop. That was a luxury that I could only dream about.

My sugar deprivation was sated by going to friends houses and feasting on those sugary cereals or sweet snack cakes that were such a novelty to me; every time it was like having a mini sugar binge. Yet, perhaps my overall lack of sugar at a young age made my threshold for sugar less than the average person. Even as a kid, eating Pop-Tarts at a friend’s house seemed like a difficult task for me. (Yes, I chose the frosted Pop-Tarts, which in retrospect was probably a mistake since the regular ones are already quite sweet.) I just recall that after I ate the first one I wasn’t eager to eat the second one in the package because I’d already reached my sugar limit.

Now that I’m older I’m glad I wasn’t laden with sweets. A little sweetness goes a long way with me. And most typical low-end American sweets are too sweet for me. I don’t crave candy bars, doughnuts, fruity sweetened teas or sheet cake with that sickly sweet frosting. That’s not to say I don’t like sweet things like dark chocolate, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream—but I don’t want them to be too sweet. Thus, I’m generally more inclined to enjoy Asian low-end sweets since they tend be less sweet—which is sometimes bad because then it’s just easier to eat more of it. [Sigh.]