to eat or not to eat**

I just came across this slideshow, entitled "12 things you should never put in your mouth." I have to admit that I have eaten some of these products in the past. I've eaten Twinkies, although it's been over a decade. I've also eaten Lunchables, although not the ones featured here.*

A couple of items that totally make my skin crawl: the Sweet Sue brand canned whole chicken that can be consumed cold and the complete cheeseburger in a can. These foods seem like worst-case-survival-type foods. (And, I realize my privilege in being able to say that I've never had to resort to eating something like this. I've always had plenty of other, much more appetizing options.)

One the slide featuring the Twinkies (Twinkie sushi, actually), there is a link to Twinkie recipes. One of the recipes is for a Twinkie Taco. The ingredients are Twinkies, tortillas, maraschino cherries, marshmallow whip, sugar and ground cinnamon. Basically, you fry the tortillas in butter and then coat them in cinnamon and sugar. You pile on the rest of the toppings and then? Well, to quote the recipe: "Ole!" Um, Ole! indeed. Because nothing could be closer to Mexican cuisine. And, correct me if I'm wrong, this is more of a Twinkie tostada than a Twinkie taco.

Oh, "Food," how you boggle the mind.

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* I remember bringing Lunchables to school and having a friend always remark, "Do you know how much sodium is in that?!" What is it with Lunchables, though? I made the mistake of getting a small crackers, meat and cheese (or should I say, "meat" and "cheese"?) one for Pic once and she wants one every time we go shopping. I still let her have an occasional Lunchable. It is one of my mamma-guilt issues. I don't let her have them very often. It's funny that so many of the things I ate as a kid I prefer she not ever eat at all.

** There used to be a show called Adventures in Wonderland that Peecho and I used to watch. There was an episode where Alice had to decide whether she should eat some fruit that had the potential to boost her athletic talent. There was this song that went something like, "To eat or not to eat/The fruit that is so sweet/It could make you a star athlete/Or it could knock you off your feet." That song has been stuck in my head for almost two decades. Why my brain insists on latching on to some things while completely discarding others, I'll never understand.


"Adventures in Wonderland"