Hidden hydrogenated oils, p. 1

After I ate my miso soup last night, I decided to check my bouillon label for hidden gluten/ wheat products. I overloaded my diet with carbs during Howl O Scream, thanks to the large portions of foods like lasagna and manicotti (not to mention the hamburgers) that cost next to nothing in the employee cafeteria. I use vegetable bouillon because, for less than $2, I get 25 cups of broth, as opposed to about a dollar per one or two cups for the glam, liquid veggie broths in the store.

I was reading through the surprisingly chemical names for a vegetable broth when I saw it. Partially hydrogenated palm oil. The horror!

Even in my unhealthy days, I did what I could to avoid the stuff. Then, the non-hydrogenated oil renaissance began. Even Doritos now come without the ooky, gooky, bad oils. I thought I was safe.

Now I know better.

You think I would have started scrambling through my cans and boxes, searching out the oiled fiend. But, no, I went about my nightly business until I decided it was time for a cup of hot cocoa. I picked up my super-expensive, gourmet, frou-frou box of Hershey's Cacao Reserve Mayan Blend hot chocolate and read the box once more, looking for the dreaded gluten/ wheat products. You can imagine my horror when I found, once again, the even more-dreaded partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean and coconut oil).



While I knew the fatty, toxic oils still existed, I assumed a faux gourmet product like the hot chocolate and a food marked "vegetarian" would be free of the oils of death. I mean, partially hydrogenated oils are on the road to being banned, right? I mean, it explodes hearts. (Okay, maybe not. It just causes heart blockages and slowly kills the consumer.)

Now, I really do get to go through every single food product I own that didn't come in a produce bag and kvetch to the companies responsible for this. If you have any opinions on the use of hydrogenated oils in foods, please visit the Maggi and Cacao Reserve Web sites.