A Full Serving of Vegetables ... Or Hype?

Jeeze, you have to do all this, just to get the following into a kid:

Ingredients - Chef Boyardee Ravioli

Water, Tomatoes (Water, Tomato Puree), Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and Folic Acid), Beef, Crackermeal (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and Folic Acid), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Soybean Oil, Salt, Carrots, Textured Soy Protein Concentrate (Soy Protein Concentrate and Caramel Coloring), Onions, Flavorings, Caramel Coloring, Potassium Chloride, Oleoresin Paprika, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Enzyme Modified Cheese [Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), and Annatto (Color)] and Disodium Guanylate and Disodium Inosinate. CONTAINS: MILK, SOY, WHEAT

And don’t forget, that includes 780 mg of sodium, NO vitamin C from tomatoes (where did it go?), and 6 grams of fat.

Yeah, that sounds just like a plate of fresh vegetables to me. Oh, and when did tomatoes become a vegetable?

Now, more companies are making similar ludicrous claims about their ridiculous products.

Bolthouse Farms is claiming that their ‘juice’ provides 3-3/4 servings of fruit per 15 ounce bottle (340 calories). Never mind that a serving size is half that. Should I be impressed? Not really. Especially when you consider that the ‘fruit’ is apple juice from concentrate, banana puree and blueberry juice from concentrate.

I’d be far healthier, skinnier, and with more money in my wallet, eating an apple with some dried blueberries - accompanied by a tall glass of cool, clear water. I had the banana on my whole grain breakfast cereal.

-maven