Soy in Kettle Korn, Street Vendor Popcorn

     It was time for another family day so we packed the family into the car and headed East. This weekend is the first in a while that we haven't had rain, perfect for a trip to a pick-your-own farm.

     Our first stop was Apple Annie's Orchard for 30 pounds of apples. We were greeted in the lot by man shaking caramel corn samples into everyone's hands from a container. I popped some into my mouth thinking only of how much I love caramel corn, and without asking what was in the caramel coating. I spit it out, gave the rest to my daughter, and moved on. I had a solid breakfast before we left and I had some snack bars in my bag. I wasn't worried about being hungry. Then we had lunch!

     The three boys had hot dog meals, my husband and my daughter had the apple-smoked hamburgers. That's all that was on the menu. I walked over to the handmade ice cream tent and asked if they had vanilla. No, they only had vanilla with apple pie chunks mixed in! They told me I could get vanilla inside the gift shop, but only on top of pie. In the gift shop they also sold fudge, a soy lecithin nightmare. Apple cider donughts were definitely not an option (gluten) and my husband had already asked the woman at the kettle korn stand about soy. All of the foods on the premises had obvious soy or gluten ingredients.

  I was shocked, really shocked, that kettle korn is a soy offender. They cooked their popcorn in soybean oil! I never considered the oil. Now I'm wondering what they use at the movie theater. I was puzzled recently when I had some of my son's plain popcorn at the theater, and I was still affected. It must have been the cooking oil. Always ask specifically if a prepared food has any ingredients you should avoid, never assume that you already know, or that vendors prepare their foods in the same manner.

     I didn't go without food completely during our outing. After lunch we went to Apple Annie's vegetable farm and I enjoyed some roasted sweet corn on the cob while we picked peppers, tomatoes and squash. I had a Trio bar in the car and we were home by 2:45. I had some protein when we got home and later had a delicious dinner of trout, asparagus and rice. In the end, it's OK if I have to pass on some treats.

     Many thanks to my husband who took it upon himself to ask about ingredients! Thanks to him I'm not feeling like a train wreck right now and tomorrow isn't ruined before it even starts.