Since today is Shrove Tuesday – the day in which you are supposed to have one (or many) last feasts to use up all the decadent foods you’ve sworn to give up for Lent – I thought I should offer you some food porn.
This is the guilty pleasure I mentioned in my list of food resolutions – a coconut macaroon from the supermarket. Looks benign enough, doesn’t it? Then take a look at this…
In case you can’t quite read the small print, there are more numbers here than in a maths textbook. Even the coconut is not quite coconut, but something called ‘Kokomix’ – which has lots of other goodies in it like milk fat, stabiliser, preservative, colour (colour? it’s white!) and modified starch. The most depressing thing is that the ‘chocolate’ is a mixture of cocoa powder and various fats – but it DOES have coconut oil, which I guess boosts the overall coconut factor a bit.
What this label doesn’t tell you though is that these toxic treats really are delicious. I first discovered them at an Italian cafe in town, where they cost three times as much despite being identical. Learning that they were on sale at the supermarket just a few minutes’ walk from work was my downfall towards the end of last year. Not now though. I am strong. I have willpower. And I am going to go one further and give up chocolate for Lent. After all, my chocolate dependent friend Ann once gave it up for a year – surely I can manage six weeks, right? Especially since the chocolate on the macaroons doesn’t count…
Are you giving anything up for Lent? Or is retox, not detox, your motto?
Oh my God it is Shrove Tuesday! That's what happens to a retired and rebel catholic.. Shrove Tuesday and I didn't know! Mind, it should be at the end of Winter. Cleaning out the pantry. Love to you Lucy and how the wee girl has grown!
My onlky one attempt at giving up chocolate, several years ago was an epic fail. I gave in- having forgotten my resolution- within 5.5 hours of making it! Oops. Retox all the way….
YOUR macaroons are the best!
Lucy, it's beautiful. We don't know yet what we will give up for the Lent.
Ah a proper macaroon, not it's elegant french cousin. I'm sure a few numbers can't do you that much harm every now and then. It rather goes against the grain to give things up at a specific time for pseudo-religious reasons that I don't hold. So, no I will keep eating as normal.
mmmm… perhaps I should give something up for lent. think i might make pancakes for dinner to get into the spirit!
no… this is GOOD!
I was going to make Dosa (indian pancake) for shrove tuesday, but didn't realise it took 2 days to prepare D'oh.
It does seem a bit ridiculous that they break down all the ingredients and sub-ingredients on a biscuit.
But I have to say E-numbers shouldn't scare you, just need to learn which are good and bad en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number , you can even get an app for it.
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