If you asked me for a Top 10 list of Best Foods Ever Created, the Oreo cookie would definitely be on that list. There is nothing particularly fancy about the Oreo. It is a pretty simple little cookie with 2 chocolate wafers with icing in between. But they are perfect. Not too sweet wafers with a delectable sweetness in the middle. Others have tried in vain to copy them. Did your parents ever buy Hydrox cookies and try to pawn them off as Oreos? Who did they think they were fooling? Counterfeit cookies.
On the other hand, I don't think Oreos are especially good for you but, I don't think that is the intent for their existence. The ingredient list is as follows:
Ingredients: SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL, AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
The list starts with...SUGAR. That means it is the main ingredient. I'm OK with that. The Nutrition Facts on the package state that the "Serving Size" for all the statistics is 34 grams. I think this is 2 cookies. That almost made me laugh out loud. That would be like eating one potato chip. Those 34 grams of Oreos harness 7g of total fat, 10g of saturated fat, 160mg of sodium, 25g of total carbohydrates, 1g of dietary fiber, 14g of sugars and 1g of protein. Clearly, the Oreo is not a staple of a health food diet. But they are good and we enjoy eating them (OK maybe "enjoy" is not a strong enough word but, we'll stick with enjoy for now.)
But don't you dare pack any Oreos in your kid's lunchbox. I seriously doubt that the Oreo meets the USDA standards for what can be a part of a "healthy lunch." There was a news report on Feb 14th about a 4-year old pre-schooler in North Carolina that had her home packed lunch deemed nutritionally unacceptable by "the person who was inspecting all lunch boxes" and was given the cafeteria meal to eat instead (she ended up eating only 3 chicken nuggets.) Her mother had packed her a turkey and cheese sandwich on white wheat bread, a banana, potato chips and apple juice. My gosh, what was her Mom thinking? She might just as well packed her some Slim Jims, a stick of margarine, six pieces of bacon, candy corn, a Budweiser and a pack of Camel cigarettes.
If you don't believe me read the article: Read for yourself
So, there really is a governmental department that has the authority to inspect your kid's lunchbox and determine whether you are a fit enough parent to prepare your child an acceptable lunch. If you fail, the cafeteria Nazis will just tell your child he or she must eat the government's gruel.
We want our government to solve our problems. Sure, there is a need for government agencies but, whenever we give them authority over parts of our lives, that authority is ALWAYS going to move in the direction of assuming more and more say. There are always people out there (and many are government employees) that are absolutely sure that they know so much more of what is in your best interest. They can't stand people making choices or behaving in such a way that they disagree with. So, they overstep what is probably already too much authority.
I doubt the USDA intends for their henchmen to do things like what occurred in North Carolina. But that is what happens. It is the nature of power and authority.
It's like that mouse in the story. You give him a cookie and he is going to ransack your lunchbox to see if there are any more Oreos in there.
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