The GGA Project -- Day #286 "Food Science"

I don't know how they do it.  Really, I don't know what's going on in food laboratories these days, and I suspect it is pretty creepy.  Much of the time I try to avoid eating foods that come in boxes or seem heavily preserved, but in the interest of trying to save money on lunches I've ventured lately into areas heretofore unknown.  And yes, that means this is a dullsville post again.


Today's New Activity: Sampling Simply [Creepily] Asia


That is the name of the boxed, off-the-shelf heat-n-eat meal I had for lunch today.


I really have to stop with this food-as-new-thing business.  I admit that, while I've gleaned a lot from all my new experiences, and while my project has indeed instilled in me an instinctive desire to avoid always reaching for the familiar, my attentions have strayed of late.  I have three more months left of new things, and I think that when day 365 arrives in December I will be more-than-ready to focus on all the other stuff that has come up since.  Still, continuing with it has and remains a test of my commitment, and lately I gravitate toward such things.  So a humdrum month of new food sampling?  I'll take it if it means I will finish this year having accomplished a goal.  :)


Back to food science:


The box showed a picture of a pretty decent looking Kung Pao noodle dish, which it promised would be ready in just a couple of minutes.  When you open the outside box, there is a plastic bowl inside with a vacuum-sealed package of noodles, and two metallic envelopes, one containing peanuts and the other freeze-dried diced peppers and something else that was rendered unrecognizable.  Underneath all that was a miniature fork that I suppose you were meant to mix it all with.  After combining all the elements you are supposed to add two tablespoons of water, heat for 2 minutes, and voila!  Honestly, I find it a little weird: how can you just have soft noodles out of a box off the shelf.  What the hell have they done to this "food" to preserve it in this way.


Even so, it tasted pretty good, so I'm not going to stay up here on this high horse pretending I only eat things that are good for me.  I'm just honestly appalled sometimes at my own ability to ignore all the shoulds and shouldn'ts and be happy with the creepy, engineered convenient.