You know there's a problem when

Eggs. At least according to some establishments, eggs are more than just eggs.

Don't ask me why I was looking at Taco Bell's on-line "ingredient statement" - it was a temporary lapse in judgment... I tried to justify it to myself with the thought - "well, what if..." - as in, "what if we were driving a long distance, and Taco Bell were the only option at the time...?" But really, I think it was more driven by the "old me" pondering how nice it might be to have another 'fast food' option in our current gluten-free, casein/milk-free, soy-free, mostly egg-free, but sometimes fast-paced life...

So, I perused the Taco Bell "ingredient statement"- in awe at the complexity of what should've been rather simple food ingredients, amazed by the commonplace appearance of terms like "anti-caking agent," and perplexed by the sheer length of the list of ingredients for some menu items and then I noticed the entry for "egg."

Seriously - "egg" is the actual 'name' for this menu item for which I think 17 ingredients are listed (it's a bit hard to discern what is an "ingredient" and what is a description of an ingredient or what is a sub-ingredient)....

Wow! SEVENTEEN ingredients comprise the Taco Bell version of "egg." And no, it's not simply a listing of the wholesome, natural ingredients in the feed that some humanely treated hens were given prior to laying beautiful, fresh, free-range, organic eggs.

No, this is a list in which "Butter Flavor" has it's own parenthetical listing of eleven (I think I've got it right, 11) ingredients - including an "anti-foaming agent" and "natural and artificial flavors." Don't forget the undefined "BHT" which is apparently added to help "protect flavor" - really?...what IS BHT anyway? Do they abbreviate it because the chemical name is too scary for an average patron to read in a food ingredient list? (BTW, "BHT" is presumably butylated hydroxytoluene - which I'm pretty sure I don't want to purposefully ingest, but . . .)

Over the past couple of years, I have become more knowledgable about prepared and processed foods as a result of my family's need to eliminate certain foods from our diets (e.g., gluten, casein/milk, soy, and egg; and for a while at least, corn).

I have realized how artificial our food supply actually is in the U.S. and I have changed my way of thinking about what is a "healthy choice" in foods. I have realized that 'convenience' is truly a state of mind - and in the U.S., current beliefs on what is convenient in relation to food results in our consupmption of stuff that is called "food" but is not exactly what ought to be considered food.

I hope you'll tune in and join me as I continue to evolve as a scientist-turned-patent-agent-turned-freelance-editor-turned-home-birthing-homeschooling-mother who is discovering the joys of living gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, mostly-egg-free. It's been quite a journey thus far and certainly more adventures await us as we work toward becoming more self-sustainable, delve into urban farming, and work to build a sense of community in our town of Altadena, CA.