Yesterday, while fooling around on Face Book, I saw the following ad:
When you "Like" Ore-Ida, they donate $1 (up to $200K) to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Show kids (and your fave potatoes) some love..
What a nice gesture. A potato company will donate money to children every time you click on their page. And what a catchy slogan: "show kids some love." The next time you are in the frozen food section of your local market, you will be tossing a big bag of Ore-Ida potatoes into your cart. Why wouldn't you? This is a compnay that cares about kids.
What a smart advertising campaign!
When I was a little girl, my mom gave us Ore-Ida potatoes. The company has been around forever, bringing delicious french fries right to our table for supper-any time we wanted. We couldn't afford to eat at McDonald's or Burger King very often so mom did the next best thing. She made hamburgers at home with Ore-Ida fries on the side.
Please don't misunderstand me. I think what Ore-Ida is doing is wonderful. The Boys & Girls Club of America is a worthy organization and they definitely need donations. They have been helping the young people of our nation for as long as I can remember. But the whole "show kids some love" thing really got to me. I started thinking about the nutritional value of frozen french fried potatoes. How good are they? Are we showing our kids some love by serving them? Hmm....
If you know me, then you already know where I am going with this. And you might be offended. How can I possibly knock such a worthy cause or a harmless bag frozen french fried potatoes? Don't I have anything better to do? NO! This is what I do! FOR A LIVING!
I know you're busy. So am I. So when we or the kids want fries..... a product like this seems like the perfect solution. They're simple. They're easy. They're convenient.
Total prep-time: about 15-17 minutes.
What could possibly be wrong with this?
Nothing....unless you are really concerned about what you are putting into your body or feeding your loved ones.
There are potatoes in here. I am sure because I checked. There are also a few other ingredients I am not so sure about:
VEGETABLE OIL (PALM, SUNFLOWER, COTTONSEED, SOYBEAN, AND/OR CANOLA), SALT, DEXTROSE, DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE, ANNATTO (VEGETABLE COLOR).
DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE?!
What the heck is that? I know what it is and I challenge you to look it up and see for yourself.
Personally, I wouldn't cook these for my worst enemy, let alone feed 'em to my kids! I don't care how much they beg, cry and plead. I don't care how easy they are to prepare because I know it doesn't take that much time or effort to make my own french fries. From REAL potatoes!
Total prep-time: about 25 minutes.
Ingredients: POTATOES, OLIVE OIL, SALT.
Are we really so pressed for time that we cannot take an extra five or ten minutes to make real french fries? REALLY?
We are so accustomed to 'faux fast foods' that we don't even know what a real potato tastes like! Make some real french fries. From real potatoes! You will be happy, your kids will be happy, and you will be showing them some love by serving them REAL food!
If you wish to contribute to a worthy organization like The Boys & Girls Club of America-- by all means, DO IT! Show some love. Click the Ore-Ida icon on your Face Book page and they will donate a dollar to the cause.
Total prep-time: one second.
Just remember, when you do this, you are also showing your support for their product.
OR......
You can visit Boys & Girls Club of America Website and make a donation with your credit card.
Total prep-time: about 2 minutes.
OR.....
You can do it the old-fashioned way. Whip out your checkbook and write out a check to The Boys & Girls Club of America.
Total prep-time: (including addressing and stamping the envelope): about five minutes
Then, as your real french fried potatoes are baking in the oven, grab your envelope and take a nice walk out to your mail box and drop it in!
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And this is my Daily Cyn............
DISODIUM DIHYDROGEN PYROPHOSPHATE in the small quantity consumed in Ore-Ida products probably wouldn't harm a healthy adult. It does contain small amounts of some unhealthy substances such as chlorine, mercury, cadmium and lead and nobody needs these things in their body. I have rarely used packaged potato products because I've found them to be much less tasty than when I make them at home. I love my French fries crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside and I season them entirely different. I do deep fry and oven fry depending on my mood and I've never found a packaged product to equal them.
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