Cooking "Creme" ... ??

I hopped over to food.com today to reference a couple recipes I'd saved and an ad for something called "Cooking Creme" by Philadelphia (the cream cheese maker) popped up. The nutritionist in me is intrigued by anything that's name clearly shouts "not a real food", so I watched the 20 second commercial. Then I looked up the ingredients.

Ingredients ("Santa Fe" flavor): Pasteurized nonfat milk and milkfat, water, whey, whey protein concentrate, salt, red bell peppers, cheese culture, onions, maltodextrin, garlic, tapioca starch, spice, yeast extract, sugar, lactic acid, corn flour, carob bean gum, guar gum, natural flavor, corn syrup, citric acid, chipotle chili pepper, lime juice, sorbic acid (as a preservative), jalapeno peppers, vitamin A palmiate.

Doesn't that sound yummy? *gag*

Pasteurized non-fat milk and milkfat, completely devoid of nutritional value after their separation and processing. "Natural flavors" which is typically code for msg or other neuro-toxic chemicals, hydrolyzed starch (maltodextrin) and corn flour (most likely from GM corn, increasing the likelihood of allergic reaction). Don't forget the vitamin A palmiate which is believed to accelerate cancer in lab rats and the 480 mg of sodium per 1/4 cup serving!

Tell me again why people pay money for this stuff?

You can make a simple sauce with endless seasoning variations from chicken stock, milk, a little flour and whatever spices you've stocked your cabinet with. Or use natural, herbed goat cheese for heaven's sake! It will give you the same creamy result and be good for you besides.

Review of today's lesson: There are always natural alternatives to the imitation foods you see on tv, and they are always worth finding!