"There's no sugar in marshmallows..."

I am continuously surprised by the ignorance of our modern culture when it comes to food. I don't mean that in a condemning way, just as a fact. And I can't be too hard, because I remind myself that until recently I was pretty ignorant. Here's the most recent story generating these comments:

Friday morning when I took Jayden to her classroom, we were running a little late and the kids were already sitting down to their breakfast ("morning snack"). It reminded me to tell her teacher about something in Jayden's lunchbox that day (I don't remember what), so the context of the conversation was food and Jayden's menu. Lowering her voice, Jayden's teacher tells me (somewhat hesitating): "yesterday for our dessert after lunch, we had Rice Krispie treats, and I let Jayden have one, because the only ingredients are Rice Krispies and marshmallows, there's no sugar in them...." At this point I'm diligently trying to control my reaction. I could tell by her tone she was a little concerned about my reaction (David says I'm intimidating, and I hate that -- it's not intentional), so I wanted to try to be careful to convey what I intended and not to over-react. Now, a year ago I would have been upset. There is a reason why Rice Krispie treats are not circled on her menu! (I circle the things she can have to eat at school and send substitutes for the things I don't want her to have.) But now I'm better about not getting upset; I realize I can't do anything about the past -- we can't go back and not give her the R.K. treat yesterday -- but we can learn from this to keep it from happening next time. So, the reaction was not so much anger but amazement -- no sugar in marshmallows?!? I just kind of closed my eyes and took it in as she was telling me. She was watching my reaction. I just replied (trying very hard to keep my voice positive and calm): "marshmallows are sugar. Marshmallows are basically nothing but sugar." To which the teacher was kind of surprised and embarrassed.

Now, I think very highly of this teacher, so none of these next comments are directed towards her individually. She is educated and takes very good care of my daughter and her other students. I use this story as an example of what's become normal in our culture. Come on, Rice Krispie treats not having any sugar? You would think knowing that they're a treat and a dessert would directly imply that they contain sugar. I've read articles lately about how ubiquitous sugar is in our food and how much sugar Americans consume. This story reinforces the idea about our ignorance not only about our food in general, but about sugar in particular. No sugar in marshmallows? I couldn't believe it!