Day 271: Pop Tarts

Pop tarts. I really don't need to say anything else.... but I'm going to anyway. I have to really. The other day I was at our local ICA grocery store, picking up a few things that we needed and just generally minding my own business, when all of a sudden I spotted Kellogg's pop tarts out of the corner of my eye. It felt so normal I just walked on by. I was like, "Oh... yeah... there's the pop tarts." Then it hit me and I froze. Did I really just see Kellogg's pop tarts in my local ICA grocery store? Here in Sweden? I swiveled around and started calmly, yet somewhat frantically looking for the box that said blueberry. Much to my disappointment there were only two flavors on the shelf. Apple cinnamon and brown sugar cinnamon. Both frosted. Well, beggars can't be choosers! So I grabbed a box of the brown sugar cinnamon ones and off I went on my way.

This isn't the first time I have seen pop tarts in Sweden but they are an off-brand name that I've never heard of and I just can't buy pop tarts made by a company called ShopRite. They might as well be generic. In addition they have a long list of ingredients of which many are not even food names. It goes against my food religion to start with. (Notice however that I actually picked up the box and read the ingredients). In all fairness, I normally would not even buy Kellogg's brand pop tarts. I have become a full fledged food snob (though obviously not snooty enough to pass up these) and I normally buy the all natural brand that Whole Foods sells. Without frosting. Somehow I have convinced myself that they are healthy without frosting. Whatever works, right?

I usually buy a box or two of these all natural pop tarts when we are visiting Texas and stuff them into our suitcases, along with as many jars and cans of salsa, enchilada sauce and green chilis as we can get away with. But that is beside the point. We are talking pop tarts here. And I guess it is worth mentioning a little side story here. Several years ago I went on a road trip with my husband and one of his mountain biking friends. They were planning to do a race out in west Texas and I got to tag along.

What a great adventure that was. We all three shared a cabin tucked into the side of a desert hillside in this little town called Terlingua, Texas. It was just outside of Lajitas and a hop skip and a jump from Big Bend National Park and Mexico. It was actually really cool. We brought our own food but made communal dinners together and ate other meals together as well.. One morning I pulled out a box of my all natural pop tarts and our friend laughed and said, "I have pop tarts too." But his were like the kind in the photo below. Not all natural. We sort of bantered back and forth about that fact for a while and he pointed out that the Kellogg's brand actually had less sugar and less fat. Sadly it was true but ours were made with all natural ingredients, including unrefined flour and sugar and every ingredient was something that I recognized. In other words, much better. So take that mountain bike friend!

And then here I sit in Sweden eating my words and some Kellogg's pop tarts. Not even a flavor I would normally ever buy but I am willing to admit that they were tasty and they made me happy today. I may even manage to mow through the whole box of them. And there is a slight chance that I would buy them again. But don't tell anyone. Then when I am done my next project can be to make homemade pumpkin pop tarts. Who's coming over?

8 Vitamins & Minerals.

Just in case you are wondering, all of the pieces that broke off... are also in my belly.