Let me start this post by saying that I’ve pretty much fallen off the wagon for snacks for my kids. I try. I really do. But with a 1 year old and a 3 year old I don’t always have time to assemble Pinterest-worthy snack spreads.

Recently I wrapped a banana in a tortilla with nutella as glue and called it Special Banana Sushi.

My kids ate it of course, but it wasn’t winning me any snack-maker of the year awards.

But, here we are for a new GUESS THE FOOD, and this one caught my eye in the store because it’s marketed as SNACKS. I said to myself, “I NEED SNACKS.” But, guys… this isn’t a snack. It’s a dessert, at best.

These foods actually hold a special place in my heart because I ate them a lot as a kid, and I have no problem with my kids eating them very occasionally, but please smack me if you ever find me regularly serving these as snacks. Not a thing.

Nutritional Facts

I think the most important thing to focus on when talking about the nutritional info here is the classic packaging bait and switch. Nobody eats ONE of these things. They are packaged in two. Everybody eats both of them. Just go ahead and double the nutritional stuff.

I must admit, I thought there would be more than 20 grams of sugar in these (10 per thingy). Still a lot though for a “snack”. I’m not a huge fat-hawk but if you did eat both of these (you will) it’s 20% of your daily fat intake as a snack. Seems steep!

Other than that, there’s not much to these things. A little salt and not enough protein or fiber to really be interesting there.

Ingredients

Here’s a rundown of the ingredients you’ll find in these things. It’s worth noting how amazing food chemistry is here. There’s like five different thickeners in these ingredients and I’m each plays a role, but it’s just crazy that this recipe is that precise.

Also, I’ll note that this food is actually THREE parts, but they’ve combined all the ingredients in one long list rather than break them out so I’m not sure what ingredients go with which part.

Enriched Flour Bleached – This is flour and by “enriched” they mean they strip out everything and add back in a few nutrients.

Water – Good old H2o!

Palm or Soybean Oil – Oil used in many foods.

High Fructose Corn Syrup – The sweet stuff! The really sweet stuff!

Sugar – I think this is used in a different layer than the HFCS. Not sure though!

Maltodextrin – A common thickener in foods.

Dextrose – Another kind of sugar and thickener.

Modified Corn Starch – I’m not 100% on what the modification his here, but corn starch is always a thickener or stabilizer.

Corn Starch – The non-modified stuff.

Hydrogenated Palm Oil – Palm oil that is stable at room temperature as a solid.

Salt – Standard.

Dry Yeast – Are we making dough?!

Modified Whey – This is a starch that can do many things to food but mainly affects texture and allows for more water retention.

Strawberry Puree – Strawberries in mush form!

Corn Syrup Solids – Guys, this is high fructose corn syrup but in powder form.

Baking Powder – Standard baking powder.

Wheat Starch – The separated starch from flour. Sometimes common in gluten-free foods, which this is not.

Citric Acid – Common food additive that helps with preservation.

Whey Protein Concentrate – We making muscle shakes here?!

Mono and Diglycerides – Emulsifiers to keep stuff from separating.

Sodium Citrate – Regulates acid in foods (maybe from the strawberries?) and also helps as an emulsifier.

Whey Preservatives – A preservative!

Natural and Artificial Flavors – The generic flavors ingredient.

Xanthan Gum – Powerful thickener.

Polysorbate 60 – An emulsifier that, according to search, is also popular in makeup.

Guar Gum – More thickeners!

Locust Bean Gum – MORE Thickeners!

Colorings – Various fake colors.

Sucralose – And just the TINIEST pinch of artificial sweetener for good measure.

Guess the Food?!

So that’s it! Now it’s up to you. Can you GUESS THE FOOD? Leave a comment!