The Vegan Diaries, Day 25: Corn in the U.S.A.

So my roommate has been raving like a lunatic these past few days about corn. He's been reading "Omnivore's Dilemma" and tells me that corn is present in almost everything we eat. I'll take his word for it, considering I still haven't made it past the introduction of the book (it's been a long wine drinking party).

Anyway, my roommate is reading the labels on everything now and freaking out every time he finds corn: MSG, ascorbic acid, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, and on and on and on. But personally, I don't see what the big deal is.

I'm a vegan (at least I am for the next 5 days). I make my own meals using whole foods. I know exactly what's being put into my food, and it's not corn. Not to say that there's anything wrong with corn... I love corn to death. But as far as hidden ingredients, there aren't any.

For example, tonight I wanted to make a pizza. I went to the store to buy some pizza dough, but they were all sold out. So, I went home and made my own dough using just yeast, flour, water, salt, and olive oil. That's it. Since my house is so cold, I had to be creative and put the dough above a heating vent on the floor so it would rise, and it worked like a charm. I then threw fresh vegetables on top of it, threw it in the oven, and had an all-natural corn-free pizza.

So, if you don't want to turn into a label-reading neurotic, just make everything using whole foods. It may take you more time to prepare food, but at least you know what you're consuming.