Italian dressing or sugar water?

Credit for this find goes to Rainier CrossFit.

Ingredient list for Kraft fat-free "Italian dressing":
water, vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, contains less than 2% of parmesan cheese (part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), garlic, onion juice, whey, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate and calcium disodium edta as preservatives, yeast extract, spice, red bell peppers, lemon juice concentrate, dried garlic, buttermilk, caramel color, sodium phosphate, enzymes, oleoresin paprika

I read these ingredient labels all the time, before I eat almost anything pre-packaged, but I rarely get past the third ingredient.  As soon as I see high fructo... I stop reading and move on, so it is crazy to actually pay attention to everything else they cram in there.  Without a doubt, Michael Pollan would refer to this as an "edible food-like substance."  I would only voluntarily put this in my mouth if I were starving (literally, not just really hungry).

On that note, in my line of work we are often provided a meal by a sponsoring activity in lieu of paying us a per diem allowance.  I rarely eat what they offer, because it is almost always done as cheaply as possible and features ice berg lettuce salad with dressing like this.

It doesn't have to be this way, people!  Here is an example of real salad dressing a la Son of Grok.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tblspns balsamic vinaigrette
- 2 teaspns dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic glove finely chopped or minced
- 1 tbslpn shallots finely chopped or minced
- 1 tblspn red onion finely chopped or minced

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl
2. mix thoroughly
3. Store in sealed container in the refrigerator
4. Shake well before use and Enjoy!

6 ingredients.  Kraft has... ummmm... too many.