Dare to Dream

No surprise, I went to Starbucks yesterday. I was so excited to learn that they now have their mocha base in sugar free. Gimmee a grande I tell them. And they have their holiday cups now-even better!

I was not a huge fan. It tasted...well...artificial. A couple of hours later I had a killer headache and felt awful. Granted, I don't feel good on most days and have been sporting a nasty cold for 2 weeks, but this was different. Wait; I DO know this feeling...I get it when I consume certain things like MSG or Carrageenan (a thickening agent that can create an MSG reaction). Oh crap, what have I done? Once consumed there is nothing to make it better except time. I was doomed. And I had only had 1/2 of my drink. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I drank the whole thing.

So, I spent the day feeling like I wanted to die (figuratively). Hitting my head (literally) for doing something so stupid. I know better. I should know better than to try something new without reading the ingredients. But no, I was taken in by the lure of what I thought would be sugar free goodness. Don't be fooled! By evening, the effects of the carrageenan had almost worn off and I was starting to feel more like myself.

This morning, I had to prove to myself that this new mocha base indeed had either MSG (unlikely) or carrageenan (likely). When I went there and asked to see the ingredients, I was looked at as if I had grown 2 heads. Is it that difficult to accomodate a simple request? Begrudgingly they brought me the box and sure enough, at the bottom of the ingredient list there it was in neon letters: CARRAGEENAN. I was satisfied I was not losing my mind and went on my merry way.

Ok, so I ordered a different drink, but this time I got something with ingredients I could pronounce. And I am happy to announce I feel fine-at least as fine as I can feel while being sick.