Store-bought versus Home-made: Chocolate Cake

Kyle's 31st birthday is today. Usually, for birthdays, I enjoy making a home-made cake. This year, because we are in the middle of moving and I don't have my kitchen supplies with me, I decided to buy one from the store instead. I bought a chocolate cake with mousse filling from Costco and it only cost $17.99 (not bad, considering it was for an office party and served 48). Unfortunately, the list of ingredients is almost too long to include. To make my point, though, here it is: sugar, enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), partially hydrogentated palm and/or palm kernal and/or coconut and/or soybean and/or cottonseed oils, palm oil, canola oil, TBHQ, milk, eggs whites, water, cocoa (with alkali), cocoa, pasteurized milk and cream, contains 2% or less of the following, dextrose, sucrose, emulsifiers (propylene glycol mono&di esters of fatty acids, mono&diglycerides, soy lecithin, sodium steradyl, lactylate, sorbitan monostearate, polyglycerol esters, of fatty acids, polysorbate 60), corn sugar, modified corn starch, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium alluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, sodium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate), salt, caramel, color, nonfat milk, xantham gum, corn starch, rice flour gum, cellulose gum, confectioners sugar glaze, carragenan, high fructose corn syryp, carbohydrate gum, natural and artificial flavors, sodium citrate, disodium phosphate, beta carotene (color), modified food starch, cheese culture carob bean gum, whey, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, citric acid, dipotassium phosphate, corn syrup, locust bean gum, sodium tripsterrate, sodium sorbate, artifical colors (FD&C Red #3, Red #40, Blue #1 & #2, Yellow #5 & #6, Blue #2.


Now let's compare that list with that of a home-made chocolate cake with mousse filling: cocoa powder, salt, flour, baking soda, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder, eggs, water, bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream. 


Yes. That's right. And not only can I pronounce the name of every ingredient in the second list, I know what each ingredient is. And we wonder why we have health problems in our culture. Whenever and wherever possible, let's feed our children (and ourselves) REAL food made from REAL ingredients. (even if that food is a chocolate birthday cake!). Point made, I hope.