Mexican Coke?

So while in San Antonio, we were staying in this nice suite courtesy of the Marriott Corporation, which had a nicely equipped kitchen. To save a little money and to save our waistlines from 21 straight meals restaurants, we managed to eat most meals in, which required several trips to the local market for supplies. On one of these trips, I happened to stumble on Coke which looked a little different than usual - I picked up one of the bottles and noticed it was bottled in Mexico. Hmmmm, interesting, but not being much of a soda drinker, I didn't pursue it farther. Until dinner that night. For some reason it came up in conversation, and BIL Peter said that the Mexican Coke was made differently - in this case, it was made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Well, knock me down with a feather, how cool is that? I mean, anyone who reads this blog knows that we are at least making an attempt to eliminate that crap, along with hydrogenated oils from our diet. One of the major reasons we stay away from soda in the first place. Not that PURE SUGAR is like, good for you, but you get my point.

So we couldn't resist. As soon as we could, we hit the market, grabbed a six pack and decided to do a taste test. The verdict? Well, not having much to compare it to (we opted against getting a regular Coke and doing a blind test!), we couldn't tell a huge difference, but there was definitely a slightly "cleaner" taste? What do I mean by "cleaner"? Well, the only thing I can compare it to is a hoppy beer. If you drink beer, you know what full-bodied, well-hopped beer is. You drink it, you swallow it, and the taste lingers in your mouth. With Mexican Coke, after you swallow, the taste is pretty much gone - none of that heavy, sometimes cloying after-taste you get with a regular soft drink.

Calories? I have no idea. Didn't read the label that far. Didn't much care - after all, even with a chemical-free version, I'm still not going to drink all that much soda anyway, even if I DID live somewhere where it would be readily accessible. I just wish other manufacturers would take the hint and start producing more chemical-free and healthier alternatives to the usual crap most everyone eats. Seems like there's been some change for the better lately - after all, there's much more organic and natural foods available, but it still isn't enough, and definitely not on a scale to meet the demands of a nation. I just wonder when the public is going to wake up and say "gee, that's a toxic chemical, maybe I shouldn't INGEST IT." Maybe if they did that, and put these guys out of business, they'd have no choice but to produce healthier products, rather than substituting cheaper alternatives, which boosts their profit, but ironically, isn't passed onto the consumer. No, see, these companies actually charge more to poison you.

And with that happy thought, I'm off to the farmer's market to stock up. Came home to an empty fridge and am dying for some fresh, locally raised, healthy foods!