Awareness Wednesdays. Gelatin.

Hello! I am so excited about my first Awareness Wednesday! This is where I will be highlighting foods that are NOT vegetarian friendly, that most people might not know about.  For the very first awarenss wednesday I want to discuss a sneaky ingredient that is in a lot of food, but it isnt always obvious: Gelatin. From Wikipedia, "Gelatin (or gelatine) is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen mainly inside pig skin (hide) and cattle bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin

Gross.

As you can see, gelatin is almost entirely composed of animal parts.  Gelatin can be in the form of sheets or powder that when added to water and cooled, forms a solid gel.   As you can see here, gelatin is very clearly not vegetarian friendly, but the kicker is that gelatin is added to many foods, some you might know about, and some you may be surprised to hear about, making THOSE foods not vegetarian friendly as well.  There are SO many foods that have gelatin snuck into them, that even I learn about more and more each day.  Over the course of Awareness Wednesdays I will be showing you guys all different foods that have gelatin in them, and hopefully some meat-free alternatives.

Bye from the veggie side!