I Love Hormel

I suppose this means I am cheating on Amy and Annie and ... someone else?  Crap.

I always loved Hormel's chili.  See, I never knew good chili for the longest time.  My mom's chili was a tomato-overload, full of ketchup, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, canned halved tomatoes, and probably some actual raw tomato thrown in for good measure (I don't really like tomatoes).  She also used kidney beans.  So it was all kind of sour an tomato-like, with undercooked and giant red beans in it. 

It was not delicious.

I tried chili at school and found it pretty good.  I could not figure out why school chili (school food!  supposed to be bad!  usually wasn't!) was good, but home chili (home!  home-made!  good for you!) was not. 

I tried Hormel after years of chili-trauma at home, and was surprised that it was like school chili.  I liked school chili.  So I basically just used Hormel as my go-to for chili from then on.  Frito chili pie, yum yum yum.

Now that I and gluten have parted ways, I have been glad to find that my beloved Hormel chili and I can continue to be friends.  This is super.  But what's even more super is that most Hormel products seem to be clearly labeled as being gluten-free if they are. 

One thing I was aching for on coming back to America was deli meat.  This included the sliced, squishy kind, but also the "hey it's real meat" kind, like chicken breast strips or whatever.  And when it comes to Hormel, it's all labeled.  If it's gluten-free, the package says so.  Pepperoni by other guys?  I have to guess.  Pepperoni by Hormel?  Right on the label.  Go ahead and eat it.

It's a nice, meaty slice of peace of mind.  With Oscar Mayer I realize they will tell you if there are wheat-derived ingredients in the meat, but I really hate scanning the labels.  I hate going, "Well, I THINK it's okay."  I haven't memorized the big list of gluteny ingredients, so I always find myself popping on the internet in the supermarket (and getting glared at by customers) to see what might or might not contain gluten.  But with Hormel, you know where you stand.  And that's excellent.

KUDOS TO YOU, HORMEL!  BIG THUMBS-UP!  HAPPY GRIN!  GOLD STAR STICKER ON YOUR HOMEWORK!