Last night Tamara and Karl brought over the wave of the future: Haagen-Dazs Reserve Pomegranate Chip.

I’m always a fan of the fruit + chocolate combo, which is too rare, and this stuff tasted pretty damn good, if not completely pomegranate-y. But I couldn’t stop mulling over the irony that this particular combination surely would never have come into existence were it not for Americans’ preoccupation with miracle-working foodstuffs. It’s practically Health Food Ice Cream: two fantastic antioxidants bundled into a single pint!

To H-D’s credit, the marketing department refrained from touting these wondrous life-extending qualities on the package itself (there’s not much room on the label, after you’ve put on the required part about saturated fat). But the web site can’t help mentioning it, along with the vitamin C and folic acid that pomegranates supposedly have.

Oh, and I’m not making this up: There’s a recommended wine pairing! “A late harvest Zinfandel is the way to go.”

Handy, cuz I hear red wine is pretty good for you too.

[UPDATE: Ah. Just discovered the antioxidants are mentioned on the package–inside the lid. So when you’re standing around in the kitchen, eating straight out of the container, wondering if you should stop sooner rather than later, then your eye will just happen fall on this encouraging bit of nutritional news.]