spherical profundity

I am having a Procedure done tomorrow and need to be on an all liquid diet today with a few other parameters, including that I shouldn’t drink anything artificially dyed red or purple.

I am also limited by the fact that I’m a vegetarian and can’t drink something like bone broth, which obvs has more calories than veg broth. So my partner did some research and found out that Ensure makes a clear formulation that many in the medical domain recommend for my procedure. We tracked down some at the local CVS last night and brought some home.

So I wake up, ravenous, and think “well at least I have something substantial I can drink.” I crack a bottle open and take a sip and it’s surprisingly palatable. And then the color hits me.

The damn drink is red.

I explicitly cannot drink red liquids.

My partner feels really bad but I’m mostly just stumped that it didn’t occur to either of us that the image on the bottle was of a pinkish drink… and it’s “fruit punch” flavored. So now I’m disappointed/hungry AND I feel like a dumbass.