My wife’s last box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
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I am English and my wife is American, and one of the things it took me some time to get used to was the fact that she would eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in a box. Not sitting in a box – but the powdered stuff that comes in a box. I love cooking and usually make all my own meals – the very thought of buying something in a box and adding milk is enough to turn my stomach, and this is the sort of behavior than can get a man shot in some parts of Italy and France. Just the smell of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is enough to have me leave the kitchen in disgust and reading the ingredients leaves me wondering why on earth anyone would choose to put that stuff in their body. In fact it very nearly put me off asking her to marry me. But she has other qualities ☺
Anyway, I have slowly introduced her to real home made macaroni and cheese. My own preferred recipe with actual butter and cheese in. Slowly, as she adjusted to the idea of having actual food in her macaroni and cheese instead of some chemical concoction, she has come to see the error of her ways. Or rather - realized that she would have been better off eating the box rather than the disgusting muck inside the box. And more importantly realized just how bad she feels after eating the stuff in the box.
My wife has now officially eaten her last Kraft Mac ‘n’ cheese, today for lunch. When I asked her how she was feeling afterwards she said, “I feel like I have just eaten a grease burger. Like my blood pressure is off the scale and I am about to have a heart attack. My left arm is tingling.”
She looked sick and I nearly offered her a glass of salt water..
According to the manufacturers, the carton is made from 100% recycled paperboard and I always wondered if they meant the contents. At least they have stopped putting “cheese flavored food product,” on the side of the box, but the list of ingredients is still pretty alarming – and nothing natural ever looked that color. The best the FDA can say about sodium tripolyphosphate (one of the “ingredients”) is that it is “generally recognized as safe.” Good grief ! I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to be eating something they use to make detergent out of.
Anyway – I am today celebrating my wife’s last box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Never again will that vile product darken our kitchen pantry.
Bon Apetit !
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Couldn't bring myself to do it lol
*Sigh* Mark you have to get with program about making money online you know ...
After that review would you still buy it Lissie?
Highly entertaining Hub Mark.
Hmm, all I can say is, I am in good health despite being such a vile person for indulging in Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and, I am probably older than you. But granted, there is nothing compared to home-made. I don't know what, if any, convenience foods were available to you in England, but my guess is, you didn't indulge. To each his own :)
Thanks for sharing.
Thank goodness she gave it up that stuff can be deadly. I prefer homemade myself extra cheesy please!!
It was the staple of the poor and many single moms back when you could still buy 4 boxes for a dollar. Have to admit it, fish sticks, and Kool aid were the favorite meal of my children when they were young. Thank God we all grew up and developed better taste and figured out what real good nutrition is.
I'm so glad you converted her! The only time I even consider the boxed kind these days is if I had too much to drink and my decision making skills are impaired. The real stuff is so much better. In fact, I just made it on Sunday night.
A Welsh grandmother and an English grandfather raised me. Therefore, our Mac & Cheese was always homemade. A homemade dish, which is enjoyed in our family today.
Sorry Lissie :)
@ Trish - You are not vile - it is the evil mac n cheese lol
Home made - only way to go :)
I am trying to weed all the processed food out of my diet. My inner child isn't happy though. I've never considered cheese a health food though, even when you use the old family recipe. I'm not sure homemade mac and cheese is all that healthy either.
Not sure I would consider cheese a "health" food either. Not a big fan of health foods - just food that taste good :) lol
I only ate that stuff once... and yeah Kraft Mac N Cheese makes me sick. I love my homemade mac and cheese! I have been known to eat Velveeta's Shells and Cheese on occasion though. :) Glad your wife gave up the box o'chemicals!
Velveeta shells and cheese? That sounds at least as bad lol
Not at all. I can pronounce all of the ingredients anyway :) Its velveeta cheese sauce from milk and cheese cultures, not a powder full of chemicals.
LOL - well that is a start. Never tried that one.
I love Kraft mac-n-cheese for what it is. A quick convenient snack. Mix in some fried Spam, and it's heart attack heaven (yeah, I already know how you feel about Spam)! I would NEVER confuse it for real food, though. If I really want Macaroni and cheese, I make it the old fashioned way.
LOL - SPAM is made out of people..........
Mmmm. Kraft mac-n-cheese and Soylent Spam. All you need with that, is a good box of wine!
Actually it is good point you raise about: Why Americans prefer ready to eat meals so much. I read somewhere that the dietary habits of Americans has to do with the life style of Americans i.e., Americans on an Average work more hours and take lesser time off hence they become so tired and cooking home made meals becomes the casualty. I guess things are slowly changing even in America with a new culture of healthy organic home made meals instead of packaged foods.
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in the familiar blue box is as American as apple pie and hot dogs. Actually, it goes great with hot dogs or cut up hot dogs in it!
There's just something about those thin tubes of macaroni that make it it unique and impossible to duplicate.
As a young girl I learned to add ketchup to my macs & cheese from a Canadian neighbor. I've never gone back to plain!
But of course I must agree with you that nothing takes the place of homemade. It's like trying to compare a hamburger with filet mignon!
@ BT - Oh yeah - the best stuff is made out of people :)
CW - Yes, I agree. They have been pressured into a 60 hour work week with no time to cook for themselves. I opted out of that some time ago - and my wife has too.
@ MM - how about "as American as botox and anti-depressants"? lol
I love a good hamburger -
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-the-Best-Home-
Hey. They don't call us Prozac nation fer nuthin' ya know!
Hamburgers -- yum! Macs & Cheese makes a delightful side dish with those, as well. But especially well with fish sticks and hotdogs.
LOL - Fish sticks - what are they? "Fish flavored food products" ?
MM--My beloved puts ketchup on Kraft Mac & Cheese too. It's a revolting thing, and I'm thinking there HAVE to be 12-step programs for that. Not like he'd go. But I would! lol!
Mark--I made homemade Mac & Cheese just last night and we are eating it again tonight. After eating it, Bill no longer is as enthralled with Kraft--he adores the homemade stuff--and yet, if I take him grocery shopping with me he will still buy those blue boxes. He just did it Saturday, "Just in case." In case of WHAT? Wouldn't a GUN be quicker and less painful!? Bravo on this, I'm with you. :)
Well, I've read that ground up red bugs are used in strawberry and raspberry yogurt to give it that pretty red. YUCK. BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID. LOL
@ prg - lol - takes training - took me 8 years. :)
Although - I do like ketchup with the good stuff :(
@ maris - Cochineal - a beetle - red food dye. :) Not harmful, but a very few are allergic.
Boxed macaroni and cheese had a place in college. Along with Ramen Noodles, about the only thing one could afford. But now that I'm out of that stage, I'm with you on the powdered cheese thing. Yuck!! I love homemade mac and cheese, but it's really fattening, too, so I don't make it all that often. Definitely a side dish for fish sticks, though. (MM--great minds think alike)
I still don't know what a fish stick is - are there any fishes in it ? :)
I don't really know because I don't eat them--my kids are the ones who like them. But I buy the ones that say, "Cut from fish fillet", so I guess it depends on the definition of "Fillet".
Hey - as long as it keeps the kids happy :)
I guess we have something similar in the UK - Fish fingers. White fish (un-known species) with breadcrumbs - All I ever tasted was the breadcrumbs lol
Now you are making me want to relocate to Europe. I could do with some afternoon siesta now(its afternoon 3.30 and I have to take a cup of tea to last till 5 pm) :D
:) Europe is certainly different to the US :)
LOL for the record I cannot stand the stuff - not even the smell! BTW I very pleased to be doing my 100 hubs anon Mark must be wasting a lot of time dealing with comments LOL
Share the recipe!!!
dori
I agree with fortunerep,,,share your recipe :)
Recipe! Recipe! Recipe!
lol
ladies - there is a link in the hub. :)
http://hubpages.com/hub/Cooking_made_easy_-_Macaro
lissie - oh yes. LOL
Mark, I love KD mac and cheese. It's something I can cook without burning. Even more than that though, I love the homemade version. I've decided that I'm going to be brave and try your recipe, expand my horizons. I think my favourite part of following your recipe will be the wine drinking. :)
Go for it - let me know what you think afterwards. :)
I will, thanks.
Getting stuck for hub topics already are we Mark? :lol: :lol:
LOL I happen to feel strongly about this :)
I'm American, but I make a couple of different (and excellent, according to my family) macaroni and cheese casseroles. Even so, though, two of my three kids has gone through the college-student phase of relying on the famous blue box of Kraft macaroni and cheese (or - imagine this - the "store brand" version) - and even requesting I buy it when they've been home. :)
It is cheap and easy - I will give them that. I think it is addictive actually lol
I have a terrible confession to make.
I actually ate some Kraft Mac&Chaz (as the kids call it) a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't too bad.
In my defence, I plead that I was REALLY hungry!
As penance, I'll try out your recipe sometime.
Well, actually I've started - I'm having the glass of red as we speak!
Wasn't too bad? What sort of a recommendation is that? lol
You know what FSM thinks of pasta in a box with powdered chemicals - this is an eternity in hell for sure. No excuse is good enough man. I pity you :lol:
My recommendation? - Well, it's like Ford Prefect saying that the earth is "Mostly Harmless"
And you really know how to hurt a bloke. I've been losing sleep worrying about the FSM aspects of this.
If you don't tell Jenny about this post, I'll fast track your status into bishophood.
lol
My lips are sealed and I have wished an invisibilty shield into existence to hide this conversation from prying eyes. At least, I have faith it will work. Trust in FSM and all will be well. :)
Haha, about once a year, I get an urge for the stuff - childhood memories and all, even though we only ever ate it once or twice a year too - and gorge myself on a whole box. Afterwards, I always wonder what the hell I was thinking, but I don't really like homemade mac and cheese either. There are better pasta dishes in the world.
Fish sticks, by the way, are dreadful. I told my host mom in Russia that I liked fish and the next day she served me up a plate of those greasy, disgusting things and then was confused and upset when I could only stomach 2 of them.
There are loads of great pasta dishes that is for sure. I do like a good macaroni cheese though. And yes - it is a childood "comfort food" thing. Luckily - we never had the stuff in a box where I lived lol
The best thing about home made macaroni and cheese is the leftovers. Especially if you form it into cubes, roll it in panko bread crumbs, and deep fry it! Heart smart and yummy!
I like the way you think Mr. Evilpants.
See, right there is why we had to beat down your English ass in the Revolution and again in 1812. Don't F-ing F- with Kraft M&C, dude, seriously. Don't do it.
BT and MM know what it is with adding lots of other shitty stuff to it to make it even more awesome. BUt, beyond that... dude, you make it sound like homeade Mac n Cheese is in some sort of contest with Kraft. Well, it's not. Kraft could give a total crap about homeade mac and cheese. THere's no comparison. Apples and Oranges. It's like saying you wouldn't have sex with one hawt chick because there was another hawt chick that you wanted to have sex with. It's like, dude, obviously the odds aren't good that they work out together on the same evening (unless you're very good or lucky)... but that takes nothing from either.
I have generally enjoyed pretty much everything I've ever read from you, but you have crossed a line. Take it back!
Sorry Shadebreath - Can't do it. This is a conspiricy against FSM. Plus - I hate to break it to you, but Kraft started in the UK. It is only when they discovered America's preference for chemicals over food they began to take over there. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings. Almost as bad as when you found out abouut Santa not existing.
Once again - very sorry :)
America started in England... I hate to break THAT to you... Ya'll need to start learning how to recognize a good idea BEFORE it has to go elsewhere to become amazing.
Although, I will say, I am endlessly grateful to you guys for Keira Knightley and Kate Beckinsale. Nice work, that.
It was our pleasure. We can grow 'em sometimes :)
America started in England - I like that. Are you done with it yet?
No, not yet. I will trade you for Keira though, straight up so long as she understands the nature of the bargain, and you can run with it.
I am sure we can arrange something. Fas as I understand - she is not that fussy. :)
That will work out best for someone of my age, stature and disinclination for physical activity.
There you go. Everybody is happy. I will get started on the negotiations as soon as.
I am American and never got the obsession with craft macroni and cheese. I suppose the kind made from scratch does taste better, but I am not much of a cheese fan. Good idea to get people to stop eating the scary orange stuff though.
I am not much of an American cheese fan either. I was horrified at the stuff sold in the US as "cheese" lol
Tastes more like soap :)
My kids were brought up on home cooked food, what do they eat now?food from a box, I quite agree with you, cardboard muck!
Cardboard muck. The crazy thing is - we have been persuaded to eat it :)
Man, I love mac 'n' cheese. However, the others are right - nothing beats the homemade version. What I find disgusting are those packs of sliced cheese labeled "Pasteurized Processed Cheese Food." Bleh! So gnarly.
Great hub!
P.S.~ Is your preferred mac recipe online? :)
That is actually one of the problems with American cheese (and beer) in general - as far as I know - it must be pasteurized.
you're dumb. your "home made" crap probably has more fat, especially saturated fat, and sugar. And no, I wouldn't eat it as pictured, because it looks like someone with Downs syndrome made that macaroni. I'm guessing you or your wife, who are probably no treat to look at and should not waste your time attacking prepackaged macaroni dinners. If you cared about what you were eating, you'd be on a real diet and exercise plan that wouldn't allow macaroni and cheese, period. Die.
lol
Thanks Matt - Appreciate the input.
HAHAHAHA, sorry. Whew, that was hilarious! Mark, there are a lot of rather horrid "foods" on the shelves here. My in-laws tease me about my preference for natural, real food versus "food products." Glad to know that not everyone thinks this stuff is normal. Don't get me started on contracts between the FDA and manufacturers of certain food additives... And to Matt, buddy - thanks for the laugh. :)
My pleasure - and yes - goodness knows how they get past the authorities :)
As for Matt - LOL
Mark - A really fun read but the jewel in the crown was MATT's comment. He seemed to totally miss the point of what you were saying but thanks for allowing his voice to be heard!
I never delete comments unless they are spam. He is awesome though - something wrong with fat and sugar? lol You cannot survive without eating them............
Macaroni and orange powdered chemical stuff. I don't know how anyone can eat that!
Kraft Dinner (as we call it in Canada) is just as popular here, but we don't make any effort to compare it to Mac & Cheese! Kraft Dinner it is. Although I've never enjoyed it, it is quite the staple in the average college student's diet.
I'd put the green Kraft shaker Parmesan cheese on the same level as Kraft Dinner/Mac & Cheese - an equally disgusting mix of random chemicals with no similarities in taste to real Parmesan cheese.
Hey - needs must, but with a little effort you can get real food for as little money.
hehehe, I came form Philippines and then when I went here, I go to other occasions and then they all feed the children Mac and Cheese, couldnt understand that too, as it is very fattening, Hmmm, I like the way you really makea point, Thank you, Maita
Homemade is almost always more affordable! However - you've mentioned you live in France in a different Hub ... that must make your Mac & Cheese pretty expensive - or ultra gourmet if you use a fancy French cheese!! I spent a really long time in Monoprix looking for Cheddar cheese, only too find a small block for an obscenely high price. I think the French like to discourage the eating of cheddar - as though eating cheddar an insult to their cheese.
No kidding. You can buy cheddar but it is insanely expensive. Australian wine is the same. Three times the price of the US or the UK. lol
As you said in this written review I will continue with same remark; that this food-detergent product is absolutely VILE. I let myself indulge into this and I will tell how this had effected my little system at the age of only about 10 or 11 years old when I suffered a severe blinding headache. I couldn't even see at anyone's whole face with both eyes wide open and I was speech disorientated/impaired. I loved this Mac and cheese so much that I couldn't get enough of it! As I was trying to tell my mum what I was experiencing one day when the effects were so bad that I couldn't remember what the words were! I was literally mumbling. Incredible isn't it? I realised there on as when I opened the "Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal" book, looked up "headache" and came across these same symptoms as above for a Migraine attack which had food allergy -cheese etc. But the funny thing was that I carried on to eat cheese; such as Stilton and Cheddar and this kind of blinding headache never appeared but only when I had a meal of KRAFT Macaroni and cheese which is a very dangerous product and it ruined me!
Now I am nineteen years of age, and have experienced many migraines all the same. I must say, I had never thought that it just might be that KRAFT's product ingredient in this Macaroni and cheese may have just as well triggered something inside my system and now as I grew older I have worsened food allergies! These days I cannot have any kind of cheese whatsoever except Ricotta; I have basically written over here my food allergy history all thanks to this "wonderful" Macaroni and cheese by KRAFT.
they should really start up a detergent factory or something instead, they nearly washed away a 10 year old :P
OMG, I like the taste of this stuff even though it is very unhealthy. I however, will not be eating Kraft mac N cheese ever again... It gives me the worst stomach cramps i.e. the runs. At first I wasn't sure if it was the product or not, but after several experiments on myself I'm positive it's the kraft. The effects are most prevalent when eating the product on empty stomach which is usually the case for a college student trying to live on a buck.
Hi Mark!
It was Matt's comment that brought me here ...
Lack of time oftem causes me to eat junk, and I'm not sure if the feeling I get after eating it is much better than the one of being hungry before eating it. I must say, though, macaroni cheese has to be home-made. It's particularly good grilled over with fresh tomatoes on top.
Enjoyed reading, and Matt's comment, too. :-)
All the best, Camlo
Yup, you're a braindead moron. Not only did you clearly state you failed to do research into something relatively simple... has it not occured to you that something used in detergents IS NOT NECESSARILY BAD? MORON. I mean come on. You pretty much fall under the ignorant demographic of idiots who cry "danger!" at the site of long-named chemicals. STPP is used IN detergents to bind water to the minerals, so there's no interference with the detergent. It's NOT WHAT DETERGENTS ARE MADE OUT OF. Get your facts straight It's not the cleaning agent itself. And STPP is used in KD because it enhances water absorption of the macaroni, so it isn't too dry and so it can easily be chewed.
Next time you write an article, try getting your facts straight.
I never touch the stuff, but we grabbed a box of KD Smart(without reading the label) just to sample it. As it turns out, the 'smart' isn't so smart. It actually, among other things, has SUGAR/GLUCOSE/FRUCTOSE added. Jesus, pasta is converted to sugars why add it... well because sugar is a highly addictive DRUG used to brainwash children. Sorry Kraft your products are garbage.
Lissie Level 1 Commenter 2 years ago
LOL - you forgot to add the macroni cheese from eBay capsule ...