Cheese Sprouts

The deli at our grocery stores have really become a one stop shop.  From fresh rotisserie chicken, meat loaf, and fried chicken to a wide variety of deli salads (potato, macaroni) and the standard lunch meats they are ready to feed your hunger.  Some stores have gone a step farther and are now selling single serve and family style meals that just need to be reheated that had been prepared in the store.  While visiting our local Sprouts to check out some items that are less common at the major markets we walked through the deli section and found out that someone there must realize that I must live close by and and stocked the ready made meals section with mac n' cheese!  Well they got some sales out of us as Sharen grabbed a meal and I grabbed a mac for dinner that night.  The only question left was how would it come out.

The Review

Brand:

Sprouts Farmers Market Macaroni and Cheese



Price:

$4.29 ($4.99 per pound)

Packaging Description:

(On Front)

A sticker that says Country Kitchen

(On Back)

N/A



Preparation:

*Find yourself in a Sprouts.  Hopefully you don't just suddenly appear there and had made your way there of your own volition.  That would be quite scary to just suddenly be there with no knowledge of how you got there and I'd be recommending that you don't get mac n' cheese and instead get yourself to the doctors post haste.



Our Sprouts was a Circuit City in a previous life.  Alas, there is only mac n' cheese inside and no video games.



*Find your way to the refrigerated units near the deli and begin searching for the mac n' cheese.



So many choices... Wait, what's that?  ZOOM IN C.S.I. STYLE!



Ah ha!  Found you.  This proves that you really were at the scene of the crime Mac.  You better get a good lawyer


*Purchase, get yourself home and then remove the tray of mac from the bag. Before you place this into the microwave remove the lid from the mac. 


Mmmmm Shredded cheese on top of cheesy noodles.  Works for me!



*Place into the microwave and cook for three minutes.

Fresh out of the microwave and with a much richer golden color than it had going in.

*After removing the tray from the microwave, let it sit for a minute to cool.  Then give the meal one more stir.

*Commence with the nomming!

Taste:

Pulling the tray out of the microwave, one can't help but smell the cheesyness of the mac.  The noodles were overcooked and quite chewy.   The meal itself was somewhat cheesy, but that cheesyness didn't stay with you long.  A few chews and it seemed to dissipate, leaving you with chewy pasta that really didn't have any other taste.

Final Score:

A quick meal, fast and easy to heat is about all that's it's got going for it.  I'm sure that this is a bit of YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) as it's made in house and I'm sure each batch is just a little different than the last.  The complete lack of flavor however just can't be excused.  I may as well be eating the flavorless Chef Boyardee Cup.  Sprouts, I love the store, your bulk roasted peas are to die for, but it's best if you leave this mac in the refrigerator. 

Nutritional Information:

Other than having an ingredients list that was quite long (there isn't just milk in cheese, it's not just grain in pasta, whoda thunk?!?) there was no other information on the label .  Searching on Sprouts website gave me no clues either.  As this was almost a pound worth of mac, I highly suggest that you stop at the halfway point, if not before then if you're going to try and be sensible about it.