Mother Approved, But Kid Tested?

I've reviewed a number meals marketed for/to kids.  So far, meals made by mom, promoted by Elmo and ones that have include brownies haven't really been something that any kid should be eating (based on taste alone and not even factoring in 'nutritional value').  In yet another regular walk through the frozen section of the local grocery store I saw that a new line of meals had appeared, aimed at kids.  There were only three options, all of which were pasta dishes but one was a mac. Another instant purchase as I tossed it into the basket handles my arms were wrapped around.

I didn't look at the packaging beyond the picture on the front, as I really didn't want to know about hidden veggies or anything else that may make me skew my opinion before I put this up against any other kids macs I've already reviewed.  So I just tossed it in the freezer and did my best to ignore it until it was time to heat it up.

They had a customer, I just needed to find a good time to eat and review the darn thing, which thanks to it being freezer ready was just a week or two later.


The Review

Brand:
Kidfresh Wagon Wheels Mac + Cheese

Packed with goodness AND hidden stuff. Oh boy!

Glamorous Glamorous Gluten

Gluten.  There, I said it.  It's out.  I like gluten and if you're reading this blog, you really like gluten too.  By now I expect that most of you have figured out that I really enjoy cheese and stuff made from many kinds of (wheat or wheat related) flour. Be it noodles, bread whatever.  I could easily live on the starch & dairy combo (not healthily, but we're just talking hypothetically here) and be good for months before I get bored.  While this may work for me, more and more people are now having issues digesting the protein gluten that specialty versions of our favorite dishes are starting to spring up. Often times gluten free pasta means that it's made with rice flour instead of a flour based on wheat.  But as I've experienced already here and here, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a tastier (all be it less painful gastronomically for those who don't handle gluten) option.

While people have had gluten allergies for as long as humans have been eating wheat, I don't think I've heard much about it until just a few years ago, when these specialty prepared foods, free of gluten have begun to spring up.  For those who've got problems handling gluten, it comes about in a few manners, most notably coeliac disease or wheat allergy.  If you look at the symptoms of someone who's gluten sensitive/intolerant you'll see that their afflictions of bloating, abdominal discomfort/pain, diarrhea, joint pain or muscle and muscle disturbances (no clue on what this last one actually is) are pretty open ended symptoms that one wouldn't necessarily chalk up to a gluten issue.  I won't get into any real details on it, but if you're curious Wikipedia has whole sections on gluten sensitivity, Coealic disease and all kinds of other stuff related to wheat and gluten.

While shopping at my local Sprouts I have stumbled onto very few mac meal options besides their chill case fresh one and like any mac I find in stores, it somehow finds its way into the cart and then home to my freezer whether or not I've got space for it.  I've told myself that with specialty ones like this, that I'm just preparing for the unlikely day in the future where I would need to eat gluten-free dishes (thanks to all the gluten in these pasta noodles) and need to know my scant mac options as well as helping any friends who are intolerant to gluten, so it's best that I review them as quickly as possible.

The Review

Brand:
Glutino Gluten Free Mac & Cheese

Packaging circa 2012-2013, orange and noodles, we know what this is selling.

Packaging as of spring 2013, now it looks like a Lean Cuisine box.

Every Day Is Friday

I've been relatively lucky so far with this blog.  Not too many of the meals that I've had (or picked up and am sitting on for review) have ceased to exist.  I know we've lost the Four Cheese Hot Pocket and menu items have changed at homeroom recently (fresh review of new mac coming soon!) but the losses are much shorter than the new additions.  It's sad that things get dropped, but sometimes sales don't dictate keeping something around or that the costs to produce it have become too high.  But today, this is a blog first.  The return of a long lost friend.

T.G.I. Friday's has gone through some rough times of late and locally (SF Bay Area) has shuttered a good number of their restaurants.  One thing that they had on their menu for a number of years starting in the late 2000's, was a fried mac & cheese appetizer.  There would be six breaded wedges of mac and cheese that would come out on a long plate that was drizzled with some kind of cheese sauce and a little bit of parsley (for color!).  Sadly they disappeared off the menu probably two years ago.  It was better for our midlines that they weren't there, but the blog lost a potential review and I lost a tasty appetizer. 

At the store not to long ago, I did my check of the frozen food aisles and what did I see, with a *New* burst on it's box, but T.G.I.'s frozen appetizers had gained an old friend back, the mac wedges.

Brand:
T.G.I. Friday's Mac &Cheese Wedges - Three Cheese

Back from the dead. This calls for a celebration, the party starts at 8!

Comfortably Baked

I've noticed a new trend with frozen meals.  A baked experience, when something actually comes out of the microwave.  I know that some things like Hot Pockets use those special crisping sleeves to cook up the outside and give them that oven baked crust/outside.  That whole process is pretty cool and the susceptor basically takes the energy created by the microwave and redistributes it as conduction or infrared radiation.  Science!  Anyways, seeing this made me wonder what they were going to do to the container to "bake" it.  I knew I was going to eat one anyways (it's a hard life blogging about mac n' cheese), but now there was curiosity of how it was going to cook bugging me and I quickly added it to my eat this one right away list.

The Review

Brand:

Marie Callenders Comfort Bakes Mac & Cheese

Mom Said Always To Eat Your Veggies

Parents face an uphill battle when it comes to getting heathly foods into their kids.  With so many fast food joints and stuff thats pre-made, it's almost too easy to not make anything yourself anymore.  As I've been scouring the shelves and frozen food aisles I've started to see a trend at some of the more upscale stores. They have begun to carry lines that are not only aimed at kids, but have found brands that have devoted some major time including hidden fruits and veggies into the dish to help combat the Mc Donalds those kids had for lunch (but ketchup is a fruit!).  I've had some other kids meals, but this is the first that has gotten all ninja with veggies and hidden them in the dish.  I wonder if I'll even notice...


The Review

Brand:
Mom Made Meals Cheesy Mac

Bad Day? Just Add Cheese!

I sure wouldn't have thought that the preparation of a frozen meal would become an issue to me, but it has.  Looking on the back of these boxes for my preparation instructions I often see directions for the microwave and the oven.  What is the best way to make it I keep asking myself.  Am I hindering the blog because I didn't make it the 'right' way?  From past experience, cooking frozen meals (doesn't matter the kind) in the oven almost always gives me a better dish than what the microwave puts out.  My problem is that though I have a toaster oven at work, it's not easy to make sure that I don't burn the meal, or that the heat is that accurate for the duration that the packaging requires for cooking.  For some reason I felt that with the Blake's meal I should give the ol' toaster oven a try. 


The Review

Brand:
Blake's Farmhouse Mac & Cheese

Why is it that all the best hearty meals come from a farm?  Mac n' cheese, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, pot pies?

Zappin' Cheese

I appreciate companies that try (even Amy's Kitchen) and put out multiple kinds of mac n' cheese.  One would think that 'A' kind is more than enough, but you know that one is really never enough.  Variety is the spice of life and Michelina's sure likes to dabble with the best spice (cheese).  They've done Wheels and they've done a combination of cheeses.  Now they take on the 'classic' of classics, the Kraft style stove top. 

The Review

Brand:
Michelina's Zap 'ems Gourmet: Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese

If homestyle means a frozen version of the Kraft blue box then we're onto something.

Michelina's new packaging, or another new variety?  Picture taken at a local Target.  I didn't notice this until after I put the pictures of both packages together, that this one is different.  I'll head back and do a ingredient/calorie check to see how different it is and will do an additional review if there are changes beyond the noodles. 

**additional note** Since I took this pic just over a month ago, I've only found this in Target locations, twice. I broke down and bought one.  A review will be forthcoming. 

The Long And Winding Road

As we become more (hopefully) in tune with the needs of other cultures and beliefs we begin to see a change in how our foods are prepared (and marketed).  I don't think many people are phased when they see that a meal is now Kosher or vegetarian and though it's slowly being adopted, more meals are now also coming Halal.  For a meal to be Halal the animals who's products are included, need to be ritualistically slaughtered and other foods need to be natural and not processed, so whole grains, fruits, veggies and fish among others.  A Halal meal isn't going to taste any different than a non-Halal meal and because of the guidelines, you're actually getting a better quality ingredients in the dish.  Lets see if that adds that extra kick to our mac n' cheese.


The Review

Brand:
Saffron Road Macaroni & Cheese

Stamped Halal, like a prime grade of beef.  I like it!

The Return Of The Cheeze

I'm an equal opportunity mac n' cheese eater.  I'd hope that has come across by now and even if I've had one bad variety of mac by a company, that if the same company makes another variety it'll get the same unbiased shot as it's relative(s) did when it was prepared.   I've marched from one tray to the next for all the Amy's Kitchen varieties that I've come across thus far and each tray has left me far from impressed.

I didn't create this blog to review bad mac n' cheese.  It was created with the mindset that because there are so many varieties that there have to be some great ones out there and maybe I can do some funny writing on this journey of discovery.   I REALLY want to eat good mac n' cheese.  Bad mac's may lead to funnier reviews, but they don't lead to full stomachs.

Today's review is for the fourth (and final as far as I can tell) variety.  Did Amy fare any better this trip through the microwave?

The Review

Brand:
Amy's Kitchen Macaroni & Soy Cheeze

O.K. Amy's, we've not had the best relationship so far, but I'm not letting that dissuade me from giving you ANOTHER chance.  Don't let me down!

Sporting A Bowtie

It took almost two months, but I finally started to run out of prepared mac n' cheese options at my standard grocery stores.  Lucky's, Safeway and Target (all of our local Target's now have reasonably large grocery store sections in them) are no longer giving me fresh lunch fodder for the blog.  I've begun to cast my net wider, in hopes of finding new macs before i'm stuck on a strictly stovetop and recipe routine.  Fortunately I live in the Bay Area and we've got a number of regional chains and a huge population that enjoy high quality foods that not only keep these smaller chains alive, but allow high end grocery stores like Whole Foods thrive. 

While Whole Foods is expensive, many of the items they carry justify the higher prices.  Hopefully some of these more expensive macs are worth it.  With a focus on organic and healthier items many of the brands seen at Whole Foods are ones you're not going to find at your local grocery stores and because of that, I'm heading down a path fraught with danger for someone who isn't normally very adventurous when it comes to food.

My lunch today was made by a company named Blake's.  Blake sounds nice enough, let's hope his mac n' cheese is too.


The Review

Brand:
Blake's Mac & Cheese with Chicken

Well Blake, if that's actually your name... let us see how your mac n' cheese is

The Wheels In The Sky Keep On Turning

I don't have too many rules that I've set in place for Mac N' Steve.  Try all the kinds I can find (even the scary ones I would never eat normally) and don't review the kinds that the only difference is the pasta shape.  We're in for the whole experience and a elbow vs a straight noodle really isn't going to change the dynamic of the meal.  Today's meal was my first conundrum that I wasn't sure what I should do.  I decided to allow it because in the end, it was different calorie wise compared to the standard mac they produce (while the weight stayed the same).  If this is the biggest problem I have in writing this blog (other than the whole eating macaroni n' cheese all the time) I think I'm doing O.K..



The Review

Brand:
Michelina's Zap'ems Gourmet: Wheels & Cheese (bought June 2012 and reviewed)
OR
Michelina's Authentico Wheels & Cheese (new branding found 7/29/12)

Zap 'ems, I hardly knew ye.  Less than a month old and you're already changing your clothes.  Was it me?  Wast it something I said about your four cheese brother?  I can do better! I can buy more (well if there are more flavors that is).

TGI-Mac & Cheese

Not too long ago I experienced my first restaurant brand mac n' cheese (thanks to the power of the freezer aisle, I've got more coming).  That mac isn't currently (and probably never was) served in restaurants, but the whole point of meals like those is to make you feel like you're enjoying those restaurants meals while at home.  TGI Friday's is another chain that has gotten into the business of marketing themselves out and letting a food manufacturer bring inspired by meals to our tables.


The Review

Brand:
T.G.I. Friday's Grilled Chicken Mac & Cheese

Flair not included.

Banquets, Feasts And Buffets... Oh My!

With almost anything in today's capitalist driven society you've got tiers of products.  Ones that cost more (that tends to be of better quality and/or is some kinds of status symbol) and those that cost less (sometimes of lesser quality and can come with stigmas because of what it is).  Food is no different (except when it comes to perishables) with store brands and name brands.  There are also tiers of name brands.  Some brands are considered good, while others aren't due to their cheaper costs and perceived lower quality.   Banquet is one of those brands known for their price (cheap) and not for their quality.  Societal stigma on mac n' cheese?  Not in this blog!


Brand:
Banquet Macaroni & Cheese Meal

Amy, What Has Happened To Your Kitchen?

Like a glutton for punishment, or one who's enjoying a very good meal, I keep coming back for more.  I'm not getting tired of mac n' cheeses by any means but I would hope that a company who've gone to the effort to create so many kinds has a real reason to keep making all the flavors.  Hopefully Amy's picks it up today.



The Review

Brand:
Amy's Kitchen Rice Mac & Cheese

So we meet again Amy's... How many combinations of mac do you have because we're at three and counting and I don't think it's ever going to stop.

Richie Rich, Your Dinner Is Served

Welcome to another adventure in generic mac n' cheese!  Store brands are often called generics because they do not mass advertise their meals on TV, radio or in print (outside of the stores shelf signage or store weekly fliers).  That is in part why they cost less than the branded versions they sit next to on the shelf.  That distinct lack of advertising saves a bundle and those savings are passed on to us, the lucky consumer.  I've visited Safeway's in-house diet brand already, so I thought it might be good to try their in-house regular mac.

The Review


Brand: 
Safeway Select Triple-Rich Macaroni & Cheese

I tried a number of times to have some kind of witty rich themed joke for the title.  That was the best I could manage.

The TV Told Me To Buy It

Marketing is a huge part of all of our daily lives.  So much so that we almost don't even notice it anymore.  Advertising sneaks into almost everything.  That logo on the shirt you're wearing?  It's an ad.  That hat? An ad.  The shows you watch on TV?  When not broken up by ads, you find all kinds of product placements through out them.  Look the detective is using his smart phone while pointing out that they've just used a specific search engine to get that key piece of evidence.  Don't blink or you'll miss the explanation as to why they are using the special voice controlled GPS to get them to the suspects house in their amazing new car.  It's everywhere.

Some of the most powerful sales tactics are when mascots are used, especially when they are characters that kids relate to from that TV show or favorite cartoons.  Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and a slew of other characters  have found their way onto everything.  It should come as no surprise that they've found our beloved mac n' cheese as well.


The Review

Brand:
Earth's Best Elmo Mac 'n Cheese with Carrots & Broccoli

Hi! I'm Elmo!  Can you believe that you're hearing my voice as you're reading this?  I'm so cool that not only am I a marketing tool but this is MY mac n' cheese!  I stay up late when not filming Sesame Street and make this for all of you! Consider any red fuzz an unexpected special bonus!

Doctorate Degree Not Required For Cooking

I've already mentioned that restaurants have invaded the frozen foods aisle with their inspired dishes. But todays meal is a rarity.  The restaurant that 'inspired' this meal is now mostly no more (I was under the impression that the entire chain had folded last year, however only 31 of their stores did).  Marie Callenders was quite well known in California and I ate there a number of times when I was little (and hated it if stories I remember are correct).  Marie Callendars is one of those restaurant chains that does pies (for desert and pickup year round) and homestyle dinners much like Bakers Square and Coco's. 

The last times I remember eating at a Marie Callenders was with a roommate who discovered their frozen meals when I was still at SJSU around 02-03 and was floored to discover that they had restaurants out there serving their food as well.  I took him to the Milpitas, CA location and we ate there I think twice that week, it was that enjoyed (I didn't go back, but he did for a while longer).  I also ate at one in San Ramon sometime in 07 or 08 with the wife.  I wasn't sad when the chain died and the restaurant eating public wasn't either as Marie Callendars were losing money like gangbusters.  How the chain shut down some of the stores was shocking, as they shut down mid servicewith people in the dining room eating dinner and employees and customers alike were all kicked out and the doors locked. 

Marie Callenders was one of the earlier chains that licensed their name to shelf stable (thanks for that awesome name wikipedia!) and frozen foods.  This portion of their business has been by far the more successful part and though the restaurant has become a regional one the frozen meals are nationally distributed.

The Review

Brand:
Marie Callender's Smoky Cheddar Mac & Uncured Bacon

Mac + cheese + BACON?!?  We may have a winner here.

I'm Looking At The Mac In The Mirror

Living in the SF Bay Area, I'm privy to all kinds of amazing things when it comes to mac n' cheese. From restaurants that serve nothing but to other places that have carved spots for it on their menus.  Out in the East Bay, Alameda County has it's yearly county fair (this year was it's 100th anniversary!). Since this is practically in my backyard and after hearing from a little birdy that they had some special fair food that was right up my alley, I was compelled to swing by on Sunday in hopes of getting some.  Alas, my destination at the fair was was "out of cheese".  I'll see if they've got cheese once more before the fair closes up shop in a week.  Hopefully i'll be lucky enough to try this out.

I decided that I was still going to have a mac n' cheese day, which after planning on a meal that was going to be horribly unhealthy, I changed gears and had the 'healthiest' kind I had in the freezer based purely on front of the box marketing.

The Review

Brand:
Lean Cuisine Macaroni & Cheese

Something Something, Boston Accent

A mainstay in freezer aisles now are meals bearing the name or are inspired by some of America's favorite chain restaurants.  The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's and Marie Calendars (RIP sit down restaurants), among others all have selections in your local grocer.  While the meals aren't made in some kitchen owned by the restaurant directly, food processors (companies who make our 'prepared' foods that line our grocery shelves) enter into licenses with these restaurants to carry meals sporting their logos. 


The Review

Brand:
Boston Market Macaroni & Cheese

Nothing Comes Closer To Home...

Having so many vareties of mac n' cheese stored here at work (15 currently as of this post) has lead to some very fun conversations and reactions from my coworkers as I heat and reconstitute make my lunches that I'm reviewing for the blog.  From "Have you tried brand X", to "What in the hell is that?!?" I'm getting a wide range of comments daily.  I've even been letting coworkers choose that days pain, poison tasty lunch every few days, just to mix it up and I'm not tired of this stuff in the slightest!

Since I have had a pair of tasty homemade mac n' cheeses recently I thought that I should try the frozen kind that I've been told by a number of my coworkers (and others) that I should be having.  "It's 'THE' frozen mac n' cheese to have" they say, "You can't go wrong with it".  Today I put the vaunted must eat it mac n' cheese to the test.

The Review

Brand:
Stouffer's 'Simple Dishes' macaroni & cheese