Posted on 08/28/2009 5:39:22 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(Why does the American version of this family favorite have more chemicals than the European variety?)
So, for a little light reading lately I've been perusing The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick, by Robyn O'Brien. As you can probably surmise from the title, the book is filled with all kinds of frightening background and tidbits on the food that's on store shelves these days. One issue in particular struck a nerve with me ... not so much because it's my family's favorite ... but because it is one of America's favorite foods: mac n' cheese.
Would you believe that last year the good folks at Kraft decided (with a little consumer prompting) to remove artificial colorings, like yellow #5, and chemical sweeteners like aspartame, from the products that they distribute in Europe, Australia and other developed countries. But, it seems they haven't removed these chemicals and colorings from the mac n' cheese that they distribute in the U.S. Why? Because they didn't think we'd notice.
How infuriating!
I immediately hit the Web to learn more about this, and I found that blogger Joan Blades over at MomRising.org recently came to the same conclusion that I did. She's launching a letter-writing campaign to get the folks at Kraft to value the health of Americans as much as they do those in other countries. Here's an excerpt from her post:
"Join us in sending Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld a letter asking that Kraft value the health of our children as highly as they value the children in other countries. And please then share this email with friends and family so that they too can send a letter."
Macaroni and Cheese
1 8oz. box of elbow macaroni, cooked
and drained
1/4 stick butter
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Cook the pasta. Drain. While still hot, add the butter and the cheese. Stir.
Oh. My. God. It’s that easy?
Yeesh, these people...
We need a cheese czar in order to deal with the fumes being emitted from the congressional orifices largely causes by the consumption of pork and cheese. If we don’t deal with this issue the country will be destroyed shortly.
OMG!
Thank You!
No thats funny
Not rocket science, is it? That was the first dish I learned to “cook.” I also make it with a little milk added, and bake it for 20 minutes til the top browns. But if people want to eat macaroni and Neon-orange cheese food product, no skin off my nose.
Awe! That’s so cute!
I just watched a cooking show with some chef who is all things to all things Italian. *Rolleyes*
Pan
Olive Oil
Sliced Garlic
Saute.
About 4 cups chopped plum/Roma tomatoes. Add them; heat it through.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta, al dente (’to the tooth’...about 8 minutes) then add the pasta to the pan. Stir. Heat through.
Add a handful of chopped basil. Stir it.
Put it on a plate. Add some cheese if you want.
Eat it.
Rocket Science? LOL!
Stop buying Kraft Mac n Cheese.
The processed food crap ain’t good for you to begin with. Use real cheese and milk and butter and eat grown up mac n cheese.
I’ve known mnore than just a few poor folks in my day, and a cheap box of mac and cheese is one of your basic food groups.
I love you, Mom! You made cheap food F-U-N! (Hot Dog Octopus on top...)
NOT sweet Mac and Cheese
Next thing you tell me Campell Tomato Soup is unhealthy or Chicken Noodle
Stuff that I ate as a kid is bad for me
OMGGGGG I don’t know I could laugh on that photoshop
I am laughing
I can’t even decided is that very right or very wrong
And tastes a TON better than that powdered cheese crap.
It doesn’t bother me in the least. In fact, I’m SO cheap, I’ve bought ‘Store Brand’ Mac-n-Cheese. So far, no extra heads or strange blotches on any of my kids. ;)
However, I was SPOILED. I grew up dirt poor. We all lived with my Grandma & Grandpa while Mom worked and Dad was in his apprenticeships making 25-cents an hour, so we ate a lot of Free Government Cheese back in the day.
It made the best Mac-n-Cheese EVER. :)
“Stuff that I ate as a kid is bad for me...”
We’re all doomed. Didn’t you get the memo? ;)
Mac ‘n cheese. Ronaldus Magnus’ favorite dish, as I recall...
With jellybeans on top?
Man, I miss him. Best. President. Ever.
I've been craving that for the past few days.
RONALD REAGAN’S MACARONI AND CHEESE
from The White House Family Cookbook by H. Haller and V. Aronson
serves 4 as an entree, or 6 to 8 as a side dish
1/2 pound macaroni
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg, beaten
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
a pinch of paprika
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
2. Add macaroni to 2 quarts of boiling salted water and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Drain well in a colander. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
4. Stir in butter and beaten egg. Add 2 1/2 cups of the grated cheese.
5. In a small bowl, combine milk with salt, mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
6. Spoon macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole. Pour milk mixture over and sprinkle top with the remaining cheese.
7. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake on middle shelf of preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until macaroni is firm to the touch and the top is crusty and browned.
8. Serve at once, either as a light entree accompanied by a hot green vegetable and a crisp salad, or as a side dish with Hamburgers or Meat Loaf.
It made the best Mac-n-Cheese EVER. :)
That gubmint cheese was/is good stuff! Even just with crackers.
When I was younger, in my tiny hometown, all the local elders would get their ample share of the freebees before the rest of the community knew about it. The local restaurant even still charged that extra .15 cents for a cheeseburger, everyone knowing exactly where that cheese came from.
OH MONK there you are
Yeah Stuff we ate as kid bad for us
Next thing Barry would tell me Campbell Vegetable soup with alphebet is bad for me LOL!
Yes it was Mac and Cheese was his fav sometime out of the box
I saw something on PBS about Reagan ranch that how Ronnie used snack on at lunch time
Won’t buy the stuff. We try to purchase and consume products that have ingredients that we can pronounce. No partially hydrogenated oils, no fake sugars.
Did we ever find out where Ronnie got recipe was his mom recipe
“I’ve been CRAVING that for the past few days.”
Monk! You got a bun in the oven? LOL!
God Bless YOU And God Bless the USA. :)
As if we didn’t already know it was almost entirely fake... I eat the ‘Easy Mac’ stuff at work all the time, and it must contain NO real dairy products because I’m lactose intolerant yet have never had any kinds of issues with Easy Mac.
That said, my favorite mac and cheese from scratch recipe is as follows:
-cooked pasta
-1 part butter to 2 parts milk to 4 parts cheese for the sauce
-Melt the butter, milk and cheese together, mix with the pasta, and serve.
This is pretty much the ONLY thing I can cook! Anything and everything else has resulted in smoke, fire, or similar disasters.
You know me so well. I love Wallace and Grommit. I have all of their movies...and my Basset looks like Grommit!
You need to step AWAY from the flambe!
Just craving comfort food :)
I leave out the butter - just leave a little bit of water in, and add a bit of milk. Let the cheese do the rest.
“Let the cheese do the rest.”
You would be worshiped as a god here in Wisconsin. ;)
HEY MONK you didn’t tell me that good news on Freepmail
You know what my fav Lunch Confort food
Campbell Vegetable soup with alphebet
When you were a kid did you spell your name I have LOL!
Yeah! I remember that..
How about making your own for a change? Everything is in a box or package anymore. Cook your own macaraoni...grate your own cheese. It’s better for you and tastes fresher. OR...do without if you dont’ like the package. I have never bought the package stuff of anything like that. It’s either homemade or not at all. Doesn’t take that long to make it and I have made it and frozen it like I have done dozens of other foods and it is ready with a thaw.
If people would go back to COOKING their own foods they would save a hell of a lot more money and not get so many preservatives in their systems.
How about making your own for a change? Everything is in a box or package anymore. Cook your own macaraoni...grate your own cheese. It’s better for you and tastes fresher. OR...do without if you dont’ like the package. I have never bought the package stuff of anything like that. It’s either homemade or not at all. Doesn’t take that long to make it and I have made it and frozen it like I have done dozens of other foods and it is ready with a thaw.
If people would go back to COOKING their own foods they would save a hell of a lot more money and not get so many preservatives in their systems.
How about making your own for a change? Everything is in a box or package anymore. Cook your own macaraoni...grate your own cheese. It’s better for you and tastes fresher. OR...do without if you dont’ like the package. I have never bought the package stuff of anything like that. It’s either homemade or not at all. Doesn’t take that long to make it and I have made it and frozen it like I have done dozens of other foods and it is ready with a thaw.
If people would go back to COOKING their own foods they would save a hell of a lot more money and not get so many preservatives in their systems.
I don't eat or drink it!
Kraft Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese Dinner
Size/Count 14.0 oz.
* Good source of calcium & protein
* Made with real Kraft cheese
* Rich & creamy taste
http://www.walgreens.com/store/store/product/product_details.jsp?id=prod361
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Here's the other....
I’ve never eaten mac and cheese...what have I been missing...
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