Review: Annie's Homegrown Shells & White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese

Not so sure about... wait- it's got the
"Rabbit of Approval"? But of course it does!

     Nutritional info - daily value:
      Servings: 2.5 per box
      Calories: 270, (280 prepared)
      Fat Calories: 35, (40 prepared)
      Total Fat: 4g, (6-7% dv)
      Saturated Fat: 2.5g, (13% dv)
      Trans Fat: 0g
      Cholesterol: 10mg, (3-5% dv)
      Sodium: 530mg, (22-23% dv)
      Total Carbs: 47g, (16% dv)
      Fiber: 2g, (8% dv)
      Sugars: 5g
      Protein: 10g, (11-13% dv)
      Vitamin A: 2-4% dv
      Calcium: 10-15% dv
      Iron: 4% dv
      Thiamin (Vitamin B1): 10% dv
      Folic Acid: 10% dv

Jumping back toward the side of healthier mac & cheeses again (but thankfully not one that tastes like gerber baby peas), today we're taking our first look at another big brand name you're likely to find at any store that's larger than a mini-mart... and if not on the isle where all the other pasta dishes are, then certainly in any fully-stocked whole foods section (you know, that section of the store where *gasp!* the food is better quality while rocketing the prices up!).

That brand: Annie's Homegrown. Having everything to do with going green, eliminating unnatural and unnecessary preservatives and giving you healthier alternatives to everything from breakfast, to snacks, pastas and condiments...

And that bunny: Bernie. Undoubtedly having nothing
to do with Bugs, Trix, or Cadberry Cream Eggs.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that you're probably paying a buck more on average for an Annie's box, inevitably I've found that you're getting a product that is much more organic and natural than your average box of Kraft, Store-brand, or other factory mac & cheeses. Check out their site for more info on exactly what they're all about.

Now today I decided to pick one flavor that I've had before to start off with, so while I know you'll still want to check out the rest of the review below for the nitty gritty, I'll get this out of the way... Annie's White Cheddar & Shells is actually pretty darn good! I remember grabbing a few boxes out of curiosity back in my college days, and seeing as I do enjoy Kraft's blend of white cheddar mac & cheese, I'd never had the shells before.... and once I was done, I wondered what took me so long to finally try it.

So I'll be going at this from more of a "How do I like it now?" angle, comparing my experience from several years ago with what I'm finding now:

What I expected (before): Another off-brand mac & cheese that compared most store-brand low-priced mac & cheeses... only with the higher price. 

What I got (before): A scrumptious dish of perfectly cooked shells and tasty cheese that fills you up without weighing you down. Who knew that healthier mac & cheese that could be so delicious? 

What I expected (now): Perhaps I was really hungry when I first tried Annie's White Cheddar & Shells, so my memories may have been painted by nostalgia and it may have tasted better in hindsight than it does now. 

What I got (now): Thankfully, it's still wonderful after all this time. Even more delicious now than I remembered it, and a healthy alternative that I can gravitate towards!

Pair-ability:
Steamed broccoli with an oven-baked chicken (seasoned with sage and soaked in pineapple chunks)... and a cold mug of Guinness beer.

Yes, I quite enjoyed a hearty Guinness with this otherwise extremely healthy meal.
Funny thing is, the mac & cheese was actually tastier than the already delicious pineapple!

Preparation: 
One thing I noticed on the back of the box (and to be fair it's something that is on a lot of mac & cheese boxes in general), that you need to prepare your mac & cheese with copious amounts of water, and boil the noodles for an average of 10 minutes. While I'm sure there's a reason those instructions are provided, I've found from my personal experience that you don't need nearly that much water, and you certainly don't need to soak the noodles in scalding hot water for quite that long to get the job done.

Of course this will vary depending on how firm/soft you like your noodles to be, but I've found that 3 cups of water is plenty for encompassing all the noodles provided in an average mac & cheese box. And provided you're paying close attention to the cooking process, when you're making it on the stove, once you reach the 6-7 minute mark, you can simply take a spoon or fork and carefully scoop up a noodle to test it. If it's too firm for your taste, then simply wait another 30 seconds or so and try again. Keep repeating the process until they're just the way you want them... just makes sure not to scarf all the noodles down before adding in all the other essential ingredients, m'kay?

See? I can entertain and inform! ...either that or switch from goofball to informative manual and back.... or lose your attention span by the end of this sentence.... umm, hey look, bunny!:

Annie, I think I beat your record with "Matt's Way in 7 Minutes"...although
I'm sure Bernie, the rabbit could probably beat me in a race with no trouble.

Any wabbit, the rest of the preparation is pretty standard, and the clean-up is fantastic since nothing burns and sticks to the pan. There are some noteworthy suggestions from Annie on the bottom to try out if you desire (I did try substituting the milk for yogurt once "for a tangier taste"... it wasn't quite my cup of tea, although I recommend trying it out for yourself, you might enjoy it). Annie's site offers even more suggestions to alter the recipe, so hats off to her for going the extra mile on this aspect*.

*(Side note: One of my goals for this blog is to eventually try out and promote different recipes through mac & cheeses, and this is actually one of the places I got that idea from. Thanks, Annie! :) )

Shape-o-meter:
With these noodles being rather not-so-noodley and more shellish, I rather enjoyed the shape and firmness these clams offer. They're never too chewy, nor do they break down too easily from sogginess. They also provide one of my all-time-favorite things about good mac & cheese noodles (which I'll elaborate more on below in the flav-o-meter section).

Behold: Sneak a peek inside the box for
a treasure trove of gold... clams, that is.

Size-o-meter:
Size-wise, at roughly 280 calories per serving, you actually get a good portion of food when you split this box with someone else. While I did include a main dish and other side with this meal, I'd say that this side dish could still potentially compete with the entree in terms of portion sizes. Bigger families could still split this 4-ways and get plenty for a side dish. Nevertheless, this is one situation where size isn't an issue, since the quality of the food trumps the quantity offered. Any way you slice it, you can't really go wrong here.

Flav-o-meter:
This is one of my two main reasons Annie's White Cheddar & Shells shines in my eyes. It doesn't hurt that I already love most white cheddar mac & cheeses, but with the way that the shells are built, they capture all the flavor for scrumptious bites that explode with cheese. The most amazing part is that it contains none of the extra additives that most companies use and it simply tastes great! Your opinion may vary on just how much you enjoy white cheddar, but I find that you can't really go wrong with this option.

Just look at how much cheese is contained in each of those shells.

Nutriti-o-meter:
With no preservatives, less than average fat/calories going in its favor, there's really no question as to whether or not you're getting something better for your body, especially once you start stacking Annie's mac & cheeses next to other options on the shelf. Parents, you can rest easy. This one's a keeper for the kids. College agers and people on the go, this one's a great option for giving you a tasty/healthier dish among the jarringly impulsive decisions to grab something faster instead, provided you have 7-10 minutes to spare in your schedules.

Overall:
Revisiting this mac & cheese has proven to be a wonderful decision, and my wife who's never tried it before also found it to be one of the better ones I've reviewed thus far. As I've stated many times already in this review, it's cheesy, healthy, tasty, and filling in all the best ways. My only knock on this one has to do with the price in comparison with other options, as nearly every other brand can be found for less. But if you don't mind spending a little more and cash isn't a big factor, then you're hard-pressed to find a better option to go with. Especially if your goal is to go green. Highly recommended!

If you've made it this far down
the page, Bernie thanks you for it!

Review: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese - Homestyle

Whenever I hear Kraft mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind (at least for me) is usually their regular type that you can find anywhere: elbow noodles with a packet of powdered cheese sauce thrown into a box. While kids and anyone who wants a quick mac & cheese meal can greatly appreciate the fast preparation that the boxed stuff offers (made faster by the Easy-Mac meals!), I'm sure a lot of us crave something more homemade on our plates from time to time. I know for a fact my parents wouldn't touch boxed mac & cheese with a 10-foot pole, unless it was to feed us kids. Growing up, before I gained an appetite for cheeses, I was essentially the exact opposite; I always craved the more processed stuff. It seemed sweeter, more flavory to my young taste-buds, so when I did occasionally try home-made mac & cheese, something about the taste seemed off to me, and I tended to shy away from it for a while.

Nevertheless, my appetite finally did mature, and so I now greatly appreciate a good mac & cheese homemade casserole when it's offered to me. The cheese is typically more real cheddar, and there's usually a greater quantity of it. In short, though it's normally lacking extra sweetness in the cheese, it nourishes you, tastes and feels more like you're eating real food.

So what happens when the king of the mass-marketed noodle factory decides to tackle on a more homemade palette? You get the new Homestyle package you see above! It comes not just with cheese sauce, but also seasonings and... bread crumbs! How does it fare not just against other Kraft mac & cheeses but also in regards to what could be a relative's secret home-style recipe? Let's find out...

What I expected: Honestly, based on the portion size and what came with the package, I expected some slight variant of Kraft's other big seller, Velveeta, but with little crumblies.

What I got: A delicious hearty mac and cheese that I like better than the Velveeta stuff, with great flavor and texture to it. Not at all disappointed. 

What similar-colored food I tried to pair with this meal:  A dry, sad old orange that ended up not getting eaten since the juice was nearly dried up.

It's okay, sad orange. You'll always be #1 in our hearts!

Pair-ability:
For this meal, I was going for an all-around "orange colored" assortment of food. Since the orange ended up not working out (and since my wife kindly pointed out that we needed to include some meat with this dinner), I ended up including the last of our Buffalo Chicken Bites... which did not-so-kindly burn my thumb orange. Other "orangy" sides included chopped carrots and peach green tea:

The peach "green" tea is O-R-A-N-G-E, I tell you!
The tea-bag tag is orange, so it counts.

Preparation: 
When it comes to making the Homestyle mac & cheese, it actually starts out exactly the same as preparing any of the more processed cousins of the Kraft family. It's so home-made that the package actually forgets that a microwave even exists. You boil the water, throw the noodles in, heat & stir for 6-8 minutes, and drain the noodles when their done... only now, the journey continues as you place them right back on the burner minus the water.

For this part, unless you've got the butter, milk and sauces at the ready, be prepared to race against the clock as you're constantly stirring the noodles to avoid bottom stickiness while you get all the ingredients in. You'll be turning down the heat as you do this, although the stove will still likely be on full heat when you're ready for this part. Put the butter in first, then pour the milk, followed by adding the seasoning (smells almost like a Parmesan cheese), and then the cheese sauce. At first glance, it appears exactly like how the Velveeta cheese is, only it's got a darker hue and different smell.

Mount Goo-Cheesius erupting on the stove.

After that, all that's left after mixing the cheeses is the bread crumbs, which actually emit a delicious baked smell that goes great with the mac & cheese. So there's a little more to it than your average box of Kraft, and I probably ended up with a little bit of sticky noodles on the bottom of the pan for clean-up, but otherwise, it's really not a whole lot harder to prepare for what you get.

Shape-o-meter:
For this, we get the big spirally elbow-noodles you'd find in the Velveeta mac & cheese, slightly larger than the ones you get in most other Kraft varieties. They never get too small, and even with my slight overcooking of the noodles, they retained enough solidarity to keep them great for the other ingredients.

Size-o-meter:
For this package, you get a real generous portion included. This could easily feed 4 people as a side, and split between a couple people, this will definitely be a big part of the meal for those that are really hungry. I don't see anyone finding this meal to be too small at all.

Flav-o-meter:
As a boxed mac & cheese emulating a homemade style, this truly succeeds. Both my wife and I were pleasantly surprised by how good this was. The cheese flavor was plentiful and you could tell that the added seasonings and bread crumbs really added to the lasting appeal of this dish, from the first bite all the way to the last. My only complaint I have is that it seemed to cool off quicker than a lot of the mac & cheeses usually do, but aside from that, I found nothing bad at all flavor-wise about this dish. Does it beat out the really good homemade baked mac & cheeses that chefs can customize to their liking? Probably not, but gosh darnit, I still loved it anyway!

Now there's a genuine homemade-looking mac & cheese!

Nutriti-o-meter:
Being a bigger packaged serving than the other Kraft boxes, you'd do best to watch how much you intake if you're concerned about dieting. To make it healthier, you could probably tone down the butter usage a bit and still keep all the great taste. It is packed on the calories, so do keep this in mind when adding sides to it.

Overall:
For a homemade dish emulation, Kraft certainly doesn't disappoint here. It's a great, full dish that you can sink your teeth into and feel satisfied afterward. If you're someone who's always on the go, I'd probably skip it until you have more time, but when you can settle down and for those who do, you'd do well to keep this one on hand to enjoy. Parents can finally make something that's on a different level than all the other more "kiddy" mac & cheeses out there. It puts the class into mac & cheese without necessarily having all the extra preparation that the more homemade stuff can have. I'll definitely be buying this one again.

Hope this review was helpful and entertaining. Thank you for reading, and cheers!