Kraft Dinner vs. Annie’s – and the bunny wins by a nose!

I’m not sure the makers of Annie’s are going to be happy about this post…

Macaroni and cheese is a staple food in our home. My Canadian husband calls it Kraft Dinner and refuses to eat any other brand. My personal choice is Annie’s. Regardless of preference, mac and cheese is one of those great quick meals that is easy to customize for the CFers and non-CFers in your household. Just cook the pasta and split the portions, then add whole milk and extra butter to the CF bowl and skim milk and less butter to the non-CF bowls.

One Saturday I was embarrassed to find our pantry filled with not one...not two...but EIGHT different boxes of macaroni and cheese. All had the same serving sizes but recommended different preparations (as noted in the prior paragraph). Still, there were some interesting differences in nutritional content just with the mix in the box.

Who knew that little rabbit was such a porker?!
I have to say, Annie’s wins this contest hands down. It was the highest in overall calories and calories from fat than any of the KD mixes. Plus the Annie’s mixes alone had less sugar and more fiber in the carb count, and a bit of extra folic acid and Vitamin B1. I think this is because they use organic wheat shell pasta instead of an enriched macaroni product. The cons? Annie’s was a bit lower in iron and sodium than the KD dinners but extra salt can always be added.

(mix only)	Annie’s Shells & Real Aged Cheddar	Annie’s Regular Mac & Cheese	Annie’s White Cheddar Shells	KD Veggie Mac & Cheese*	Regular KD and KD Spirals	KD Sponge Bob Shapes	KD Organic
Calories	270	270	270	260	260	250	240
Fat Calories	40	40	40	35	30	20	20
Total Fat	4.5g	4g	4.5g	3.5g	3.5g	2.5g	2.5g
Saturated Fat	2.5g	2.5g	2.5g	1.5g	1.5g	1g	1g
Sodium	510mg	510mg	500mg	550mg	580mg	580mg	630mg
Carbs	46g	46g	47g	47g	47g	49g	49g
Fiber	2g	2g	2g	3g	1g	1g	2g
Sugars	4g	5g	5g	7g	6g	7g	8g

After comparing, I think I’ll try to convert Lil Guy over to my Annie’s preference – we can always add more salt to the mixture to increase sodium content but I like the idea of more fiber and vitamins, particularly for a carb-heavy meal.

*A word about KD Veggie Mac and Cheese – don’t expect this to be on the shelves long, it is nasty stuff! I picked up a box thinking it was just a marketing gimmick. When I started to cook it, the smell of broccoli permeated my kitchen. Turns out they substituted cauliflower as one of the main ingredients. I’ll eat a lot of stuff but this was just gross.

Update: The "creamy" version of any boxed mac & cheese (the one that comes with the liquid cheese package inside) packs twice as much fat but isn't a big hit in my house. Of course, nothing beats the fat content of homemade mac & cheese!