Few grocery items are more quintessentially American thanboxed macaroni and cheese.
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I know what you’re thinking.
Nice try, but this sort of do-gooder alchemy, though well-intentioned, probably tastes like a total disappointment.
Photos: The brands. Design: Eat This, Not That!
That’s what I thought, too.
Then I tried it for myself and found it surprisingly similar to the real thing.
Then again, I’m pretty open-minded to trying new things like this.
Photo: Amazon
My 9-year-old daughter, especially, is a fierce Kraft mac loyalist.
So, I decided to take a different approach.
The only major difference was the butter.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
For its “classic prep,” Kraft calls for four tablespoons, while Goodles recommends just two.
There’s a noticeable difference in color between the two brands.
Kraft macaroni has always struck a recognizable vibrant yellow color, while the Goodles version looked closer to orange.
Photo: Chris Shott/Eat This, Not That!
“Pretty good?”
“Mm-hmm,” she replied.
I quickly followed up, “As good as you remember?”
To which, she said, “Better.”
Surely, this was a fluke, I thought.
So, I tried again a few days later.
This time, she clearly sensed that something was up.
“Tastes good,” she said.
“Quick question… um, do you know, why is it orange?”
I decided to play dumb and see where the conversation went.
My wife chimed in to suggest it was the cheese, which our bright young offspring immediately brushed aside.
“No, usually it’s yellow,” she said.
“I’m just curious.
It doesn’t taste different.”
Score another point for Goodles!
“It looks way better than yesterday,” she told me, “and it tastessupergood.”
She then qualified her remarks, “It tastes the same as yesterday, just really, really good.
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Later, she clarified her position.
“It looked better and it tasted better.”
At this point, I felt compelled to tell her the truth.
She was not amused and immediately disputed the results, particularly her initial “better” comment.
She further claimed to have seen through my ruse and suggested she was simply playing along the whole time.
“Dad, I’m terribly sorry, I’m just such a good actor,” she said.
“I saw you swap it out.
I ate it because I wasacting!”
She also told me flat-out that she would never knowingly eat the Goodles version again.
I’m not buying it.
The results stand on their own.
Goodles tastes good enough to fool my whip-smart fourth-grader.
Perhaps it’s even good enough to like your kids, too.
