#boxed meals

[simplemancooking]

How to stretch a meal ? Load it with veggies! Boxed meals by themselves don't go that far, but if you mix in some veggies at the time where you simmer it, you add some great nutrients and you have some great leftovers

[daniellecoots1972]

Kroger making life easier

  I feel like I live in this place. I mean who doesn’t, right? There is always that call at work, “Mom, bring some milk home” or “Mom, there’s nothing here to eat” even when you just did the weekly shopping.

When there are kids, a husband, pets and visitors, there is always a need for food. I drive past a Walmart (which I hate) and even another big named grocery store to get to this Kroger, but…

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[aarontilley-photography]

Some images I had the pleasure of photographing with the talented Kyle Bean for the Fast Company. Boxed meals and over packaging.

[photodb]

Chef 5-Minute Meals – a review

At my first glimpse of the Chef 5-Minute Meal booth at the Outdoor Retailer’s Show this summer, I was quite intrigued with the steam coming from a bunch of food boxes on their demo table. Upon further investigation, I discovered that each package was its own oven and that steam, was coming from a bunch of dinners being cooked before us.

CHEF 5-MINUTE MEALS – THE BIG IDEA

Pick one of nine meals –…

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[cookingshiba-blog]

Lazy Sunday: Betty Crocker Mac and Cheese

Okay, it's not actually a Sunday.  But it's Monday, so that's close enough, right? :D

I decided that it might be interesting to write reviews on new (okay, previously untried) products I pick up at the store.  Boxed meals and so forth.  Because as much as I love cooking, somtimes I'm just really lazy and don't want to have to clean a bunch of pans.  And other times, sometimes boxed meals provide delicious foods I can't make on my own.  Who knows? LET'S FIND OUT.

I love mac and cheese. It's pretty much in the top three of my favorite foods, right next to chicken parmesean and cheesesteak.  (Why yes, I am not a very healthy eater, but I eat like a bird, so I figure it's worth it)

Growing up, however, mac and cheese was a thing I was never allowed to have from the grocery store.  My dad was pretty adamant about not feeding me junk food, and Kraft Mac n' Cheese was one of the things he classified as junk.  So, naturally, as an adult now I eat it at least twice a month.  (For those curious, I prefer a specific store brand).

Betty Crocker's Mac and Cheese beckoned to me at the store yesterday. It was on sale for basically a dollar a box, as opposed to the regular price of $1.20, slightly expensive for boxed mac as far as I've noticed (my preferred brand is $0.90).  It promised three intriguing flavors - Original, Grilled Cheese, and Cheese Pizza.

Of course i'm not going to turn down anything that claims it tastes like a pizza, so I grabbed all three for science.

Since I have no concept of a proper breakfast, I decided to start the experiment this morning with the Grilled Cheese.  The instructions are a little different than classic boxed mac and cheese and more like Hamburger Helper - it requires you to literally dump everything into the pot all at once.

This mac and cheese requires a cup of water, a cup of milk, and FOUR DAMN TABLESPOONS OF BUTTER - twice as much as my preferred brand.  It was at this point where I realized I should really take a look at the nutritional information, and I was shocked to learn that if I were to eat a whole box, I would be going far over my nutritional requirements for the day (my maximum is 1,600).  Someone eating 2,000 calories a day would receive a whopping 84% of their daily fat from one box, out of 1,110 calories.  All this potentially in one meal is SHOCKING.  For someone like me, I'd pretty much have to spread it out over small portions over a few days in order to remain under my limit.

While cooking it did have a very nice and strong aroma, much more like non-dairy movie popcorn butter than a cheese sauce.

Apparently, though, there's a good reason you do things separate and buy high quality noodles.  Basically, the water level was so low that the noodles stuck to the bottom whenever I turned away for a minute, and by the time they finished cooking, they were more or less mush that had also stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Actually eating the product, I found it to be offensively mild.  It didn't quite taste how I might expect a grilled cheese to taste, but I did detect a very buttery flavor sneaking in.  Probably because of all the butter I was instructed to include.  The sauce is detectable as very salty, but seems like it should be saltier, but considering the salt content is already so high (25% per serving), adding any more would be a TERRIBLE idea and would probably also wrap straight around to tasting like you dumped an entire salt shaker on your plate.

All in all, I would classify this mac and cheese as a great concept with terrible execution.  I have two more boxes to power through, so maybe I can get away with deep-frying them at a holiday party or something.  At least that way, the sheer unhealthiness is spread around in small doses.

[boxedmeals]

From: Souen SoHo What: ginger black cod, brown rice, kale salad.

Note: boxed meals has moved to NY from SF to explore new flavors. (and slightly less Eco-friendly packaging)

[boxedmeals]

From: sweet woodruff What: portobello mushroom sandwich on whole wheat bread, with ricotta, aioli, arugula and bell pepper pesto. Served with a side salad and pickled onions.