Real vs. Fake Macaroni & Cheese

The main foods in the Western diet are processed foods with preservatives, artificial flavoring, and added sugar that are manipulated to be fortified with vitamins and minerals. However, these processed foods still lack some of the essential nutrients that are not put into fake foods.

One of the foods I ate as a kid, macaroni & cheese, was always a favorite to me. My mom would make it with whole-wheat noodles slices of American cheese, and even some broccoli. When I got older I relied on the fake version, like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, for its convenience. Compared to the real version made from real cheese, the cheese comes in a powder form in the Kraft box. The noodles in the box are all one color instead of dark, rich, and multi-grained. I prefer the taste of the real food to the fake box because it has real cheese with and some type of steamed vegetable.

When comparing the fake food to real macaroni & cheese, the fake food cannot match the nutrients found in the real version. The whole wheat noodles alone provide 9 different minerals, 6.3 grams of fiber, with less than 1 gram sugar and fat. One serving of the fake version has only 5 minerals, 1 gram of sugar, with 3 grams fat and 7 grams sugar. The real type of macaroni & cheese is far superior to its lesser fake counterpart, especially when calcium rich cheese and milk are added.

Although macaroni & cheese is not the healthiest food even in its real form, the calcium and fiber from the real cheese and whole wheat noodles provides greater nutritional value than powder cheese with noodles. After realizing the benefits of all natural ingredients, I will eat my mom’s authentic version the next time I crave some quality macaroni & cheese.