Yes, we have found the holy grail of pre-packaged, frozen gluten & dairy free macaroni and cheese. It is the one pictured above. Amy's Kitchen rice macaroni with non-dairy cheese. The "cheese" is actually from a company, called Daiya Foods, They have the single-most, best-tasting non-dairy cheese that we've ever tried! We haven't actually tried the cheese itself yet, but mainly because I haven't bitten the bullet and ordered any. As of yet, it's (Daiya) not available locally in any stores, although I keep hoping and am keeping my fingers crossed. If this product is any indication, I can tell that we will LOVE the plain Daiya cheese. It comes in two flavors.... cheddar and mozzarella. I'm excited to get the mozzarella as I'm sure it will be quite delicious on pizzas or even shredded up on some spaghetti for Ashton!
So, which one do you think is the Amy's Kitchen and which one is the Kraft? Other than the noodles of one of them being a bit fatter, they basically look the same, don't ya think? They both looked, smelled and somewhat tasted the same. I have NEVER EVER found a GFCF macaroni and cheese that looked, smelled and tasted so close to the real thing. No wonder Ashton loves this stuff!
If you're wondering.....
the bowl on the left is the Kraft mac and cheese and the
one on the right is the Amy's Kitchen mac and cheese.
As you can see from the picture, Ashton was thoroughly enjoying his dinner. A bit perturbed that mommy was interrupting him to take pictures (how dare I!) and yes, that is a can of Pepsi throwback he's drinking. (hey, at least there's not HFCS - high fructose corn syrup - in it!)
So there you have it ....... delicious macaroni and cheese ... AND it's safe for him to eat!! Now I'm on a mission to get a more local store to carry it. Right now, I've only found it at Navan Foods, which is a local (Virginia Beach) allergy-friendly food store. He's already eaten the four boxes of this that I've bought, so I need to get back out there and get some more. I do believe it's his new, favorite food.
Thanks for looking!
found your page and had to say i love this post - and hey everyone loves a pepsi now and then! we haven't gotten this in our area yet but i special ordered it last week from our whole foods in seattle so here's hoping we can add another food into the rotation. *crossing fingers*
ReplyDeleteYou can order Daiya at http://www.veganessentials.com :) That's where I get mine! There is also couple vegan boxed mac n' cheeze options there, too. The Leahy's is closest to Kraft. I prefer the Road's End, though, since it takes more adult. Heartier noodles and whatnot. Both are nutritional yeast based instead of fake cheese based.
ReplyDeleteThey might be a bit cheaper for you and easier to have shipped! I agree that Daiya is AMAZING. Fantastic on pita pizzas. :)
love, sara - I am trying to see if I can find another local mom who wants to order Daiya with me .... though since it's almost March, I might wait for the retail packaging to start becoming more readily available :) Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteweeona - Yea, I know I can order Daiya online, I'm just an online ordering wimp! ;) If I can easily find it in person at a brick & mortar store, I'd just as soon go that route. My son isn't big into eating cheese anymore, except macaroni & cheese, so for now, we'll stick with the Amy's. We tried Road's End .... blech! :P I couldn't stand the smell and even my non-discerning macaroni & cheese eater turned his nose up at it. I don't think I've ever seen Leahy's.... I might have to look for that! Thanks for stopping by! :)
Hi - found your blog through your post on a yahoo group.
ReplyDeleteI just recently discovered Daiya cheese - you can order it in a variety of quantities through veganessentials.com. That's where we got ours. I have to say, I had to look at the package more than once to make sure that it really wasn't real cheese... because it tastes that much like it. It was really easy to order it that way, and they make sure it's sent via ups in a very timely manner. I find that to be easier (for me), as I'm a SAHM to a 2 and a 3 year old with a deployed husband, so going out ANYWHERE is a challenge. I try to avoid most grocery stores (though Albertson's seems to be ok) because it seems to trigger meltdowns.
I haven't been lucky enough to find the Amy's gfcf macaroni yet, but I'm making my own mac and cheese with Mrs. Leepers corn pasta (which is yellow already, so my 3 year old thought it WAS mac and cheese), almond milk, a little bit of gfcf margarine and Daiya cheese. I think I'm gonna have to order some more Daiya after this.
Anyhow, thanks for your blog - I've read a few entries, and omg, how scary to find your child outside. My 3 year old hasn't figured out how to open the sliding glass door, but her brother has, and she can be out the door and over the fence and playing in the neighbor's yard in less than 10 seconds. Freaks me out - thankfully I just installed a safety device on the sliding glass door, but who knows how long that will last? Eek.