To eat KD for the first time in ten years (or more)

A few nights ago, while talking on the phone, my boyfriend was eating Kraft Dinner (KD).  I will be honest and say that I was not totally pleased with this.  I consider myself to be more of a whole foods type person, and want this lifestyle to rub off on him, and it has.  He cooks wonderful things for me and loves vegetables but being a boy and needing food fast means sometimes a well balanced meal is KD.  I told him that I hadn't had KD in years, really I cannot remember the last time I did.  He suggested that I try it again.

The last time I ate KD was probably while I was in boarding school for high school.  We would eat it out of a hot pot in the dorms instead of going to the dining hall for meals. We did all sorts of things to make KD taste more like a delicacy. I would cover mine in pepper to give it punch, and if I had some near, paprika or chilli powder.  My older siblings really got addicted to Krafty-Itchy, where you would cook KD and itchiban noodles together and combine the powders at the end (do not add the milk) to create a spicy cheesy concoction.  I think my sister serves it to her children to this day.

After moving away from prepared foods and fast food in general (don't worry I still like the occasional burger from A&W) I didn't even notice KD leaving my diet.  I began to stick to the outside aisles in the grocery store, and if I wanted mac & cheese, I would make it from scratch.  One of my friends really enjoys KD in a cup, and during a heated argument between her and my brother, he labelled it cancer in a cup.  This could be where the slight avoidance became an aversion.

I told my boyfriend that maybe I would buy it and give it a shot again. I was out grocery shopping  and I went down the aisle and I saw all of the KD boxes.  I could not get over all of the different types of KD.  I stuck to the original, it was 99 cents.  I thought if nothing else it would serve the purpose of filling me up one day when empty and don't have the energy to cook.

Today was that day.  I currently live alone and cooking isn't so bad, but spending any amount of time on a meal only to enjoy it solo is so bad. I put the water on to boil, opened the box with my teeth (that push in and rip thing does not work unless you have industrial grade acrylic nails, I don't think it opens otherwise without the use of teeth) and poured the noodles in.  When they hit the boiling water it turned to a milky white, all of the starch came screaming out of the noodles.  The skinny noodles slowly got fatter and fatter. I read the instructions.  Not that I needed to read the instructions, I think KD is practically idiot proof, but it had been at least ten years so I wanted to be sure.

I drained the noodles and did a combination of the Sensible Solutions and Cheesy sauce directions.  Sensible solutions asked for a tablespoon of margarine and skim milk.  Cheesy said three tablespoons of butter! and 1/3 cup of milk.  I put in about a teaspoon of butter, and maybe a 1/4 cup of milk. I never drain the noodles enough and end up with watery "cheese" everytime.

After stirring it, I took a bite.  And instantly, my throat had this feeling that I used to get way back when I was eating KD.  It's hard to describe, it's not that it's closing and my body is rejecting it, but it's almost like a cramp.  It's as though my throat is faking that it's allergic to it. I ate a few bites of just KD to really try it again.  And then covered it in pepper like I always used to.  This made my throat weirdness go away, it appeased it somehow.

I text my boyfriend that: "It's not awful", and it's not.  In fact, I'm saving the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but part of that may be because I know I won't want to cook tomorrow.  I read the nutrition information and KD is not "cancer in a cup". Despite its high glycemic index (due to the pasta) it's not so bad: good source of thiamin, riboflavin and folate and it's quick and easy to prepare.  That said, I don't think it will be a regular on my grocery list. As I told my boyfriend, "I remain indifferent to KD."

That's all.

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