Don't Eat The Mac 'N Cheese! Kraft Sneaking Vegetables Into Processed Foods (2024)

Kraft has started sneaking powdered vegetables into their classic macaroni and cheese in an attempt to get kids to eat healthier, company reps announced, a move that has some health advocates riled up.

“Mom is looking for ways to sneak veggies into her kids’ diet," said Kraft rep Alberto Huerta—so, naturally, the company began adding a half-serving of freeze-dried, powdered cauliflower to the pasta flour in their neon-colored childhood favorite. The company claims the cauliflower-infused noodles taste just like the classic version, and it's been selling quite well in Canada, of all places.

Of course, Kraft isn't the first brand to start slipping a little something into their mass-marketed junk: Chef Boyardee includes enough tomato in some of their canned pasta to qualify for half a cup of vegetables per serving, and Ragu has some sauces that claim two servings of veggies. And of course, we can't forget Jessica Seinfeld, who wrote (and was unsuccessfully sued for plagiarizing) a cookbook called Deceptively Delicious, which advocates pureeing spinach into your child's brownie batter.

But Marion Nestle, a professor at NYU's department of nutrition, food studies and public health, isn't having any of this nonsense: "What a silly idea," she said, pointing out that freeze-dried vegetables lose their nutrients. Ellen Satter, a registered dietitian and author of Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, has said that "If you are dishonest with children about their food, they become suspicious, cautious and reluctant to try new food."

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