Letters to the Editor
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It's one pot vs two and a grater....
And far easier to clean the one pan, too! The white cheese powder also doesn't stain as much as the Kraft fluorescent glo-powder.
Seriously, homemade mac 'n cheese is a hassle to make and clean, and the sauce is never smooth - it's okay for big family meals, but not for quickly feeding one or two kids. And there's lots of clumped up cheese glop to clean - by hand, since the dishwasher won't cut it.
But what I do is reduce the cheese powder to half, and add a handful of already grated cheese in place of the butter - voila - great tasting, smooth sauced mac 'n cheese, with just one pan. Use the remaining cheese powder for popcorn.
(It must be comfort food time of the year.....)
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Please tell me she's kidding
I haven't seen any other articles by this author, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt that this is really a satire on the lost art of the expose. I mean, please. We're not exactly talking about Mike Wallace showing up at your door with a 60 Minutes crew here.
Of course Annie's isn't a health food. It's got powdered damn cheese in it! There is no cheese on the universe that is supposed to come in powdered form. It doesn't mean I don't like it. When I lived overseas, I made visiting guests bring me both Annie's and Kraft dinners to get a little taste of home. In the context of a balanced diet, there's nothing wrong with a little powdered cheese, and I think that most parents know that, even the gullible, organo-hipster parents that she purports to describe. I don't feed my child Annie's dinners because he's not a mac-and-cheese fan, but I have let the occasional Cheddar Bunny pass his lips. He remains alive and well.
I guess the problem--if, indeed, there is one--is that some parents out there might be fooling themselves into thinking that they're offering some kind of fully rounded meal in a pretty purple box, no veggies or fruits or complex carbs required. But honestly, how many parents really think that? Most of us are just doing our best to raise happy, healthy kids, and that sometimes requires an occasional shortcut.
It's a little like Baby Einstein, really. I don't think that having little Graydon watch the occasional half hour of Baby Einstein is going to cause permanent brain damage, but let's not pretend that it's educational. It's a tool to allow us to get a shower occasionally, and that's not going to do anyone any harm.
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The moral of the story?
Don't politicize your damn food, people.
I remember the first time I came across Annie's...wow, it must have been close to twelve years ago. I loved it then, I still love it now, and I don't really care that much about the details of the company.
I mean, let's be honest: the stuff isn't exactly bursting with healthy goodness, and anyone who reads a label can see that. I think it's a little disingenuous to act like it's a big scoop that it's no more healthy than any other commercial mac-and-cheese. I don't remember seeing anything on the box that promised low-fat, low-sodium, or low-anything else. (And lost nutrients or no, I do appreciate that I can recognize and pronounce all of the ingredients, which gives it a leg up in my book.) But what it comes down to is that, to my palate, it tastes a hell of a lot better than the Kraft version, and that's why I buy it.
I know, I know. Big Companies Are Bad, and I'm probably supposed to feel offended that old Annie isn't really the crunchy little hippie her boxes advertise. But...I really don't. Sorry. And if you do feel disillusioned? Well, I don't feel sorry for you. Anyone who buys food out of lib-hipster cred - instead of the sheer pleasure of eating it - deserves to be taken down a few notches.
Sneer if you must, but I'll happily admit that I crack open a box every now and then - for myself, not for my nonexistent kids - because it tastes good and I'm exactly that lazy. The basil alfredo version with some tuna and broccoli mixed in? Mmmm. My idea of comfort food. And yeah, not exactly good for me, which I'm okay with as long as I don't let myself indulge too often. When I want healthy food, I head for the fruits and leafy veggies and whole grains.
I honestly don't give a rat's ass about the founder and which mega-corp she is or isn't in bed with. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to spend time caring when there are yummy foods I can be eating instead. Long live Annie's!
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whatever
It would be a lot easier to take this column seriously if the writer weren't just so dripping with derision and moral superiority. Honestly: "Refueling Gabriel, Rebekka, Isaac and Yazmin after a grueling toddler networking session? The well-stocked mom breaks out the Annie's. Three-course dinner with (mucho) wine for the grown-ups?"
Jesus, what an asshole.
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Annie's and Being Green
Here's my letter to them and their response:
Dear Annies,
I love your food, but I have a problem with your Be Green bumper stickers. Simply put, bumpers stickers go on cars, and there is very little that is Green about driving. Besides the obvious pollution and huge consumption of natural resources for manufacture and fuel, cars are socially isolationist and have ruined the landscape of our cities. Roads take up huge proportions of public space, create noise pollution, and have a maddening effect on drivers, raging against one another, as well as harassing, injuring, and killing pedestrians and bicyclists, who are arguably much more Green. Hopefully with the Greening of America becoming trendy, one first step will be away from cars and toward more appropriate forms of transportation. Please try to devote some energy to getting people out of their cars instead of making them feel good by having a placebo bumper sticker to advertise while "sitting in traffic with noting better to do." I used to have a car with a Be Green bumper sticker, and now I have neither.
thanks for the open mind,
Dear Justin:
Thank you for taking the time to e-mail Annie's Homegrown. Here at Annie's, it is our top
priority to make delicious food that is safe and natural. We also do our best to be a good
corporate citizen by sponsoring programs that encourage people to be healthy by eating
organic and natural food, but also by helping the Earth be healthy. Our bumperstickers are
designed to reach out to people. Everyone reads bumperstickers, so we have chosen to take
advantage of this venue to promote Being Green to Help the Earth Live.
The comments you made in your e-mail are very good points. We support your efforts to Be
Green by leaving your car behind in favor of more energy efficient transportation options.
We often get requests for Be Green stickers from consumers who want to put it on their
bicycles, so please know that a car is not required to help spread the message. We also
participate in the Native Energy program, where we invest in a Green future by giving
money to build windmills so more renewable energy is available. For more information on all
of the programs we are involved in please visit the following links on our web site:
http://www.annies.com/programs/index.html
http://www.annies.com/annies/oct02_2006.htm
Your feedback is very valuable and I will definitely share it with the whole Annie's team for
consideration. We are always looking for better ways to be good to our planet, and we really
appreciate your suggestions!
Thanks again for your inquiry. We hope that you will continue to enjoy Annie's Homegrown
products!