The Real Reason This French Onion Mac And Cheese From Trader Joe's Has Fans Divided
According to Trader Joe's, January 2021 is still prime comfort food season. It's the middle of winter, after all, so we all want something warm and familiar to get us through the cold, bleak weeks to come. One of its latest products attempts to address this need in the yummiest possible way, combining two favorites to create a genius mashup: French onion macaroni and cheese! Oh, and the best part about it is, this mac's not the boxed stuff which is always kind of fiddly to make. No, this dish can be found in the frozen food aisle, which means all you've got to do is heat it and eat it. Plus, the addition of onions isn't the only thing that elevates it above more plebeian pastas, since it's made with both Swiss and cheddar and — as a crowning glory — topped with crunchy croutons. Pretty fancy!
Lots of people are thrilled with this new product. SheKnows reviewer raves about its "complex cheesy flavor," while Instagrammer traderjoeslist claims it will "make your tastebuds dance!" Many of the comments on this Instagram post shared the excitement with remarks like, "im so excited" and "Running. No literally Speeding," but others were able to curb their enthusiasm once they saw the nutritional information.
What's wrong with this Trader Joe's macaroni dish?
As traderjoeslist admitted, "it's not a light item," and a picture they posted of the back of the box certainly bore this out. While the container purportedly contains 2.5 servings, Trader Joe's measures a serving as one cup. If you're eating mac and cheese as a side dish, a cup sounds reasonable, but if you're making this mac and cheese your whole dinner, chances are you're going to scarf down the whole thing. Oops, bad move, since in so doing, you'll have ingested nearly 1,000 calories! (960, to be exact.) Not to mention 102 grams of carbohydrates — as one commenter said, "Carb city! I'm out."
Many of the responses seemed to echo a common theme, that being, as one commenter put it, "That looks amazing!!! The nutritional info though..." Another person said, "At 1,000 calories a box I think I may never try this- if I like it I'll be in big trouble," while still another admitted "It looks amazing but I fear for my life if I brought that home!!!" So, yeah. Consume at your own peril. Thanks a bunch, Trader Joe's, for making it harder than ever to stick to that "eat healthy" New Year's resolution!