Is it Yellow No. 5 or Yellow No. 6 That Makes it the Cheesiest?

Last night was one of those nights where I had to throw together the fastest meal possible to satisfy the brood. Also, I had to make it up to my husband that I had given him a craptastic lunch. So, I did what I thought would be well received: chicken wings, peas, garlic bread, and macaroni and cheese from a box.

Now, you should know, that even before I started my clean eating craze I preferred to make my own mac and cheese and most days I do a good job of it. However, my husband has been craving some boxed mac and cheese for a while and finally bought a "family size" portion of it the last time he went to the supermarket. I wasn't tempted to "cheat" and taste the mac and cheese, since it's disgusting, but I did take a moment to read up on all the ingredients inside. Most were unpronounceable. Big surprise. It was also a big hit with the kids and the husband. Absolutely no surprise there.

Because I was in such a mad dash to get all of the food made and the kids fed and all of us out of the door by 6, I didn't have time to make my own food. However, I did just happen to have a can of congee. I had bought it at the supermarket after writing an article about this popular Asian dish. I checked, double checked, and checked the ingredients list again before I decided it was okay for me to eat. It was my first and positively last experience. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever tried, but it was reminiscent of mucus with runny peas mixed in. Fortunately, after two or three bites, I found that I had overlooked the final ingredient, which was written in black type face on a dark background: sugar. No sugar for me, so I threw it out. Yay! Of course, then I was hungry, so I settled for more peanut butter and Ezekiel bread. Eh. Whatever. Those days happen sometimes and I can only combat them by having more clean foods on hand. That's not easy when your last shopping trip was to Aldi, where macaroni and cheese is king.