Kraft Dinner (KD), also know as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, may be cheap and you may be surviving off of it to pay off your mortgage sooner rather than later, but you NEED to know what is in this stuff. Because if you did, you might not touch it again. Sometime’s taking the ‘cheaper’ way out isn’t always good for our health. Think about it: ‘cheaper’ usually (however, not always!) means cheaper quality. When we neglect to give our bodies top quality care and food that is free of chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, etc), GMO’s and low-nutrient-profile food, what are we giving our bodies to work off of? Not much. Keep reading to find out what you’re body is given to run off of when we feed it Kraft Dinner and find out how you can make a healthier SEXIER version.
KD is cheap. There’s no doubt about that. When you’re looking to save on food, KD might seem like the way to get there. But what gets sacrificed when we make this choice? Health! Is it really cheaper in the end? When we give our bodies something like KD to ‘nourish’ us and provide us with energy, are we really “Gotta be KD”? You’ve got to be kidding me!
Here’s what a Holistic Nutritionist has to say about KD
KD sadly doesn’t get it’s bright orange color from a natural source like orange peel or carrots. So where does it come from?
In the US and Canada, Kraft Mac and Cheese contains the artificial food dyes Yellow 5 (also known as tartrazine) and Yellow 6. These unnecessary and potentially harmful dyes are not in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in other countries, including the UK, because they were removed due to consumer outcry. So why is it in the KD sold in the US and Canada? We’re wondering why also. It turns out Kraft reformulated their product for the UK, but not for their fellow North American citizens.
Two women have formed a petition that you can sign to be part of making a positive change by helping to ensure healthy changes are made to North America’s popular macaroni dish. Get involved by signing this petition: Kraft: Stop Using Dangerous Food Dyes in Our Mac & Cheese, by Vani Hari and Lisa Leake.
What are artificial dyes?
Vani Hari from Food Babe and Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food define artificial dyes:
– Are man-made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum (a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar).
– Require a warning label in other countries outside the US.
– Have been banned in countries like Norway and Austria (and are being phased out in the UK).
– Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are contaminated with known carcinogens (a.k.a. an agent directly involved in causing cancer).
– Cause an increase in hyperactivity in children.
– Have a negative impact on children’s ability to learn.
– Have been linked to long-term health problems such as asthma, skin rashes, and migraines.
– Add absolutely no nutritional value to the foods we are eating and are solely used for aesthetic purposes only.
So, why would any company add this to their food products? I wish I had the answer.
Other food categories to look out for Yellow 5 (aka Tartrazine)
- Desserts and sweets: ice cream, popsicles, hard candy (such as Gummy Bears, etc.), cotton candy, instant pudding, Jell-O, cake mix, pastries (such as Pilsbury pasteries), custard, biscuits, cookies.
- Beverages: soft drinks (such as Mountain Dew), energy and sports drinks, powdered drink mixes (such as Kool-Aid), and flavoured drinks, flavored alcoholic beverages.
- Snacks: flavored corn chips (such as Doritos, nachos, etc.), chewing gum, popcorn, and potato chips.
- Condiments: jam, jelly, marmalade, mustard, horseradish, pickles, tartare sauce, and processed sauces.
- Other processed foods: cereal, instant soup, noodles (such as some varieties of Kraft Dinner), pureed fruit.
They put this stuff in lotion, makeup and other products!?
You’ll want to double check the ingredients list of all products you purchase for Yellow 5. Here’s some product to keep your eyes on:
- Personal Care Products: Liquid soap, bar soaps, green-tinted hand sanitizer, moisturizers, lotions, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, sunless tanner lotion, other hair products.
- Cosmetics: eyeshadow, blush, face powder and foundation, lipstick
- Nails: Nail polish, nail polish remover, temporary tattoos
Healthy Mac n’ Cheese Recipe
There are many great healthy mac n’ cheese alternatives and recipes scouring the internet. We want to give our bodies clean whole foods so that they run the best they can and so that they leave us healthy and feeling fabulous. Here is one of our favorites by Marni Wasserman: Mac N’ Cheeze Pleaze! Recipe. The Naked Label will be publishing a cookbook this Spring 2013 and will be featuring this AMAZING recipe by Marni. Stay tuned!
Did you find this article informative? Pass this article onto friends, family and coworkers that you know who eat KD often using the Twitter and Facebook links. Awareness is key! Also, I’d love to hear from those that already new about Yellow 5 (tartrazine) and the alternative recipes you use. Share it with our readers! I love connecting with other nutrition-minded readers and personally congratulate you for taking interest in your own health!
A special thanks to my good friend, Jen Southward, for the inspiration to write this article to help spread the word about America’s favorite macaroni dish!
