I’m on an accidental diet of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Once upon a time, in a former life, I wasn’t allowed to bring my old college staple into the house. “We” didn’t eat processed food and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese was one of the largest culprits. I think I got away with eating it in the house twice in my thirteen year marriage and that was only because the boxes were mailed to us in a care package. 

Now that I’m single and am taking a brief hiatus from taco trucks and pupusas, my new favorite food, I’m back on what the Canadians call “Kraft Dinner.” I don’t know whether it’s the additives in the fake cheesy package or something in the noodles themselves, but it’s an addiction. I now crave Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. 

My cravings for mac-n-chez are not necessarily a good thing. After the first couple of boxes a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I was having much more gastro-intestinal problems. I had to time my workouts at better hours so that I could go to the gym without fear of embarrassment. I had to limit my intake to one box a day. And even then, I started to feel shameful at the grocery. 

“Yes, I’m of a certain age and still eat like a college student. And yes, I’ll give you my phone number so that I can save the twenty-seven cents per box. But no, I won’t buy ten at a time to save even more money.”

I don’t pretend that I’m being a retro foodie/hipster by eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. (I only do that when I’m drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.) And I don’t pretend that I’m a foodie in training by dressing up my mac-n-chez with tuna fish like I did back in the day. And I haven’t talked much (until now) about my strange eating habit. 

Eventually I’ll stop eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but I don’t know when that will be. As long as I’m still single and there’s no El Chef looking over my shoulder to make sure I eat healthily, I’ll probably keep on eating it. 

Mac-n-chez is easy to make, it’s cheap, and reminds me of childhood. My mom probably ate it when I was in the womb. I made it on a regular basis whenever I babysat.I  lived on it for two years in college and a few years after graduation.