When I was contacted by a social media marketing rep for Quality Pasta Company to ask if I would be interested in trying their new Muscle Mac products I told her; "If this is the Muscle Mac products I saw on Netrition and then again on the shelves at my local Publix grocery store, then, absolutely!"
Having seen Muscle Mac products over the last couple months, I had thought about how the extra protein would be great for my son; he loves mac & cheese, he works out, he works full time and he's a single guy with his first apartment but loves to get surprise boxes 'from Mom'. The traditional boxed mac and cheese products aren't exactly healthy even if they do taste good and are quick and easy to make but more importantly; an active 23 year old guy with a 27 inch waist can eat 2 boxes in one sitting in order to get filled up. But I didn't buy them. I didn't know anything about them or how they tasted so I passed them up, only to be offered a chance to try and review them soon after.
We tried two of the products; Shells and Cheese and Macaroni and Cheese. I assume my readers are going to have the same questions that I did so I'm going to get straight to the point: YES they taste great and YES they taste very similar to the other big brand names of similar products. The carb and sugar counts are similar to other brands but the big difference is that extra boost of protein as well as the fact that they are made with no preservatives (except Shells & Cheese does have to have a preservative in the sauce as it's pre-made), no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or refined sugar and are made with non-gmo pasta.
You can see the nutrition facts here:
Shells and Cheese nutrition facts
Muscle Mac Macaroni & Cheese nutrition facts
My twenty-year-old is home from college this summer and she and her best friend came home just as I was finishing making it. She went straight to the pan on the stove, grabbed the wooden spoon and snuck a taste. She sounded so funny when she remarked "Now... THAT'S some good mac and cheese!" that I told her I was going to quote her.
We tried both styles last week and I made everyone give me feedback. Overwhelmingly it was given a 'thumbs up' and 'buy this again' vote. It is smooth and creamy and has all the comfort-food goodness you expect except it's non-gmo, with no synthetic coloring and the protein boost fills you up, fuels you up, and keeps you full longer. I found the Muscle Mac products to be less salty than other similar brands so that was a plus too.
After trying these, my 20 year old plans to pack some in her college dorm supplies; I plan to purchase some and ship them to my son in one of his 'surprise packages' from home. With the non-gmo pasta, no synthetic dyes as well as the 20 grams of protein in every serving; I know he'll appreciate them.
Related products available through Amazon;
Muscle Mac High Protein Macaroni & Cheese, 6 boxes
Muscle Mac High Protein Macaroni and Cheese 20g Protein per serving (2 Pack)
Muscle Mac High Protein Macaroni & Cheese Microwave Cup, 6 cups
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