Mac and cheese challenge

Boxed mac and cheese. A staple in a lot of American homes, yes? Ours too, unfortunately. I figured after how well the chocolate shake switch went, I'd take on the mac and cheese. Well let's just say, it did not go smoothly. And nor has it been accepted as a replacement for the box with the orange powder. Yet.

I found a great recipe in our America's Test Kitchen cookbook. It's the "light" version and it is fantastic. Due to Gavin's turned up nose, my husband and I were forced to eat it all ourselves, not a problem. Every time I took a bite, I couldn't understand how my son could resist such a wonderful dish. And not only that but prefer the stuff in the box.

I'm fully aware why Gav has developed a propensity for the boxed version, it's what I started him on and have consistently given him. That specific taste, smell, color and those uniquely shaped noodles, that's what he craves. We buy the Trader Joe's or Whole Foods brand but is it really any better than the blue box? Yes, actually. Ingredients below.

So I'm stuck at the moment. The only thing to do at this point is to continue to try. I will serve him my mac and cheese and go from there. The bright side is he's only three, there is still time to wean him off the box and for him to develop a taste for the real stuff.

Trader Joe's ingredients: Sauce (cheddar cheese [cultured pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes], whey, buttermilk, butter [cream, salt], disodium phosphate, extractives of annatto and beta carotine [for color]).

Kraft ingredients: whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, contains less than 2% of citric acid, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, milk, calcium phosphate, yellow 5, yellow 6, cheese culture, enzymes.