Born Simple Prepared Meals - Ready to Eat Four-Cheese Elbow Mac and Cheese | 24g Protein | 11 Oz (Pack of 3)

I'm new to buying shelf-stable foods for emergencies and this is one of the first I've tried. The sauce of this mac and cheese is very creamy and cheesy. I found it quite acceptable. The pasta is firm and not mushy. The packages are easy to open (you unfold the top and pull the top off) without any needed tools like a can opener. The mac and cheese is easy to get out of the packages. I did microwave this for a few minutes in a bowl and it was fine. You could also heat it in a saucepan on lower heat. So happy to have this for emergencies but as you can tell I already ate one!~The Rebecca Review

**Title: "Mac & Cheese Fanatic Approved!"**I’m a mac and cheese lover through and through, and this stuff is solid. 22g of protein, but it actually tastes like real mac and cheese—no weird aftertaste or funky protein vibe. It’s the perfect combo of comfort food and a little muscle fuel. Definitely a new go-to for me!

These four-cheese elbow mac and cheese prepared meal box was ok, not great. I found the cheese somewhat bitter and the elbow pasta soft. This could be a filling meal for overnight camping.

I probably shouldn't have ordered this because I've never really had shelf stable food I've been happy with other than maybe rice or beans. So this was a bit of a disappointment for me. The color was strange and looked grey, maybe because there are no artificial colors added. I even opened a second container to make sure it wasn't just a bad box but they both looked the same. It just made me think the food had gone bad even though it was within best buy range. I did try it, though, and the texture wasn't the best either, and the flavor a little bland I thought.I've heard of this brand before so maybe my expectations were a little too high. Or maybe cheese isn't one of the things that translate well into the shelf stable food space. But I probably won't eat any more. I split one of the boxes with my husband and he wouldn't even eat his because of the color. I mean, I don't mind lack of color, I just don't think it should be grey and mine kind of was. I don't want to mark it down in stars though because I know it's a natural food so maybe it's supposed to be that way? It just wasn't for us.

I thought by the price this would be a gourmet product, it was horrible ! The cheese was quite bitter, the price is very high for what you get but the worst thing of all about this meal is the pasta, very soft to the point of mushy. I read a lot of good reviews on this product but I was totally disappointed. Just a bad meal that had to be thrown out...

Is this the worst thing I ever ate? No. Would I voluntarily eat it again. Nope. In fact, I did not even finish the one carton I opened. First, someone else said it looked gray in color. And somehow it does. So it's already off-putting. As for taste, it pretty much tastes the same as every other shelf stable mac and cheese out there, which is not good. It's very creamy, but that almost makes it more disgusting as it's almost mushy in ways. I will either donate or throw out the other 2 boxes, which yeah, it's WAY overpriced for the size as well. The cartons are tiny.

This is probably the first mac and cheese that I’ve had, other than frozen mac and cheese, that just needed to be microwaved (though not in the container this comes in). Each box doesn’t contain a huge amount, but getting a couple of side dishes out of each worked for me. It’s not the healthiest product in the world as each container is over 500 calories and nearly 1,000 mg of sodium.The packs are easy to open so long as you know how to open them. On the top, you have to pull up on the side flaps. Now, the directions say to tear the top, but what you really need to do is take that top half inch and fold it over and then back, and that will make it easy to tear. There are perforations that need that folding. If you don’t do that, it’s difficult to just rip it off as-is, and you’d probably need scissors.There are three main things to note about the mac and cheese. First, it’s very saucy, so if you like saucy mac and cheese, this will be a plus. Second, there is the texture of the noodles. I think the texture is great. The noodles are firm and not mushy, but they aren’t too firm. It’s a good bite. Third, there is the flavor. That, I think, is going to be the biggest divisive issue here. Personally, I find that your typical boxed mac and cheeses don’t have a lot of flavor. Most of the ones I’ve tried have been really bland. This mac and cheese is not bland. There is definitely flavor here. There are four cheeses involved: cheddar, Fontina, Parmesan, and Gouda. Cheddar, Parmesan, and Gouda are all capable of being strong flavors, but I don’t think I really tasted cheddar that much. I think the Parmesan and Gouda were maybe a little more dominant. I like all of the cheeses included, but I’m not sure that the mix ended up being as good as it could have been. I’d say that the flavor was a bit mediocre. I wish the cheeses were sharper and maybe a little more cheddar and Gouda and a little less Parmesan. I do, however, like strong, sharp cheeses.I think that the flavor being a little weird could be a turn-off for some people, especially kids who are used to cheddar mac and cheese.

It was great! I liked that I could just pour into a bowl and microwave, didn't have to deal with boiling water and cheese powder and all that stuff. Tasted great, creamy and cheesy. Made for a solid single serve with a ton of protein as a bonus.