Monday, October 31, 2011

Product Faceoff! Amy’s Soy Mac & Cheese vs. Stouffer’s




This week I compared one of my favorite staples, macaroni & cheese. I’ve just tried about every mac & cheese out there (boxed and frozen), and as the sole lactose-tolerant writer of this blog, I couldn’t wait to see if soy mac & cheese could stand up to my regular lineup. Below are the results!

Price
Amy’s - $2.79

Stouffer’s - $2.00

Winner of Price category: Stouffer’s… and bonus, you get 12 oz with Stouffer’s vs 9 oz in Amy’s

Taste
Amy’s – Could definitely tell this was not the real thing. It had a very sharp, odd taste to it. It had a very strong smell to it as well, and it wasn’t a nice one…

Stouffer’s – the regular stuff didn’t disappoint in this category. It had a nice mild taste and it smelled delicious.

Winner of Taste category: This was not a close call – Stouffer’s gets the win

Nutrition Info
Amy’s – 9 oz serving
370 calories, 15 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 500 mg sodium, 42 grams carbs, 4 grams fiber, 2 grams sugar, 16 grams protein, 15% calcium

Stouffer’s – 6 oz serving
340 calories, 16 grams fat, 7 grams saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 810 mg sodium, 32 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams sugar, 13 grams protein, 30% calcium

Winner of Nutrition info: With the Amy’s soy mac & cheese, you get a 50% bigger portion for similar calories & fat, and much less saturated fat & sodium. With Amy’s you’ll also save on sugar and gain some fiber instead.

Accessibility
Both were from your neighborhood grocery store

Winner of Accessibility category: It’s a tie

Texture
Amy’s – Although the taste was very disappointing, the texture was alright. It was pretty similar to the regular stuff. The cheese melted well and the pasta cooked well in the microwave.

Stouffer’s – the cheese sauce was slightly thinner than the soy cheese version, but overall a great texture – better than the soy cheese

Winner of Texture category: Stouffer’s wins again

Final Results: This is no surprise – I couldn’t get past the taste and smell of Amy’s soy mac & cheese. It just had a very fake, strong taste and smell to it. If you have another dairy-free mac & cheese option, we would love to hear about them. Leave your comments below!

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