Kraft EasyItalia Roasted Garlic Parmesan

February 2, 2009 | Reviewer: Abi

Photo of Kraft EasyItalia Roasted Garlic Parmesan Price: $1.00
Serving: 1 package, 2.05oz.
Calories: 220 per cup
Calories from fat: 45
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 2%, 5mg
Sodium: 24%, 580mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 37g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Kraft says: Ready in 3.5 minutes (which is true, that’s exactly how long it takes)

Abi says: I’m confused when quick-meal manufacturers start using ingredients that are usually found only in homemade or high end food. On one hand, I delight in items like herbed goat cheese, caramelized onions and roasted garlic. On the other hand, I’m eating noodles out of a cup. From a microwave. I’m in powdered orange cheese mode. That and I’ve personally experienced the pain of microwaving garlic. Don’t do it.

In the instance of Kraft’s EasyItalia (may or may not be one word) cup, the roasted garlic is amusing (reconstituted from dried roasted garlic! Space Age!) and problematic (sticky, unfortunately over-sweet). I love me some roasted garlic in dip or on bread, but I can do without nubs of it ruining an otherwise pleasantly cheesy cup of pasta. What’s more, if you have garlic-averse coworkers they will NOT be happy when you bring this into your poorly ventilated, CPU-heated office.

The serving size is exactly the same as the Triple Cheese Easy Mac Cup, yet seems smaller. This could be due to the shape of the noodles, which are flat and spirally. Flat, spirally noodles do not have the volume-inducing air/sauce holes of elbow macaroni. Furthermore, tiny size of this meal is alarming because it weighs in at 5 Weight Watchers Points. And that’s the same number of Points you’d find in Weight Watchers Smart Ones Thai Style Chicken and Rice Noodles. Unfortunately, Smart Ones Thai Style Chicken and Rice Noodles cannot be stored in my desk drawer for extended periods of time.

While its fun to experiment with a variety of on-sale cup-noodles, I’m sticking to my beloved Triple Cheese Easy Mac for now.

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comments

3 Responses to “Kraft EasyItalia Roasted Garlic Parmesan”

Debbi on February 4th, 2009

Wow. That’s a lot of points for a teeny cup o’noodles. Was it even worth it?
Abi Jones on February 4th, 2009

Debbi-

This Easy Mac Cup wasn’t bad and was super-convenient, but I didn’t really enjoy the overly pungent garlic that much. I’m not ever going to buy it again.

-Abi
Jody on February 6th, 2009

I had this once, and by evening was sick with some intestinal thing for a week. I can’t be sure it had anything to do with this product, as I also went to a party later in the day and was eating from a VERY bizarre “gourmet” snack buffet…however, out of all the foods I ate, in the pangs of nausea my mind kept going back to two foods in particular–a horrible blue cheese/blueberry/sour cream dip at the party and this Roasted Garlic cup. I am a strong believer one can somehow “know” what clashed in your stomach.

Therefore, I haven’t since been able to shake my bad association with this product (and to be fair in saying it’s bad, I did NOT like it when I ate it that time anyway.)