When I was a little 'un, I loved me some Kraft Dinner. I demanded it for every meal. The way my parents tell it, I sometimes ate it for lunch and supper for several weeks straight, so the fact that I wasn't riddled with rickets and scurvy as a toddler is pretty much a miracle. Just the sight of my mom shaking that little pouch of neon-orange 'cheese' powder before pouring it over the soggy noodles and mixing it up made me salivate like a Pavlovian dog. And speaking of dogs, I would also lick my plate after finishing my KD to get every last taste of the cheesy sauce. It's safe to say that I would have married Kraft Dinner if it were legal.

Once I started school, my Kraft Dinner consumption dipped sharply, but at least once a week I'd eat a big plate of the brilliant orange noodles, sometimes with a side of vegetables or chicken strips, sometimes on its own in all its processed and unnatural glory. In college, Kraft Dinner took a backseat to the newly discovered and exciting alternative: Lipton Sidekicks. In the same amount of time and for the same amount of money I could have a "fancy" meal! Like Fettucine Alfredo or Creamy Carbonara Noodles! I felt like a baller eating my linguine-with-androgynous-chickeny-powder-mix straight from the pot, instead of ghetto-fab KD.

I was out on my own. An adult. Adults don't eat Kraft Dinner. They eat tri-coloured rotini with a mysterious, lumpy, sour-milk-smelling white powder on it masquerading as creamy alfredo sauce.

Then I became enamoured with all things healthy. All of a sudden, info like fibre content, fat grams, calories and carbs became grossly important and mixing cooked noodles with packets of neon-coloured powdered flavouring suddenly seemed like a horrible idea. My old standbys, Sidekicks and KD, stayed on the grocery store shelves in favour of things like baby spinach and Special K and boneless skinless chicken breasts.

I understand this is a lot of backstory about my eating habits but BEAR WITH ME.

Last Wednesday was one of those days - not a bad day per se, but decidedly 'meh'. I came home from work, all bitchypants and ravenous and ready to stress-eat the shit out of a carton of candy cane ice cream. Peter picked up on my mood and wisely decided to make supper:



...white cheddar Kraft Dinner.

The verdict? This was one of my favourite meals I've had in a looooong time. So simple and so undecidedly un-nutritious but absolutely comforting. We classed it up a bit with some red wine. I ate seconds and didn't think twice about the carb-loading. It was creamy and cheesy and delicious. It probably cost about 50 cents for each of us. Ahhhhhmazeballs. Way cheaper than therapy and probably just as effective. KD has earned a regular spot in my pantry once again. It's the circle of life.